Archive for the 'Travel' Category

My Visit to the United Nations Complex in Nairobi

[Nairobi (Gigiri), Kenya]
I TRULY BELIEVE THAT
outings less planned can sometimes turn out to be the most surprising (in a good way!) experiences in life. Well, today, me and my good pal were just going to the Village Market to pick up some stuff at Nakumatt and the Telkom Orange shop. Then, she called her pal (a real go-getter!) who has an amazing position at the UN here in Gigiri to join us for a bite or a coffee.

Instead, we were invited on to the complex for a bite at its Village Market-like cafeteria. My first impression of the complex is simply this: Wow, it’s bloody massive!! That’s gotta be 50 to 80 acres of buildings (offices, gym, cafeterias, library, etc.), green landscape, conference facilities, etc.

United Nations Office Nairobi (UNON) map

In addition, the 3 cafeterias have a wide variety of vendors serving tasty dishes — just like the Village Market. And the prices are amazing since you don’t pay VAT. I also hear that peeps who drive UN red plated vehicles get something like 30% off their fuel costs if they fill up at the UN gas station. And they also get to shop in the duty free stores — no VAT ever! Damn.

aerial view of the massive United Nations Office Nairobi (UNON) complex

In short, I had a great time at the UN today. It’s such a peaceful atmosphere and you get to see citizens from all over the world who are (ahem) “trying” to make a difference. But alas, what a fu!ked up world we live in. Ooops, sorry for the negativity. Here, I’ll smile for ya. :-)

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StatCounter vs Google Analytics

[Shimoni, Kenya]
WELL, I’M back in Shimoni here on the Kenyan coast by Wasini Island for a day or 2 and I need to set up a FREE web stats for a friend. Decisions, decisions. I think I’ll still continue to go with StatCounter (SC). Any of you guys use Google Analytics (GA)? I’ve always heard good things about SC so I don’t think I’m gonna change.

I fondly remember my dear pal Anne Holmes (aka The Vigilante Journalist and photographer) who used to get her web stats via GA until we met up — as a result of being roomies in Lavington. Back then, I introduced her to StatCounter because she didn’t like GA one bit. Heck, she even subscribed to the paid version of SC.

BTW, this Franco-American gal travels the world like no other person I’ve met in a while. One moment, she’s living in Bangkok; the next moment, she’s hanging out in Chad, Turkey or some other “hot spot” doing the journalist thingy. And then she’s back at her Bangkok pad once again…with occasional trips back to France — probably to see her love: goood French wine. Aah yes, she’s a true Frenchie. :-)

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Hey U!

**This blog post is sticky, so scroll down to see newer content  – Max**

[Diani Beach, Kenya]
GREETINGS FROM the the tranquil, escapist shores of Diani Beach – just around by the 40 Thieves beach bar and the famous Ali Barbours restaurant!beautiful Diani Beach on the shores of the Indian Ocean

So, you’ve dropped by for a visit, eh? Well, come in…make yourself at home. I don’t blog as much as I should (or could) because I’m here in East Africa (primarily Kenya) where data services can, sometimes, be challenging – although that’s rapidly improving thanks to Safaricom’s speedy 3G broadband plus about 4 undersea fibre optic cables landing here at Mombasa on Kenya’s fantabulous, picturesque Indian Ocean coast.

Anyhow, I’m over here exploring, so you might as well explore with me. Right? Go to my Welcome page first because, really, I’m glad you decided to drop by and I want to roll out the red carpet for YOU. (continue reading)

Some quick links around this site:

About Me | Contacts | my IT-related posts | my entire blog Archive | my Africa experience | I LOVE Music | I’m very Opinionated | my Travels

Don’t hesitate to leave a comment or feedback. I plan to seriously overhaul this site with some kool WordPress stuff once I get some spare time and my lappie fixed. Cheers!

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Huge Baobab Tree on Wasini Island

[Wasini Island, Kenya]
This is a super short post today cuz I’m (like always!!) BUSY!!! I was on Wasini Island just across from Shimoni, which is on the beautiful Indian Ocean coast line of Kenya by the Tanzanian border. My new friend, Tanja, took this pic as we did the Charlie Claw’s – Wasini Island tour. Wasini Island is such a magical place and I promise to put up more pics — soon. But I just had to upload this majestic baobab tree. Folks, please allow me to introduce you to Mother Nature in all her inspiring and over-powering beauty.

MaxTheITpro on Wasini Island by huge baobab tree - Sept 2009

I promise to put up my new scuba diving pic thanks to the fab Charlie Claw’s team. Well, that’s if the couple I met from Switzerland on the Charlie Claw’s dhow emails the darn pic to me (crosses fingers).

Oh, I’ll soon be visiting Kenya’s famous Diani Beach (aka South Coast) in a few days. I hear it’s 11 kilometers of pristine white sandy beach with tons of kool attractions including the infamous 40 Thieves beach bar. Yippie!

Camels for hire at Diani Beach on Kenya's Indian Ocean coast

All I can say is that when you leave Nairobi for the coast, all of a sudden, you feel sooo RELAXED.

Credits
- Photo of myself standing next to Baobab tree by Tanja Meyer
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Spitting Cobra on the Loose

[Ongata Rongai, Kenya]
GREETINGS FROM a really cool area just outside of Nairobi. Without a doubt, the Ongata Rongai and neighboring Kitengela areas have an amazing buzz between them. Everywhere you look, flats and houses are going up. And why not? Land is el cheapo here, and you’re not that far away from Nairobi, Ngong, or Karen. Oh, did you see that smooth tarmaced road heading from Bomas all the way into Ongata Rongai town? Wow, that’s what I call smooth sailing.

The new Tuskys super market is super kool and it’s stocked with everything under the sun. Plus, Barclays, KCB, and Equity banks have set up branches in this thriving town. Again, Ongata Rongai should definitely be on your list if you want to get away from the city sprawl of Nairobi that’s on the cheap. I wouldn’t think twice about moving here. I see BIG opportunities for entrepreneurs here to open up cyber cafes, bars/restaurants, retail outlets among other possibilities. And this area feels safe as hell thanks to the new police station nearby.

Oh, a cobra…
So my good pal Pippa lives up here with her son and 2 dogs (Shenzi & Mtokutu). When I saw her last week in Karen, she told me that she had to rush Mtokutu to the vet because she got sprayed by the venom of a spitting cobra that “hangs out” in a particular bushy area of the back yard. Yikes! I’m sure you’ll understand why I was a little hessitant to drop by for a visit, right? :-) What’s more annoying is that no one has seen the damn snake, but there’s a general understanding that a cobra visits the back yard once in a while.


Anyhow, I saw Mtokutu and she had some green ointment in her left eye to prevent further damage. Unfortunately, these 2 dogs don’t really understand the danger of its slippery neighbour. This sort of freaked Pippa out, and her good friend Dennis Matthews (a snake guru/catcher) from Kitengela told her to call him if anyone spots the “king” of the backyard.

Cobra ahoy…
Now check this out. My pal David dropped by to visit me and show me the plans for a golf course his peeps are planning on developing. We’re chatting out in the back yard and low and behold, we see this brownish-greyish cobra sloowly slide right on by us about 8 feet away and into the bush everyone suspects is one of its many homes. It’s like the cobra said “Hey guys, just ignore me…continue with your meeting…I’m just sliding by into this lovely bush you got in this yard. Carry on!”

I looked at David and said “Aah, so that’s the cobra I’ve been hearing about.” I then ran into the house to notify Pippa and also to make sure the 2 dogs were not outside. In no time, Dennis Matthews and his kids came by for a “snake outing.” This was going to be my first time watching some dude capture a 4 1/2 feet cobra.

Hide & seek…
So Dennis puts on his glasses – for obvious reasons. His 11 year old son also got in on the action as father and son proceeded to search the bush for the cobra. After a while, everyone was getting a little antsy and wondering if the cobra probably slid away some where else. Then Dennis’ son and Justin had a bright idea. They started to throw rocks into the bush like fire bombs. This definitely did the trick. Our slippery visitor was flushed out, and decided to head in the opposite direction away from all the falling debris. Smart fella. In the open grass, Dennis snared it before it got away. His son assisted and eventually it was placed in a bag.

Goodbye Mr. Cobra…
After a nice chat, Dennis and his entourage got into a land rover with the snake. He’s going to release it far away from this area so that it won’t ever come come back again. Well, hopefully. He said that cobras were territorial and there’s no chance of another cobra coming by for a visit. I hope so.

All in all, it was quite a afternoon. David’s spontaneous visit was quite a revealation. If he didn’t show up, we would not have had that meeting in the back yard so no one would know that the cobra had returned for a temporary visit. All I can say is “good riddance.” By the way, Pippa is thinking of getting a pet mongoose from the KSPCA to hang out in the back yard.

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50 cent cyber cafes in Nairobi

[Nairobi, Kenya]
GREETINGS FROM Faith Cyber Cafe here in the Diamond Shopping Plaza on Tom Mboya Street near the Bata store and Tuskys. I love coming here once in a while because the dudes who operate this place are always accommodating of me and my Mac laptop. Oh, did I mention how CHEAP it is to browse here? It’s like 50 cents per minute folks. For you tourists from the West, that’s half of a Kenya Shilling…not $0.50. That’d be too expensive!

Bye bye expensive cybers
Heck, in Karen (an expensive Nairobi suburb), everyone charges KSh 2 per minute to surf the Net. I remember this one cyber on Langata Rd. near Bomas. They were charging KSh 3 per minute. Can you believe that? What are they smoking? Please, somebody call the police for Information Super Highway ROBBERY. Gees. :-) Anyhow, I’m just waiting for those fibre optic cables to connect at Mombasa in late 2009 or so. ISPs keep saying that prices should drop by 75%. I’ll believe it when I see. it.

Trim city…
By the way, this Diamond Shopping Plaza is one heck of a place. Why? Because it has tons of womens hair salons everywhere. It’s like the Golden Computer Arcade in Kowloon (Hong Kong) where you’ll find tons of computer hardware for sale at great prices. The only difference is that they’re tons of hotties working in this 3 floor plaza doing a fabulous job making their female clientele look hot too. Any how, don’t take my word. Just drop by for a “pleasant” visit. :-)

The price is right…
Again, Faith Cafe only charges 50 cents per minute. Heck, that’s only KSh 30 per hour. How in Heaven’s name are these peeps making coin? In fact, most of the cybers in this area of town charge this rate. Some even dare to charge KSh 1. How rude. :-)

All in all, I like coming here when I’m in town because the staff knows me, and they really take care of me. That’s why they keep getting my business.

Happy web surfin folks!

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Naivasha rocks

[Nairobi, Kenya]
OOOPS…it looks like I took a hiatus from blogging here and on my MaxTheITpro blog. I got so swamped with stuff. Peeps wanting business plans written. Other peeps needed their PCs fixed, blah, blah, blah. My neighbour, literally, got screwed by her computer repairman who wanted to charge her KSh 12,000 to repair her son’s game PC, and he did jack all. In fact, he stole the internal FAX/modem and most likely swapped video cards on them. Bad
customer service for sure. Anyhow, when he showed up at the house, my neighbour introduced me as an IT professional, and then he started to get really nervous. Suffice to say, we didn’t pay the crook and now all is well. My advice? BUYER BEWARE!!!

Beautiful Naivasha
Well, I took 2 trips up to the Lake Naivasha region (part of the Great Rift Valley) and stayed at my neighbour’s cottage in swanky Green Park. Damn, I saw tons of buffalos, giraffes, a few hippos here and there, gazelles, and a pile of other AMAZING wildlife. The view of Mount Longonot in this area is absolutely spectacular. Now, check this out. We were driving back from our friend’s place near HomeGrown Flowers at around 11 PM and lo and behold, we saw 2 giraffes walking together on the road back to Green Park. Cool!! Then we saw lots of zebras with their beautiful stripes. And this is like an hour outside of Nairobi. This is what’s so amazing about Africa.

Harmut, the Flower King…
I wanna thank Hartmut from Bilashaka Farms for showing me, Alexi and Justin around their massive flower operation. You see, I’m looking to get into Jatropha farming to produce BioDiesel. Plus I’d really like to get hemp going in East Africa too. Big coin. But I was AMAZED at the sheer size of Bilashaka’s operation. They were utilising every nook and cranny of technology to produce some unique flowers that are sold in Europe. Anyhow, I kept picking Hartmut’s brains on everything and anything to do with farming such as cultivating, soil, irrigation, etc. Let’s just say that this dude knows his stuff. Oh, I bet most of you peeps didn’t know that Kenya is like numero uno (#1) in the world for producing those lovely flowers that you peeps in the West just can’t get enough of. :-) Go Kenya go!

By the way, Hartmut’s cook made the BEST mouth watering steak I’ve ever had. Everyone at the dinner table shared the same opinion. I can still taste remnants of that juicy, succulent flavour on my tongue. Of course, I’m usually fixing (or improving) someone’s computer whenever I visit peep’s homes, so I was more than happy to make some improvements on Harmutt’s and Emma’s (his girlfriend) PCs. Now, Harmutt is also a pilot and a flying instructor. In fact, he was supposed to come back to Green Park to take me for a flight over Mount Longonot, but he had brake problems and I’m like “Dude, don’t worry about the plane ride…we can do it another time when things are SAFE.” I ain’t in no hurry to visit Hell. :-)

Kool gadget to die for…
Now, on my return visit to the Naivasha region, I met Andy who’s a manager at Homegrown Flowers. Now, I hear these guys are huge…much bigger than Bilashaka. Anyhow, Andy had this wicked Nokia N95 (I think) that had EVERYTHING but the god damn kitchen sink built in. For KSh 58,000, it is the god of all mobile devices. What does it have? I thought you’d never ask. It had WiFi, EDGE/GPRS, HSDPA (a super high speed 3G mobile Internet access technology), MP3 player, can read/write MS-Office files, GPS receiver with maps, 5 mega pixel camera, blah, blah, blah. Damn Andy!! :-)

Oh, thanks to Andy’s very kool wife, Fleur, for that warm Naivasha hospitality. We LOVED that amazing breakfast before heading back to Nairobi “that” Tuesday morning. :-)

Pictures?
I promise to put up some kool pics soon relating to my very memorable Naivasha visit.

L8tr!

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Tanzania Pursues Aggressive Tourism Plans

[Dar es Salaam, Tanzania]
ONCE YOU VISIT TANZANIA, you really don’t feel like leaving so soon. This country just grows on you. Why? Because there are tons of beautiful places, sites, parks and exotic beaches to visit. For example, when I was staying in Zanzibar, I had the pleasure of hanging out at Cholos beach bar (see pic below), which is a popular beach bar known by all the tourists. This place is sooo relaxing due to its beach setting and funky layout among the tall beach trees. And that’s not all. I’d say TZ has got to be one of the safest countries in all of Africa. Well, that’s the general word on the street from talking to other tourists, business peeps, expat hotel staff members, backpackers, etc.
Less is more
Also, you just don’t see those crazy (almost shocking) front page horror stories that you read in most other newspapers or see on the idiot box (er TV) in other parts of Africa. I’m serious folks. To me, that’s very refreshing. Yes, life isn’t perfect here and crime does exist, but not at “those” levels, and the frequency is considerably less. Perhaps it has something to do with the laid back persona of the typical Tanzanian which, by the way, is well known outside the country. I also noticed this in their police officers, too, which is a good thing. Try that with most cops in Kenya. lol. I’m sure that Julius Nyerere (pics), Tanzania’s legendary humanist founder and inclusive socialist leader, has a lot to do with the country’s remarkable vibe. Yes, I’ve never met him, but I LOVE him tremendously. Any how, if TZ keeps up this track record, there’s no doubt that Dar will eventually replace Nairobi as the economic hub of East Africa. Heck, have you seen all the construction going on in this city lately? Something’s definitely cooking – economically. :-)

Mo’ money…
Most importantly, the country will be rewarded handsomely where it matters the most: At the ca$h register as tourists the world over flock here to explore its many treasures. Now, judging from this article below, the government is serious as hell about increasing earnings from tourism to the tune of US $3 billion per year starting in 3 years time. Wow, that’s some serious coin. :-) As such, this makes yet another excellent Go Africa go! story because it highlights that tourism is going to be an even bigger income earner in the future, which translates into excellent business opportunities for those who cease the moment.

Article: Dar to increase Tourism Earnings
Source: Daily News (Tanzania), 22 Feb 2007, Home News, pg 2
By: Charles Kizigha
The government plans to carry out an aggressive tourism promotion campaign to
increase the earnings from 700m US dollars (about 900bn/-) to 3bn US dollars (about 4tr/-) accrued from the sector a year in the next three years. The campaign will involve advertising the country’s tourism potentials on the America TV channels CNN and CNBC and also making sure there are direct flights to Tanzania from the US and Europe.

Minister for Natural Resources & Tourism, Prof. Jumanne Maghembe, said this yesterday before flying to the US for a ten-day official visit, where he would hold talks with CNN, CNBC, and Delta Airlines top officials and eventually sign contracts. He is leading a six-man delegation. He said that the government intends to spend 500m/- in the first six months to advertise on CNN and CNBC with an intention of targeting the US and Canada markets.

Prof Maghembe said that Tanzania would display a series of brochures showing the country’s tourist attractions at the New York Times exhibition and a presentation will be conducted to selected travel agents and tour operators who feature Tanzania as a tourist destination. He said that the team would hold talks with Delta Airlines officials in Dallas on operating direct flights to Tanzania from the US. The minister said that the
tourism promotion is being carried out simultaneously with hotel expansion programme in order to cope with the anticipated increase of tourists from the current 612,000 a year to one million by 2010.

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Happy New Year

I’m back
Wow, I’ve taken like 90 days off because I was busy doing some IT work at a Zanzibar hotel. Also, I was just tired from writing even though I had a ton of interesting IT topics to write about. So, my brain was cranking out kool topics, but my fingers just didn’t feel like typing a god damn thing. They (my fingers) sound like a new wifey, eh?? Ha ha ha. Well, stay tuned for some more enticing articles in the always changing (and crazy) world of IT.

Oh…
BTW, greetings from beautiful Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) everyone. I’m visiting the family of my good pal Zahida (she was a roommate of mine for a summer in Bayfield Hall at The University of Wesern Ontario, and now a dear, long time friend) who currently resides in Montreal – my favourite party city. Well, it’s a toss up with Toronto. :-) Any how, Dar rocks like no other city I’ve visited in Africa so far. In fact, I wish I came here first. For starters, I walked all over the damn city during the first 4 days when I arrived and feel that I know it really well. I just loooove hanging out around the Samora Ave, Morogoro Ave., Bibi Titi Mohamed Rd, Nkrumah St., Sokoine Dr. areas. Ditto for the Kariakoo market area which has tons and tons and tons of small shops and what not. In fact, I live in said market. It’s a lively area that’s also safe as hell…unlike one city in another country North of Tanzania that sometimes goes by the name of *laughs* Nairoberry. Heck, I havent even visited Coco Beach with my friend’s kids yet. I hear it’s a blast to be on the weekends…right next to the Indian Ocean.

Any how, I’ll write more about my love affair with Tanzania later. I gotta jet as I’m using the Internet cafe up at the beautifully spectacular campus of the University of Dar es Saleem. This campus is so well laid out, and did I mention how beautiful it is??

Later!

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Greetings from Nairobi, Kenya!

Home sweet home
Well
, I’ve finally made it to the continent of my ancestors – even though I was born in
Barbados (also see Barbados Wikepedia ) and grew up in Canada (with 3 years living in New England). Wow, talk about feeling nostalgic!

I arrived here on Nov 26/2005 – on short notice – at the request of a friend from AITEC Africa (short for Advancing ICT knowledge in Africa). My task – if I chose to accept it – was to observe the IT climate in the region as we met with representatives in the business and government sectors whom are both progressive, and seeking Canadain solutions (ERP, eBusiness, eGovernment, etc.) to their many IT needs.

In addition, I was the technical member of the team meaning that I was mandated to use my diverse IT background (and experiences) as a point of reference when looking for potential opportunities that others would not recognize, or when simply conversing with any one willing to listen.

Africa is open for business
Suffice to say, I was blown away!
There are, literally, tons of business opportunities (wireless broadband, networking, IT security, content management, eBusiness/eGovernment, web/intranet portals, application development, SMS/WAP mobile solutions, and much more) in East Africa (Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda) that my counterparts in Canada are not even aware of.

Where’s Canada?
I truly believe that a big part of the lack in Canadian business identity over here is due to the 800 pound gorilla South of our border. In other words, Canadian companies are too focused on the American market, which can create serious problems when our neighbor sneezes (ie. billions of dollars lost in sales due to Mad Cow and unfair tarrifs on Canadian lumber). Furthermore, we’re also competing with other foreign companies looking to get a bigger slice of America pie (pun intended).

Meet the Professor
The highlight of my trip so far has got to be meeting Professor Tom Vassos (University of Toronto MBA program; author: Strategic Internet Marketing) who made a huge impact on everyone with his lively eBusiness/eGovernment presentations. Let’s just say that some very powerful and influential people over here were all ears. Thank god he was part of the team. ;-) )

Goodbye winter!
Now, we’re fully into 2006 and I’m still here. Like I said, there’s lots to do, and I encourage more visionaries from Canada to come down and share their IT knowledge with people and companies eager to move into the IT mainstream.

I’ll keep you posted on any new developments – if the great sunny weather and beautiful scenery doesn’t permit me from doing so. :-)

Happy belated New Year BTW! :-)

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