The Wanderers Stories

A Kenyan adventure

In July 2013, the Satyens took a trip to Kenya with The Wanderers and came back with a bag full of memories. Arshea Bimal sums up the amazing experience in a blog post for us..

Excitement was in the air as the plane to Nairobi took off. This was our first family trip abroad and we were all thrilled. Having never seen a place outside my own country, I had spent the previous few days researching every place we went to. Google provided me with information on everything, starting from the Maasai people to the black rhinoceros. Little did I know that nothing could ever prepare me for the gorgeous country of Kenya.

We arrived at Amboselli and stayed at the tented facilities of Amboselli Sentrim Camp. Our two days there were spent exploring the vast open grasslands of Amboselli National Park. The National Park is famous for its vast numbers of free range African elephants and is crowned by the Great Mount Kilimanjaro. The highlight was our sighting of a lion taking care of his sick wife and a pack of hyenas.

Then we were off to Aberdare National Park, which is a wooded region situated 7500 feet above sea level. The first word that came to mind was ‘green’. We stayed at The Ark Lodge (which is straight out of a fairytale) and its viewing galleries enabled us to see elephants at arm’s length. The highlight of our stay was a sighting of our first and only leopard. However it was so quick that the only proof we have of seeing it is a picture of its backside.

An eight hour drive from Aberdare led us to Kigio conservancy. On the way we stopped at the Equator. The Equator isn’t how one imagines it to be. I for one always imagined it to be a red glowing line on the earth, despite what I was taught in my school geography classes. It was marked by a board and a curio shop.

Here, we experienced something rather different from the rest of our trip, as Kigio is unfenced. To prove that we were indeed standing on the imaginary line, a man demonstrated an experiment. Entertainment isn’t a pasta chef, but a giraffe. Your dinner companions aren’t other hotel guests, but warthogs munching on grass. We were lucky enough to see at least 20 of the conservancy’s 45 endangered Rothschild Giraffes.

Masai Mara is famous for The Great Wildebeest Migration, so we went with a lot of expectations. Masai Mara should definitely top everybody’s bucket list. Its immensity is something that can be captured by no camera. The number of animals greatly exceeds the populations of some small countries. Here your stop sign is several herds of wildebeest, and a zebra crossing is quite literally, zebras crossing. Want some entertainment? Well the theatre comprises of a pride of lions, not to mention baby Simba and his little brother protected by their ferocious mother, a honeymooning couple (I’m still talking about lions), and cheetahs chomping down on their latest kill.

If you want the perfect getaway, Kenya is the place to go. Its serenity and proximity to wildlife and the absence of any passing traffic make it brilliant for relaxation. For the adventurer, there’s more than enough to see and do, including hot air ballooning. In addition the people are genuine, kind and cheerful and win you over instantly. It’s the experience of a lifetime, and you don’t want to miss it.

And finally, it’s the best place to spot the Super Seven, just like we did!

The views and opinions expressed in the article are of the author, who travelled to Kenya with The Wanderers. The views or any errors should not be attributed to The Wanderers.

Check out our latest package on Kenya

Prague: Indeed the best..

When it comes to cities in Europe – Paris, London, Berlin, Rome – none of these well-known cities have really made it to being the most beautiful city in Europe. Yes, these cities have their own charm and a sense of beauty and while it’s not easy to make a categorical statement, my recent trip to Prague put it right up there with the best in the continent.

(Disclaimer: I haven’t come close to seeing all the cities in Europe, but I do have to my credit a few sojourns.)

Prague is a very underrated city in the sense that it’s not usually the first place which comes to mind when one talks about Europe.

However, friends who had visited Prague vouched for it and this was my impetus to visit the city.

Once the center of the world, today, the city is bustling…It has seen many rulers in its time, and it’s only since 1989 – when Czechoslovakia became a democracy that Prague took off as a tourist destination.

What it has: Gorgeous monuments, great architecture and one of the most thriving classical music scenes in Europe.

The gorgeous Jewish quarter, the old town square, the river side of Vlatva are just some of the main attractions of the city. I was fortunate enough to experience the exceptional Royal Philharmonic perform Mozart and Strauss at the lovely Municipal House.

I’m no classical music aficionado, but these guys were real professionals. The ballet and singing also added to the experience, but for me the music was the standout aspect.

I’m reliably told that Prague has a great nightlife, but sadly that’s not my thing. Whatever be the status of Prague as a hip night spot, Prague the city, is breathtaking at night. No photograph does justice to the skyline as you walk along the river – the castle on a hill in the distance, the illuminated buildings and bridges.

Decadent Delight

The food wasn’t spectacular in the Italian sense of the word. But it was very good. We went to a restaurant named after Marie Antoinette’s mother, which we were told serves traditional Czech food. Although we did play it safe by ordering pork goulash and a solid Czech beer, the food was wholesome, the meat tender, the service hospitable and the Medovnik (a honey cake topped with crushed walnuts) a delight. The white bread dumplings served alongside the bread reminded me of sannas served at Mangalorean dinners, as an accompaniment with curry. There are also local liqueurs to be sampled – the Becherovka flavoured with cinnamon, anise seed and more herbs is one potent combination.

The people. Hmm… that’s an interesting one. Perhaps because I travelled from the Netherlands, the people came across as not particularly friendly. They weren’t courteous, but were never really rude either. They didn’t smile so much, but the fact that they don’t speak much English also adds to the distance. But at no point did we feel unwelcome or unsafe, even though we walked in the city till past midnight. I read only after my trip that the city has some problems with pick pocketing. Thankfully I didn’t experience it firsthand.

A relatively cheap city as far as Europe goes, especially for food and drink, although I have heard of restaurants overcharging people by charging them double tax as well as taxi drivers taking tourists for a ride.

One thing you shouldn’t try to do in Prague is try to pronounce all the names. Many words and names sound like they are missing vowels, but don’t tell the locals that. They probably know their spellings.

All in all, Prague’s a gorgeous city – worth visiting and spending time in. I know I’m going there a second time!

Check out our latest package on Slovenia