Munene, the journey...

The day began at 9am after breakfast. We rode our boat back to Manado and back to the Aryaduts hotel where we had left the rest of the luggage. I was still feeling nauseous and a bit ill, but I took it in stride. At 1pm, we left for the Coral Triangle Initiative. The presentation was a bit dry, and when we left the 2-hour presentation, we were still confused about what CTI does. By this time, I was starving because I hadn't had lunch and I had not eaten most of my breakfast. We went to a local restaurant close to the hotel, which Zack recommended we try the grilled fish. It was a decent meal, and I left still confused about how big the fish was. It was almost snake-like, with muscle and a lot of flesh. Later, we returned to the hotel to prepare for the following day and catch up on my journal.

The day began with a 7.30am breakfast, and at 8.45am, we left the cottage to see rice fields and subaks. Our host for the day was Prof. Widaya and Dr. Sedana (from Dwijendra University). We met at a subak, and they explained to us some of the features of the subak system: Tak tak: the allocation of water between farms. It consists of blocking water from the main drainage canal to a field for a specific time period. The water is termed as borrowed from the downstream farmers Tak taks also determine how much each farmer contributes to the subak for communal ceremonies, rituals etc. Subak heads: elected every 5 years; he is an unsalaried official who helps coordinate a subak Its contact with government, private millers market, nonprofits etc. Water allocation during meetings Conflict resolution about water allocation Rituals, and inter-subak coordination Calendar: Balinese have multiple calendars: religious, mark...

I'm rooming with Noah in Bali. Roomie: Noah The morning began officially at 8.45am after taking coffee. I joined the rest of the team to leave for a tour of some parts of Bali. We drove and drove and drove, up the hills, down the valleys, into sharp corners and narrow passages. Most of the ride was uphill. At the lobby of Permana Cottage is Ganesha, the god with the head of an elephant At the summit of our drive, we were able to see Mt. Batur. Unfortunately, due to cloudy conditions, the (in)famous Agung mountain was not visible from our vantage. We had guides who took us around some farms and some highlights are as follows: Various tastes of coffee A meme about Luwak coffee Visited a coffee farm where   the highlight of the production is Luwak coffee i.e. coffee produced from the poop of a mongoose. The mongoose feeds on ripe (red) coffee beans, and the beans pass through its system with...

We spent most of new year's eve in transit. We left Ibis Styles Hotel at 10.30am, got to Jakarta international airport, got our tickets to Denpasar (in Bali) and left for Bali about 2.30pm (about 30mins late due to air traffic density at the airport) In transit at Jakarta Airport domestic departures; after check-in on the way to Denpasar Photobombed by Tom Hilde and Tom Jones We arrived in Denpasar around 7pm, where we met with Sunday who had arranged our transportation to Ubud. It took us the next hour and a half weaving through ever narrowing roadways towards Ubud, which is our home for the next six days. The driving in Bali immediately reminded me of Nairobi. Traffic wasn’t too bad, but driving a car involved checking both sides of the mirror because scooters, mopeds and motorbikes weave in and out of lanes at breakneck speed, with little warning or caution. Further, while passing huge vehicles like buses and lorries, our drive honked twice to let the other car know...

With Renuka at IAD before departure for Doha Our journey began at IAD at close to 3pm on Dec. 28. I met up with a couple of my fellow travelers at the airport, including Renuka, Tom Jones, Noah, Jackson. On transit in Doha We got to on Dec. 30 Indonesia about 7 am, on time, aboard the Qatar Airways flight 958 from Doha, Qatar. Duty free cars in Doha! Passport control, baggage claim and passing through customs was a breeze. It took us no more than 20 minutes to alight the aircraft and meet Matt Regan, who had arrived a day earlier, to prepare the way for us. And prepare he did. A section of Soekarno-Hatta Airport di Jakarta Matt gave us the brief on what to do, and how to do it. We withdrew cash from ATM (Matt recommended 1 million rupiah!!!). It felt like a lot, but it turned out to be about $74 bucks (with the conversion being $1 = 13,500 rupiah). The notes were in 50,000s or 100,000s crispy ones. We then got into taxis a...

There are among the human species, a number of us who have a restless spirit: a spirit of adventure, newness and uneasiness. The characteristics are very obvious. Random quitting of work: without any convincing explanation to the current employer, you quit the job and say you want to find yourself. You say that it's not that employer has done anything wrong. You don't want more money, or new responsibilities or a move.You just want to leave, escape. Running away from relationships: your lovers are left wondering what they did wrong. You leave them hanging, in anguish as you run away, even to a different location. You avoid meeting them, or going to places where you both shared some intimate moments. You become a ghost to those you love and who love you. Seeking the thrill and adventure: you want to do dangerous stuff, a dance with the devil. You seek out pain, the next big thing. You try to numb yourself with excitement: chasing storms, catching a cobra by its tail. W...

The past 2 weeks have provided me a great learning experience. The difference between Kenya and America are striking. To my past me, I would have emphasized the following lessons: Buy your own hair clippers: Cutting hair in America is expensive, an average of USD 20 depending on where you are. I don't know why, but I think minimum wages (USD 8.75/hour) are to blame for such high prices. That is the equivalent of about 10 hair cuts in Kenya at my kinyozi (at the rate of KSh. 200 per hair cut; assuming 1USD = 100Ksh.). I have already bought one, and I am now in the processing of learning how to cut my own hair. Learning to cut your own hair will save you a tonne of money Be prepared to eat odd things: every time I eat a burger, I know I am eating frozen meat from as far as Australia, fish from China and so on. The fast food business is booming and is not about to die. I have learnt to enjoy Chinese food including General Tso's chicken; all this while missing ugali and m...