Fairmont Safari Club, Masai Mara

After searching and reading on tripadvisor and google, we have decided to stay at Fairmont Safari Club Mara. Since we had lovely memories at Mt. Kenya Fairmont we thought it would be another lovely experience for us. And thankfully Fairmont did not disappoint us again:)

Once we arrived Mara Ngerende airstrip, we were welcomed by 4x4 and lovely guide named Tbukhu. There we became instant friends and he was our guide throughout our stay, and he made sure we had a lovely safari experience with our children. Interestingly he knew a lot about Turkey, we even had a long discussion on politics, who would know:) He even knew some Turkish football players names, is not that something. Life always surprises me:)

There we had some cold drinks and hot minty towels to clean our hands and than we hooped into our 4x4 and next minute found ourselves in the middle of wildlife! After may be five minutes driving, we spotted rhinos and crocodiles on Mara river, and did our first quick safari right there! It was so amazing to see these huge animals bathing together.

Mara Ngerende is only 10 minutes away from Fairmont. There were total of 100 tents situated on each side along the river. The tent was exactly the way it was presented on Fairmont's website. It was spacious, unique and luxury. We kind a hesitated that it might be too cold at night, but surprisingly it was not. I actually found it very cozy at night, with warm bottle bags tugged into our beds:) There was a small veranda in front of each tent. Tents have nice distance from each other, they were neither too close nor too far. By the way, because it was not the rainy season there was not any mosquitoes at all!

Fairmont had only one restaurant offered buffet style breakfast and lunch, the dinner was fixed with few items changed during our stay. Breakfast served indoor, lunch was served outdoor, around the pool. Food was ok, I must admit I expected a better quality and more choices though...Waitresses were very helpful and attentive. There is also a bar, where you can get some drinks while you warm up in front of a big fireplace. In terms of entertainment, there was not much. On Friday night there was a Masai dance, which was interesting and fun, and on Saturday there was a Masai talk, it was short but informative.

Unfortunately, there was not any activities for children except the pool which was not warm enough. So be prepared to keep your kids busy, otherwise they can get really bored!

Best part was Safari, all guides were very knowledgeable, they were in contact throughout each safari we took, so if one spotted an animal, he would let others know. Fairmont offers two safaris a day, one is in the morning at 6:30am and second one is in the afternoon at 3:30pm. Getting up at dark was so much fun though! We were waken up by 6:15am with hot chocolates and cookies, can it get better than this?:) Once we got on our 4x4, we were again welcomed by Masai blankets, and started our safari. Tbukhu did all his best to show us all the animals in the wild, he tried so hard for cheetah and leopard, but no luck. The day we were leaving, he came and told, he saw them with a huge smile on his face. Wrong timing I guess!!!!

If you are not one of these wild life lovers but want to taste of safari and see these amazing creatures in their home Masai Mara is the place. I think depending on your expectations 2 or 3 nights would be enough. We stayed 2 full days and one half day and it was perfect for us and our children.

Dining at Carnivore

My brother came over a month ago, like in ever visit, we made a list of things to do. We were just joking each other few days back how successfully we checked all the items on our kitchen calendar.  At lne point we were running from ine place to another, exhausted of too much socializing! That things to do list also included dining at certain places, one of them was famous Carnivore. If it was not for my brother, I probably would never dine there! Not because it is not a good restaurant, the only problem is you just have to be a meat lover! I can go without eating meat for weeks, and it will never come to my mind.

So on his final week, we went there on Friday evening. By the way have I mentioned, Carnivore is one of the touristic destination in Nairobi! I even see it in travel agency list! That I call a great marketing! 

Carnivore is famous with its Acrican style barbeque, unique and famous with ostrich and crocodile meat. It is almost like a Brazilian barbeque where you 'Surrounder the flag' when you can no more eat meat!!!! Once diners are ready, locally dressed waiters start bringing all types of meat, from pork to crocodile to ostrich to turkey. My brother and my husband tasted anything came in front of them, after some point I had to tell them to take a break! I cannot tell much about the food, But they told me ostrich meatball was good along with pork ribs,  some of them were ok. Not surprisingly, I had to dine on fajita, and it was ok which was expected. You do not eat Mexican in African barbeque!!!!

I have been there twice, and both occasions Carnivore was fully booked with tourists, locals and expats. So if you plan to go on a Friday or Saturday, make sure to have a reservation. Try to sit outside, indoor dining area is too noisy and a bit of smelly! By the way outdoor dining has a strange sound coming from frogs, seriously at one point it was non stop! Music on the background did not go well with the ambiance, I wish they were playing an African music, it would definitely make it more authentic. Price was it was in the middle, not too pricey or cheap.

Driving or flying to Masai Mara?

Driving or flying, it was a long discussion between me and my husband. Having children always make me think twice before we make a final decision, especially if it is about driving with kids for hours!!! So after reading number of blogs and searching on internet, we decided on flying to Masai Mara via Wilson Airport. Getting to plane via Wilson is much easier than Jomo Kenyatta. Lanes move pretty quickly, since most of the travel agencies book their flight via Wilson, it runs very affectively by the airport workers.


 Obviously flying costs three times more than driving, but it was all worth it! Not only it was a a short trip but it was also fun and kind a adventures. It was the best decision ever, my children had so much fun, as much as I hate to fly, I must admit, I did too:)

Masai Mara planes are old, reminding me old glamorous Hollywood movies. Inside is noisy, you sit right behind the pilot, you get to pass the candies pilots offer:) and comparing with commercial planes it kinda flies low that you can spot the homes even the animals:)

The fun part is, it is also like a bus, once in Mara, plane stops and drops off passengers for surrounding lodges, and then it takes off until it arrives to the next one! Passengers get to pick and take and carry their own luggage's! The runway is made out of sand and it is so short that to take off, plane has to turn around! Planes barely land in the wild, zebras and  monkeys welcoming it, with a look that tells you they are so used to this scene, they don't even make a move!

A heaven on earth: Masai Mara

Always wondered if there is one place on earth gives a hope for life, purity, serenity, and peace. And now, I know there is, Masai Mara. Not because it is home for the Big Five or famous for safari. For me, Masai Mara represents simplicity and serenity. I was fortunate and privileged enough to experience this amazing place. Not only I saw endangered animals and so many creatures in their home, I was able even walk among rhinos, touch the soil, sit with Masai children and have a cup of tea in their barely hand made home.

I was amazed to see the lion cubs that tugged into their moms, or baby elephants hiding behind their moms, or hyenas just laying there waiting for next meal to come. I was motionless when I saw rhinos up so close to me. They did not even bothered by humans, just going with their business, how can I blame them...Were not we the one who invades their privacy?

If only I wish I can just sit there and listen, listen to silence...

How can I forget Masai children, their barefoot touching the soil, just running after simple stick, their laughter was filling the air. They were so careless and happy. Is it because the way they live, just simple way of life, without anything we all so depend on...I wonder if that was the reason they we're so welcoming and generous to strangers like us? They opened their homes, welcomed us in, hugged me and my children with such a warmth that I barely hold my tears, their elders were sitting around the kids with a big smile towards us. How much it made me humbled...

Thank you Kenya for giving me this lifelong experince, thank you...

Guides for prospective expat wives!

If you to become an expat wife in Africa you gotta be more social than usual, that's the key! If you were born to be a natural social butterfly you obviously will be just fine. But if you are like me somehow reserved and observative, to be social is a task!!!! Trust me, this is where experience talks:)

So first place to start socializing is the school! Do not waste anytime, start making friends, next day you would definitely be invited over a coffee or drinks! It is not only you who is in that situation there are more expat wives out there who are also in your shoes:) Do not be shy, just go for it! If there is a Parent Association, do not waste anytime volunteer and be a member!

Second place would be the gym; if you are a gym bunny like me, find a gym or studio where you get to meet lots of people like you. After the class people all go to have a coffee break. Actually, I believe this is behind the scene reason, with few exceptions, people join these classes, seriously:) If you move to Karen area just go through my old postings you will find gym names:)

Go shopping especially grocery! Quite a number of my friends told me they met at Nakumat (grocery chain). Ok, I am never the one who like to chat at the lane, but sometimes you do whatever it takes to talk! You cannot imagine, how quickly you will make friends, there are people who just wait to talk to you:)

This one is going to be tricky, but if yo can afford (country clubs are ridiculously expensive here!), become a country club member. There are plenty of them in town, Karen Country Club, Muthaiga Country Club and Windsor Country Club. Clubs offer lots of entertainments and charity events, perfect place to meet and greet, just little costly though:)

Of course if you are lucky enough to find a job, it will be much easier, job environments tend to be social naturally, after long waiting hours in traffic you may not want to be more social anyway!

Do card game nights, this is fun and social. As far as I know, people are loving this idea.Only problem is people rather do not drive at night, so you gotta to know people close to your place.

If you can, make sure to search for your new home and ask around. If you have kids and want them to play outside, compounds are good choices. I have lots of friends who first lived in a single home than just becase of that reason they moved into a compound where there are other houses with children. Happy kids happy mom. And by the way one of the best thing in living here, is children get to play outside freely and they are loving it:)

Baboons are making their way!

After months of break I took my brother to Masai Market on Thursday, but since I have written more than enough about this lovely open air shopping festival I won't be covering it again:) But let me mention, vendors added new items, this is one creative place! I again got tempted and bought few more items and made a list of what to buy in my next trip:)

On the way to Junction all of a sudden traffic has stopped! Mike and I were trying to figure out what was going on, and all of sudden we noticed there were somewhere around 20 baboons crossing the road in a slow motion and funny enough they all looked so careless. Could it be because we were in their home...New Ngong Road was a forest only six months ago, and sadly this was their home...

I still did not get use to this scene and had a big grin on my face, shocked and puzzled, did not know what to do! I almost dropped my phone on the road while I was trying to take pictures. There were even moms carrying their little ones! Where on earth you wait in the traffic to give your way to monkeys...

Champagne Bar at Sankara Hotel

If you like to spent your Friday or Saturday afternoon at a nice lounge with hip music at the background this is the place! Champagne Bar is located indoor, not really indoor but it is slightly covered with a big open window. Lounge area is pretty big, so it never feels to crowded. On a Friday night it was very crowded, I would normally expect a slow service however it was excellent, servers were very attentive with big smiley face. Menu offers light options to dine, we tasted most of the items from the menu and they were all deliciously cooked and served with an excellent presentation. Up until around 9pm, music was chilling type with jazz and soul. However after 9pm it got kind a to loud (we were still able to hear each other but we had to use a higher tone of voice!) and became more hip. Our friend mentioned there is an open air movie/cinema night on Sunday afternoon, which sounded very nice (not an option for people like us with two small children!!). I imagine it would be lovely to watch a movie because they have quite a nice area with comfy lounge seats and big wall where they put the screen.

In the middle there is also a swimming pool, interestingly end of the pool bottom is made out of glass! So when you swim through the end it feels like you swim on air, pretty cool! But do not count me for that! I am never an adventurist type, you would probably know it by know!:)

Driving at dark in Nairobi!

After a busy week, we met with friends at Champagne Bar at Sankara. I will write about the place in my next blog.

Even though rainy weather did not compliment our plans much, we sticked to it! It was an adventure though! The weather has been very unpredictable this year, so we ended up with lots of rain last week! By the way Karen has more rain than any other areas in Nairobi! We were to meet at Sankara by 7:30pm, since I made up my mind to socialise I left home by 6pm, nothing would stop me!!! It took one hour from Karen to get Sankara, but it was all worth it! Thanks to our driver, Mike, we drove through the back roads, using local villages. Majority of the local population live in these shady towns, farther away from the city. So when driving around you spot tons of people, adults and children walk by foot to get home. Matatus are packed with people, tucked inside, driving crazy enough to scare you away. I must admit I am not brave enough to drive at night! Not because I worry about my safety, I mostly concern about driving in the dark, unfortunately majority of the roads have no lights, road conditions are very poor, there are huge pot wholes. After 6pm it gets dangerously dark. Because there are no lights, it is almost impossible to spot the pedestrians...Also people are so keen to jump in front of the cars, so not only you have to keep your eyes open you also have to use your five senses, may be more! So driving at night has never been an option for me. 

I love sitting next to Mike, we talk and laugh, learn so much from each other. At one point while we were driving I was trying to apply my nail polish (after having two kids this is what happens!!!!) and he was just making fun of me! How can I blame him?? I was even laughing myself while trying to put the polish when we were going over the pot wholes!!!! That's called dedication:)

When I told him my concerns about driving at night he said he used to be a taxi driver, and he had the night shift. He mentioned he feels more comfortable driving in dark rather than daytime, so not sure if that should make be comfortable or uncomfortable, still could not make up my mind!!! 

Lessons learned!

I have been thinking about my days in Kenya, how I started and where I am now not only physically but emotionally as well. It was a journey, not an easy one for me, there were more than few bumps on the way, but I made it:)

Place like Africa teaches a lot, as long as you can see with an open mind and embrace it with an open heart...It is not always easy to see as it is, there are always emotions and perceptions we carry on our back. And of course there is also the denial part, which makes it even more complicated! We sometimes do not see the truth, deep down we simply do not want it! Why am I writing all these, right? Because I have seen enough where many people were in that situation, I must also admit, time to time I was one of them...

Not long ago, I was a very impatient person, somebody who wants to get things done right away! When I think about few years back it even makes me laugh, I wonder how I looked from outside! Shopping at Nakumatt (grocery store chain) was such a misery for me, the lanes just would not move, I mean literally the cashier was in a slow motion, every transaction was taking ages at a time!!! It felt like somebody pushed "stop" button in the remote control!  There I was waiting endlessly and impatiently! On the other hand, some days I was home on waiting for never ending repairs to be done in the house, waiting for technical team to come in to fix the internet, waiting for team to repair the leaking roof, waiting for technicians to fix the inverter! Or just waiting for traffic to move even though there was nothing going on to make it stop! So, patience!, that was my first lesson! and funny enough "Pole pole" (slowly slowly) was the first word I learned in Swahili:)

Growing up in homogeneous society makes you very uncomfortable in a place like Africa...You simply feel like an outsider. Ok, I lived half of life in Turkey and half in US, and I must admit there is no other country in the world that can get more diversed than US! But when the conversation is about Africa it is different, it is not something can be told easily, you have to live to see. So to adopt and accept was my second lesson!

Before moving here, I thought I appreciate the things I have. But last few years appreciation came with a meaning much deeper than I thought....Nothing said would be enough what I have seen here, the poverty, simple human nature, smile of children who play outside barefoot in the dirt, generosity and warmth of every day people. So, appreciation is something I learned over and over again...

Personal wise, I always knew I was a reserved person. But it is does not work well if you are in Africa and an expat wife! Being reserved made me more isolated than I wanted and honestly I did like it all! Even though I like to do certain things by myself, we all have limits, and being all alone is no fun!!! So I pushed myself to be social, and it worked. Last year it made a big difference in my everyday life:) Being social is a key, keep that in mind:)

Busy days!

Lately, I cannot write as much as I want to! Once I am out of home time just flies by!
My days are filled by PA meetings, my daily workout regimen, part-time work, Dilara's school matches (she is in school team:))). I am also very active in another parent group for early years at school, and we have non stop meetings with school management in regards to some important issues! If we were to live another country, probably I would not be involved, but every country comes with its own challenges, and one of the biggest challenge in Nairobi is safety and security. I feel like I have to be involved to make the school safer place for my children! And I think if something bother us we have to be involved and know the facts! Obviously nobody can control everything, but at least having a clear idea of the reality and circumstances make a difference.  When it comes to children, suddenly our priority shifts for lifetime, and have no doubt same rule applies to everyone!

When we have friends with children in past, they used to tell how busy they were with their children activities, and we said to each other we would never be like that! Well, there is an old Turkish saying "Never talk too big!", now we are exactly like them and it comes with "involved parent" package, and with much of a surprise I am loving it:) It makes Dilara proud and happy to see me in school meetings, charity events, and activities:)