Nice start to the day with our customary stroll to Uhuru Park and fresh pineapple breakfast.
After a little sunbathing we went to the fast-food place to have a late brunch. A mandiza with chips plus a coke came to 24 shillings. The mandiza looked like a triangular spring roll but turned out to be a slightly sweet bread. This didn't matter because we filled them with chilli sauce-flavoured chips.
Attempting to 'phone Joe was a lot of hassle so we decided to travel to Dar es Salaam regardless and ring him from there.
Booking our tickets to Mombasa was no problem. We bought tickets for a 4-bed cabin (2nd class) and it cost only 400 shillings!
We then returned to Uhuru Park for some sunbathing and soft drinks. Today we took a different route into the park and saw some locals sitting around in their underwear washing their clothes in a filthy brook. There was also a group of young kids being led around the park. As they walked past Olly and me sitting on some steps, they all stared at us as if in complete astonishment.
After a very pleasant afternoon sitting in the youth hostel garden, we strolled into town to get a meal from the fast-food place and then watched Kickboxer 2 at Nairobi Cinema. It was really great at the ticket office as we bought the most expensive balcony seats (45 shillings) so we queued at a special kiosk. There was only one other person in the queue when we arrived!
The film was OK because of the well-choreographed violence, but the audience was even more entertaining. During the fights they occasionally clapped politely or, when the baddie received a particularly vicious pasting, gave thunderous applause.
Another source of amusement was the Kenyan news broadcast before the main feature started. It commenced with a full-screen picture of the Kenyan flag and the national anthem. During this, the usher vigorously shook her torch in our direction to indicate that we should stand up like the rest of the cinema. The news broadcast itself covered two items of Nairobi news, which were of virtually no international significance. The first was the burning of a massive pile of tusks to make a stand against the ivory trade; the second was the ordination of a bishop. I don't think they would ever include bad news in these broadcasts.
After a little sunbathing we went to the fast-food place to have a late brunch. A mandiza with chips plus a coke came to 24 shillings. The mandiza looked like a triangular spring roll but turned out to be a slightly sweet bread. This didn't matter because we filled them with chilli sauce-flavoured chips.
Attempting to 'phone Joe was a lot of hassle so we decided to travel to Dar es Salaam regardless and ring him from there.
Booking our tickets to Mombasa was no problem. We bought tickets for a 4-bed cabin (2nd class) and it cost only 400 shillings!
We then returned to Uhuru Park for some sunbathing and soft drinks. Today we took a different route into the park and saw some locals sitting around in their underwear washing their clothes in a filthy brook. There was also a group of young kids being led around the park. As they walked past Olly and me sitting on some steps, they all stared at us as if in complete astonishment.
After a very pleasant afternoon sitting in the youth hostel garden, we strolled into town to get a meal from the fast-food place and then watched Kickboxer 2 at Nairobi Cinema. It was really great at the ticket office as we bought the most expensive balcony seats (45 shillings) so we queued at a special kiosk. There was only one other person in the queue when we arrived!
The film was OK because of the well-choreographed violence, but the audience was even more entertaining. During the fights they occasionally clapped politely or, when the baddie received a particularly vicious pasting, gave thunderous applause.
Another source of amusement was the Kenyan news broadcast before the main feature started. It commenced with a full-screen picture of the Kenyan flag and the national anthem. During this, the usher vigorously shook her torch in our direction to indicate that we should stand up like the rest of the cinema. The news broadcast itself covered two items of Nairobi news, which were of virtually no international significance. The first was the burning of a massive pile of tusks to make a stand against the ivory trade; the second was the ordination of a bishop. I don't think they would ever include bad news in these broadcasts.
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