Back in the U.S.

I recently returned from a 13-day business trip to Thailand and Kenya. I’m not sure I can put some of the experiences I’ve had into words, but it’s worth a try.

First of all, let me say this: When you live alone and are accustomed to a lot of alone time, spending sixteen hours a day for thirteen days with anyone can be challenging. Add to this the fact that you’re spending the time with co-workers and it can be especially difficult. But, for the most part, I got along very well with my fellow travelers and managed to steal a few moments of solitude every chance I could, which kept me civil and sane.

The trip started in Thailand. This was my fourth visit to Bangkok, so I knew what to expect, including the three days it takes to adjust to the 11-hour time difference. Bangkok was pretty uneventful, except for the evening we spent at the Beer Garden, an outdoor pub of sorts where young Thai adults sing karaoke and do choreography to Western pop tunes. Bizarre, but oddly entertaining. We spent the evening sipping various international beers, eating munchies, and chatting. The menu consisted of pictures of the food choices and descriptions in Thai, which of course none of us understood, so we relied solely on the pictures. I ordered what I thought was chicken wings. When my order arrived, its contents looked nothing like any chicken wings I’d ever seen. They were quarter-sized hunks of something breaded and fried. I tentatively popped one of the unidentified chunks into my mouth, began to chew, and immediately came to the realization that this was not a chicken wing. My co-workers could tell something was wrong and asked, “So what is it?” I replied, “I don’t know. It tastes like…elbows.” When the server returned, I asked what I had ordered. The server didn’t speak English, so he motioned to another server to come to his aid and translate. I repeated my question, which the visiting server repeated in Thai to our server. As he responded in Thai, he motioned to his elbow. Sure enough, they were fried chicken joints.

The best of Bangkok was the shopping. First, I bought a black star sapphire and diamond ring at Venus Jewelry. When I was in Bangkok last summer, I bought a black star sapphire and white gold bracelet, so I was planning to purchase a matching pendant or ring on this trip. Mission accomplished. My other jewelry purchase was completely unplanned, but I could not resist: a 22-carat blue topaz and white gold pendant that is truly unique and absolutely stunning. I found it on Tuesday, but couldn’t allow myself to buy it on a whim and had to contemplate it for a day or two. When Thursday rolled around and I was still thinking about it obsessively, I knew it had to be mine…and now it is. My co-workers called it “My Precious,” saying that I gazeed at the stone and caressed it like Gollum does with the ring in Lord of the Rings.

We left Bangkok in the wee hours of Friday morning and arrived in Dubai at 4:30 a.m. for a 5½-hour layover. The Dubai airport is very nice, if you can overlook the crowds of people sleeping on the floor. Apparently, there are many layovers of extended length in Dubai and it’s difficult to get in and out of the airport. We spoke briefly with one couple from Greece who was there for a thirteen-hour layover. Ugh.

As we headed from the lounge to our gate, we glanced at the departure board and realized our flight was delayed. So we settled back down and waited for another hour and a half. Typical of air travel—nothing but waiting. You drive to the airport, wait to check in, wait to get through security, wait to board the plane, wait to arrive (unless there’s a layover, where you wait to depart again and wait to arrive again), wait for your baggage, wait to arrive at your final destination...sigh.

But I digress. When we finally boarded the plane and got situated, the captain’s voice came over the PA and said we would be delayed a bit longer as we waited for some passengers arriving on flight from New York. He apologized for the uncomfortable temperature in the cabin, saying that it was 44 degrees Celsius (111 degrees Fahrenheit) outside and the engines could not keep the cabin cool against those kinds of temperatures. It wasn’t too horrible at first, but after 45 minutes, it became unbearable. I was really starting to lose my composure and considered demanding that I be let off the plane. Finally, the missing passengers arrived and we were off.

Five hours later, we landed in Nairobi, picked up our luggage, found our ground transport, and headed to the hotel. What should have been a 20-minute drive to the hotel ended up taking over an hour. Rush hour traffic in Nairobi rivals that of the D.C. beltway, but in Nairobi you get to dodge hundreds of pedestrians and bicyclists, and suck in foul diesel fumes. After 26 hours of travel, we finally arrived at our hotel in Nairobi and crashed.

Saturday was, by far, the best day of the trip. We started with a visit to the Giraffe Centre, where we had the opportunity to feed and pet about a half dozen female giraffes and their offspring.

I spoke for a while with James, a wonderfully knowledgeable and kind man who works at the Centre. He obviously loves those creatures and his work of caring for them.

Next was the Animal Orphanage. This is where orphaned wild creatures are cared for until they are able to be released back into the wild. I wasn’t sure I would tolerate this place well, since I don’t enjoy seeing animals in cages. But this place was different. The animals are in cages, but it’s temporary and somehow more natural than American zoos. They aren’t behind glass or a moat to keep them a safe distance from humans; they are right there with only chain-link fence between you and them. And sometimes not even that:

Let me tell you, petting a cheetah while it chews on the leg of a gazelle is a nerve-racking, exhilarating experience. My hand was shaking the entire time as thoughts of, “He can sense my anxiety… turn around and maul me…I’M PETTING A CHEETAH,” raced through my head. Amazing!

After the orphanage, we went on a mini four-hour safari through the National Park. Again, amazing. Awe-inspiring. Life-changing! Giraffes, zebras, elands, ostriches, baboons, jackals, gazelles, impala, monkeys, and birds, birds, birds! The sights, the sounds, the smells, all new and exciting. It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I didn’t want the day to end. Our best sighting of the day was a lion lounging in a tree:

Even if I'm never sent back to Africa for work, I KNOW I'll return again on my own for a full-fledged, multi-day safari. I have to.

The next day we flew to Kisumu, but not without problems. We had to pay an extra fee because our luggage exceeded the 20-kg weight limit, but then found out just prior to takeoff that our luggage didn’t even make it on the plane and would be transported on a later flight. We explained that we could not be without our luggage for more than a day, particularly because one of my co-workers had stupidly packed is daily meds in his checked baggage. After seeing the disorganization and incompetence of the staff, we had no expectation of seeing our luggage any time soon, if ever again. Amazingly and thankfully, the luggage arrived at our hotel that night. Whew!

While visiting the site the next day, we were asked to participate in a clinical study that was just getting underway for which they needed blood samples from individuals who have not been exposed to malaria. Obviously, such individuals are a rarity in Kenya, so two of my co-workers and I agreed to participate in the study and donated blood. Exciting stuff.

We spent two days in Kisumu before driving to Kericho, where we spent the night at a guest house on a tea plantation. Kericho was absolutely stunning; so green you would think you were in Ireland. Rolling hills of tea fields, broken up by dense patches of towering eucalyptus trees.

The guest house was incredible; rustic, quaint, homey, and beautifully situated.

An avocado tree in the front yard provided a tasty side dish with dinner.

It was amazing. I told David that I’d volunteer to spend six months to a year at the site if such an assignment was required of someone from our group, and I meant it.

We departed Kericho on the afternoon of day twelve for the long journey home: driving from Kericho to Kisumu, flying from Kisumu to Nairobi, Nairobi to Amsterdam, and Amsterdam to D.C. All-in-all, it took us thirty-six hours to get home. Oy! But it was a productive trip that gave me many good memories and tons of great pictures. And what more could you want?