Catching up, January 2017: Please come along with Jim and me on a bus road-trip to Siaya

Have biscuits, will travel!

Jim and I (coming from two different directions) met at a small café in downtown Nairobi at 7:30am. We had a cup of hot chai, with warm mandazi (fried bread), before boarding our Easy Coach bus. Our destination was a rural area near Siaya in Nyanza province (northwest of Kisumu). It had been a long time since we traveled together and we were both eager to see Jim's grandmother again.

It's hard to say what you might see - at any given moment - in Kenya. Here are three photos of seemingly odd things being carried on the highway. Odd to you, perhaps... but quite normal to me after 15 years of living in Kenya.

Photo above: On top of the matatu (van used for public transportation), one of the passengers is transporting chickens, most likely for sale at an outdoor market area. My guess is there are at least 30 hens up tied up. "Glory be to God."

Above: This small red sedan car had THREE(!) large bales of hay tied on or crammed inside!

Below: Our bus followed this motorbike for many, many miles. It appears that he's moving household items for one of his customers. He rather cleverly tied a reflective vest on the back so other motorists would be better able to see him.

The next two photos show typical roadside vendors along the highway. Notice in this first one that the vendors walk right up to the cars - ON the highway - trying to find a buyer of their items. The fellow on the right is selling freshly-picked carrots.

Anybody need a bucket or two of potatoes or tomatoes?

Beautiful field of tea in the Kericho area, waiting to be harvested for chai

As we near the end of our rather tiring journey, it looks like a storm cloud up ahead. 

Nyagondo stage, where we alighted from the bus

I hope you enjoyed experiencing Jim's and my trip via these photos. I took them through the bus window or wind screen (British and Kenyan version of windshield). They allow you to at least see some typical sights on the highway. But you'll just have to come visit me sometime to find out what it's really like in Kenya!