Hyderabad baby

Having had a pretty uneventful last day in aurangabad, we set off to Hyderabad, the city of culture (apparently!) . this was our 4th sleeper train, out of 6. When we arrived into Hyderabad we were blasted with heat, having been in ac all night! We hadn't planned anywhere to stay (again) so we stopped off a the closest hostel to the station, called YMCA. Turns out there was no ac (gutted), but we could get a twin room with a fan and balcony for 4.50 a night, equalling 2.25 per person! Winning!
So we headed out promptly, keen explore the city. There are three areas which make up Hyderabad - secunderabad (where we were staying), abids area, and charminar. We decided to go to charminar first, and visit the charminar building, get lost in the bazaars, and the check out chowmahalla palace. The charminar itself wasn't too impressive. On the outside, it is beautiful, but there was no reason to pay to get in. I mean sure, it has a pretty awesome view of the city below from the top o the building, but other than that, nothing too exciting. Something that really came to my attention during this visit, was how poorly the Indians treat their sights. Here, in the charminar, every inch of wall inside was graffitied with names of people who though it would be a great idea to deface a building which, in its day, would have been spectacular. And this is the same with every monument you go to visit in India, with the exception on the taj mahal! I think its such a shame. Imagine if the same thing happened to the Albert hall.
We then checked out the bazaar. We were told that Hyderabad was famous for its bangles, and so it was. Hundreds of pearl and jewellery shops scattered along the street. This wasn't really what we were lookin but had a wander through the bazaar anyway, for a couple of hours. The colours were incredible, from saris to spices. If we were girls, we would be in seventh heaven!
We rounded off the day with a cheeky visit to the chowmahalla palace, which was basically a holiday home for a family called the nizims, but is an amazing place. I've never seen such a beautiful ballroom. They also had a huge collection of vintage cars on show, including a rolls Royce..! It was a nice way to finish the day, and George had his picture taken with him dressed up as a maharaga (Indian royalty).
It was a good, but very hot first day, and we got back to our boiling hot rooms, which were actually warmer than outside! Should have gone for the ac....oh well.

Adios,

H

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Aurangabad - interesting place..

Thankfully, we arrived in aurangabad on tie, but the time was 4am. Being the classic travellers we are, we hadn't organised accommodation, so we to search for the best rates in town. This turned out to be a rather long process, as we initially found a double bed with air con for one thousand rupees (ten pounds) but we thought this was too expensive for low season, especially for the state of the room! So we went on a tour of town in a rickshaw, for what must have been 30 minutes, but everywhere was more expensive, so we settled that we go back to the first place, Tourists home.
We slept in that morning, and then ventured into aurangabad town, and see what it had to offer. Turns out it has very little indeed! In fact, its a horrible town. Dusty, dirty and very little to do. Was a bit frustrating that we had 3 days here, but we were looking forward to doing the ellora caves the next day.
We had organised a tour in which we were given a taxi to take us to the ellora caves. They were about 30 km in distance from ellora, but were well worth going to see! They were quite spectacular. These man made caves, built over 200 years, as a place of worship. There were Buddhist caves, Hindu caves, and another religion of some sort. The amount of detail that was put into these temples was incredible. There were 30 caves in total, scattered along the hillside. Quite remarkable.
After this, we went to visit this temple next door. It looked spectacular from the outside, but as soon as you got closer, it got worse and worse, until you enter, and are shoved through like cattle, in metal fencing around and into the temple, which was quite frankly disgusting. It was full of topless greasy Indian men hosing themselves down with water, and then praying to one of their many gods. It made me realise how much India is prostituting itself to tourism. This temple must have been spectacular back in the day, but now its surrounded by haglers, touts, and advertisement, with rules of what you must and must not do in the temple? Such a shame.
We headed back to the hostel, only to find out that one of the guys on our tour, who we thought was working for the company,was actually also on the tour! Very embarrassing, as we treated him as if he was working for the company all day, when he had also paid for the tour! Oh well.
Our final day consisted of nothing exciting, other than WiFi, and a big supper before catching a train to Hyderabad later that night. We were especially early for this one!

H

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Bye bye mumbai

Our final day was a later start than usual, with the overnight train to look forward to that evening! It was the floor for us, as the family we were staying with were in the process of moving house. We started up by checking out the CST station, formerly known as the Victoria terminus. It is a pretty impressive building, with millions of people passing through it daily. There is a constant flow of people everywhere you go it Mumbai. You really get a sense of how populated the city is, let alone the country.
We then went to the Crawford street market, having high expectations of the bazaars. Sadly, there was nothing. Just saris and saris, and saris. So many saris, and I didn't really feel like purchasing one for myself...! Having been truly dissapointed by the bazaar, we headed off to the prince of Wales museum. This huge museum had everything to do with Mumbai, and was crowded with hundreds of people, all Indian. It was really interesting, but by this point, I was struggling with the heat and lack of water and food. I could have eaten a horse for lunch if it was possible. Shame there wasn't a tesco nearby. Poor joke, I know.
George was then adamant of heading off to the Nehru centre and the planetarium. When we arrived, there was a huge queue, so we went for it, and cut in. We were also not asked for our tickets, which we hadn't purchased, so we were in...for free! We thought we'd hit the jackpot and gone under the radar, but that's very difficult when your a white guy in India during the low season? We subsequently got caught and had to pay the 50p ticket! The show itself was rubbish. Don't think I really need to say much more about it.
We had one more stop off to see before we left, which was the dhobi ghat. This is where all the washing is done in Mumbai. There were lines and lines of women thrashing the dirt out of the clothes. It didn't look very good for the clothes, but the clothes looked a lot cleaner than when we did our washing in our hostels!
So we finally headed back to the flat, where there was nothing but WiFi and a TV...all you need really..! We chilled there for a couple of hours, as our train was at 9pm from mumbai CST, or what we thought was Mumbai central....
So we were recommended this small Indian restaurant just outside Mumbai central, which specialised in pav baji. This is basically bread and spicy sauce. Was delicious. However, we were a bit stressed out as the food took 30 minutes to get to us, and by the time e finished our food, it was 8:30 and we didn't know where the station was. So we rushed out of the restaurant, and fast walked towards the station. We got there, and looked up on the board for our train number and see which platform we were on. However, we couldn't find it. Where was our train? Did we get the date wrong? Did we get the station wrong?! These ere all the thought running through our minds, hoping that both the answers were no!
George then remembered that CST was the huge station we visited earlier in the day. Oh god. So it was 8:45, our train was leaving in 15 minutes, and the station we had to get to was on the other side of the city. It wasn't looking good. So we ran outside looking for a taxi driver, and ran into this youngish driver who was very keen to know what all the fuss was about. We told him the situation, and he thought he could make it in time, so we promised him we'd pay him 500 rupees (5 pounds) if he got there with ten minutes to spare, which is a lot of money for a taxi driver..! So we jumped in, with little confidence of us making the train in time. The sweat coming off our faces was crazy. Backs drenched, sweat in the eyes. I was planning in my head how else we would get to aurangabad...by bus the next morning? Where would we stay for the night? Another expense.
Nonetheless, we arrived, at 8:55. We had 5 minutes. This was going to be tight. Having found which platform we were on, we noticed that our carriage was on the far end. Seeing as the average Indian train has 30 carriages, it was a long way for us to run! So we ran, and ran, and ran, hoping we'd get there in time!
The relief when I stepped onto our air conditioned carriage was out of this world. I was so sure we were going to miss it. But we made it? George trundled in a minute later. We were both drenched. It looked like we'd just had a shower. We'd made it, and we were off to aurangabad...yey!

H

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Mumbai

We arrived early afternoon into the hustle and bustle of Mumbai. We were very fortunate enough to have the opportunity to stay with a family in south Mumbai in kemps corner, called the jhaveri's, who are friends with my amazing uncle, simon d-s. They live in an apartment block, giving an amazing view of Mumbai. I was amazed at the difference between Delhi and Mumbai. The high rise buildings, cleanliness and the lifesaving breeze from the sea.
We were knackered having travelled 20 hours from Udaipur, so chilled at the house in the afternoon with the family, and then headed out to the beach and park on our was to banganga tank, which was recommended by saloni. The most impressive thing about it, in my opinion, was the Hindu shine at the top of the tank. The noise coming from the shine, as well as the patterns on the floor made with spices, were so cool. I must have stood there listening for at least 20 minutes, entranced by it all.
We were then fortunate enough to be invited to the weekly family supper with the jhaveri's. This was set in the family palace, and gave us the opportunity to meet all of their family. Both George and I were amazed at how intelligent they all were, discussing politics the whole time, debating modi, and India as a whole. Their English was almost as good as mine, if not better. Half the time, neither of us understood what they were talking about! The meal though was incredible. I don't think I've had that much flavour in my mouth in all my life (no offence mummy!). It was delicious. Enough said.
The next day was our touristy day, visiting the gateway to India, the taj mahal palace, and wondering around the the street, as well as visiting the high court, the university, and last but not least, the wankhede stadium, the home of the Mumbai Indians! We were able to walk in and onto the pitch itself, without anyone telling us off! The huge match between the Mumbai Indians and the rajestan royals was played there the night before. We watched it on TV, and has to be one of the greatest matches I've ever watched. Quite incredible. So because there was a match on the night before, all the flags and memorabilia was scattered across the stadium...free stuff - winning!
That evening was rather uneventful. We went to coast for some free WiFi, and then went to supper and had some dosa..so so yummy. We did the lucky dip, and it turned out it was delicious. Loving Indian food so far.

Adios amigos

H

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Bazaars and swimming

Day two of Udaipur was a lot more chilled out, with less sightseeing, and more wandering around the bazaar blindly. We were really keen the get a classic Indian gap year shirt, and some baggy trousers. And we were had many choices. However, they were all very cheap and touristy.
Having failed to find what we wanted, be were desperate for some food. Walking 50metres is draining enough in this heat. However, before we headed for lunch, we went to visit the jagdish temple. This is a Hindu temple located in the centre of Udaipur, and was immense. We both felt rather out of place, as there were hundreds of people praying inside, but it was incredible to see.
Having used up all of our reserves in the morning, we decided to hit the pool nearby at a hotel. Here we met Kristian. He was on his way up to the same pool at the same time, and we got talking. Turns out he's been travelling for 14 months full stop. Yes, that's right. 14 months. It goes without saying that he had some good stories to tell. We ended up chatting all afternoon, and went to supper before going to the station.
After our first experience of the Indian train stations together in Delhi, we had learnt that there is no need to get there 2 hours early, so we left later this time. However, we didn't quite know that there was going to be a huge festival on other streets of Udaipur, blocking every road possible. Now the thing is, Udaipur streets are tiny. Everyone gets around on motorbikes. Having gone around the whole of town to find an opening, we still couldn't see a way of getting to the station. Things were getting heated. George was adamant we ere going to missit. Fortunately on our 3rd attempt,we got through! And we were off to Mumbai!

Udaipur

Good evening to you all.

So George arrived on Wednesday, which was a great relief, as it was getting a tad lonely by myself, to say the least! To collect him, I took the amazing Delhi metro to the airport, costing me a fraction of the price a taxi would. I was amazed how smart and clean the metro was. Its so different to city above. Its quiet, cold, and clean! So the complete opposite of the city!
He may have been tired, but we had to plan our next month together, and the following day, as we were told by our hotel that we could only stay the one night! So we headed to the train station, not knowing where we were going, let alone how we were going to get the tickets! We arrived, looking like lost tourists, and a kind man came up to us to ask what we were looking for. We told him the whole situation, and he showed us directions to a tourist office 5 minutes away.
He turned out to be our lifesaver, as it turned out booking tickets in India is not as straightforward as in England. There are huge awaiting lists on the trains, meaning you have no garentee if you will have a bed/chair on the train. This worried us, but fortunately we could get a tourist ticket, allowing us to bypass the system, with a little added cost. So we planned out where we wanted to go in India, and asked if they could book our tickets from these locations for us, to leave the next day.
So our first stop was Udaipur, mainly because we saw it as a stop off point between Delhi and Mumbai, which would take 25 hours on the train. So we didn't know what to expect from the rajestani city. We arrived early that morning, havinn taken the overnight train, and checked in. It turned out the city was magical, set on a lake, and is said to be one of the most romantic spots in India,,,perfect for me and George! So we took a walk around the centre of the city, walking through the bazaar, up to the city palace, where we then booked a boat tour and visit the two palaces on the lake. Now when I say on the lake, I mean on the lake. They have been buildin the centre of the lake, and are two of the most prestigious/expensive hotels in rajestan. They also look stunning, as if they are floating on the water. The boat tour enabled us to view the city palace from the water, and we stopped off at on of the hotels.
Having finished our boat tour, and met some fellow Brits on the boat, we then went to look at the city palace museum for a bit, followed by more bazaar browsing/bartering and some well deserved lunch.
Now you must remember, its summer time in India, and low season for tourists, as it it boiling. And I mean, boiling! It was 40 degrees in Udaipur, meaning being out in the sun for more than 30 minutes almost kills you! You understand why it is low season! But it doesn't really bother us, and we know we'll only have this opportunity once in our lifetime, and need to experience as much of India as possible whilst we're here.
Now during my first couple of days in India by myself, I always felt that everyone who approached you had an ulterior motive, which a lot of them do, but whilst we were resting in the shade on the street, a man comes up to us and asks us the classic question "where you from, my friend", and I thought, " here we go again". It turns out he was on his way to the art school, and was wondering if we would like to come along to see the exhibition. Nowwhen I say art school, its only a little house with a couple of painters in it. But as soon as we arrived, there were two artists in the middle of their artwork. They were incredible. And I mean incredible. I have never in all my life seen such detail in one painting. They were saying that one painting, the size of a book, tales them 2 months in total. We were then invited to play the local board game, with is basically hand snooker, with plastic material. Very fun.
The whole evening with them was such fun, and made me realise that there are good people out there, just wanting to know a bit more about you. Evenings like those are ones I will never forget, and I hope there are many more like that to come during my travels of India!
We then went to watch some rajestani dancing for an hour, which was a spectacle to say the least. It included puppets, dancing, and a woman who had ten buckets balanced on her head whilst stepping on broken glass. It was so so cool.
More to come soon.

Henry

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The Taj, Trains and Cricket

Yesterday was a busy, but I feel like it was a productive one. After seeing the might that is the Taj, my tuk tuk driver, and his brother, took me on a tour of Agra, including the baby taj mahal, the black mahal, the Agra fort, and a swimming pool!
The baby taj was build 20 years before the taj mahal, and is pretty much a baby taj...! Its in a very scenic location, next to the river, and beautiful gardens. There wasn't much to see in the building itself, but was fascinating nonetheless. I sat on top of the hill to the river front for, what must have been, an hour, watching the cows wallow in the river, and the local kids play. The thing that really stood out though, was the litter. It was everywhere! I can't say I'm not surprised, as I'm in India, not Chelsea, but there quantity was astounding.
Following the baby taj, we whizzed off to see the foundations on the black taj mahal. This is location on the other side of the river, opposite the taj. The reason for it only being a foundation, is due to the fact that black marble was almost there times the price of white marble when they build the two of them, and sadly the project didn't go ahead. However, it does make for a beautiful views of the taj mahal, with nothing but there sound of the birds. No bloody american tourists in their polo shirts, chino shorts, and white pulled up socks with trainers.
Having visited the black taj, it was almost 12, and was BOILING. We were planning on going to the Agra fort, but I decided against it, as I was struggling in the heat. I therefore decided to go and cool off at a hotel pool nearby. Its safe to say that it saved me. I stayed here for 4 hours, before leaving for the train station.
Arriving at a grotty, smelly and hot train station, I didn't have high hopes for my 5 pound train to Jaipur. But I couldn't have been more wrong. I had booked the chair class, which is air conditioned, but was much cooler than my first class trip from Delhi. My first class trip coast me 3 times the price, and all I got was a top bunk and a fan above my head. I also had to share with 2 others, who turned out to be very friendly, but I didn't enjoy the trip. My train from Agra to Jaipur, on the other hand, was delightful. I may sound a tad camp saying that sentence, but it really was. I had a comfy seat, with a table and lots of legroom. I was sitting next to and opposite three very welcoming men, who I actually felt I could trust. They didn't have an ulterior motive, like 90% of people you meet in India. We then got food! Free food! I got a bottle of water, chai, some orange wafers, nuts, and this yummy pastry thingy. I thought that was all, but I was wrong! We then got treated to curry and rice with chapati and some ice cream to finish it all off. Surely they must be making a loss. There were at least 100 people in that particular class, and this was all for 5 pounds. Makes the UK first class and train system look like a fool.
I arrived into Jaipur late into the night, at 11ish, and had organised a pick up from the station, but guess what. He wasn't there! Second time in 4 days. But when I got to hotel pearl palace, i was pleased with what I saw. I have a nice air conditioned room, with satellite TV and a private bathroom. Its also very comfy.
Today was a late one, and once I'd woken up, I got a taxi to the spa. Thought I'd treat myself. Was nice to relax and de stress. I then got a tut tut to take me to all the sights in the city. I went to the city palace, hawamahal, jantaar mantar, and the Albert's half. Yes,its called the Albert's hall. It's a museum..nothing exciting. Thee most impressive by far was the city palace. I got an audio guide, and t really brought to life the displays. Was an amazing building as well.
Tomorrow I am going to all three forts surrounding the city. I can't remember all their names off the top of my head, but I'm excited!
Wow, that was a long one today. Hope none of you fell asleep reading it! I've just finished ma curry and off to bed. See you back in Delhi!

H
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Indiaaaa!!!

Hey hey peeps. Having had a nice relaxing time in England for 2 weeks, I have arrived in India! I flew into Delhi on the morning of the 16th, arriving into the heat that is India. It is boiling here! When I arrived into the airport, I had organised a taxi to the hotel, so was presuming there would be a guy standing outside the arrivals with my name on it. Turns out he wasn't there! Great start, henry. So I had to get an expensive taxi to my hotel, Hotel Grand Godwin. This is on Arkasan road, just outside the new Delhi railway station, and when I got there, I wasn't expecting much of the hotel. It turns out it was really nice, with a nice en suite room, all AC. I had a bit of an awkward moment from the start, when this man took my bag to my room. I had never experienced tipping before, so he hung around for a bit, and then left penny less! I only realised why it was so awkward after he'd left haha.
The time difference here in India is 5.5 hours ahead of the UK, so it is safe to say I was pretty jet lagged. I still am jet lagged, with my body clock being all over the place! Therefore, that first day didn't entail much. All I did was get a sim card, and drop off 80 pounds in rupees, acting like a drug dealer of some sort.
The next day was my train from new Delhi to agra cantt. It didn't start well, as my train was delayed by 3 hours, but when we got going, it wasn't too bad. The train itself took 3 hours, arriving at 8pm. At the station, I met this tuk tuk drivers, who is subsequently going to take me on a to our of Agra in a couple of hours. My hotel in Agra, Saniya Palace, is very basic, but does have the most amazing view of the taj majal from a roof top terrace. As I speak, I am looking out onto the taj. So beautiful.
This morning was an early one, waking up at 5am, to go and visit there taj mahal at sunrise. I am so happy that I did this, because I was one of the first to enter the taj, meaning I had it all to myself for photos. I also didn't have to put up with tourist putting their hand on top of the dome for a picture. God that annoys me. I had a good look inside, and around the building, with a tour guide who showed me all the optical illusions, as well as giving me a history lesson. It was all very interesting, and I'm glad I had him. By the time I had had a good look around, thee place was full with people. It was like an infestation. One minuter there was no one, the next there were hundreds of thousands of people. So yeah, I'd give the taj a thumbs up!
Later today, I'm going to visit the Red Fort, and the baby taj, which I've heard has amazing views of the taj mahal.

Thank you for reading, and I'll be back when I get to Jaipur!

H
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My last week in kenya, and watamu

Sadly, I am coming up to the end of my amazing time in Kenya. The last week in Watamu has been incredible. Everyone here in Watamu have been so hospitable to me, and so so generous. I have been waterskiing, involved in a fishing competition on mida creek, played some hockey at ocean sports, and have been just relaxing on the beautiful beach of Watamu. I left the engel's beautiful home on the Sunday morning, and moved in with Clare Moller and her daughter, Tiva, who is also at Pembroke! They too have a beautiful home on the beach front, and she has been so hospitable, inviting me to Lunches, suppers, and parties all around Watamu, giving me the opportunity to meet so many lovely people. I've never met someone so willing to get her guest involved in the social life of Watamu!
However, I firstly want to thank the Engel's for such a fun couple of days. I had never met them beforehand, yet they welcomed me with open arms into their beautiful home. I also met their beautiful daughter, Gaby, who was great fun and stupidly good at mono skiing, and her and barney combined made for an hilarious couple of days. Sadly, both Barney and Gaby flew back to school yesterday, so haven't been able to spend as much time as I would have hoped with them, but nonetheless, it was a fun couple of days with them, not forgetting the Islam channel! Inside joke....! I feel so privalidged to have met some an amazing family, and spend a couple of days with them.
The last couple of days have been nice and relaxed, whilst going out most meals with other people. I feel as if I have been accepted into the elite Watamu community! But yes, I've have a very subdued couple of days, which I've loved, as I've spent the majority of the time walking along the beach, meeting more and more people, and swimming in the baby blue sea. now i can't remember if I mentioned this in my last post, but whilst walking along the beach, I saw this fully grown turtle being released into the sea, having been caught by a fisherman by accident. I also almost stepped on a stingray whilst swimming, and saw a camel wandering along the beach. It really is paradise here.
Sadly i'm only here until Friday morning, but I have well and truly loved my time here in Watamu, and do hope I can come back soon. My plans for the next couple of days, is to relax by the beach, then travel to Mombasa, where I then fly to rainy Nairobi, and then stay the night there, and finally fly back to the UK!
I can't wait to see you all when I get back. As amazing as my time has been here in Kenya, I can't wait to see all my family and friends, and catch up!

See you all soon!

H
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A fun week

Following backpackers for 2 nights, I headed off to the Francis jones' house in Lavington to stay with them for 2 nights in their amazing house and their three awesome girls - Tessa, Annabel, and Lucy. We had a great time, playing 40 40, swimming in their pool and relaxing. They're such a nice and welcoming family. Was so nice to be sleeping in a bed without bed bugs as well!
I then flew out to Mombasa from Nairobi on the 15th. Having got there 3 hours early, it turned out that my jambo jet flight was 3 hours delayed...perfect! This meant that my original plan to get a matatu to Watamu that night was off the cards, as I arrived at 9:30pm. I therefore had to find somewhere to stay. I knew there was a backpackers in Mombasa, as Tristan and James had stayed there a couple of weeks ago, so I headed there in a taxi, with very low expectations! I arrived to sign myself into the backpackers, to notice I couldn't find my passport anywhere. Interesting.....  I then remembered I put it on the dashboard of the taxi, and had left it there! Perfect! Fortunately I asked the taxi driver for his number beforehand. However, he wasn't picking up! It took an hour of trying for him to finally pick up! This felt at least 5 hours! But I eventually retrieved it from him. Safe t say that it wasn't my finest moment of the trip...welcome to Mombasa! So I spent the night there, and left in a tuk tuk early that morning to go to the Matatu station in Mombasa. So it got a bus to gede for 250 bob (2 pounds). This bus took me 3 hours, with it stopping every ten minutes for people on the side of the road. I also sat next to a chicken for the majority of the 3 hours, which was....interesting. There was also a fight which broke out between a passenger who didn't have enough money, and the conductor. I stayed very quiet in the corner! When we got to Gede, I then got a piki to the Engels house in Watamu.
It is such a beautiful house, on the beach, with a pool. We are 50m from the beach, which you can see past the palm trees in the garden, from my own balcony. Yes, that's right I have my own balcony! Its amazing. The whole family went to Mombasa for the day yesterday, so I had the house all to myself, and wandered up and down the beach all day. I then met Clare Moller, who I am staying with after the Engels. She subsequently invited me to this party! On the way to the party, we had some drinks with the davies, who are also Pembroke parents, and the father, Damien, is in charge of turtle bay, one of the big hotels on the beach. Safe to say that they have an incredible house as well! Overall, it was an OK night..hahahahahaha.
Fortunately, the Engels are coming back today, and it sounds like we might be doing some waterskiing! Yey!

H
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An interesting backpackers in Nairobi...

I arrived at Milimani backpackers yesterday afternoon, and its safe to say that it wasn't really what I was expecting! Its all rather hectic, with nothing to do, but sleep. Theres also no one here! The only people here are 30 year old Europeans! I was expecting it to be full of other gap students. Im staying in new of the dormataries, meaning bunk beds. These are the most uncomfortable beds I've ever experienced! Rock solid. I think I must have slept 2 hours last night, having got to bed at 8pm! To top this, the food is gruesome. I just had a burger, which you'd expect to be cooked, wouldn't you?! But no,it was rock solid and cold. Ergh. If anyone was visiting Nairobi anytime soon,looking for cheap accommodation,I wouldn't recommend this! The kilifi backpackers was soooo much nicer! Perhaps I'm comparing it to Ol Jogi, but it really is horrible.
I therefore ran away for the day today, going to the junction for the day. I went to the cinema solo, to watch Rio 2,in 3d. What a great film! Loved it. I also indulged myself in some yummy food with clean surroundings. Was a lovely treat. I got a piki there and back, who was a bit of a butter to say the least! We got there though, which is all that matters!
I've now got another night of discomfort ahead of me! Only one more to go though, as I'm staying with the lovely Francis Jones in Lavington estate tomorrow, and then the coast! Can't wait. Will be great to see the Francis Jones' as well, and catch up.
See ya!

H
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Thank you, Wellers

I'd just like to take this opportunity to say a massive thank you to the Weller's for having me to stay. I had the most amazing two weeks staying with them, and I'm eternally grateful to them for their hospitality. They are such a lovely family, with two lovely kids, Sam and Carolyn. It was sad to say good bye to them yesterday, but I'm sure they're glad to see the back of me! I will never forget them, and hope to stay in touch with them. Ol Jogi was a beautiful beautiful place, and I feel so lucky to be given the opportunity to visit our the private game reserve. So a huge thank you to johnny and Serena for having me to stay. I wish them all the best for the future.

H
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Leaving ol jogi

I have some sad news for you all. I have left Ol Jogi. I know, I know, don't all cry. The last couple of days have been very relaxing, including a picnic with the Empson's, who live on the way to nanyuki from the Weller's house. They have just moved into a house they built, and we had a lovely picnic on their dam, with 3 other family's, all with tiny kidjanas (kids). There was a cliff on the side of the dam which was great fun to play on, and surprisingly high up!
We then had a day in town, where I went off by myself and wondered around town. Amazingly, I bumped into Ameri, who was the manager of Laragai house one Borana, and e met him back in 2011 when we were all out here for Christmas. I was also mugged by a couple of homeless people on the street as I crossed the road,but fortunately used my pace to escape!
Yesterday we went to visit Johnny's step sister, mouse, who lives on the next door ranch, and has a very basic house, but with the most amazing views you can imagine. They have a tin shack for a kitchen, a tent as a dining room, and a caravan as the main room. But is at the most amazing location. They are obviously still developing, so when its finished, it will be amazing. So yeah, we had tea with them.
We all travelled down to Nairobi this morning to village market, where I met up with Sophie, one of the other gaps, which was nice. We went down to the Masai market down the road, which was endless. Hassle, hassle, hassle. It was non stop! I feel drained now. It was very funny though-I had my trainers strapped onto the back of my backpack, and I think at least 50 men asked me "are you trading them?". NO I'M NOT! gosh. Was fun to see super Sophie though, and got a couple of lil gifts.
I'm now at milimani backpackers on upper hill in nairobbery. Its a pretty grim place to be perfectly honest, but its cheap and has a bed. I meet the Francis Jones' on Sunday at junction, the mall, and will then stay with them until I leave on the 15th for the coast! Can't wait!

Until next time..

H
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Riding, driving and fishing

Last post, I stupidly forgot a pretty awesome moment. As we were coming back from seeing the elephant family, we stopped off at one of the dams to let the dogs out, when we suddenly saw a lone hyena drinking from the dam, which also had a hippo in it! #justanotherdayinkenya
Yesterday, we started the day off with a 2 hour morning ride with johnny and the kids. It was so so tiring, as we trotted a lot of the way, and my horse was being very naughty, wanting too much of the reign. I eventually worked out how to speed him up (Cowboy), but this was in the last couple of minutes. We bumped into a few giraffe and grevys zebra on our ride, as well as 2 buffalo lurking in the bushes about 10 metres away from us. Very exciting.
We then went on another drive around the boundary, and saw very little, other than some gombies (cows) drinking from the river where we were. We then went to see if anything was lurking around one of the many dams, and we found these 2 male giraffe in a stand off. We stopped the car to see if anything was going to happen, for there to eventually be a fight between the two males in front of all the ladies. It was an amazing spectical, for me to get on video! They hit each other with their heads and necks, in a very awkward fashion, but it obviously does the job!
Finally, in the evening, we went for a spot of fishing in the same place we were earlier in my stay. On the drive to the dam, we saw this leopard on the road, which sprinted away as soon as it saw us. I am yet to see one up close, but I am told there are several around the place. Johnny was lucky enough to see one a metres away from his car, lying down in the shade,  but sadly this was on his way back from work so we weren't there! So we went fishing, and caught another 25 or so, half of which we gave away to the staff, and whilst we were fishing, there were 5 hippo lurking 20 metres away from us in the water, which livened things up a bit. Johnny also had to wade in to recover Sam's line which was caught on a thorn bush in the dam. Safe to say, he wasn't amused! On the way back from our fishing trip, we bumped into a pack of wild dogs, which was super special, as they are very rarely seen in the wild in Kenya. They're amazing creature, which I had previously seen at the orphanage, but to see them in the wild was spectacular.
Now to today. There is a couple staying with the Weller's who are from Tanzania, originally from Australia, and he is very keen on cows, and so wanted to see some of the Ol Jogi cows, as well as Jackie's cows in the next door ranch. So we went to see them all being dipped this morning, which was both hilarious, and very messy! Sam and I were watching inside the dipping area, and got splashed many times by the cows jumping into the dipping pool. It was hilarious though. The idea of the dipping is to remove and disease and tits from the cows. We then went to look at these cacti which are invading the ranch, and johnny showed us how they are trying to contain the cacti by the white substance. This kills the plant off, but very slowly. This cactus has fruit growing from it, which the elephant and baboons love to eat, and when then digest it, and it comes out the other end, it is seeded into the ground. It is therefore everywhere in the ranch, and johnny and the team want to get rid of it asap!

All for now.

See ya tomorrow folks

H
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An amazing day in ol jogi

We had another amazing day here at Ol Jogi. As its a Saturday, johnny had half the day off, so we headed out on a game drive in the afternoon, to see  some game, visit the orphanage (animals) and climb up to the top of the world in the car.
It had rained in the morning, so the reserve was looking a lot more lush, and we therefore saw a whole heap of game, including hundreds of giraffe, elephant close by, hippo, zebra, and the usual grant etc. It was a rather long drove to the other side of the reserve to the orphanage, where they had a lion, two leopards, cheetah, wild dog, toucan, crane, hippo, camel, toucan, owls, loads of different exotic birds, and also a brown bear! Was bazaar to see a brown bear in Kenya, but there was one there! It was an awesome place, with so much wildlife on show. The idea of the orphanage is to rehabilitate the animals, with the aim of setting them free in the future (except for of course, the brown bear!).
Having seen hundreds of animals at the orphanage, we then went to see Alfie the blind rhino, who is a black rhino who was blinded at a young age, and brought in to be looked after. He has his own enclosure in the middle of nowhere, to prevent poachers from getting to him. It was an incredible experience, as I was able to almost lie on top of him, and get real close to him. They also have the most amazingly tough skin,and a beautiful horn. No wonder rhino are poached! I joke, of course. But it was a fascinating experience.
We then headed back to the car and drove up to the tallest hill on Ol Jogi, called the top of the world, and I found out why. It was an incredible view of Ol Jogi, and the surrounding ranches, and a great place to just stand and contemplate...gosh, I really am finding myself on my gap yeah! It also made for a great photo! The way down was interesting to say the least, as we decided to take a different route down, with turned out to be at 60 degrees and only large rocks for a road. We finally made it, with two terrified children.
We then went to see two baby cheetah in a secret location, who had been rescued when they were tiny tiny, and brought to Ol Jogi to be looked after. However, no one is able to see therm, other their feeder, as they're very keen to release them both into the wild as wild as possible, so it was very naughty of us to go and visit. Nonetheless, they were very adorable and fluffy, even if they did growl at me!
However, the fun wasn't over yet! We then went to see a family of three elephants, which you're able to touch and get up close to. It was amazing to get so close up to such huge animals, the male being double the height of me!
We then headed back home after a long, but incredible afternoon, having felt a black rhino, 3 elephant, and a cockatoo. Just another day in Ol Jogi!

H
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Drama.

Yesterday was rather dramatic here on Ol Jogi. Me and the kids (I know, it's the kids and I!) went to play some squash on the squash court they have, and had an all of a time.not many shots wsent in, but who on earth cares! We played for an hour or so, to see johnny (the father) driving back from work in a bit of a rush. We got to the door to be told that one of the dogs (baggy) had chased and killed a Grant whilst on a walk with Serena. However, the Grant was still alive when we got to it. It was all very distressing for everyone, with Serena, understandably, getting very upset with the dogs. By the time johnny had got the shotgun to put it out of its misery, the poor Grant had already died.
We then had another very relaxing day at the house, followed by a tennis game at the main house with 3 others, including myself and johnny. They played doubles, for a while,and theni got involved for a couple of games. We then headed back to the Weller's for some supper. One of the other players (jackie-a guy) is one of the most prestigious cattle farmers in Kenya, and has a ranch just outside Ol Jogi. He also, funnily enough,went to Radley! Was in D social...very funny.
Today, we headed off to nanyuki for some shopping and the kids and I headed to the sports club for some swimming and what not. It then started to chuck it down with fain, and we took shelter in Serena's sisters house just outside town!
Hopefully we'll be going on another horse ride tomorrow morning!

H
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Ol Jogi

I arrived at Ol Jogi with the Weller's after a long and sweaty 4 hour car journey. Having had only 2 hours sleep,I wasn't on the greatest of form, so I decided to nap for the afternoon, in time to go on a game drive in the evening. We had a really exciting game drove, seeing elephant, zebra, impala, grant, dik dik, giraffe, and many many baboon. It wasa great introduction to the reserve, and the amazing landscape it has to offer. With mount Kenya on the backdrop, and these immense boulders scattered around, it was a beautiful evening.
The next day, we all went on an early morning riding safari for a couple of hours. At first, I was a bit incapable to say the least, but when we got going, it ewas amazing fun. Being so close to the wildlife was an incredible experience. They have around ten horses here altogether which allows us all to go riding, including the two children, Carolyn and Sam. We then went fishing in the dam, infested with hippos, where we caught around 50 tilapas (appalling spelling...) I'm around 40 mins. You literally dipped your rod into the water, and a fish caught on in seconds. This therefore meant that the evening consisted of de-scaling and gutting the fish! Yummy.
The next day wasn't quite as exciting, but another family ,the Grants, arrived. They have two tiny boys with a mother, who used to live in arusha with the Weller's years ago. The excitement of the day came in the evening when we had sundowners on a rock, looking over the game reserve, followed by another evening game reserve.
Today was a bit more eventful, as we went on a house and trap ride for an hour or so, swing elephant and many grants and impala. We had a huge station called Robin pulling us alone, who was stupidly strong, pulling 6 of us! We then had a nice relaxing day, putting up tents for the kids, and for the evening e went to the river and have tea and biscuits whilst the kids jumped around in the mud and river. We were down there for hours, and on the way back we saw buffalo, giraffe, gerineck, Cory bustards and grant. You name it!

All for now friends,

H
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End of Term

Term finished on the Saturday morning, following an eventful Bugsy Ball and an incredible play. The week leading up to it consisted mainly of bugsy rehearsals and my final few lessons with the mighty 3W.
On the Friday night, following the play, the bugsy ball took place, which was down on the pitches under a huge marquee. It was an amazing set up, with lots of lights, and music, as well as a few drinks here and there! Iwe had supper,and then rushed onto the dancefloor and busted some dutty moves. It was a late night, getting in to bed at 6:00am, and having to wake up at 8am to leave for Ol Jogi!
So it was an early morning with all my good byes to say to everyone, and then we were off to Ol Jogi with the lovely Weller's.

H
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The school disco......

Last night was the school disco, and it was great fun. All the kids from year one to year eight get involved and are crammed into the sports hall, whilst DJ Hudg plays some poppy choons. It was hilarious to see all the little kids busting their best moves, without a care in the world. There were also dance off's for the Juniors, Middles, and Seniors, which brought great amusement to all. During the disco itslef, all the little kids run up to you and ask for a piggy back (on shoulders), as they see this as being really cool. However, that same day, I had badly (and I mean badly) burnt my neck and was stinging. However, you can't say no to their poor little faces, so had to push through the pain. However, there was one kid (Orlando - year one)) who was on my back at one point, who suddenly lost grip of me whilst I was dancing with one of the other kids. However, I wasn't holding his legs and he went crashing towards the floor head first, for me to suddenly catch him centimeters before hitting his head. Very scary moment. Safe to say, I didn't do anymore piggy backs for the rest of the night.
It was a fun night though, with many of the year eight girls "twerking" alongside the wall. Bit worrying, but oh well.
I had a pretty dull Sunday sadly, as I was involved with Bugsey rehearsals all day, whilst it was 30 degrees outside. Bit frustrating, but the play looks like it's taking shape and I'm looking forward to it next week.

Night all.

H
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Visa Drama

Last Thursday, I headed off to Nairobi with the school bus, to sort out my visa, so that I can stay in the country! The school bus was heading off to Hillcrest, for the under 9s tournament there, so I got a taxi from the school, into the centre of Nairobi. The only issue, was that I needed to be back for 1pm to get the school bus back to Gilgil, So I was in a bit of a rush! I initially thought the process of extending one's visa would take up to 30 minutes. How wrong I was. It wasn't as simple as getting a stamp in your passport and handing over the money. I went up to the desk, and asked the lady whether It would be done by midday, for her to bluntly laugh in my face. I therefore had to find a way of speeding up the process, so I sweet talked her, and put on my puppy face, which ended up working, as she put me to the front of a 40 person waiting list! However, by this stage, my taxi driver was getting a little agitated as I told him I'd be 30 mins, when I had so far been 3 hours. I then had to call out ANOTHER taxi driver, as my one had another job to get to. All very stressful, but I just managed to get to Hillcrest School in time.
One thing that extremely apparent in the Immigration Office, was the sense of corruption. There extremely inefficient process which takes up to 6/7 hours, makes people wonder if they can somehow speed up the process...if you know what I mean. I could see it happening in front of me, with various handshakes taking place. You could say I took park in bribery, but I didn't pay anyone off! I simply used my adorable face. HA.
Last weekend was the gaps weekend off, so we headed into Nakuru on Saturday to check out the Matumba and look for some cheap gifts. However, I somehow ended up spending a little TOO much of gifts for my family. I just can't help it...I'm far too generous. On the Sunday, we all did our own thing, and because there was a school bus going to Peponi School, Tilly and I decided to jump on it and spend the day in Nairobi, getting the school bus at 3pm from Kabate. However, on the night before, we were told by Terry (the receptionist) that there was to be only 1 space for the two of us on the way back. Very helpful. This meant that we had to then get the bus we came down on at 11am, meaning we only had 2 hours in Nairobi. And seeing as this was a Sunday, NO shops were open! We did find this nice craft shop though, where I brought even MORE gifts.
Very little has happened this week. I have been helping with Bugsey Malone rehearsals, and am actually featuring in it! I feature more in this play, than I ever have done in any play I've been in. My part is that I bring on these big white boards several time. HUGE responsibility, I know.

That's all for now. Only one more week to go!

Peace out.

H
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Banda Day, Open Day, and an "Exeat"

Last Wednesday was the return fixture with Banda, at Banda, and not only were all the hockey teams playing at Banda, but the epic girls squash team were also playing. It was yet another boiling hot day, and the squash was to be played at 1pm..the hottest part of the day. Nonetheless, we put up a great fight, but sadly lost 4-2 in matches. My first seed injured herself in her first game, which immediately ruled her out from winning. Gutted. All the hockey teams put up a good fight, and were extremely closely contested. A good day out.
On Friday, it was the open day, which consisted of both Boats and the Swimming Gala. There were, however, events on the previous day. There was diving and the long plunge. I think most of you should know what diving consists of, but not many will be familiar with the long plunge! This is basically where one jumps from the starting blocks, and glides as far as he/she can, without moving. Great competition.
The swimming gala is all house based, and because I am affiliated with the house called Fosters, we inevitably won the overall competition...not that I'm competitive! After the swimming, not much else happened. We (the gaps) simply wonder around making sure no one is getting up to anything TOO dangerous. In the evening, Jack Chat organised a school quiz in the sports hall, for the year 5s and above, which was very amusing.
There was an exeat last weekend, but is was pretty much just a weekend off. Was really chilled out though, as we all chilled out by the pool, played some tennis, and slept! My perfect weekend.

Photos

If you all want to see some pictures of y gap year so far, click on this link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/115877438@N08/

Then go onto "sets"and you can decide which album you'd like to view

Squash and a broken leg

Hey all,

Before I start, I'd like to clarify that I myself have not broken my leg - don't worry mother.

The weekend started off rather tame, with no hockey matches taking place on the Saturday, due to the Turi games on Wednesday, in which the mighty under 11A's drew 3-3 in and enthralling game. The main excitement of the weekend happened on Sunday when myself and the under 13 girls squash team headed off to Banda in Nairobi to take place in the IAPS girls squash tournament. The morning didn't start off too great, as my alarm didn't go off at 6:30am as planned, so I was tremendously late for the bus which was scheduled to leave at 6:45am...oh well! I didn't have great expectations for the girls, but they did remarkably well and came 3rd and 5th out of 6 teams. I was a very proud coach. I was amazed we managed to even win a game!

Now to the broken leg. Every Monday evening, all the gaps have to organize an activity for the junior school (year 1s to year 4s), called Manic Mondays. Now this normally entails us running around, and them chasing us, tackling us to the ground and trying their hardest to pretty much kill us. However, tonight's didn't go to plan. We had a couple of twisted ankles whilst playing british bulldogs, and one of the kids fell awkwardly having had a piggy back off another child, and subsequently broke his leg! Well that's what we suspect at the moment. He's getting checked out in Nairobi tomorrow. A lot of drama though, which all the other kids thrived off. They all love a good bit of gossip, to the extent of one of them spreading that he had actually died. Oh dear.

Night all.

H

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The trip back to Pembroke

Our final day in Kilifi was very relaxed, with us quickly heading into Kilifi for lunch, and then going to the beach. This particular beach is a private beach heading out to sea. Tristan is good family friend with the family who live there, and they kindly let us spend the afternoon there. However, this is no ordinary beach. The only way onto this beach is through a man made tunnel from the house, down to the beach. Fortunately, they had some bodyboards, and the waves picked up, so we went for a bit of a surf which was great. The only danger with this beach is that there are no other beaches for miles around, so if you get caught by the tide and swept along the shoreline, you can get into a bit of trouble, as i found out!
The final evening consisted of a quick creek swim with james, before we rushed off to backpackers to watch some of the england game. To get there, we got a piki (motorbike), and rushed off. I was told the previous night that the rugby would be on, but typically, it wasn't! so we hopped back on the piki to go back home, via getting some choma!
The next morning was an early one, having to wake up at 3:30 to catch our flight back to nairobi from mombasa. The contrast between the train and plane couldn't be more stark. The flight took us 45 mins, and because I had pre booked my seat, I had extra legroom, with no seat in front of me! Safe to say, it was a pleasant journey. As soon as we arrived, we got a taxi from the airport to Junction, which is one of the largest malls in Nairobi, and is situated near Karen, which is the nicer part of Nairobi. Here, there was a Subway, which was a huge treat, and the largest Nakumat (supermarket) I had ever seen.
We had planned to get the school bus back to Pembroke from Karen in Nairobi, so we left about 30 mins to get there. However, we hadn't predicted the Nairobi traffic, and because we took a mutatu, and not a piki, it took us far longer than expected. We had also been told that they wouldn't wait for us, as the children needed to be back for evening chapel. So not only did we not know the exact location of the bus, but also we were stuck in a jam. Fortunately, we caught the school bus coming out of the drive having already left.
It's a lot quieter at Pembroke with George having left, however, it's nice to be back in a strange way. My bed has never felt more comfortable having slept of the floor all week with a broken mosi net!

Big game against Turi today at home.

See y'all later peeps

H

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Kilifi half term

For half term, we're staying a Tristan's aunts house, in the kilifi plantation. Upon arriving at the plantation, we found out that before entering the plantation, one has to get out of the car and dip their feet in spit with wool and disinfectant. This is to reduce the likelyhood of foot and month entering the plantation. I would put a lot of money on not very many people actually dunking their feet, as I never do (rebel). Tristan's other aunt and uncle live 200m away, where they have their own school. This is also very convenient as they have a jetty onto the creek, where one can just!p in and go swimming. We have done this numerous time during sundowners, which is magical with the sun setting behind the palm trees. Theres also no one around you for miles. The only people you'll see is local fishermen on their wooden canoes.
The last couple of nights, we've headed into backpackers lodge for a couple of drinks. Here, there are about 20 other backpackers, who we all met yesterday at lunch with tom Haynes (Etonian who has a house out here). James and George had no idea he was out here, but we bumped into him at backpackers on Wednesday night, following a frustrating 2-0 loss to baryn Munich. We've been watching the arsenal games at this local bar in kilifi which is great fun, as arsenal is so passionately following in Kenya. There must have been at least 70 locals are n this bar watching the footy. George is a huge fan, and expresses his feelings about the game for everyone to see, which many found to be very amusing!
So anyway, we had lunch with tom yesterday, at his mansion by the beach. I've never been to such an amazing house, especially in Kenya. It had an infinity pool, hundreds of high palm trees and blinding white sand and baby blue sea to top it all off. Words can't express how nice it was. Following lunch, he then invited everyone to go out on his speed boat and another guys boat, to do some waterskiing, followed by sundowners on the boats. We found a small, deserted beach and chilled there, whilst the pros had a go waterskiing. They were incredible. 3 of them are instrusters, so its kinda understandable, but wow. After waterskiing, we tied the two boats together and had a party in the middle of the estuary. One of the most magical things about the kilifi estuary,is the plankton at night. as soon as it gets dark, you're able to see the glow in the dark plankton. They only become glow in the dark when you move the water. So when you jump in and have a swim, everything around you lights up. Its like being in avatar. This same thing happens on backpackers beach. When you walk along the wet sand, the sand around your feet glows up. Its great fun to run along the beach! Entertainment for hours on end!
Sadly, George left this morning to go back to gilgil and wee his family, before heading off to SA for 2 months. A great loss. Nonetheless, the party goes on!

See you all later

H

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The train and kilifi

Half term started on froday  for us, with the illustrious book day taking place. This is a day when everyone (including the teachers) dresses up as their favourite book character. As many of you know, I'm not much of a book conesiour, so I opted in being harry potter. It was a fun day, with lots of activities, including blowing up things in the science lab with Hetty and raikes, but we were all looking forward to getting our taxi out of pembroke and get into Nairobi for the train!
It was a bit of a stressful taxi journey getting to the station, with traffic and hail getting involved, but we managed to get there in time for the 7pm train to Mombasa. However, i t turned out that the train was delayed for 4 hours, so we eventually got going at 11pm. The train itself is an old colonial sleeper train, and hasn't been refurbished since it was built. Therefore, it was inevitable that things might not work. We were warned beforehand that the train often breaks down with multiple delays, but fortunately the train only stopped twice, due to trains ahead of it breaking down. The amazing thing about this though, was that you could hop out when it stops and walk along the line, and meet new people. We had only scary moment when Tristan thought he saw the train drover hop back in his seat when we were outside, so we thought we might be left behind, and so ran as fast as possible to our door! Fortunately it was a false alarm!
The train itself was very comfortable indeed, with 4 man compartments. We also got supper and breakfast included in the price, which we found to not be quite to the same standard as Pembroke! Nonetheless, we scoffed it down. We eventually arrived into Mombasa at 4 pm the next day.. As soon as we got into Mombasa, it felt as if you were in a different country all together, with mosques, Arabic writing, burkas, and other very Muslim concepts. I certainly didn't think I was in Kenya! However, its the most amazing city, being the second largest in Kenya.
We finally arrived in kilifi at 8pm having taken a taxi, and had to immediately pitch our tents for the following week. Sadly, mine was broken, so am staying in to comfort of inside! Its a beautiful house in the kilifi plantation, with a pool and campfire. We're staying in the granny's house next to the aunts house (on the same premises).

H

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SO MUCH TO TELL

Woah, didn't see you there. How you all doing?
The last couple of days have been hectic. Lets start with Friday night. Friday night was burns night, which meant scottish reeling (of course). This took place in the club, and for some bizarre reason, Lelia (a teacher) had the impression I knew all the dances, and what to do. How wrong she was. It was a great night, and two other gaps from a primary school near nakuru came along. They were both scottish, and in classic scottish style, got absolutely trollied..deary me. And as this is of a PG content, I will refrain from mention what happened to one of them....more than chunder. Lovely chaps though.
Then to Saturday. After a long day doing activities and games, I was asked to go camping with the year 4s down in the Forestry. Here, we played loads of outdoor gaems, like German Spotlight and 40/40in. The BBQs here are incredible and include steak and amazing garlic bread (no idea how they do it). Following the BBQ, we told "scary" stories around the camp fire, some of which were rather twisted for 9 year olds! Probably the bestr bit was when the kids went off to sleep, and some other teacher came down and we drank around the fire with some tunes. The gang included Paddy, Jimbo, Super, Natasha, Vicky and her friend, and Katie Aung. What a team.
Sunday was just as eventful, with me having to wake up early (hanging), and hop on the bus to Greensteds for swimming training. I thought I was asked to come out of irony, as I myself am appalling at swimming! Nonetheless, I went along and shouted my lungs out. Sadly no records were broken, but it was a good session. Greensteds in a school 40 mins from Pembroke, and has a 25m pool with 6 lanes, whereas pembroke only has a 20m pool with 4 lanes. Thats why we went there for training...  We got back for lunch, and after lunch, I went for a walk up sundowner rock with the kids for the afternoon activities. This was surprisingly tiring in the heat, especially when you're carrying 20 glass bottles of soda on your back. However, it was a lovely walk with Tills, Rachael, Fred and Billy. In the evening, Jack Chat decided to take George, James and myself to a restaurant in Gilgil called Frecies. Here, I had a lovely steak and chips, with a soda on the side. This was especially nice, as supper at school was Pembroke pasta (leftovers from the previous week). It was also a great opportunity to get a feeling of Gilgil in the evening.
Nothing exciting happened of Monday, which was a bit of a null day to be honest. However, last night we decided to head out to gilgil yet again and go for some njama choma (meat). We went for 2kg of goat, and 2kg of beef. It was such a cool place, where they cut up your meat on your table, and you pick chuncks of meat off the chopping board, with a side order of chips. It was extremely chewy, and juicy. The amazing thing about njama choma is the price attacted to it. our whole bill came to 350 shillings each (about 2.75 in the UK), and this is for a meal with chips, and a drink. Not bad hey? This is why we're hoping to head back there tonight as it wwill be the last time George can have it, as he's leaving Kenya in 2 weeks (sad face).
We played Greensteds and Hillcrest in a traingular tournament, and easily won, of course.

Only two days till half term and the coast!

H

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Naivasha Trip - Exeat (Day Three)

Hi All,

The third of the three days was our trip to Mount Longonot. We set off at 6am at sun rise, as to not drive in the dark. We were all very excited to get up there and conquer the mighty beast that is Mt. Long. However, we didn't have any idea what to expect of the day...how long it would take, how tough it would be, and therefore, what we should take. We had a bit of a blunder, as we thought we'd be done by lunch time, and therefore didn't bring any food. Jodie was our saviour, as she has fortunately brought some passion fruit and a couple of sweets. This also meant that we didn't bring nearly enough water. Both james and tristian thought it would be clever to bring NO water at all! Tristian didn't even have a backpack...genius! I think we had 6 litres of water between the 6 of us...not nearly enough for a 5 hour hike in 35 degree heat, and not a cloud in sight!
Climbing Mt Longonot is a three stage process. Firstly, you need to get up to the rim of the crater, which takes about an hour, and is extremely steep, and tiring with only sand under foot. Once you've got to the top, you can them walk the circumference of the mountain, which is 8km, and took us 4/5 hours. This is because there is another assent, to the summit of the mountain, as seen in the pictures. To give you some context, we had ran out of water before we got half way around the rim of the mountain! Fortunately, we came accross this asian coulpe, who noticed we were struggling, and they kindly gave George a 2 litre bottle of water - life savers..literally. Fortunately, none of us fainted, even though george did have a quick nap for a minute mid-assent!
I'd definitely say this was my greatest physical achievement so far in my life...much more challenging than the cycle ride.It was an amazing thing to do...worth the 30 dollars entry fee!
After our climb, we quickly rushed back to Pembroke, but had a bit of a sticky moment. Between Naivasha and Gilgil, there is an old toll gate, which is patrolled by police occasionally. In Kenya, they are very strict on seatbelts, and because there was 6 of us. we had 4 in the back. As we approached the gate, we tried to look an innocent as possible, but having passed the gate, we were waved over by a policemen. If you are caught, and white, they immedieately think money. Fortunately though, he was waving at a truck behing! If we were caught, it would have been 5,00 pounds fine, and imprisonment for the driver (george). We were very lucky!

I'll try and post daily from now on. Been particularly bad this week!

H

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Naivasha Trip - Exeat (Day Two)

Hi All,

Day two of this epic exeat adventure entailed a more relaxing day. Having previously visited Simba Lodge with his brother, George recommended we visit it, and spend the day there. At Simba Lodge, there's a swimming pool, which was the main attraction, as our shower was both a shower and a long drop combined! So we chilled at Simba all morning to mid afternoon.. Just before we left, we went to explore the lodge and the lake, to find both zebra and giraffe less than 10m away from us. was utterly surreal.
Following Simba, we headed down to Lake Oserian, which is the sister lake to naivasha, and much smaller. We were recommended to take a boat safari here, rather than Naivasha, by someone at Fishermans, due to a greater concentration of wildlife. And how right he was. we set off in this feeble looking boat, to find 100s of hippos, giraffe, flamingos, and thousands of different birds - african eagles, pelicans, etc etc. It was an amazing way to top off such a relaxing day. And , of course, we headed down to Carnellys for supper (huge pizza was involved).

Amazingly, this was a relatively trouble free day, especially as we had an early night to prepare for the 5am wake up the next morning to climb Mt. Longonot...

H

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Naivasha Trip - Exeat (Day One)

Hi All,

Hope you all had a great weekend, because I know I did! All the gaps and I headed off to Naivasha for the first exeat on Friday morning. Naivasha is a town between Gilgil (where the school is), and Nairobi. It is most famous for its lake, which was the main attraction for us. We stayed at Fisherman's camp, which was recommended to us, for 2000 shillings for two nights (about 18 pounds), in two man Bandas. These are huts with just two beds and a sink, and I had the honour of sharing my banda with George himself.
When we arrived, we immediately decided to go to Hells Gate, which is a 20 minute drive away from the camp. Hells Gate is a national park, which allows you to bicycle through the park alongside the animals them self. We started at Elsa Gate, and ended up at the Gorge, about 8km away. It's the most amazing experience to cycle with the animals, as you feel much more connected with them, and very much vulnerable! During our cycle (both to the gorge and back), we encountered zebra, warthog, impala, dik dik, heartibeast, giraffe, and buffalo. The most terrifying was the buffalo, by far, as at one point James and I decided to stop 5m away from a bull, and take an "arty picture". However, inevitably, the buffalo got agitated and started advanciong towards us. At this point, we both jumped on our bikes and sprinted away. However, James forgot his lens cap (classic jimbo), so had to go back! It was an amazing experience, which I'd highly recommend. I wasn't expecting to see so much wildlife.

At the gorge itself, we had no idea what to expect, so initially decided on not taking a guide, but when we got down there, we immediately realised we needed one! It took us approximately 1 and a half hours, and is a tight gorge, with hot springs coming down the side, due to the volcanic activity going on (JMS would have loved it). We were fortunate enough to be in the gorge when they open up the flood gate, so saw the water flood down the gorge. It was a boiling hot day, so was nice to have waterfalls coming down from the side as well. As we didn't really know what to expect, I wacked on the walking boots (thanks mimi and papa!0, whilst James foolishly wore his espadrilles. He soon realised what a mistake this was as he slipped and slipped across the rocks! I think the most surreal part of the gorge was the beauty of the surrounding, and how the rock has been shaped. At the end of the gorge walk, we them saw the cutest monkeys, who are 100% tame, so we were able to get within a metre close to them! so cool.

We had a couple of mishaps during this day. The first being jimbo wearing his espidrilles, and the second being George's inner tube exploding, and therefore preventing him from riding back home! Fortunately, one of the guides at the gorge lent him one, but this was stuck in gear one for the 8km back! And finally, being classic gap year students, we totally forgot food for the day, so were living on a couple of biscuits and water for the day!
It was an amazing first day, topped off with a huge trip to carnellys, which is the sister camp to fishermans. Here, the serve the most amazing food, especially when all you'd eaten that day was a slice of toast, and a couple of biscuits!

henrywilson_08's photostream

henrywilson_08's photostream on Flickr.

All my photos so far! Click on "sets" to know what they're of.

The Kids

Having spent the last couple of weeks at a prep school, I've spoken remarkably little about the kids themselves, and what they're like as a whole. Being a gappy, we spend the majority of our time with the younger kids, as we are class assistants for years 1 to 4, however, you do see the older kids in house during duty, on the sports pitches, and during lunch.
What I've been astonished by, is the contrast between the average british prep school child, and an average Pembroke child. I mean no harm to british prep schools when I say this, (as I my self was lucky enough to go to one, and had the most amazing time) but from day one of my time at Pembroke, everyone has been so welcoming, friendly and well mannored.
For starters, every morning they have an inspection of dorms (something, I'm sure, my father would highly recommend to british prep schools. Each dorm consists of 6-8 members, and is marked out of 5 every morning. It's a hugely competitive inter-dorm competition, with hockey sticks used to straighten every inch of crease on one's duvet. Every dorm is immaculate, and when one is awarded even a 4.5 (which I foolishly gave out on day one) tears are involved. I, personally, could never see this happening in the UK.
There are also a few quirkey, traditions that they stand by as kids. There is a bridge just before you come up to the school gate, which has "pembroke house" written on it, and every time the kids come back from a school outing/match, they do a three cheers to all the staff on the bus. They then get to the school gates, and because security is so huge at pembroke, (understandably) all the kids shouts "take your last breath of freedom!" with a LOT of huffing and puffing involved.
Because a large majority of the children are brought up around Kenya, they are all very out doorsy, which suddenly came to my attention this morning, when doing spelling with two of the kids outside. So we were sitting on a bench on Pres Lawn (very rebellious) doing our spelling, when suddening Kyle perked up and shouted "LOOK". I looked, puzzled at him, for him to then pluck an ant off the lawn with amazing ease, rip its head off, and eat it. Inevitably, i asked him "Why on earth did you do that?", for him to answer, particularly bluntly, "I was hungry", as if this was something he regularly does. This particular child lives in the Masai Mara, which perhaps explains this. He later told me that his favourite are flys.
Thanks for reading, and I hope that gave you a slight insight to the differences in children of that in the UK

H

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Travelling around Kenya

Kipper the Lizard

Return of the King

Hello all,

As you may have guessed, MC Briz Dog has returned for his weekly column. Strap yourselves in and enjoy the ride......

Perhaps the big news of the week, as Super Sophie guessed (she's 25 you know AND she worked in Parliament #bigdeal), is the blossoming romances among the gaps (or lack of it). Tilly's plan to play hard to get is working a treat and Jodie's recent 4 year anniversary means she's out of the game.

In consequence, we have all turned to drink to drown our sorrows. I think James wanted to drown the bushes outside of the club as well. A bottle of port later and many Tuskers (or gin and tonics for the more refined) led to a turbulent evening. James' talent for spontaneous gardening should be put on hold for a few years. Just stick to drumming and tanning mate!

In other news, I was privileged to be included in the trip to Nakuru last week after the embers of a certain Rose and Leo had been put well and truly out. Being the gastronome that I am, the Java House was a treat but the final score was Brizzle 1: double double burger 0. A place on Man vs Food has already been offered - ladies, please form an orderly queue; there is enough of me to go around.

You will all be pleased to know that Kippers has recovered from his little illness. Some reports say the gap loos sounded like there was a terrorist attack in there, but Henry assures us all otherwise. Yours truly has already been suffering from a similar ailment but my motto is #keepcalmandblundereverywhere. With the exeat on the horizon, unspecified carnage awaits so lock up your daughters everyone, the Pembroke gaps are on the loose.

Finally for today, the new gap is joining on Monday. With unconfirmed rumours that she has represented Zambia internationally at swimming, Henry has been practicing his "breaststroke". Tristan's chat might just get there first though. Let the games begin.

Till Monday.

Brizzle - bantersaurus Rex

Sheep invasion of the classrooms

The Hog Charge

For the few of you who read my posts, you'd know that I went off to Nairobi for the mighty Hog Charge. We arrived on the Saturday afternoon to a campsite, with a pool and bar. We firstly headed off to check the course out and see the sunset, and took some amazing photos. It was all a very chilled atmosphere at the campsite, with only 15 odd children camping with us. I met this lovely couple called the Francis-Jones' who live in Nairobi and have a daughter at Pembroke. It was a lovely evening.
The cycling event itself started on the Sunday morning. This is a team cycling event, with 4 boys/girls in a team. It took place in this savanna like field where there are 6 checkpoints scattered around the field, and you (as a team) need to navigate how you get to each checkpoint using a map. There is a time limit of 3 hours and is approximately 20km long. Each checkpoint is sponsored by a school, so Pembroke had checkpoint three, an its a competition,judged by the competitors, as top who has the best checkpoint. So at our checkpoint, we had Pembroke bandanas asked in ice cold water, as well as ice lollies and ice cold sponge on your back. Safe to say, we won the competition!
There was then a second competition called the gauntlet. This is much shorter, and consists of obstacles, including a mud pt with a slippery slope at the end, which made for great viewing! The sports assistants and James made a up a team and won but events in the men's event, which was pretty impressive, and worth the 50 pound entry fee for them! They each won a 6 pack of dairy fresh (this delicious flavoured milk).
The whole day was great fun, but very hot! It felt 35 degrees, and was dry heat...thank go I wasn't competing!

See y'all tomorrow

H

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James vs. the sports assistants. Spot the difference!