msafiri_2017_10

Msafiri October 2017 edition 138 

kenya-airways.com 

Starchitects 

The masterminds 

shaping urban Africa 

The Smart Plot 

Farming by smartphone 

Golden 

Shores 

Kenya’s best beaches 

Free to Take Home October 2017

ENJOY YOUR FLIGHT / 11 

“We look forward to shoring up 

our business for the future” 

➔ 

Kenya Airways World 

Travel Awards 

• Winner of Best Airline in Africa, 2016 

• Winner of Africa’s Leading Airline 

– Business Class 2013, 2014, 

2015, 2016 

Dear guests, 

Welcome aboard and thank you 

again for being with us on this flight. 

There have been great developments in 

Kenya Airways. On 7 August, Kenya 

Airways’ shareholders overwhelmingly 

voted to back the financial restructuring 

plan. 

Chairman Michael Joseph made the 

plan known to the shareholders at an 

Extraordinary General Meeting held at 

Pride Centre. Over 900 shareholders 

passed the plan, which will result in an 

overall reduction in the debt structure of 

our business and improve liquidity 

through concessions obtained from our 

financiers. 

With the plan, all Kenya Airways 

(KQ) stakeholders are bringing value to 

the table in a consensual process. In 

particular, the Kenyan Government, KLM, 

local Kenyan banks, the secured finance 

lessors, and operating lessors will either 

equitize debt, provide significant liquidity 

savings via payment deferrals, or provide 

new money to improve our business 

liquidity. This is a big win for the airline 

as we look forward to shoring up our 

business for the future. 

This month, we feature Kenya’s 

diverse and beautiful beach destinations 

and how to get there. You can fly to 

all of them with KQ or our low-cost 

subsidiary, Jambojet. We also have an 

exposé on the widely acclaimed African 

architects who are not only shaping 

African cities but who have been involved 

with some of the most prestigious 

projects worldwide. 

Just when you thought there couldn’t 

be any more apps on the market, 

someone mentioned farming. Now 

there’s an “app for that” too and its 

motivating young people to become 

farmers in exciting, innovative new ways. 

If you’d like to discover a new city, 

look no further than Vietnam’s capital, 

Hanoi. You will find insider information 

in this month’s Travel section. KQ is 

a staunch supporter of sustainable, 

environmentally conscious projects, so 

we’re excited to show you how young 

“environmental alchemists” are recycling 

waste plastic to make fantastic artworks 

and even clean fuel. 

As always, I would like to thank you 

for flying the Pride of Africa. 

Sebastian Mikosz, 

Managing Director and CEO 

Kenya Airways

CONTENTS / 13 

Travel & Nature 

16 Here be Dogons 

The Bandiagara Escarpment 

19 Habari 

Kenya & the world 

26 Vitamin Sea 

Kenya’s best beaches 

46 Ethiopia 

At a glance 

56 Hanoi 

Vietnam’s northern soul 

62 Guess and Win 

Travel quiz 

26 

40 

People 

36 Starchitects 

Masterminds shaping Africa 

48 The Smart Plot 

Farming by smartphone 

64 Use it or Lose it 

Oral preservation of culture 

Publisher Kenya Airways | Head of Marketing Jacquie Muhati Corporate Communications Manager Wanjiku Mugo Advertising MediaEdge Interactive Ltd. | Managing Director Esther 

Ngomeli Head of Media Rose Kagori Concept, Content & Production G+J Custom Content | CEO Corine d’Haans Creative Director Loes van Dokkum Managing Editor Annette Lavrijsen 

Art Director Sabine Verschueren Designer Gaby Walther Subeditor Ben Clark Proofreader Julia Gorodecky Photo Editor Monique Kolmeijer Production Manager Hans Koedijker 

IT Manager Olaf de Jager Contributors Iwan Baan, Yvette Bax, Jackson Biko, Edith Carron, Beatrice Honey Clarke, Gemma Clarke, Andrea Dijkstra, Matthew Williams Ellis, Mark Eveleigh, 

Wanjeri Gakuru, Shalini Gidoomal, Annemarie Hoeve, Lorna Buchanan-Jardine, Robert Kibet, John Lander, Jeroen van Loon, Piper Mackay, Fabrice Monteiro, Astrid Nühn, Joshua Obaga, 

La Peet, Judith Quax, Zainab Slemang van Rijmenant, Hazel Thompson, Eva de Vries, Chantal van Wessel/Vizualism, Hanna Wieslander Translation Concorde Lithography Ready4Print 

Printer Habo da Costa, Vianen

14 / CONTENTS 

Fly Guide 

64 

Business 

71 Highlights 

Inflight entertainment guide 

91 Safari Njema 

93 News & Service 

95 Flying Blue News 

97 SkyTeam News 

98 Route Maps 

103 Magical Kenya 

105 Cargo 

106 Get Comfortable 

56 

42 Alchemists of Waste 

Recycling initiatives in Africa 

53 Smart Negotiating 

Sealing the deal 

54 Effective Collaboration 

How to work together 

82 Msafiri en Français 

86 Msafiri 中文版 

Contact details Kenya Airways Marketing & Corporate Communications, Nairobi, Kenya, +254 20 642 2000, msafiri@kenya-airways.com 

Website kenya-airways.com, msafiri-magazine.com Facebook Kenya Airways Twitter @KenyaAirways Instagram @officialkenyaairways 

Mediaedge Interactive Ltd. Nairobi, Kenya, +254 20 420 5000 / +254 723 140187 / +254 734 271488, msafiri@mediaedgeke.com 

G+J Media, Spaklerweg 52, 1114 AE Amsterdam, the Netherlands +31 20 7943500, Website genj.nl 

No part of the contents may be reproduced without prior written permission. While every care is taken to ensure accuracy in preparing the magazine, the publisher and Kenya Airways assume no 

responsibility for mistakes and effects arising therefrom. The publisher has made every effort to arrange copyright in according with existing legislation. 

Msafiri is available on all KQ flights and at select hotels and businesses in Nairobi. A digital copy is available for free at msafiri-magazine.com.

16 / HERITAGE / Views / 

Here be 

Dogons 

THE BANDIAGARA 

ESCARPMENT is a 

sandstone cliff that 

rises 500 m above and 

150 km across sandy 

flats in southern Mali. 

The peaceful Dogon 

people live here. 

text Ben Clark 

FORMERLY HOME to the Tellem 

people – who carved caves into the cliff 

– the escarpment contains hidden tunnels 

made by the Dogons as a defence against 

aggressors. They hid here a thousand 

years ago after refusing to convert to 

Islam. Today, local guides take groups 

along the cliff to see Dogon villages. 

This society remained unexplored 

until French anthropologists Marcel 

Griaule and Germaine Dieterlen arrived 

in the 1930s. They discovered Dogon 

astrological and calendric systems, 

calculation methods and knowledge of 

human anatomy and medicine. 

It took Griaule 15 years to meet 

blind elder Ogotemmêli from whom he 

learned of the Nommo hermaphrodite 

amphibian twins – key spiritual figures 

in the Dogon religion – who are often 

compared to serpents, lizards and 

chameleons. Centred on a belief in the 

coexistence of male and female roles, 

Dogon culture contrasts with their deity. 

Rituals still practised today celebrate 

the harmony of a balanced existence. 

Kenya Airways operates flights from Nairobi 

to Bamako, Mali, three times a week – on 

Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.

HERITAGE / 17 

Alamy

HABARI / 19 

4With more than 

four million animals 

across 430 species, 

Tanzania has the 

largest concentration 

of wild animals per 

sq km in the world. 

Tech giant Facebook has, since March this 

year, switched on low-cost Internet in more 

than 600 hotspots across Kenya. 

Habari 

Photo: Justin Dingwall 

Photography 

Challenging 

Beauty 

In a project entitled “Albus”, 

South African photographer 

Justin Dingwall explores the 

aesthetics of albinism, countering 

conventional ideas of beauty. 

In a series of more than 40 

intimate portraits, he challenges 

the taboos and misconceptions 

linked to albinism throughout 

the African continent. 

Instagram: @justin_dingwall

20 / HABARI 

The capital of Burkina Faso 

is Ouagadougou, which 

literally means “you are 

welcome here at home 

with us”. 

Nairobi 

Nollywood, the Nigerian film industry, is 

ranked second largest in the world 

behind India’s Bollywood. 

Restaurants 

Boho Eatery 

Marathon 

Seeing is – indeed – believing 

Why would anyone want to open a vegan eatery? Well, the apt 

question should actually be: why the hell has nobody ever 

thought of opening a vegan eatery in Nairobi? It’s never too 

late, is it? There is Boho Eatery now, on Ndovu Road, Karen. 

They have an all-day brunch menu (scrambled tofu on toast is 

yummy) and something called artichoke and fennel risotto, 

which features lots of grilled red peppers, sweet 

fennel and parsley salad. Sounds like something hangovers 

fear. Then there’s the garden… 

~ 60 Ndovu Road 

We’re proud of our wild animals, but we’re also proud of our 

marathons, key being the Standard Chartered Nairobi Marathon, 

which is part of the bank’s Seeing Is Believing 

campaign to tackle avoidable blindness. Standard Chartered 

has made a commitment to raise US$100 million for the cause 

by 2020. Since 2003 2.9 million cataract operations have been 

conducted, and some 1.9 people treated for river blindness. This 

year is no different. Thousands of people will gather in Nairobi 

on 29 October to run and have fun and wear medals and take 

selfies and feel good about their participation in human dignity. 

There is national pride in running the Nairobi Marathon but 

also a personal pride because it’s our equivalent of the London 

Marathon or the New York Marathon; it galvanises a nation as 

one, a people to a common cause. Think of it like thousands of 

endorphins in one city in one morning. 

~ nairobimarathon.com 

“The warmth 

of human 

connectedness 

inspires the 

imagination” 

– Dr Alex Awiti, Director East African Institute, 

Aga Khan University – 

Advice from Biko 

Nairobi Bar Tips 

Thursdays and Saturdays are the choice 

days to hang out in Nairobi. Most clubs 

start picking up after midnight until 

(lucky for us) seven in the morning. Don’t 

accept drinks from strange women, no 

matter how eloquent and good looking they 

are. Don’t leave your drinks unattended or you 

might wake up in the National Park wearing 

nothing but regret. 

Nairobi page text: Jackson Biko Image: Shutterstock (glass)

Ethiopia is the only country in 

the world that has 13 months 

in a year. 

What’s On 

HABARI / 21 

According to a study conducted by 

Cable TV, the Playstation 4 game Horizon 

Zero Dawn is the most popular video 

game in Africa. 

“If you do what 

you love, you can 

make it work” 

– Mohamed Awale, Kenyan entrepreneur – 

Shutterstock 

Golf 

Barney Barnato Tournament 

This year’s Barney Barnato Golf Tournament takes 

place from 25 to 28 October at the Kimberley Golf 

Club in Kimberley, the capital of South Africa’s 

Northern Cape Province. Africa’s largest amateur 

golf championship offers great prizes and nightly 

entertainment. Time left after hitting the ball? Visit 

the famous Big Hole mine, created during the 

Diamond Rush in the 19th and 20th centuries. 

Q&A 

Changing the Face 

of a Country 

~ kimberleygolfclub.co.za 

Internationally, Rwanda is still known for its devastating 

genocide in 1994. Artist and photographer Jacques 

Nkinzingabo (23) is on a mission to change the way the 

world sees his country. He tells Msafiri about his work. 

Habari text: Eva de Vries 

How do you use photography to change Rwanda’s image abroad? 

Photography is a great way to document the unseen sides of the country: 

nature, celebrations, architecture and its beautiful people. Rwanda is so 

much more than the genocide. 

Tell us about your “I am a Survivor” project? 

I portrayed 23 survivors, young people who were, like me, born in 1994 and 

who lost parents due to the genocide. You never hear anything about what 

happened to these kids afterwards, but we have hopes and dreams. 

What is your dream? 

Rwanda doesn’t have a photography history. Actually, I’m one of the first 

internationally renowned photographers in Rwanda. I want to inspire the 

youth to become photographers. Together we can shape our country’s 

new image. 

~ jacquesnkinzingabo.com 

Music 

The Milege Festival 

Organised by a talented group of Ugandan 

musicians, the Milege World Music Festival is now 

one of the biggest festivals in Uganda outside its 

capital Kampala. The three-day event, which allows 

camping on site, is a rich celebration of dance, DJs, 

music, poetry, fashion, visual arts, food and drinks 

from all corners of Africa. It takes place on the 

shores of Lake Victoria from 24 to 26 November in 

the Entebbe Botanical Gardens. 

~ milege.org

➔ 

The Niger River is the 

longest river in West Africa, 

with a length of 4,180 km. 

Arts & Culture 

HABARI / 23 

South African comedian Trevor Noah 

was voted “Favorite African Star” at the 

2017 Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards 

held in Johannesburg. 

Q&A 

Turning Trash into Treasure 

Mohamed Awale is the creative mind behind the successful 

Nairobi-based bag brand Suave, which combines by-products 

and waste materials with locally sourced African fabrics. 

What does your company name mean? 

Suave means sophisticated, classy and urban. It’s all about 

breathing new life into old, what’s called “upcycling”. No two 

bags are exactly the same, which is a unique selling point. 

How does upcycling work? 

We source our materials, such as off-cut fabrics and surplus 

leather, from second-hand-product traders, factories and 

tanneries. We then craft new colourful products with higher 

environmental value. 

How successful have you been so far? 

Since starting out by stocking shops in Nairobi, Suave has 

gained international recognition. I now sell bags to department 

stores across Africa and Europe. If you do what you love, and 

give it everything you’ve got, you can make it work. 

~ suavekenya.com 

Nigerian food 

Around the 

World 

Jollof rice, suya and plantain 

pottage; Nigeria has many 

delicious recipes – and the 

world should taste them all. 

That’s exactly what Imoteda 

Aladekemo, chef and founder 

of Heels in the Kitchen, 

thought when she created the 

Nigerian Fusion Food Tour. 

From October to December, 

this delicious event will take 

place in Lagos, Abuja, 

London, Chicago, Atlanta, 

Baltimore and Toronto. 

~ hitkitchen.com 

Motorsport 

East African 

Safari Classic 

Stretching 4,000 km across 

East Africa, from famous 

wildlife reserves in Kenya to 

the ecological wonders of 

northern Tanzania, the East 

African Safari Classic is one 

of the rally world’s toughest 

competitions. This racing 

adventure takes place from 

23 November to 1 December. 

~ eastafricansafarirally.com 

“Failure is 

a good thing” 

– Hakeem Belo-Osagie, Nigerian 

businessman and philantropist – 

~ A Future for Cheetahs provides insight on the past, present and future 

of cheetahs in the wild. Commentary by Dr. Laurie Marker, a worldrenowned 

authority on cheetahs, is combined with beautiful imagery 

captured by wildlife photographer Suzi Eszterhas. ~ cheetah.org

24 / HABARI 

Ghana’s currency is the cedi, 

meaning “cowry shell” in the 

local language. These shells 

were once used as money in 

Ghana. 

People 

Madagascar is home to an 

amazing variety of wildlife, such as the 

flat-tailed gecko. 

Literature 

On the reading list 

Whether it’s poetry, novels or non-fiction, African 

literature is becoming more and more popular across 

the globe. But where to start? Msafiri recommends 

three great contemporary titles. 

Dreams in a Time of War, 

Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o 

Born in 1938 in rural Kenya, 

famous author Ngũgĩ wa 

Thiong’o grew up in the 

shadow of World War II, 

amid the terrible bloodshed 

in the war between the Mau 

Mau and the British. In 

Dreams in a Time of War, wa 

Thiong’o carefully describes 

a bygone era, bearing witness 

to the social and political 

tribulations of life under 

colonialism and war. 

Crossbones, Nũruddin Farah 

A legendary Somali author, 

Farah once said that he 

“writes about Somalia to keep 

it alive.” With Crossbones he 

completes the trilogy that 

began with Links and Knots. 

The story follows Jeebleh, 

who is back in his beloved 

Mogadishu after 12 years. 

Everything is different from 

what he remembers. The book 

gives readers a fascinating 

look at individuals caught in 

the throes of profiteering and 

political conflict. 

We Should All Be Feminists, 

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie 

This personal and powerful 

essay, by well-known Nigerian 

writer Chimamanda Ngozi 

Adichie, aims to discover 

what “feminism” means now. 

The essay is adapted from 

her widely viewed TEDx Talk. 

She sheds light not only on 

discrimination, but also on 

the institutional behaviours 

that marginalise women 

around the world. 

I’m turning 40 this month but I’m writing this in August. 

I feel like I’ve been on a ship for many moons and, finally, I can 

see land in the distance; something solid that doesn’t move. I 

can’t wait to step on solid ground and shave my beard. I’m 

sick of movement. My 20s were rocky and uncertain and my 

30s were full of second-guessing. Amazing really; when I was 

23, my 40s seemed so far away. I thought 40-year-olds were so 

antiquated, and why not? Back then they had potbellies, drank 

beer and leaned towards radios as they listened to the BBC. It 

seemed soul-drenching. But now 40-year-olds are running 

marathons and climbing mountains, and are as slim as the 

pencil ties they wear. They even pull in their tummies while 

taking pictures for Instagram. And who can blame them when 

Idris Elba is always finding excuses to remove his damn shirt? 

I’m preparing to go somewhere very far from Africa with 

a striking woman who has impossibly long legs and wide hips. 

Some place with a sea, a view, a balcony, great wine and a 

good single malt whisky for me. I want to go to a place where 

the locals will imagine I’m a prince, the heir to the throne of 

the Kingdom of Zamunda. I want to go to a place where 

people are absolutely ignorant of Africa and Africans and 

probably hate Donald Trump. I want to spend days in small 

cafés in small backwater fishing towns watching moored old 

boats bob in the incoming tide. 

I won’t go to reflect on my life or pick up yoga, alternative 

spirituality or any of that nonsense. I will go further because 

I feel like I’m now closer to the man inside, whatever form he 

will be in at that time. I will carry my Kindle, which doesn’t 

have a single self-help book. I will think of my departed 

mother and my children, and I will sleep later than I usually 

do and not look at my Whatsapp or think of my writing 

deadlines. I will care little. Isn’t that the stone that holds 

the 40s down? 

~bikozulu.co.ke 

Jackson Biko 

Rehab for 

Captain Ahab 

Illustration: Hannah Wieslander

Female Nigerians Seun Adigun, 

Ngozi Onwumere and Akuoma 

Omeoga hope to be the first 

Africans to compete in the bobsleigh 

at the 2018 Winter Olympics. 

Gadgets 

HABARI / 25 

Lake Malawi has the largest number of fish 

species in the world: over 500. 

Travel gadgets 

The Right 

Direction 

3D Printer 

Replicator+ 

The new MakerBot Replicator+ 

combines unequalled performance 

with superior results and lasting 

reliability. 

The Replicator+ prints high-quality 

concept models 30 percent faster, easier, 

and with a 25 percent bigger build 

volume than its predecessor. With 

powerful workflow tools, the Replicator+ 

streamlines desktop 3D printing for 

professionals and educators. MakerBot 

print software allows you to import 

native CAD files, like assemblies and 

parts, remotely manage all connected 

printers over the Cloud, and optimise 

prints for speed and quality. 

1 

GoPro HERO5 Black 

Durable by design, HERO5 is waterproof 

to 10 m without a housing. It can be controlled 

using simple voice commands and has a 2-inch 

touch display so you can preview and play 

back your shots, change settings and trim your 

footage. All on your GoPro. 

~ shop.gopro.com US$399.99 

2 

Olympus Tough TG-Tracker 

Tough enough to keep up with your adventures, 

the pocket-sized TG-Tracker records Ultra HD 

4K video using advanced Olympus optics. Take 

it places you wouldn’t dare take most cameras. 

Mountaintops. Winter slopes. Whitewater rafting 

or into the waves. Drop it, freeze it, submerge 

it, and it will just keep shooting – even 30 m 

underwater, no protective housing required. 

Handy extras like the LED headlight and the tiltout 

monitor help you nail difficult shots. Use the 

built-in Action Track Sensors, GPS, and Wi-Fi to 

record and share every awesome moment. 

~ getolympus.com US$279.99 

3 

Thumbs Up HD Action Camera 

Perfect for skiing, surfing, snowboarding or 

biking. Features a 1.77 inch TFT LCD screen, 

1.3 MP CMOS image sensor, 720/640P image 

quality. Comes with a water-resistant case, USB 

cable, and an 8GB micro-SD card. 

~ Karibu US$100 

~ makerbot.com 

1 2 

Inspired to buy? 

See our shopping 

magazine Karibu. 

3

26 / TRAVEL / Best beaches 

Alamy

TRAVEL / 27 

VITAMIN 

SEA 

From the mainland to an island 

getaway, these 10 KENYAN 

BEACHES offer a magical retreat for 

your next seaside holiday. 

text Zainab Slemang van Rijmenant


Chale Island 

FOR 

ISLAND 

LOVERS 

Although it’s more of a headland 

than an island, Chale Island 

caters to different tastes. This 

place has beautiful beaches but 

it’s the leisurely lifestyle that will 

have you returning here. 

What to do 

What could be more romantic 

than a trip to a small tropical 

island where you and your 

significant other can take a dip 

in multi-hued waters before 

enjoying some alone time on the 

isolated sands? The island plays 

home to an indigenous ancient 

forest, known as a Kaya, as well 

as the Sands at Chale resort, 

which occupies 15 acres of land. 

Indulge in a pamper session at 

Alamy 

the resort’s open-air spa or have 

a cocktail on a glass-bottomed 

boat as you watch the translucent 

ocean come to life beneath you. 

Fly to Ukunda Airstrip in Diani from 

Nairobi with Jambojet, then take 

a taxi or matatu, (a small minibus 

taxi). 

“Take a dip in multi-hued waters before enjoying some 

alone time on the isolated sands” 

FOR 

RELAX- 

ATION 

Alamy 

Homa Bay 

Situated in western Kenya, 

on the shore of Lake Victoria, 

this tiny beachfront town has a 

relaxed, tropical vibe. 

What to do 

The most popular attraction 

is Lake Victoria where you 

can swim, fish or hire a boat 

to explore more of the lake. 

Further inland, you can enjoy a 

safari at Ruma National Park or 

climb the summit of Asego Hill, 

which takes about an hour. 

Fly to Kisumu from Nairobi with 

Kenya Airways then take a taxi, 

bus or matatu. You can also 

drive directly from Nairobi in 

three hours. 

Alamy Dreamstime

TRAVEL / 29 

FOR 

HONEY- 

MOON- 

ERS 

Diani Beach 

One of the best beaches in Kenya, 

Diani features a 12-km tarmac 

running along its coast behind 

its beachfront properties, palmshaded 

sands, reef-fringed waters 

and lowland forest. The area is 

known for its coral reefs and 

black-and-white colobus monkeys. 

What to do 

Visit the 16th-century Kongo 

Mosque with its beautiful baobab 

trees, take a horse ride on the 

beach, try kite surfing or, for the 

more adventurous, explore one 

of the tropical forests of the first 

coastal inhabitants at the sacred 

Kaya Kinondo, which is now open 

to the public. 

The five-star Swahili Beach Resort 

has a beautiful gallery where you 

can buy local art pieces while 

shoppers should head to the 

Diani Beach Shopping Centre, 

located near the beach road. 

Here, you can pick up a number 

of trinkets as well as clothing, 

jewellery, beauty products and 

hand-woven baskets. 

Fly to Ukunda Airstrip from Nairobi 

with Jambojet. 

“Explore one of the tropical forests of the first coastal 

inhabitants at the sacred Kaya Kinondo”


Watamu Beach 

With a beach that’s well known 

for its good diving, snorkelling and 

deep sea fishing, this low-key 

peninsula, with its sculpted 

coastline, is the place to go. 

What to do 

Visit the fascinating ruins of 

Gedi, hacked out of the jungle 

near Watamu, where vestiges 

of Swahili culture can still be 

seen. Alternatively, visit the Local 

Ocean Trust that runs a volunteer 

programme for the rehabilitation 

and conservation of sea turtles. 

Then head off to the Arabuko- 

Sokoke National Park, where you 

can spot plenty of endemic wildlife 

and birds, including the Clarke’s 

weaver, Sokoke Scops Owl and 

even savannah elephants. 

FOR 

CULTURE 

VULTURES 

Fly to Mombasa from Nairobi 

with Kenya Airways. Then grab a 

matatu. 

Alamy

TRAVEL / 31 

FOR 

GOING 

OFF THE 

RADAR 

Msambweni 

The fishing village of Msambweni 

is quiet and remote – perfect for 

those looking for some downtime 

away from the hustle and bustle 

of the busier beaches. 

What to do 

Relax on the largely deserted 

beach, book in hand and drink 

by your side, or pay a visit to the 

majestic Sheldrick Falls or 

Shimba Hills National Reserve 

to spot elephants, antelope and 

other fauna and flora. Both these 

spots can also be reached from 

Diani and Chale Island. 

Fly to Ukunda Airstrip from 

Nairobi with Jambojet. Then take 

a taxi or bus. 

AWL images


Manda Island 

Mostly uninhabited, Manda 

Island’s combination of dunes 

and mangroves offers a welcome 

respite for loved-up couples. While 

there’s plenty of romantic activities 

to partake in, you can also take a 

ferry across the Mkanda Channel 

to the towns of Shela and Lamu. 

What to do 

Enjoy a gorgeous sunset while 

FOR 

ROMAN- 

TICS 

having a sundowner on the palmfringed 

beach, take a leisurely 

cruise on a traditional dhow or 

take a dip in the channel before 

visiting Manda Beach Club, the 

traveller’s haunt, where you can 

relax in a shaded hammock, drink 

in hand. 

You can also visit the ruins of 

Takwa, a large settlement 

abandoned in the 17th century. 

Plus, it’s only a short distance 

from the town of Lamu, where you 

can indulge in more of Kenya’s 

rich heritage. 

Fly to Lamu with Jambojet. Then 

take the ferry to Manda Island. 

“Enjoy a gorgeous sunset while having a sundowner 

on the palm-fringed beach”

TRAVEL / 33 

AWL images 

FOR 

INTREPID 

EXPLOR- 

ERS 

Mombasa 

Family friendly Mombasa offers 

it all – a tropical climate, diverse 

marine life, world-class hotels 

and, of course, great beaches that 

cover 13.5 km of its coast. 

What to do 

The whole family will love the 

camel rides offered along the 

beachfront. Alternatively, you can 

rent a bike, go for a guided walk 

or even indulge in some offshore 

fishing. The Mombasa Marine 

National Park and Reserve offers 

more educational fun with visits 

to three wrecks, an introduction 

to a varied marine ecosystem as 

well as waters ideal for activities 

such as water skiing, snorkelling, 

diving and windsurfing. 


with Kenya Airways or Jambojet. 

“The whole family will love the camel rides 

offered along the beachfront” 

Alamy 

Nyali Beach 

Nyali is a well to-do residential 

area and the beach there is a 

popular spot with the locals. 

With a wide array of activities 

both in and out of the water, 

Nyali is fun for everyone. 

What to do 

For a water outing of a different 

kind, head to the Wild Waters 

Amusement Park where the 

children can enjoy 15 different 

toboggans, a gaming arcade, a 

disco arena and themed rides 

before joining the adults for a 

bite to eat at the food court. 

FOR 

FAMILY 

FUN 

Alamy 


with Kenya Airways. Then take 

a taxi or matatu. 

Alamy


Lamu Beach 

On Lamu Island, Arab and 

Portuguese forts, medieval ruins 

and traditional trade markets all 

welcome you to the rich history of 

Kenya. 

FOR 

HERITAGE 

SEEKERS 

What to do 

Explore Kenya’s oldest inhabited 

town with a visit to Lamu Town, 

which dates back to the 12th century 

and was declared a UNESCO World 

Heritage Site, or the Lamu Fort, 

where you’ll be treated to a 

panoramic view of the town. If 

you’re visiting in November, be sure 

to attend the Lamu Cultural Festival 

where you can enjoy dhow, donkey 

and swimming races, henna 

painting, bao games and more. 

Fly to Lamu Island from Nairobi with 

Kenya Airways. 

Alamy

TRAVEL / 35 

FOR 

LOCAL 

FLAVOUR 

Malindi 

This animated town has become 

home to many an Italian, hence it 

often being referred to as Little Italy. 

What to do 

Hire a tuk-tuk or a boda boda motor 

bike (where you ride pillion on a 

cushion placed over the back wheel) 

and head to Vasco da Gama Pillar, 

which commemorates where the 

explorer landed. In Marafa, you can 

take in the beauty of a sunset over 

the area’s incredible rock formations. 

Enjoy the town’s various clubs 

and bars in the evening. Malindi is 

well known for its nightlife. 

Fly to Malindi from Nairobi with 

Jambojet. 

Alamy

36 / PEOPLE / Architects 

Opera Village Clinic, 

Burkina Faso 

Starchitects 

As its remaining rural populations move 

to the cities – 187 million people over the next 

decade – Africa will become the WORLD’S 

FASTEST-URBANISING AREA. We profile 

some of the architects shaping it. 

text Shalini Gidoomal

PEOPLE / 37 

Gando Primary School, Burkina Faso 

bla National bla tower, Park kenya of Mali 

Dano Secondary School, Burkina Faso 

Serpentine Pavilion, London 

Image: Iwan Baan 

National Assembly, Burkina Faso 

“People were initially surprised that I planned to use clay to 

build the school, not cement or glass” 

Diebedo 

Francis 

Kéré 

Nationality 

Burkinabe 

Born 

1965 (Gando) 

Accolades 

Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 2004 

Known for 

Centre for Earth Architecture, Mopti 

Serpentine Pavilion 2017, London 

STROLL THROUGH the grounds 

of the Serpentine Galleries in Hyde 

Park, London, and you’ll come across 

this year’s Pavilion installation: 

a series of timber pieces laid out in a 

triangular format that mimics a tree’s 

canopy (with a central steel support 

beneath it). Surrounded by blue, curving 

walls that circulate the air while creating 

shade, the structure also collects rain, 

forming temporary elliptical waterfalls. 

It’s the work of Diebedo Francis Kéré, 

the first African architect to be invited 

to create a Pavilion at the Serpentine. 

Kéré left his small village (on the 

edge of the Sahara) at the age of seven 

to attend school in the city, later moving 

to Berlin where he studied architecture 

on a scholarship. Returning home, he set 

about designing a school. “Imagine me, 

this green young man back from Europe, 

trying to persuade the elders that using 

traditional materials was the way to go,” 

he says, laughing. 

Kéré chose local materials such as 

wood and clay since they were readily 

available and could be used without 

heavy building machinery or electricity 

(things the village didn’t have). His 

structures, however, have a modern 

articulation: the roof is cantilevered for 

air and the clay floors have a smooth 

finish. Made on a budget of less than 

US$30,000, this school (the first in his 

village) won him the prestigious Aga 

Khan Award for Architecture in 2004. 

A further extension – a beautiful library 

with sawn-off clay pots to let in light – 

earned him the 2009 Global Award for 

Sustainable Architecture. 

At 51, Kéré is gearing up to use 

those principles in his most ambitious 

project yet: rebuilding Burkina Faso’s 

Parliament.


Image: Iwan Baan Image: Iwan Baan 

Maternity Waiting Village, Malawi 

Rwinkwavu Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Rwanda 

Image: Iwan Baan 

GHESKIO Cholera Treatment Center, Haiti 

“We want a whole class of people who design differently” 

Christian 

Benimana 

Nationality 

Rwandan 

Born 

11 October, 1982 (Kigali) 

Accolades 

Global Health Corps Fellow with MASS in 2011 

Aspen Ideas Festival: Spotlight Health Fellow 

in 2014 

Known for 

African Design Centre, Kigali 

Gheskio Cholera Treatment Center, 

Port-au-Prince 

CHRISTIAN BENIMANA is fond 

of comparing the number of registered 

architects on the African continent – 

35,000 – with the number in Italy, a 

staggering 153,000. For him, this puts 

into perspective some of the building 

issues faced in many African countries. 

As a student, this disparity affected 

Benimana directly because Rwanda 

didn’t have a single architecture study 

programme. He applied all over the 

world for scholarships, receiving one 

from China where he learned Mandarin 

as he obtained his degree at Tongji 

University in Shanghai. 

Completing the circle, Benimana will 

be in charge of MASS Design Group’s 

African Design Centre, which will open 

its doors in Kigali later this year as it 

begins training a new generation of 

architects capable of building Africa’s 

future. 

The World Bank predicts that some 

1.2 billion people will live in urban areas 

in Africa by 2050. “This means threequarters 

of the buildings we need have 

not been built yet,” says Benimana. 

Having studied in Shanghai, 

Benimana was in a position to watch 

the astonishing transformation of the 

city as China embarked on an aggressive 

building programme. He also saw the 

perils of untrammelled urbanisation, 

which he thinks Kigali is in danger of, 

so they need to be careful. 

Benimana works according to four 

principles: hire locally, source regionally, 

train wherever we can, and uphold 

dignity. He cites a hospital that fulfils his 

criteria. Built on a hilltop, it has simple 

cross ventilation to allow the levels of 

air changes recommended by WHO. 

Patients have a beautiful view, which he 

feels helps to facilitate healing. The 

entire design employed 4,000 people 

from the region and was built from local 

volcanic stone. To him, it was a great 

success, and the beginning of many more.

PEOPLE / 39 

Moscow School of Management, Skolkovo 

Museum of Contemporary 

Art, Denver 

Alara Concept Store, Lagos 

Aishti Foundation, 

Lebanon 

Smithsonian Museum 

of African American 

History and Culture, 

Washington, D.C. 

“Architecture has the power to shape societies, and that 

became very important to me” 

David 

Adjaye 

Nationality 

Ghanaian/British 

Born 

22 September 1966 (Dar es Salaam) 

Accolades 

Time’s 100 most influential people list in 2017 

London Design Medal in 2016 

OBE in 2007, Knighthood in 2017 

Known for 

Sugar Hill Development, New York 

Moscow School of Management Skolkovo 

Smithsonian National Museum of African 

American History and Culture, Washington, D.C. 

THE SON of a Ghanaian diplomat, 

Adjaye lived in many countries. His 

exposure to multiple cultures and 

influences throughout his early years is 

evident in his buildings. Some consider 

his use of light, texture, colour and tone 

to be quite sensual. “I recorded cities in 

terms of high and low architecture, and 

their bucolic aspect, in order to get a 

sense of what the continent means now,” 

says Adjaye. “That travel and research 

informs much of the work I do today.” 

Adjaye used his experiences during 

those travels to create a seminal sevenvolume 

set of books, entitled Adjaye, 

Africa, Architecture. Within the book, 

he devised an innovative new map of 

the continent using geographical, 

historical and climatic criteria (rather 

than political) to show different country 

affiliations and similarities. It was the 

start of a stunning career that has 

encompassed small buildings, such as 

his innovative Dirty House in London’s 

East End, and spectacular projects, 

including the Smithsonian National 

Museum of African American History 

and Culture, which is planted on the 

National Mall in Washington, D.C. 

Adjaye has chosen to focus a lot of 

attention back in Africa, where he’s 

currently finishing the Ghana National 

Museum of Slavery and Freedom in 

Cape Coast. He will soon start work on 

the World Bank’s IFC headquarters in 

Dakar. This follows other ventures in 

Africa, which include a fashion store in 

Lagos, modifications to the palace in 

Libreville, work on the Kampala 

Masterplan, a housing project in 

Johannesburg, and even a sustainableunderwear 

project (with Kenya’s Green 

Belt movement) that facilitates the 

planting of 20 trees for every pair of 

underwear sold.


Leeum Samsung Museum of Art, Seoul 

Makoko Floating School, 

Nigeria 

Qatar Foundation 

Centre 

Shenzhen Stock Exchange 

Prada Transformer, Seoul 

“We cannot simply displace poorer populations. It’s important to think 

about how to create enabling environments for them to thrive in” 

Kunlé 

Adeyemi 

Nationality 

Nigerian 

Born 

7 April 1976 (Kaduna) 

Accolades 

Silver Lion at Venice Biennale in 2016 

Known for 

Makoko Floating School, Makoko 

Serpentine Summer House 2016, London 

Leeum Samsung Museum of Art, Soeul 

KUNLÉ ADEYEMI is pioneering 

floating buildings to solve the combined 

problems of increased flooding and high 

land-occupation that affects African 

coastal cities. Adeyemi has a vision to 

embrace rising water levels, while at the 

same time helping to improve livelihoods, 

neighbourhood structures and sanitation. 

The first of his buildings to follow 

these principles was Makoko Floating 

School, a prototype that sat on a 250- 

barrel platform. Built by a team of 

locals using bamboo and offcuts from a 

nearby sawmill, the school was declared 

illegal by the government. However, 

publicity generated from the work 

helped to prevent an eviction, enabling 

the school to become a symbol of hope 

for those living in this deprived area. 

Not only did the school provide a novel 

structure for schooling here, it also 

made Adeyemi famous. After three 

years of intensive use, the school was 

decomissioned pending an upgrade. 

The new, improved version is nicknamed 

MFS II. 

Adeyemi describes this work as his 

passion and, given that nearly 70 percent 

of all major capital cities in the world 

are situated near water, an urgent need. 

“These cities have been growing, so 

populations are urbanising rapidly. For 

me the relationship between water and 

cities must be seamless. And that’s what 

I aspire to,” he says. 

Prior to setting up his own firm, 

NLE, in the Netherlands, Adeyemi was 

the lead architect on the Masterplan for 

a desert city in Qatar, which is part of 

the construction for the upcoming 

football World Cup in 2018. He has also 

built a rotating transformer in Seoul for 

Prada and, like most architects, has 

moved into furniture design; the hottest 

piece being a very sassy free-floating 

desk that looks as though it’s floating in 

the air.

PEOPLE / 41 

I & M Bank Tower, Nairobi 

Australian High 

Commission, Nairobi 

Mombasa 

Serena Beach 

Hotel and Spa 

Citibank, Nairobi 

Fedha Towers, Nairobi 

Lonrho House, Nairobi 

“We’ve had some of our clients for 30 years, so they must 

be pleased with something we’re doing for them” 

Jim 

Archer 

Nationality 

British 

Born 

30 March 1937 (Kenya) 

Accolades 

World Design Impact Prize in 2012 

Numerous Awards of Excellence in Architecture 

from the Architectural Association of Kenya 

Known for 

Community Cooker, Kenya 

Lakeview Estate, Nairobi 

Lonrho House, Nairobi 

IT’S SAFE to say that the Archers 

have had a profound impact on Nairobi’s 

urban landscape. Howard Archer, who 

came to Kenya after World War I, began 

this legacy by constructing buildings such 

as the Nairobi Railway Station HQ, the 

imposing Law Courts and National 

Archives, the grand All Saints’ Cathedral 

and 36 more churches. 

His son James (80) has continued that 

legacy with twists of his own. But if you 

ask about his most famous construction 

– despite skyscrapers, estates, golf clubs, 

even a government state lodge – he is best 

known for the Community Cooker. A 

large refuse-eating, high-temperature 

cooking facility researched and created 

painfully over a decade at the cost of 

US$500,000, the Community Cooker is 

now used in several parts of Kenya. 

“Had I known what it would take, 

we’d never have done it,” says Archer. 

His obsession with cleaning up the 

environment inspired the development 

of the cooker, which burns plastic and 

refuse safely as fuel, while providing 

people with heat for cooking. Several 

are now in operation and Archer wants 

to build 20,000 more around Kenya. 

His environmental fixation led to 

another project that’s been cooking for 

some 20 years: a regeneration of the 

fetid Nairobi River, which runs through 

the city centre. The extensive, complex 

plan, which will take some 20-30 years 

to implement, is now moving at pace. 

At the turn of the millennium, 

Archer’s firm Planning Systems Services 

won over 70 percent of the Awards of 

Excellence in Architecture from the 

Architectural Association of Kenya, 

netting all the gold awards, and most of 

the silver awards and honourable 

mentions. They swept the boards again 

in 2016. As Archer steps away from his 

practice to retire, he hopes that his legacy 

will have a lasting beneficial impact in 

Kenya, just as his father’s did.

42 / BUSINESS / Recycling 

ALCHEMISTS 

OF WASTE 

Young people across Africa are using 

innovation to solve ENVIRONMENTAL 

PROBLEMS, while creating new job 

opportunities. 

text Robert Kibet

BUSINESS / 43 

Image: Fabrice Monteiro 

ALTHOUGH KENYA HAS 

East Africa’s most vibrant economy, 

the country is not without its challenges. 

One of these is solid-waste management 

in burgeoning urban dwellings. With 

growing city populations has come a 

proliferation of plastic bags, which is 

environmentally toxic. The threat to 

marine life is a primary concern: many 

dolphins and whales, for example, have 

been found with plastic bags in their 

stomachs. In response, the Kenyan 

Government introduced a ban on all 

plastic bags, which was realised on 

28 August this year despite a petition 

by plastic-bag importers, wholesalers 

and retailers. 

As the nation waited to hear the 

outcome of litigation (that had delayed 

the ban several times before), a number 

of innovative solutions – aimed at solving 

environmental issues through waste 

recycling – were gathering pace. Young 

people are leading these solutions, which 

deal specifically with the plastic problem. 

FROM TRASH TO TREASURE 

For Kenya’s Chebet Lesan, a 

27-year-old industrial designer, a trip 

to neighbouring country Tanzania 

completely changed the course of her 

life. Lesan is now CEO of BrightGreen 

Renewable Energy, an innovative 

company she started in late 2014 that 

produces and distributes safe and 

smokeless charcoal made from recycled 

urban waste. She says that experiencing 

the extent of deforestation during 

her trip piqued her concern. “I’m a 

passionate social entrepreneur and a 

trained industrial designer, but my 

aspiration now is to see a planet whose 

economy is driven by eco-friendly 

activities, a people who value their 

environment, and an international 

culture that embraces clean energy,” says 

Lesan, winner of a 2017 Queen’s Young 

Leaders Award for her role in combating 

indoor air-pollution in African homes. 

Through a partnership with 

garbage collectors, BrightGreen 

is able to convert the refuse, which >

44 / BUSINESS / Recycling 

Lorna Buchanan-Jardine 

“Moto sells at 

a cheaper rate than 

normal charcoal, 

burns longer 

and is smokeless” 

includes paper and even farm waste, into 

a fine powder that resembles charcoal 

dust. This is done via a burning process 

known as “carbonisation”. “The black 

powder, called ‘char’, is compressed 

using local innovations,” says Lesan. 

“All our machines are designed, built 

and maintained by two local youth 

groups that we mentor and promote.” 

Her charcoal (the end product), 

which is called “Moto” and is in the 

form of briquettes, sells at a cheaper rate 

than normal charcoal, burns longer and 

is smokeless. “I’ve cut the cost of fuel by 

almost half,” says Grace Wanjiku, who 

runs a restaurant on Nairobi’s outskirts. 

“I’ve been buying traditional charcoal, 

made from trees, which retails here in 

Nairobi at US$20 for 50 kg. But with 

the briquettes, I can now save for other 

needs.” 

BrightGreen’s briquette value-chain 

includes a production process that 

provides opportunities for both skilled 

and unskilled labour within its local 

communities. 

“Through BrightGreen, the youth 

not only earn a decent living but also 

participate in the conservation of the 

environment,” adds Lesan. “We also 

engage locally based female microentrepreneurs 

to distribute briquettes to 

end users.” Her company has hired eight 

full-time and ten part-time employees at 

some ten distribution points in Nairobi. 

WHAT IS ART? 

While working on the remote 

island of Kiwayu (near to the Somali 

border) as head of a conservation and 

development project for the World 

Wildlife Fund and the Kenya Wildlife 

Service, Julie Church became concerned 

Masterpieces made from flip-flops 

Ocean Sole (oceansole.co.ke) produces various products of differing size. The elephant (pictured 

above) is part of the “Masterpieces” collection, which consists of large, freestanding sculptures. 

This collection also includes horses, hippos, giraffes, octopuses, bears, cows, and rhinos. 

with the impact of marine waste on 

nesting turtles and their hatchlings. 

Seeing the innovative and creative 

ways in which children were turning 

this waste into toys, she convinced local 

women to start collecting discarded 

flip-flops and turning them into art pieces 

that they can sell to support themselves 

and their families. Church soon turned 

this into the conservation company that 

is now called Ocean Sole. “We work 

with local communities to collect 

hundreds of thousands of flip-flops 

that wash up on the shores of Eastern 

Kenya each year,” says Erin Smith, 

current interim CEO of Ocean Sole. 

“On average, 35,000 flip-flops are 

repurposed per month, which amounts 

to 4,000 sculptures per year.” 

Ocean Sole has 70 full-time staff and 

an ecosystem of over 700 people that it 

supports. The flip-flops are cleaned, 

dried and sorted into respective colours, 

and then they’re blocked, carved and 

sanded before being sold as sculptures. 

Ocean Sole pays conservation groups 

and individuals to collect the flip-flops. 

“Our sculptures are now sold on 

every continent apart from Antarctica. 

This is a huge achievement for us,” says 

Smith. However, according to Smith, the 

journey has not been smooth sailing. “In 

the beginning, we found the production 

of top-quality goods challenging,” she 

says. “Once the quality was achieved, we 

really excelled and this changed lives. The 

people we employed were able to live an 

improved life, send their children to 

school and clothe their families.” 

Ocean Sole works with the UN to 

teach the youth how a passion for 

maintaining a clean planet and saving 

wildlife can be monetised into fair wages 

for the people involved. 

RECYCLED RECYCLING 

Once the sculptures are finished, the 

remaining waste is shred into small pieces 

that are used to make mattresses for 

orphans, prisoners and the homeless. 

“We also make poufs and pillows that 

we sell,” adds Smith. “Entrepreneurs just 

need to come up with an idea they like, 

surround themselves with people who 

believe in their mission, and focus on 

making a difference. The money will 

always come when you’re missionoriented 

and passionate about the cause.”

46 / BUSINESS / Country at a glance 

At a glance 

Ethiopia 

With a calendar showing that it’s 2009, visiting 

ETHIOPIA is literally a journey back in time. 

Find out more with these facts and figures. 

text Yvette Bax infographics Chantal van Wessel/Vizualism 

Official name Federal Democratic 

Republic of Ethiopia 

Population 102.4 million 

GDP US$ 78.3 billion 

Capital Addis Ababa 

Currency Birr (ETB) 

Local time GMT+3 

Neighbouring 

countries Sudan, South Sudan, Djibouti, Eritrea, Somalia, 

Kenya 

Languages Oromo, Amharic and Somali 

Flights Kenya Airways operates daily flights from 

Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta Airport to 

Addis Ababa Bole International Airport 

1000 km 

Simien Mountains National Park 

This UNESCO World Heritage-listed National 

Park is one of Africa’s most beautiful ranges. 

The mountains include the Ras Dejen, which 

is the highest point in Ethiopia. 

Gondar 

Previously served as the 

capital of the Ethiopian 

Empire. The city holds the 

remains of several royal 

castles. It’s often referred to 

as the Camelot of Africa. 

Forecast GDP, annual variation 

Industry 

17 

8% 

6.8% 

7.5 

Agriculture 

36.2 

Harar 

The fortified historic 

town of Harar, in 

eastern Ethiopia, is 

located on a plateau 

with deep gorges surrounded 

by deserts and savannah. 

7 

Source: FocusEconomics / CIA The World Factbook / IMF 

Services 

6 

’15 ’16 ’17 ’18 ’19 ’20 ’21 

GDP growth compared to the 

previous year in Ethiopia 

(in percentages) 

46.8 

6.5 

6.6% Lalibela 

A high place of Ethiopian 

Christianity, Lalibela is situated 

in a mountainous region in the 

heart of Ethiopia. It’s home to 

11 medieval monolithic 

rock-hewn churches. 

Source: Lonely Planet / UNESCO

The top five countries to to which Ethiopia exported in in 2015 

in in US$ 

4. 4. 

5. 5. 

2. 

3. 

2. 

3. China Saudi 

Kuwait 

The 378 Arabia 

643 million Netherlands million 357 

million 

535 million 

1. 1. 

Somalia 

672 million 

5. 5. 

Sesamum 

seeds 

2. 2. 

474 

Petroleum 

million 

oils; 

4. 4. Other 

preparation 

The top five 

vegetables, 

693 million 

most exported 

nes, 

568 

products 

3. 3. million 

1. 1. Coffee, 

Fresh cut 

not roasted or or flowers 

decaffeinated 

and buds 

1,017 million 

662 

million 

Export 

Import 

The top five most 

imported products 

2. 2. 

Telegraphic 

1. 1. Petroleum 

apparatus, 

oils, etc, 

nes 

(excl. crude); 

639 million 3. 3. 

preparation, 

Palm oil oil 

2,316 million 

and liquid 

fractions 

541 million 

4. 4. Crude 

palm oil oil 

The top five countries 

477 million 5. 

5. 

Ethiopia imported from 

Dump 

trucks 

in in 2015 

393 

million 

Time 

and date 

The Ethiopian 

calendar has 

13 months, and 

it it is is 8 years 

behind the Western calendar. 

Geography 

The major 

portion of of 

Ethiopia lies on 

the Horn of of 

Africa. Within 

Ethiopia is is a vast 

highland complex of of 

mountains and 

dissected plateaus 

divided by the Great 

Rift Valley. 

Coffee 

Ethiopia is is 

considered to to be 

coffee’s 

homeland. 

The word “coffee” 

itself is is considered 

borrowed from the 

southern Ethiopia 

lands of of 

Kaffa. 

5 Dried and 

hand sorted. 

2009 

11 22 33 44 

55 66 77 88 

99 10 10111121213 

13 

BUSINESS / 47 

Climate 

The climate varies 

per topographical 

region. The monsoon 

affects some areas 

from June- 

September. 

The Great 

Rift Valley 

1 The ripe cherries 

are harvested. 

2 Then pulped: 

separating the coffee 

seeds from the outer 

layer of of flesh. 

4 Washed. 

3 The 

beans are 

fermented. 

1. 1. 

China 

7,167 million 

3. 3. 

Kuwait 

1,474 million 

6 Roasted. 

2. 2. 

Unspecified 

5,791 million 

Source: wits.worldbank.org (WITS) / MIT, atlas.media.mit.edu 

Source: wits.worldbank.org (WITS) MIT, atlas.media.mit.edu 

4. 4. 

India 

1,359 million 

5. 5. 

United States 

1,060 million 

7 The coffee is is 

packaged and 

exported. 

Names 

Parents and 

children don’t share 

a surname. It’s 

common that 

children will take their 

father’s first name as 

their surname. 

Source: Liberianfaunaflora.com, Earthsendangered.com 

Source: Liberianfaunaflora.com, Earthsendangered.com

48 / TREND / Smart farming 

The Smart 

Plot 

With the younger generation moving to 

cities, leaving aging parents to tend to the 

farms, a potential crisis looms. 

But AFRICA HAS THE ANSWER. 

text Andrea Dijkstra 

THE AVERAGE AGE of farmers in Africa is 60, a stark 

contrast to 60 percent of the population, who are under 24. 

This is a foreboding demographic for the future of farming 

here. However, with advances in technology has come a 

harbinger for change: a new generation of African farmers 

who are embracing farming by smartphone. 

THE NEXT GENERATION 

“These youngsters are completely different from the older 

generation farmers in Kenya,” says Joseph Macharia (38), 

founder of Mkulima Young, a website for young farmers 

with over 30,000 active users. “Using their smartphones and 

tablets, they can find information on the Internet quickly 

and stay in contact with customers and other farmers in 

Kenya and abroad.” Macharia, who has a weekly column 

about farming in Kenya’s biggest newspaper, Daily Nation, 

also explains that these young farmers are business minded, 

interested in new techniques and are growing new products. 

Significantly, they’re also focused on intensive agriculture 

because of the increasing shortage of water, soil and space 

in Kenya. 

Daniel Kimani (34) runs an aquaponics farm in the Rift 

Valley that has 10 fish tanks full of tilapia and catfish, and 

tens of thousands of strawberry plants growing in vertically 

positioned plastic tubes, in two heated greenhouses. He pushes 

a button and pipes above the plants start irrigating them with 

water drained from the fish tanks. “Minerals from fish faeces 

are used as organic fertiliser for the plants and the plants in 

turn filter the water, which is used again for the fish tanks,” 

says Kimani. “Thanks to the tubes, we don’t need > 

Some of the latest tech. 

solutions for farmers 

WeFarm is a free knowledge-sharing 

service that enables farmers to 

connect with their peers around the 

world. 

FarmDrive uses mobile phones, 

alternative data and machine learning 

to bridge the gap between smallholder 

farms and financial institutions. 

BSR is a mobile phone system that 

allows farmers to monitor and control 

their fish farms through the Internet. 

SoilCares uses a mobile soil scanner 

that connects with a smartphone. It 

offers farmers affordable, on-the-spot 

soil analysis. 

EZ-Farm, by IBM, enables sensors 

on the field that inform the smallscale 

farmers how to better manage 

irrigation and agricultural aggregators. 

UjuziKilimo provides information on 

crop and farm management, farm 

specific advice from agronomists, and 

soil testing through the Ujuzi device. 

iShamba is a call center and SMS 

service for farmers looking for instant 

expert help. After signing up you’ll also 

receive agri tips on livestock and crop, 

and current market prices.

SoilCares 

TREND / 49

50 / TREND / Smart farming 

Daniel Kimani at his 

aquaponics farm. 

Jeroen van Loon 

“Technology is making 

farming exciting for 

young people” 

a lot of space. We’re able to grow 420 plants per three sq m 

rather than 21. Instead of soil, we use pumice, which is easy 

to procure, and we recycle our water.” The whole system 

runs on solar energy during the day and on biogas, produced 

by fish faeces, during the night. This means there are no 

power bills or wasted water. 

The Internet is very important to Kimani’s farm. 

“I ordered a lot of products on the Internet, like my biogas 

generator from Taiwan. Because many people in Kenya still 

don’t understand what I’m doing, there’s no market here for 

what I need,” he says. Kimani uses a special app to control 

the solar and biogas system, and he inputs his data daily in 

another app (from an international consultancy company 

specialised in aquaponics), receiving advice in return. To help 

spread the knowledge, Kimani teaches aquaponics to dozens 

of youngsters every month. He’s not alone. Jomo Kenyatta 

University of Agriculture and Technology, Moi University 

and Egerton University have all started to teach this new 

farming method to their students. 

HI TECH, LOW COST 

While advanced farming technologies weren’t previously 

accessible for most farmers in Africa due to high costs, cloud 

computing, an increase in connectivity, open-source software 

and other affordable and accessible digital tools have reversed 

this trend. The company SoilCares, for example, offers farmers 

quick, inexpensive soil analysis done with a mobile soil scanner 

that connects with a smartphone. “My farm didn’t perform 

well despite the large amounts of fertiliser I applied to it,” says

TREND / 51 

Robert Mutumam, a farmer in Meru County. Mutumam 

decided to get a soil test from a local SoilCares provider, which 

revealed that his soil was highly acidic. He was advised to 

apply precise quantities of lime and calcium ammonium 

nitrate to his soil. “The head of my cabbages only weighed 

two to three kg before the soil test, but after I applied the 

fertilising and planting recommendations, the size increased 

up to seven kg per head.” 

BIG DATA 

There have been further advances in technology that are 

helping these “smart farmers”. Aerial images from satellites 

or drones, weather forecasts and soil sensors are making it 

possible to manage crop growth in real time. Automated 

systems provide early warnings if there are deviations from 

normal growth. UjuziKilimo, a Kenyan startup, uses big 

data and analytic capabilities to transform farmers into a 

knowledge-based community, with the goal of improving 

productivity through precision insights. This helps to adjust 

irrigation and determine the needs of individual plants. 

However, Peris Bosire (25), co-founder of Kenyan startup 

FarmDrive, believes that this information is essentially useless 

if it doesn’t come hand-in-hand with finance. And according 

to current statistics, only one percent of commercial loans in 

East Africa goes to agriculture. “There’s a huge funding gap 

and we feel technology should play a role in filling it,” says 

Bosire. By providing a record-keeping platform that helps 

farmers to build a credit profile and input their information 

online, via text message or Android app, the company connects 

unbanked and underserved farmers to credit. At the same 

time, they help financial institutions to cost-effectively increase 

their loan portfolios in the agriculture sector. 

MOTIVATED ENTREPRENEURS 

While it’s still too early to evaluate the impact of digitised 

farming systems in Africa, there’s a promising trend emerging: 

technology is making farming exciting for young people. 

“There’s such a vibrant entrepreneurial community building in 

Kenya, and a lot of attention is increasingly being focused on 

the agriculture sector,” says Kenny Ewan, CEO and Founder 

of WeFarm, a free knowledge-sharing service that enables 

farmers to connect with their peers around the world. “These 

young farmers are hungry for information about ways they can 

improve their farms, produce higher yields, diversify output and 

find low-cost solutions to their everyday farming problems. 

And they realise that mobile services will be of great help.” 

69 

Percentage of the people in Sub-Saharan 

Africa who work in agriculture 

60 

The average age of farmers in Africa 

50 

Percentage of Sub-Saharan African 

farmers who are women 

170 

Percentage growth of global food prices 

between 2000 and 2010 

50 

Percentage of poverty reduction from GDP 

growth originating in agriculture 

“Young farmers can find 

information on the Internet 

quickly and stay in contact 

with customers and farmers 

in Kenya and abroad” 

Jeroen van Loon

Tips / BUSINESS / 53 

How to 

Be a Smart 

Negotiator 

Go out and SEAL THAT 

GREAT DEAL every time 

with these tried-and-tested 

negotiation tips. 

text Annemarie Hoeve illustration Edith Carron 

1 Prepare 

Negotiation is like going into battle; 

enter unprepared and you risk defeat. 

Consider the wise words of Sun Tzu in 

The Art of War, the ancient Chinese 

treatise on military strategy, “If you 

know neither the enemy nor yourself, 

you will succumb in every battle.” So 

learn all you can about your target. 

And pinpoint your own weak spots. 

Go for a win-win 

2 Listen to the other party. What do 

they need? By conceding on issues that 

are less important to you, but a big gain 

for them, they are more likely to yield 

to you elsewhere. If done well, you can 

both come out feeling satisfied. And 

that’s useful, especially if you expect to 

be dealing with them again. 

Don’t rush, but do 

3 Patience is a big part of negotiation. 

The more time you have, the better, 

especially if the other party is in a hurry. 

But time can quickly turn against you. 

Once a verbal agreement is reached, make 

sure to get it in writing within 24 hours. 

The longer things are left to sit, the more 

time the other party has to reconsider. 

Walk away 

4 Some deals just aren’t meant to be. 

So be prepared to walk away. Set a target 

price and a bottom line in your mind 

beforehand. If the deal is just too lousy, 

do what you have to do. Give in too 

much and you may lose your credibility. 

And that’s too high a price to pay. 

Read all about it… 

These titles (all available 

online) offer deeper insights. 

As a former FBI hostage 

mediator, Chris Voss knows 

all about negotiating when 

the stakes are at their 

highest. He shares his skills 

in his book Never Split the 

Difference. 

In Real Leaders Negotiate!, 

author Jeswald W. Salacuse 

reveals how negotiation 

can be a powerful 

management tool, drawing 

on real examples from the 

corporate world. 

Learning how to read 

subtle clues in the other 

party’s body language can 

give you an extra edge. 

Read all about it in Body 

Language Secrets to Win 

More Negotiations by Greg 

Williams.

54 / BUSINESS / Tips 

How to 

Work 

Together 

Collaboration is the 

oil that keeps a company 

RUNNING SMOOTHLY 

and efficiently. Here’s how 

to get it right. 

text Annemarie Hoeve illustration Edith Carron 

Culture of respect 

1 To collaborate well, people must dare 

to share ideas, offer feedback and voice 

concerns. They will only do that when 

they feel comfortable and respected. So 

make sure that everyone feels like they 

are heard and have value to add. Ask for 

input from all team members, and not 

just the usual volunteers. 

Embrace technology 

2 The whole point of technology is to 

make our lives easier. So embrace it. 

Shared calendars, a social intranet and 

task-management tools can encourage 

co-working across the company. At the 

same time, don’t let tech take the place 

of regular team meetings. Frequent faceto-face 

interaction remains vital. 

Engage outsiders 

3 Why only use company insights? 

Outsiders often offer a fresh perspective. 

Involve users in product development or 

team up with another company to add 

value. Danish toymaker Lego did both 

with great success. What better way to 

target client needs and generate more 

business? 

Don’t go overboard 

4 Yes, successful teamwork can bring 

amazing results. But also know when not 

to work together. Some tasks are best 

done individually, while some people 

work better on their own. So ditch those 

office memos proclaiming, “There is no 

I in teamwork.” They’re not helpful. 

Read all about it… 

These titles (all available 

online) offer deeper insights. 

In Co-Create, best-selling 

author and keynote speaker 

David Nour explores how 

strategic collaboration can 

boost business, driving 

innovation and growth 

as well as employee 

motivation. 

The world is becoming 

a complex place and 

many problems require 

multidisciplinary teams 

to tackle them. In Smart 

Collaboration, former 

Harvard Business School 

Professor Heidi K. Gardner 

offers practical advice 

based on extensive 

research. 

Ever had to team up with 

people you didn’t get on 

with? In Collaborating with 

the Enemy, international 

consultant Adam Kahane 

shows how being more open 

to others brings positive 

results.

56 / TRAVEL / Hanoi 

1 

2 

3 

4

TRAVEL / 57 

5 

Vietnam’s 

Northern 

Soul 

6 

Exploring Hanoi’s old town is 

like wandering the corridors of an 

enchanting mansion. Take time to 

enjoy the boulevards and alleyways 

and you’ll DISCOVER A CITY 

like no other. 

text Mark Eveleigh 

7 

Gemma Clarke, John Lander, Stocksy, Alamy 

The City of Lakes 

Of the two-dozen lakes that are sprinkled across this metropolis of 

7.7 million people, Hoan Kiem Lake is perhaps the most beautiful. It’s 

known as the Lake of the Restored Sword because, according to legend, 

an ancient king returned a magical sword to the turtle god here after he 

used it to defeat Chinese invaders. This is still a magical place in the hours 

around dawn, when hordes of gently swaying locals gather to practise t’ai 

chi amid the lake’s rising mist. Saunter across the crimson-painted > 

1. Motorbikes are used for everything, from transport to seating 2. A flower seller 

3. Rush hour 4. Architectural detail at the Temple of Literature 5. A street featuring the 

most popular form of transport 6. Halong Bay 7. A local motorbike technician


Rising Sun Bridge to Jade Island, with its elegant pagoda, and try to 

spot an endangered soft-shelled turtle in the lake (it’s considered to be 

good luck). At Huu Tiep Lake, you can still see the tangled wreckage of 

a crashed American B-52 bomber emerging from the surface. The 17 

km shoreline of Ho Tay (known as West Lake) is a wonderful place to 

experience colourful community life beyond the tourist trail. 

City for Peace 

In 1999, UNESCO presented Hanoi with the City for Peace title, which 

is fitting given that it’s now one of the safest and most relaxing capitals 

in Asia. Forty years after the “Fall of Saigon”, visitors are still drawn to 

the famous landmarks of what the Vietnamese call “The American 

War”. Hoa Lo Prison – also known as the Hanoi Hilton – is a poignant 

reminder of the conditions that local freedom fighters (under French 

subjugation) and American prisoners of war often found themselves 

in. The Vietnam Military History Museum offers deeper insight into 

wartime Vietnam, and Cot Co Tower (within the museum grounds) is 

one of the most outstanding remnants of the Citadel of Hanoi (the 

former residence of Vietnamese monarchs). You’ll find the mighty Ho 

Chi Minh Mausoleum, resting place of the father of modern Vietnam, 

two blocks north. Just a short walk from here is One Pillar Pagoda, one 

of Vietnam’s most famous Buddhist sites and a symbol of Hanoi’s quest 

for peace since it was built almost a thousand years ago. 

Where to Sleep 

Among the tree-lined boulevards of the French Quarter you’ll discover 

a city that, for once, actually deserves the clichéd accolade, “Paris of 

the Orient”. Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi is the undisputed grande 

dame of the French Quarter. Since it opened in 1901, this wonderful 

five-star hotel has been Hanoi’s premier address and the scene of much 

of its drama. Guests can now join a tour to visit the re-discovered 

bunker where “Hanoi Jane” Fonda and Joan Baez sheltered during a 

US bombing raid. Golden Silk Boutique Hotel is perfectly located in 

Silk Street and is just a few minutes’ walk from Hoan Kiem Lake. For a 

touch of modern Vietnamese boutique chic try Hanoi Trendy Hotel, 

or for the perfect business sojourn the Sheraton Hanoi is located in an 

idyllic, peaceful garden oasis on the shore of West Lake, just 10 minutes 

from the city centre. 

Where to eat 

Vietnamese street food is famous the world over. Dong Xuan Night 

Market (open until 11 p.m., Friday-Sunday) is a wonderful shopping 

venue as well as an opportunity to sample the most delicious street food. 

The golden rule to finding places that are popular with the locals is to 

follow the crowds. Among countless Hanoi signature dishes you should 

try pho bo (beef noodles), bun cha (vermicelli with grilled pork) or > 

1. Red Temple Shutters 2. Huc Bridge (“bridge where light is absorbed”) over Hoan 

Kiem Lake 3. Vietnamese women playing a board game called Les Petits Chevaux 

(The Little Horses) on the footpath 4. Bar at Top of Hanoi 5. Dragon Topiary at the 

Temple of Literature 6. Chili, cucumbers and onions for sale at a local market 

7. A Hanoi Backstreet 8. Ngoc Son Temple 9. Motorbike adventures 

“Locals gather 

to practise t’ai chi 

amid the lake’s 

rising mist” 

WHERE TO SLEEP 

Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi 

sofitel-legend-metropole-hanoi.com 

Golden Silk Boutique Hotel 

goldensilkhotel.com 

Hanoi Trendy Hotel 

hanoitrendyhotel.com 

Sheraton Hanoi 

sheratonhanoi.com 

WHERE TO EAT 

Madame Hien 

verticale-hanoi.com 

La Badiane 

labadiane-hanoi.com 

Spices Garden 


Getting around 

Hanoi’s motorcycle taxis are endearingly 

called “Honda hugs”. The term relates 

less to affection, however, and more to 

the sheer panic of foreign passengers as 

they grip desperately to the drivers, like 

baby gibbons clinging to their swooping 

mothers. Pedicabs, the cycle trishaws 

sometimes known as “Hanoi helicopters”, 

are a much slower and more relaxing way 

to get around town.

TRAVEL / 59 

2 

3 

1 4 

8 

5 

Matthew Williams Ellis, Gemma Clarke, John Lander, Stocksy, Alamy 

6 7 9


1 

2 3 4 

5 

6 

7 8 

Gemma Clarke, John Lander, Stocksy, Alamy

TRAVEL / 61 

“The Reunification 

Express remains one 

of the world’s most 

iconic rail trips, 

connecting Hanoi with 

Ho Chi Minh City” 

WHERE TO DRINK 

Cong Caphe 

congcaphe.com 

Top of Hanoi 

lottehotel.com/hanoi/ 

The Rooftop 

topgo.vn/the-rooftop-bar 

ESCAPE FROM HANOI 

Cuong’s Motorbike Adventure 

cuongs-motorbike-adventure.com 

Reunification Express 

vietnam-railway.com 

Hai Au Seaplane Flights 

seaplanes.vn 

Backyard Travel 

backyardtravel.com 

Halong Bay, 

Hanoi’s UNESCO Gem 

Vietnam’s greatest natural beauty spot 

is undoubtedly Halong Bay, a threehour 

drive from Hanoi, or a 40-minute 

scenic seaplane flight. Backyard Travel 

offers a seven-day luxury tour of North 

Vietnam (from US$1,420 per person) 

that combines a train trip to the hill tribe 

region of Sapa, a Junk Cruise on Halong 

Bay, and a wonderful chance to explore 

Vietnam’s most exciting city in style. 

banh mi (French bread filled with grilled pork or flavoursome pâté). The 

truly courageous might even sample fertilised duck egg or barbecued 

paddy-rat. Madame Hien is a culinary homage to the diversity of 

Vietnamese cuisine, inspired by celebrated French chef and long-time 

Vietnam resident Didier Corlou. La Badiane is at the pinnacle of Hanoi’s 

French haute cuisine, prepared with Asian-fusion flair. Spices Garden is 

where Mrs Nguyen Thanh Van – the first Vietnamese woman accepted 

into l’Académie Culinaire de France – works her magic, while La Terrasse 

is Metropole Hotel’s romantic Parisian-style pavement café. 

Where to Drink 

Ta Hien Street is known as Beer Street for its sidewalk beer stalls that 

serve some of the best (and possibly the cheapest) beer in Asia. Legend 

has it that the art of brewing was introduced to the Vietnamese by Czech 

engineers and, even today, a glass of Bia Hoi (literally “fresh beer”) will 

set you back around US$0.20. If there’s one thing that Vietnam does 

even better than beer it’s ca phe (coffee) and this country might well have 

the best coffee in the world – rich, powerful, aromatic and sugar-bomb 

sweet. The countless variations – served with condensed milk, coconut 

milk, egg white and yoghurt – can be mind-boggling. A useful first stop 

to make sense of it all could be one of several hipster-style Cong Caphe 

establishments that are dotted all over town and decorated with Viet 

Cong memorabilia. Top of Hanoi (on the 65 th floor of Lotte Hotel 

Hanoi) and The Rooftop combine neon-studded bird’s-eye views with 

colourful signature cocktails and even more colourful nightlife. 

Escape from Hanoi 

You might be so enchanted by Hanoi that you never want to leave, but 

Vietnam – 1,650 km long – offers some of the most tempting road trips 

in South East Asia. You can travel through the region with Cuong’s 

Motorbike Adventure, or just spend a day exploring the city in US Army 

Jeeps or chauffeured Russian Ural sidecar-motorbikes. Perhaps take a 

trip to the lovely Perfume Pagoda temple complex, which was built into 

the karst cliffs of Huong Tich Mountain (60 km away). Other major 

sights near the city are Co Loa Citadel (just across the river), Bat Trang 

ceramic village (16 km away), Duong Lam ancient village (55 km away) 

or the art community at Hong Ngoc (76 km away) where many artists are 

Agent Orange survivors. 

Hanoi, Vietnam’s “northern soul”, is an ideal launching pad for journeys 

southwards and the Reunification Express remains one of the world’s 

most iconic rail trips, connecting Hanoi with Ho Chi Minh City via 1,726 

km of railway. It is worthwhile remembering too that Vietnam has one of 

the world’s best networks of long-distance sleeper coaches, which can 

also take you up to Sapa or south to Hoi An, Hue or even Ho Chi Minh. 

Kenya Airways operates flights from Nairobi to 

Hanoi, Vietnam, three times a week, on Monday, 

Wednesday and Friday. 

1. Turtle Tower Pagoda at Hoan Kiem Lake 2. Sofitel Metropole Hotel 3. Cha Ca La Vong, 

a famous Hanoi dish 4. Fisherwomen braving the cold waters at Tay Ho Lake 5. Water 

Puppet Theatre 6. One Pillar Pagoda 7. Old town window 8. The daily commute

62 / TRAVEL / Quiz 

Guess 

and Win 

We give you five clues about a 

KENYA AIRWAYS DESTINATION. 

Which country are we referring to? 

Post your answer to Facebook, Instagram 

or Twitter using #msafiriquiz, 

and we may surprise you with a gift. 

text Ben Clark 

1 

Matooke is a popular food here. It consists of green bananas 

(plantain), which are peeled, boiled (or steamed in banana 

leaves) and then mashed. 

2 

Mountain Gorillas are only found in three countries in the 

world: this country, Rwanda and The Democratic Republic 

of the Congo. 

3 

Lonely Planet selected this country as the best travel 

destination for 2012. 

4 

Novelist and broadcaster Marcel Theroux was born in this 

country. He has written five novels, including A Stranger in 

The Earth and The Confessions of Mycroft Holmes: A Paper 

Chase. 

5 

Coffee is the top-earning export crop here. Consisting mostly 

of dry-processed Robusta beans that are used in instant 

coffees, this country’s coffee also includes high-quality, 

wet-processed Arabica beans, which are mostly grown by 

villagers on small plots. 

Do you know the country? Post your answer to Facebook, Twitter or Instagram using #msafiriquiz. Each month, Kenya Airways will pick a winner 

and surprise him or her with a gift. Correspondence about the quiz results will not be possible. 

Shutterstock, Alamy

64 / HERITAGE / Storytelling 

USE IT OR 

LOSE IT 

Many societies have data storage facilities in 

which to PRESERVE TRADITIONS, but 

those still off the grid have no such luxury; 

they must perform or their customs will perish. 

text Wanjeri Gakuru 

Alamy

HERITAGE / 65


Judith Quax 

A TALL POET with a commanding 

presence winds his way around a packed 

auditorium, with shakers strapped to his 

ankles. He rhythmically taps the sides 

of a massive gourd as he performs an 

epic poem in the Acholi language with 

sprinklings of English. It’s March 2017 

and we are in the Uganda Museum in 

Kampala. The poet is Daniel Omara, 

a 10-year veteran of Uganda’s art scene. 

Omara spins a tale of love, longing 

and life to us as we laugh, clap along and 

listen attentively. This is despite having 

to largely rely on his tone, gestures and 

facial expressions to deduce the poem’s 

mood and intention. 

“Even without each word being 

understood, his poetry came alive” 

“Performing in my mother tongue 

ignites and sustains the artistic virtue 

of originality,” says Omara. “I draw 

unimaginable inspiration from the 

literary wealth that exists among our 

proverbs, riddles, legends and accounts 

of norms and taboos.” Omara is always 

perfecting his unique performance 

style, Luoetry – a marriage of Luo 

(Acholi) and English – so as not to 

alienate audiences yet still keep true to 

his traditional soul. 

THE SCIENCE 

There was a visceral reaction to 

Omara’s performance. Even without each 

word being understood, his poetry came 

alive. Professor Njogu, a Kenyan linguist, 

literary scholar and cultural theorist 

(with a Ph.D. from Yale) ascribes this to 

the power of writing in the language of 

our emotion. Sitting in his Nairobi 

office, the bespectacled Njogu explains, 

“We are finest in our creative enterprises

HERITAGE / 67 

Alamy 

when we write in the languages with 

which we first experience the world.” 

Njogu sees language as a metaphor 

about life and the ways in which we 

interact with each other and our 

environments. Its wonder lies in how it 

captures a person’s entire existence. 

The same is true of singing. There 

are over 100 million Swahili speakers in 

Africa, and those found in East Africa 

have developed a unique style of music 

called taarab. It gets its name from the 

Arabic word tariba, which means the 

ecstatic feelings evoked by true musical 

artistry. It’s essentially the performance 

and singing of mashairi (poems) with 

instrumental accompaniments. 

ANCIENT INSTAGRAM 

Taarab is used to inform, educate, 

reprimand, create awareness, and store 

history. Some songs are so good that 

even though a live performance didn’t 

occur in a locale, the music is passed 

down from one homestead to the next 

by public sharing and singing. 

Mbaraka Ali Haji (50s) is a taarab 

composer based in Mombasa. Haji’s 

interest started in 1972 while he was still 

in primary school. He recalls having a 

natural knack for writing poetic songs, 

especially those with layered meanings. 

The hallmark of a traditional taarab 

lyric is its ability to cleverly relay two or 

more interpretations at once. 

“There has to be a surface meaning 

because we sing in public where fathers, 

mothers and children are present, so you 

have to be respectful,” says Haji. “The 

deeper meaning is for the adults or those 

targeted by a song’s lesson to decipher.” 

THE FABRIC OF SOCIETY 

A similar strategy is applied to the 

creation of a cotton fabric, known as 

kanga or lesso, that’s been in use across 

Africa since the 19 th century. Kanga 

is said to have originated from a 

Portuguese handkerchief that Zanzibari 

women sew together – three panels at 

a time – to make the kanga’s larger 

fabric. Over time, text was introduced to 

the fabric along its bottommost border. 

These texts were referred to as majina 

(names/designs), and were usually witty 

proverbs, sayings and compositions 

drawn from local parlance, The Quran, 

The Bible, politics and songs. 

Kanga expert Amanda Lichtenstein 

explains the hidden meanings, depth 

and complexity of these texts. “It’s a 

form of living literature that respects 

ambiguity, and challenges the reader to 

interpret not just what it says and means 

but what it doesn’t say, doesn’t mean. 

The language can be biting, playful, 

erotic, clever, and it can also show 

immense compassion and humanity.” 

Gems such as, kauli njema ni mshale wa 

moyo (good words are the heart’s arrows) 

and ni kweli lakini hayakuhusu (it’s true 

but it’s none of your business), carry >


Daniel Omara 

performing at the 

Jalada festival. 

Part of the fabric 

There are currently over 100 kanga 

designs in Zanzibar. The old sayings 

are poetic, ambiguous, steeped 

in metaphors, and have multiple 

meanings. The newer sayings are 

more direct, use plain language and 

are often fiercer. 

Kanga are used to mitigate 

arguments, but they are almost 

exclusively used to say what cannot 

be spoken. Few women would admit 

directly that they’d piga kanga (used 

the kanga to argue). However, kanga 

producers receive requests daily for 

messages about jealousy, heartbreak 

and betrayal. 

Classic designs are regularly 

reproduced and appear in the local 

markets among the newer mix. These 

kanga are referred to not only by their 

name, but also by their designs. For 

example, kanga ya ndege wawili (the 

kanga with two birds) refers to a very 

old design with two love birds in the 

middle, and almost always comes 

with the same text. 

Ian Kithinji 

deeper significance to both wearer and 

reader in a community. 

PRESERVATION MEASURES 

It’s this sense of community, oral 

traditions and practices that are under 

siege today. As communities continue to 

scatter and migrate due to the effects of 

globalisation, there’s a growing need for 

cultural preservation. 

UNESCO’s Convention for the 

Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural 

Heritage is one solution. It proposes five 

broad “domains” in which culture is 

manifested: oral traditions and 

expressions (including languages); 

performing art; social practices, ritual 

and festive events; knowledge and 

practices concerning nature and the 

universe; and traditional craftsmanship. 

So far UNESCO has run projects in 

Colombia, Georgia, and Yemen, as well 

as an open-air forum on intangible 

cultural heritage and conflict resolution 

in Kenya. Another answer is the African 

Academy of Languages, which preserves 

the continent’s spoken languages. 

“We’ve already built the intellectual 

argument for the use of African 

languages to engage the world. Now we 

“The language can also show immense 

compassion and humanity” 

must empower the next generation to 

embrace them,” says Njogu, who’s 

involved with the organisation. 

Haji’s own method of cultural 

preservation was to form Lelele Africa, a 

taarab band comprised of octogenarians. 

These musicians of yore still perform 

using instruments that are now too old 

for others to learn or too expensive to 

purchase. The eight-man band sings in 

the old styles too. “A person’s strength 

lies in their ability to know their roots, 

mother tongue and traditions,” says Haji. 

“Without that, a person can become 

weak and lost in the world.” 

These wise words could easily be 

applied beyond African cultures. In a 

way, what he says is a warning to the 

world that whatever it is that makes you 

who you are, keep practising it. Keep it 

alive. Even if your traditions are stored 

safely, who knows if future generations 

will be able to access them.

Alamy 

HERITAGE / 69

ENTERTAINMENT / 71 

Kenya Airways 

offers its passengers 

complimentary inflight 

entertainment. 

The programme will 

vary in different aircraft 

types. Check your 

screen to view the 

selection on your flight. 

Relax & Enjoy 

Discover our complimentary blockbusters, new releases, 

African films, all-time favourites, Bollywood films, TV, audio and 

games during your flight. These are this season’s highlights. 

Kong: Skull Island 

(read more on the next page) 

“An uncharted island. Let me list all the 

ways you’re going to die: wind, rain, heat, 

disease-carrying flies, and we haven’t started on 

the things that want to eat you alive” 

– Captain James Conrad – 

MOVIE RATINGS 

G Suitable for all ages PG Some material may not be suitable for children PG-13 Some material may be inapproriate for children under 13 

R Under-17s should watch only with parental approval NR Not rated UR Unrated Please note: at certain periods the programming may differ from that shown.

72 / ENTERTAINMENT 

Favourites 

Kong: 

Skull Island 

With influences including Princess 

Mononoke, the anime Evangelion, 

and Apocalypse Now, Kong: Skull 

Island – the second film in the 

MonsterVerse franchise – has been 

critically acclaimed. It’s also the 

seventh-highest grossing film so far 

in 2017. 

Kong: Skull Island (2017) ACTION 

Available onboard Kenya Airways now — take a journey to the past and revisit 

Kong in his newest form! 

Samuel L. Jackson. PG-13, 118 mins. Director: Jordan Vogt-Roberts 

We first meet Kong on his island in 1944, 

when a fight between stranded American 

and Japanese soldiers is Interrupted by the 

big ape. 

Fast forward to the end of the Vietnam 

War, when several American soldiers, led 

by Colonel Packard (Samuel L. Jackson), 

are joined by anti-war photographer Mason 

Weaver (Brie Larson) and former member 

of the British special forces Captain James 

Conrad (Tom Hiddleston). They go to Skull 

Island on an expedition with a purpose that 

is unknown to them. US Government official 

Bill Randa (John Goodman) is the only one 

who’s aware of the island’s monsters. In their 

quest to survive, the men must confront their 

greatest fears, hulking enemies and suspicious 

natives. 

In the Forests of Siberia (2016) ADVENTURE 

Teddy decides to settle down alone in Siberia, in the midst of winter, in a hut 

by the shore of Lake Baikal where he soon learns the harsher sides of solitude. 

Raphaël Personnaz, Evgeniy Sidikhin. G, 105 mins. Director: Safy Nebbou 

With comedic twists and shots reminiscent 

of computer games, director Jordan Vogt- 

Roberts’ first blockbuster is a rollercoaster 

ride that will have you gripping the edge of 

your seat as the action-packed minutes fly by. 

Did you know? 

~ As part of a larger franchise, this instalment leads up to the Godzilla 

vs. Kong film, set for release in 2020! 

~ At 31.7 m, this incarnation of Kong, which is based on his 1933 

counterpart, is the biggest of all. 

Big Mommas Like Father, Like Son (2011) ACTION 

Malcolm Turner and his stepson Trent go undercover at an all-girls school to 

flush out a killer. 

Martin Lawrence, Jessica Lucas. PG-13, 107 mins. Director: John Whitesell


Favourites 

I, Robot (2004) ACTION 

In 2035, a technophobic cop investigates a crime that may have been 

perpetrated by a robot, which reveals a larger threat to humanity. 

Will Smith, Bridget Moynahan. PG-13, 115 mins. Director: Alex Proyas 

American Sniper (2014) ACTION 

Navy SEAL Chris Kyle’s pinpoint accuracy saves countless lives and turns him 

into a legend. However, after returning home, he can’t leave the war behind. 

Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller. R, 133 mins. Director: Clint Eastwood 

Getting Rich in Lagos (2016) DRAMA 

A young man leaves to the big city to pursue a career and become 

wealthy. Years later he returns to his old village. 

Wole Ojo, Jide Kosoko. PG-13, 105 mins. Director: Darasen Richards 

Gifted (2017) DRAMA 

Frank, a single man raising his child prodigy niece Mary, is drawn into a 

custody battle with his mother. 

Chris Evans, Mckenna Grace. PG-13, 101 mins. Director: Marc Webb 

The Dark Knight Rises (2012) ACTION 

Eight years after the Joker’s reign of anarchy, the Dark Knight is forced from 

his imposed exile to save Gotham City from the brutal guerrilla-terrorist Bane. 

Christian Bale, Tom Hardy. PG-13, 164 mins. Director: Christopher Nolan 

Rustom (2016) CRIME 

In 1959, a decorated naval officer is accused of murdering his wife’s lover. 

Akshay Kumar, Ileana D'Cruz, Arjan Bajwa, Esha Gupta. UA, 148 mins. 

Director: Dharmendra Suresh Desai


African Highlights 

A Little White Lie 

It's About Your Husband 

Candle in the Wind 

Film 

Picks from 

the continent 

We’ve selected the best of current African cinema, 

including drama and comedy. 

A Little White Lie (2016) DRAMA 

A socially awkward young woman lies to her parents about having a boyfriend 

and it eventually catches up with her, in ways better than expected. 

Mbong Amata, Mary Remmy, PG-13, 91 mins. Director: John Njamah 

It’s About Your Husband (2016) DRAMA 

A married man discovers that his wife and secret girlfriend met at a job 

interview and will soon be working together. 

Bimbo Ademoye, Vivian Ojei, PG-13, 91 mins. Director: Bunmmi Ajakaiye 

Candle in the Wind (2016) DRAMA 

An old man traces his lost daughter to ask for forgiveness through narrating 

his past life. 

Jackie Appiah, James Gardiner. PG-13, 109 mins. Director: Pascal Amanfo 

Nightrunners (2015) THRILLER 

Thriller based on a true local legend. Isobel travels to a remote, 

Nightrunners 

malaria-plagued island to help out at the local orphanage. 

Esther Asinga, Teresa Asinga. NR, 88 mins. Director: Rowan Nielsen 

First Class (2016) COMEDY 

After an illiterate business owner is defrauded by his wife, he uses the 

incident as an incentive to enrol in primary school. 

Ruth Kadiri, Peggy Ovire. PG-13, 117 mins. Director: Ike Nnaebue 

Grigris (2013) DRAMA 

Despite his paralyzed leg, Grigris dreams of being a dancer. His hopes are 

dashed when his stepfather falls ill. He must traffic petrol to save him. 

Souleymane Démé. NR, 101 mins. Director: Mahamat-Saleh Haroun 

As Crazy as it Gets (2015) ROMANCE 

A man who’s about to propose to his girlfriend gets a shock when a heavily 

pregnant woman appears demanding that he takes responsibility. 

Omoni Oboli, Chuks Chyke. PG-13, 106 mins. Director: Shittu Taiwo 

Safe Bet (2015) COMEDY 

When Frank’s friend Khaya turns up with a money-making scheme, 

Frank is tempted into throwing all his boss’ money into a fixed 

boxing match. 

Wandile Molebatsi, Lutuli Dlamini. PG-13, 91 mins. Director: Carl Roddam 

Mum, Dad meet Sam (2014) COMEDY 

Josiah and Samantha meet and fall in love. He takes her home to meet 

his family in Nigeria, where a supposed special occasion turns into their 

worst nightmare. 

Tomasz Dabrowski, Amanda Smith, Emily Lucienne. PG-13, 94 mins. 

Director: Tony Sebastian Ukpo


World Movies 

Film 

Around the Globe 

We’ve selected some recent action, drama and 

romance titles from around the globe. 

Max and Léon 

LA FOLLE HISTOIRE DE MAX ET LÉON (2016) COMEDY 

The adventures of two childhood friends, Max and Léon, one an idler and 

the other a party animal, who are trying to escape the Second World War. 

David Marsais. Grégoire Ludig. PG-13, 98 mins. Director: Jonathan Barré 

From the Land of the Moon 

MAL DE PIERRES (2016) ROMANCE 

In 1950s France, Gabrielle is a passionate, free-spirited woman who’s in a 

loveless marriage and falls for another man when she is sent to the Alps. 

Marion Cotillard, Louis Garrel. PG-13, 120 mins. Director: Nicole Garcia 

The Last Diamond 

LE DERNIER DIAMANT (2014) CRIME 

Simon, just out of prison, is led by his mentor Albert and the gangster 

Scylla into an operation to steal the most famous diamond in the world, 

the Florentin. 

Yvan Attal, Bérénice Bejo. R, 108 mins. Director: Eric Barbier 

The Fury of a Patient Man 

TARDE PARA LA IRA (2016) THRILLER 

A man who loses his wife during a vicious robbery at a jewellery store 

quietly plans to find and exact revenge against the robbers responsible. 

Antonio de la Torre, Luis Callejo. NR, 91 mins. Director: Raúl Arévalo 

Pink (2016) DRAMA 

When three young women – Minal Arora, Falak Ali and Andrea – are 

implicated in a crime, retired lawyer Deepak Sehgal steps forward to help 

them clear their names. 

Tapsee Pannu. PG-13, 136 mins. Director: Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury 

What’s for Dinner, Mom? 

MAMA, GOHAN MADA? (2016) DRAMA 

Tae finds a box with letters and recipes written by her mother. 

Izumu Fujimoto. NR, 117 mins. Director: Mitsuhito Shiraha 

Baaghi (2016) ROMANCE 

An ex-military agent goes into hiding for a 

mission. He has a bounty on his head, and the best hunter in town is on 

the chase. But they have a common enemy. 

Shraddha Kapoor, Tiger Shroff, Sudheer Babu Posani. PG-13, 133 mins. 

Director: Sabir Khan 

Rocky Handsome (2016) ACTION 

When a drug mafia abducts an eight-year-old, her friend and neighbour 

sets out on a mission to rescue her by any means necessary. 

John Abraham. UA, 119 mins. Director: Nishikant Kamat 

Max and Léon


TV 

Small Screen 

Programmes 

& Series 

We’ve selected the best TV comedies, drama, sports 

and lifestyle programmes for your entertainment. 

Comedy 

The Big Bang Theory, Season 9, Episodes 4, 5 & 6 A woman who moves into 

an apartment across the hall from two brilliant but socially awkward physicists 

shows them how little they know about life outside the laboratory. 

New Girl, Season 5, Episodes 4 & 5 After a bad break-up, Jess moves into 

an apartment with three single men. 

2 Broke Girls, Season 5, Episodes 1 & 2 Two young waitresses strike up an 

unlikely friendship in the hopes of launching a successful business. 

The League, Season 6, Episode 1 An ensemble comedy that follows a 

group of old friends in a fantasy football league who use every opportunity to 

make each other’s lives miserable. 

Sports 

250 Great Goals featuring goals scored by Zlatan Ibrahimovic in EURO 2012 

and Ben Watson scoring for Wigan Athletic in the 2013 FA Cup final. 

PGA: Delivering a Decade of Champions This half-hour special chronicles 

the FedExCup, reflecting on how it has changed the game and examining its 

enduring impact on the PGA TOUR and its players. 

Discovery 

Africa III Madagascar, a huge island nation off the southeast coast of Africa, 

is home to thousands of animal species found nowhere else, rainforests, 

beaches and reefs. 

Hong Kong and Macau Hong Kong is a major port and global financial 

centre famed for its tower-studded skyline. Macau is a resort city that is 

known for its casinos and luxury hotels. Both places are in Southern China. 

China (Suzhou) Suzhou, a city west of Shanghai, is known for its canals, 

bridges and classical gardens. 

Lifestyle 

On the Road, Season 1, Episode 2 Wanja Mungai takes viewers to three 

new locations every week to see some of Africa’s best destinations. 

The Scoop, Season 1, Episodes 1, 3 & 4 A new African talk show hosted by 

A24 Media’s Salim Amin. The show takes viewers into the lives of the “who’s 

who” of Africa. 

News 

Afripedia A documentary series about the creative forces that are reshaping 

the image of Africa beyond the stereotypes. 

The Africa Opportunity A look at the current climate for business and 

investment in Africa featuring panel discussions from Bloomberg’s Africa 

Business and Economic Summit. 

Drama 

The Flash, Season 3, Episodes 2 & 3 After being struck by lightning, 

Barry Allen wakes up from his coma to discover he’s been given the power 

of super speed, becoming The Flash. 

Training Day, Season 1 , Episodes 1 & 2 TV follow-up to the 2001 film 

Training Day about a rookie cop partnered with an experienced corrupt 

narcotics officer.


Music Channel Explained: The Channel number for 

your favourite music programmes is shown at the end 

of each description. It’s determined by the aircraft type, 

so you will need to know what type of aircraft you’re on. 

Please check the safety card in front of you. 

Audio 

Spotlight on 

Whitney 

Houston 

In this month’s spotlight section, 

we are treated to a collection of 

poignant and beautifully poetic 

songs from the late American 

singer Whitney Houston. 

In 2009, Guiness World Records cited 

Houston as the most-awarded female 

act of all-time. Delivering a host of hit 

singles such as When You Believe and 

My Love is Your Love, it’s no surprise 

that she sold almost 200 million albums 

worldwide during her glittering career. 

KQ Radio (with guest DJ) 

Our guest DJs bring you some of Kenya’s 

biggest hits. B737 CH. 3 

African Classics 

The best tunes from classic African artists, 

from Angélique Kidjo to Umanji. B737 CH. 4 

Jazz 

Our highly diverse collection is a must-listen for 

the discerning jazz fan. B737 CH. 7 

Pop 

Enjoy our sampling of all of today’s most-loved 

pop music. B737 CH. 8 

Dance Hall/Reggae 

We offer a fusion of sounds, with a range of 

diverse artists. B737 CH. 6 

Classical 

Sit back and relax to our classical collection’s 

awe-inspiring compositions. B737 CH. 5 

Chinese Pop 

The perfect selection for exploring the sounds 

of the Orient. B737 CH.9 

Easy Listening 

Unwind and take it easy with some laid-back 

sounds. B737 CH. 10 

Meditation 

Sit back, relax and destress to the ultimate 

meditation mix. ONLY ON B787 and B777 

“When I heard Aretha, I could feel 

her emotional delivery so clearly. 

It came from down deep within. 

That’s what I wanted to do” 

– Whitney Houston –


Kids 

Comedy 

Mr. Popper’s 

Penguins 

After a business man inherits six 

penguins, it’s not long before his 

life begins to unravel as he 

struggles to care for them. 

Mr. Popper (Jim Carrey) is a successful 

real estate developer in Manhattan. He 

lives in a posh apartment on Park 

Avenue, and is on the fast track to a 

partnership in a prestigious company. 

However, his life changes radically when 

he receives a final gift from his late father 

– a live penguin, which soon multiplies. 

Jim Carrey, Carla Gugino, Angela Lansbury. 

PG, 94 mins. Director: Mark Waters 

Film and TV 

The Ones to Watch 

These are the most popular films from our selection. 

If you’ve already seen these, take your pick 

from this season’s selection of 35 family and kids films. 

Marvel’s Avengers 

Assemble 

The further animated adventures of 

the Marvel Universe’s mightiest 

superhero team with newest 

member Falcon. 

Season 1, Episode 4 

The Looney Tunes Show 

An updated iteration of the classic 

Looney Tunes characters focusing 

on their satirical misadventures 

living in suburbia. 

Season 2, Episode 1 

The Flintstones 

The hilarious adventures of two 

families, the Flintstones and the 

Rubbles, as they deal with life in a 

romanticised Stone Age. 

Season 1, Episodes 2 & 5 

X-Men: Evolution 

This rendition of X-Men features 

Cyclops, Jean Grey, Rogue, 

Nightcrawler, Shadowcat and Spike 

as teenagers as they fight for a world 

that fears and hates them. 

Season 2, Episode 1

TRANSLATED / 81 

Français & 中文 

Français 

82 

Mer et bien-être 

84 

L’âme du Nord-Vietnam 

中文 

86 

治愈系唯美海景 

87 

越南 “ 北方的灵魂 ”

82 / TRANSLATED 

Français 

Voyage 

Mer et 

bien-être 

Entre terre ferme et île de rêve, 

ces 10 PLAGES KÉNYANES sont 

des destinations magiques pour vos 

prochaines vacances à la mer. 

POUR LES AMOUREUX DES ÎLES 

L’Île de Chale 

Même si elle ressemble plus à un promontoire 

qu’à une île, l’île de Chale répond 

à toutes les attentes. Si on y trouve de 

magnifiques plages, ce qui fait qu’on y 

revient, c’est surtout l’attrait du farniente. 

Quoi faire? 

Quoi de plus romantique qu’une escapade 

en amoureux sur une petite île tropicale où 

l’on plonge à deux dans des eaux multicolores 

avant de s’allonger seuls sur le sable ? 

L’île abrite une ancienne forêt indigène : 

“Kaya”, ainsi que le resort de Sands sur 

Chale, qui s’étend sur 15 hectares. Vous 

vous laisserez dorloter dans son spa de 

plein air ou siroterez un cocktail sur un 

bateau à fond de verre en regardant 

l’océan translucide défiler sous vos pieds. 

Au départ de Nairobi, vous vous envolerez avec 

Jambojet pour l’aérodrome de Ukunda Airstrip 

à Diani, puis vous prendrez le taxi ou le matatu, 

un chatoyant minibus-taxi, pour l’île de Chale. 

POUR LA DÉTENTE 

Homa Bay 

Située dans l’ouest kényan, en bordure du 

Lac Victoria, cette petite ville côtière présente 

une ambiance détendue et tropicale. 

Quoi faire? 

L’attraction majeure est bien-sûr le Lac 

Victoria propice à la baignade, à la pêche 

et à la navigation de plaisance. Plus à 

l’intérieur des terres, il est possible de 

s’adonner aux joies du safari au Ruma 

National Park ou de l’ascension du sommet 

de la colline d’Asego, promenade 

d’une bonne heure. 

Envolez-vous depuis Nairobi soit vers Kisumu 

soit vers Eldoret puis, de là, prenez un taxi, 

le bus ou un matutu vers Homa Bay. S’y rendre 

en voiture depuis Nairobi est également 

possible; il faudra compter 3 heures environ. 

POUR LES JEUNES-MARIÉS 

Diani Beach 

Comptant parmi les plus belles plages du 

Kenya, Diani se caractérise par un tarmac 

de 12 km qui la longe derrière des propriétés 

du bord de mer, des sables ombragés 

par des palmiers, mais aussi par ses eaux 

corallines et sa forêt de plaine. L’endroit est 

connu pour ses récifs de corail et ses singes 

Colobus noirs et blancs que l’on peut 

observer directement depuis sa chambre 

d’hôtel ! C’est aussi un endroit très prisé 

des kit-surfeurs. 

Quoi faire ? 

On peut y visiter la mosquée Kongo du 

XVIe siècle avec ses magnifiques baobabs, 

mais aussi parcourir la plage à cheval ou 

encore, pour les plus aventureux, explorer 

l’une des forêts tropicales sacrées des anciens 

habitants côtiers de Kaya Kinondo, désormais 

ouvertes au public. 

Le Swahili Beach Resort, établissement cinq 

étoiles, possède une belle galerie d’art proposant 

des oeuvres d’artistes locaux; les 

amateurs de shopping, eux, trouveront leur 

bonheur au centre commercial Diani Beach, 

situé près de la route de la plage. On y vend 

colifichets et vêtements, bijoux, produits de 

beauté et des paniers tressés-main. 

Jambojet dessert quotidiennement l’aérodrome 

de Ukunda (Diani) depuis l’aéroport 

international Jomo Kenyatta de Nairobi. 

POUR LES AMATEURS DE CULTURE 

Watamu Beach 

Avec une plage bien connue pour y faire 

« Explorer l’une des forêts 

tropicales sacrées des 

premiers habitants côtiers 

de Kaya Kinondo » 

de belles plongées, ou plus simplement de 

l’apnée ou encore de la pêche en haute 

mer, cette modeste péninsule à la côte 

déchiquetée est vraiment l’endroit idéal. 

Quoi faire? 

Visiter les ruines fascinantes de Ged qui 

émergent de la jungle près de Watamu où 

les vestiges de la culture swahili sont encore 

visibles. Le Local Ocean Trust peut constituer 

une bonne alternative; on peut y observer 

un programme organisé par des 

bénévoles pour la protection et la sauvegarde 

des tortues marines. Ensuite, on peut 

visiter le parc national d’Arabuko-Sokoke 

pour y observer de très nombreuses espèces 

animales et ornithologiques locales, comme 

le tisserand Clarke, le hibou Sokoke Scops 

et même des éléphants de savane. 

Jambojet propose vols entre le Wilson Airport 

de Nairobi et l’aéroport de Mombasa. Depuis 

Mombasa, il est facile de rejoindre Watamu en 

matatu. 

POUR DÉCONNECTER 

Msambweni 

Le village de pêcheurs de Msambweni est 

calme et isolé, idéal pour qui aspire à un 

break loin de l’agitation des plages les plus 

fréquentées. 

Quoi faire ? 

Détendez-vous sur la plage pratiquement 

deserte, lecture et boisson à portée de 

main, ou partez admirer les majestueuses 

chutes de Sheldrick Falls ou encore le parc 

national de Shimba Hills, célèbre pour ses


élephants, ses antilopes, sa faune et sa flore. 

Ces deux excursions sont facilement accessibles 

depuis Diani et l’île de Chale. 

Depuis l’aérodrome de Ukunda, prenez le taxi 

ou le bus pour rejoindre Msambweni. Jambojet 

propose des liaisons vers Ukunda au départ de 

Nairobi. 

POUR LES ROMANTIQUES 

Manda Island 

Pratiquement déserte, l’île de Manda combine 

dunes et mangroves et se révèle paradisiaque 

pour les amoureux. Comme il n’y 

a pas que l’amour dans la vie, il est également 

possible d’embarquer sur le ferry 

pour traverser le détroit de Mkanda vers 

les villes de Shela et Lamu. 

Quoi faire? 

Profitez d’un magnifique coucher de soleil 

en prenant l’apéro sur la plage bordée de 

palmiers, faites une croisière indolente sur 

un dhow traditionnel ou offrez-vous une 

plongée dans le détroit avant de passer au 

Manda Beach Club, repaire des voyageurs, 

pour un moment de détente dans 

un hamac ombragé, un drink en main. 

Les vestiges de Takwa, vaste fort abandonné 

au 17ème siècle, constituent aussi 

une intéressante destination d’excursion. 

D’autant plus que la distance depuis la 

ville de Lamu est vraiment minime et 

que la visite donne une bonne idée de la 

richesse du passé kényan. 

Il est possible de rejoindre Manda Island depuis 

Malindi sur traversier. 

POUR LES EXPLORATEURS INTRÉPIDES 

Mombasa 

Destination familiale, Mombasa jouit 

d’un climat tropical, d’une vie marine très 

« Petits et grands 

apprécieront les balades 

à dos de chameau le long 

du front de mer » 

diverse, d’hôtels de classe internationale et 

bien sûr, de superbes plages sur 13,5 km 

de côte ! 

La ville combine un passé historique et 

moderne, rassemblé autour de Fort Jesus. 

Le fort qui défend le port côté mer fut, 

jadis, l’enjeu d’une lutte entre les Portugais 

et les Arabes pour le contrôle de la côte. 

Quoi faire? 

Petits et grands apprécieront une balade à 

dos de chameau sur le front de mer. Louer 

des bicyclettes fait aussi partie des possibilités, 

tout comme une promenade guidée, 

ou encore une sortie pêche en haute mer. 

Le parc national et réserve marine de 

Mombasa offre un plaisir éducatif avec 

des visites de trois épaves, la découverte 

d’un écosystème marin varié mais aussi 

des eaux idéales pour des activités comme 

le ski nautique, la plongée en apnée, 

la plongée et la planche à voile. 

Tant Kenya Airways que Jambojet relient 

quotidiennement Nairobi à Mombasa. 

POUR S’AMUSER EN FAMILLE 

Nyali Beach 

Nyali est un quartier résidentiel chic et sa 

plage est un endroit prisé des habitants. 

Proposant un large éventail d’activités marines 

et variées, Nyali est accessible à tous. 

Quoi faire? 

Pour autre chose que la baignade, optez 

pour le parc d’attractions Wild Waters où 

les enfants peuvent dévaler 15 toboggans 

différents, s’amuser dans des salles de jeux, 

s’éclater en discothèque et sur des manèges 

à thème avant de rejoindre les adultes pour 

se restaurer. 

Au départ de Nairobi, Kenya Airways ou 

Jambojet assurent des liaisons vers Mombassa. 

Ensuite, il est possible de rejoindre Nyali en taxi 

ou en matatu. 

POUR LES FÉRUS D’HISTOIRE 

Lamu Beach 

Sur l’île de Lamu, les forts arabes et 

portugais, les ruines médiévales et les marchés 

locaux traditionnels vous accueillent 

et vous racontent la riche histoire du 

Kenya. 

Quoi faire? 

Explorer Lamu, la plus ancienne cité encore 

habitée du Kenya. Fondée au 12ème siècle, 

elle est inscrite au patrimoine de l’Humanité 

de l’UNESCO. La viste de Fort Lamu, 

permet de découvrir une vue panoramique 

sur la ville. Les vacanciers de novembre ne 

« Vous apprécierez 

les très nombreux clubs 

et bars de nuit. Malindi 

est célèbre comme hautlieu 

de la vie nocturne » 

devront surtout pas rater le festival culturel 

et ses courses de boutres (dhows), d’ânes et 

de natation, ses concours de peinture au 

henné, de jeux de bao (mancala ou awalé) et 

bien plus encore. 

Kenya Airways propose des vols directs vers 

l’île de Lamu au départ de l’aéroport Wilson de 

Nairobi. Pour les budgets plus serrés, le voyage 

peut se faire par un vol Nairobi-Mombasa puis 

en bus via Malindi. 

POUR LES SENTEURS LOCALES 

Malindi 

Cette localité animée est le repaire de 

nombreux italiens et se trouve souvent 

qualifiée de Little Italy. 

Quoi faire? 

Prenez un tuk-tuk ou un boda-boda 

(un moto-taxi avec selle rallongée sur la 

roue arrière) pour rejoindre le Vasco da 

Gama Pillar, qui commémore le débarquement 

de l’explorateur. Admirez à 

Marafa la beauté des couchers de soleil 

sur les incroyables formations rocheuses. 

Vous y apprécierez les très nombreux 

clubs et bars de nuit. Malindi est célèbre 

comme haut-lieu de la vie nocturne. 

Jambojet propose des vols directs vers Malindi .


Français 

Voyage 

L’âme du 

Nord- 

Vietnam 

Flâner dans le vieux Hanoï, c’est 

comme se promener dans les pièces 

d’un vieux manoir enchanteur. 

Il faut prendre le temps d’apprécier 

l’ambiance des boulevards et des 

avenues pour DÉCOUVRIR 

LA VILLE différemment. 

La Cité des lacs 

De la vingtaine de lacs que compte 

cette métropole de 7,7 millions d’habitants, 

celui de Hoan Kiem est très certainement 

le plus beau. Il est connu 

sous le nom de “Lac de l’épée restituée” 

car, selon la légende, un ancien roi y 

rendit une épée magique au dieu tortue 

qui y habitait après l’avoir utilisée pour 

repousser les envahisseurs chinois. 

L’endroit demeure magique lorsque, au 

point du jour, de très nombreux locaux 

s’y retrouvent pour pratiquer, dans de 

grâcieux mouvements, le tai chi dans 

la brume qui monte des eaux. Il faut 

traverser le pont de laque rouge, dit du 

Soleil Levant, vers l’île de Jade et son 

élégante pagode, en tâchant de découvrir 

dans les eaux du lac une tortue à 

carapace molle (on dit que cela porte 

bonheur). Emergeant de la surface du 

Lac de Huu Tiep, on peut aussi voir la 

carcasse enchevêtrée du bombardier 

américain B-52 qui s’y abîma. 

Les 17 km de rivage du Lac Ho Tay 

(connu sous le nom de Lac de l’Ouest) 

sont un merveilleux endroit pour découvrir 

la vie communautaire chatoyante 

en dehors du circuit touristique. 

La Cité de la paix 

En 1999, l’UNESCO a conféré à Hanoï 

le titre de Cité de la paix, lequel lui va 

comme un gant puisque la ville est 

l’une des capitales les plus tranquilles et 

les plus sûres de toute l’Asie. 40 ans 

après la “Chute de Saigon”, les visiteurs 

sont toujours attirés par les hauts 

lieux de ce que les Vietnamiens appellent 

“La guerre américaine”. 

La prison de Hoa Lo, également 

connue sous le nom de Hanoi Hilton, 

rappelle le souvenir douloureux des 

conditions infligées (sous la férule française), 

puis américaine aux prisonniers 

de guerre. Le musée d’histoire militaire 

du Vietnam offre une vision plus approfondie 

du pays pendant la guerre. 

La Tour Cot Co (située dans l’enceinte 

du musée) est l’un des vestiges les plus 

remarquables de la Citadelle de Hanoï 

(l’ancienne résidence des monarques 

vietnamiens). On peut voir aussi, 

à proximité, le Mausolée d’Ho Chi 

Minh où repose le fondateur du Vietnam 

moderne. A quelques pas seulement, 

la Pagode du Pilier central est 

l’un des sanctuaires bouddhistes majeurs 

du Vietnam et un symbole de 

quête de paix pour Hanoï depuis sa 

construction il y a près de mille ans. 

Où dormir 

Le quartier français, avec ses boulevards 

bordés d’arbres, explique pourquoi 

la ville est surnommée le “Paris de 

l’Orient”. Le Sofitel Legend Metropole 

est la grande dame incontestée du quartier 

français. Depuis son ouverture en 

1901, ce magnifique hôtel cinq étoiles 

a été l’adresse privilégiée de Hanoï et 

le théâtre d’une grande partie de ses 

heures les plus sombres. Les visiteurs 

peuvent aujourd’hui profiter d’une 

visite guidée et parcourir le bunker 

re-découvert où “Hanoi Jane” Fonda et 

Joan Baez furent abritées lors d’un 

bombardement américain. Le Golden 

Silk Boutique Hotel est, comme son 

nom l’indique, situé rue de la soie, 

à quelques minutes seulement à pied 

du Lac Hoan Kiem. Pour une touche 

de modernité vietnamienne au charme 

chic, essayez le Hanoi Trendy Hotel ou, 

Se déplacer 

Les motos-taxis de Hanoï sont surnommées 

affectueusement “Honda à calins”. 

Ceci dit, le surnom a moins à voir avec 

un témoignage d’affection qu’avec les 

angoisses des passagers étrangers désespérément 

cramponnés au conducteur 

de la moto comme des bébés singes qui 

s’agrippent à leur mère. Les pédicabs ou 

vélotaxis, parfois connus sous le nom de 

“hélicoptères de Hanoï”, sont un moyen 

beaucoup plus lent et plus relaxant de 

se déplacer en ville. 

pour un séjour professionnel parfait, 

le Sheraton Hanoi idéalement situé 

dans un jardin idyllique et paisible des 

berges du Lac de l’Ouest, à 10 minutes 

seulement du centre-ville. 

Où manger 

La cuisine de rue vietnamienne 

est célèbre dans le monde entier. 

Le marché de nuit de Dong Xuan 

(ouvert jusqu’à 23h00, du vendredi 

au dimanche) est un lieu commercial 

extraordinaire et l’occasion de goûter 

aux spécialités les plus exquises de la 

cuisine de rue. La règle d’or qui permet 

de découvrir les adresses appréciées des 

locaux est de suivre la foule. Parmi les 

innombrables plats spécialités de 

Hanoï, vous devrez goûter le pho bo 

(boeuf aux nouilles), le bun cha 

(vermicelles accompagnés de porc grillé) 

ou encore le banh mi (baguette française 

remplie au porc grillé ou au pâté 

parfumé). Les plus intrépides pourront 

même goûter aux oeufs de canard 

« Les locaux s’y 

retrouvent pour y 

pratiquer le tai chi dans 

la brume du lac »


fécondés ou au rat des rizières grillé. 

Chez Madame Hien est un hommage 

culinaire à la diversité de la cuisine 

vietnamienne ; un célèbre chef français 

résidant de longue date au Vietnam, 

Didier Corlou en est l’âme. La Badiane 

est au sommet de la haute cuisine francaise 

à Hanoï mais préparée dans un 

esprit fusion asiatique. Les Spices 

Garden est l’endroit où Mme Nguyen 

Thanh Van - la première Vietnamienne 

à être entrée à l’Académie Culinaire 

de France - réalise sa magie, alors que 

La Terrasse, le café de l’hôtel Metropole 

cultive un côté café parisien romantique. 

Où prendre un verre 

La rue Ta Hien est connue sous l’appellation 

de rue de la bière à cause de 

ses étals de trottoir. Certaines sont 

mêmes les meilleures (et peut-être les 

moins chères) de toute l’Asie. La légende 

veut que l’industrie de la brasserie 

ait été introduite au Vietnam par 

des ingénieurs tchèques. Aujourd’hui, 

un verre de Bia Hoi (littéralement 

“Bière fraîche”) coûte environ 

0,20 $ US. S’il y a bien une chose que 

le Vietnam fait encore mieux que la 

bière, c’est le ca phe (café) et il se 

pourrait même que le pays ait le meilleur 

café au monde, riche, puissant, 

aromatique et hyper-sucré. Ses innombrables 

variations - servies avec du lait 

condensé, du lait de noix de coco, du 

blanc d’oeuf, voire même du yaourt - 

en étonneront plus d’un. Aussi, vous 

pourrez faire une petite pause pour 

digérer tout cela dans l’un des 

quelques Cong Caphe, établissements 

plutôt hipsters, décorés de souvenirs 

du Viêt-Cong, que l’on retrouve partout 

en ville. Les bars-restauranst Top 

of Hanoi (au 65 ème étage du Lotte 

Hotel Hanoi) et The Rooftop allient 

vue panoramique et cocktails colorés 

maison à une vie nocturne encore plus 

colorée. 

La baie d’Halong – La perle de 

l’UNESCO d’Hanoï 

A 3 heures de route d’Hanoï ou à 

40 minutes en hydravion, la baie d’Ha 

Long est sans conteste le plus bel 

endroit du Vietnam. Backyard Travel 

propose un circuit de luxe de sept jours 

au Nord-Vietnam (à partir de 1420 US $ 

par personne). Celui-ci inclut un voyage 

en train vers la région vallonnée de la 

tribu des Sapa, une croisière en baie 

d’Halong et la découverte de la ville la 

plus intéressante du Vietnam. 

« L’Express de la 

Réunification reste l’une 

des lignes de chemin de 

fer les plus iconiques au 

monde ; elle relie Hanoï 

à Hô-Chi-Minh-Ville » 

S’échapper d’Hanoï 

Hanoï pourrait tellement vous enchanter 

que vous ne voudriez plus jamais en 

partir. Toutefois, le pays fait 1650 km 

de long et dispose des routes les plus 

attrayantes de toute l’Asie du Sud-Est. 

On pourra parcourir la région avec 

Cuong’s Motorbike Adventure, ou 

visiter la ville à bord de Jeeps de l’US 

Army Jeeps ou en sidecar russe Ural 

avec chauffeur. A envisager aussi : 

une excursion à l’adorable complexe 

de temples bouddhistes de la Pagode 

parfumée construits dans les falaises 

karstiques du massif de Huong Tich 

(à 60 km). On citera d’autres sites remarquables 

dans les environs : 

la Citadelle de Co Loa (face à la 

rivière), le village des céramistes de 

Bat Trang (16 km), l’antique village de 

Duong Lam à 55 km) ou encore la 

communauté d’artistes de Hong Ngoc 

(à 76 km) dont plusieurs sont des survivants 

de l’agent orange. 

Hanoi, “l’âme du Nord-Vietnam”, est 

le point de départ idéal pour un circuit 

vers le Sud. En effet, l’Express de la 

Réunification qui reste l’une des lignes 

de chemin de fer les plus iconiques au 

monde relie Hanoï à Hô-Chi-Minh- 

Ville à 1726 km de là. Il est ici intéressant 

de rappeler que le Vietnam possède 

l’un des meilleurs réseaux de bus 

longue distance du monde, et que ces 

long courriers permettent de rejoindre 

Sapa ou, au sud, Hoi An, Hue et même 

Hô-Chi-Minh-Ville. 

OÙ DORMIR 

Sofitel Legend Metropole 


Golden Silk Boutique Hotel 

goldensilkhotel.com 

Hanoi Trendy Hotel 

hanoitrendyhotel.com 

Sheraton Hanoi 

sheratonhanoi.com 

OU MANGER 

Madame Hien 

verticale-hanoi.com 

La Badiane 

labadiane-hanoi.com 

Spices Garden 


OU PRENDRE UN VERRE 

Cong Caphe 

congcaphe.com 

Top of Hanoi 

lottehotel.com/hanoi/ 

The Rooftop 

topgo.vn/the-rooftop-bar 

S’ECHAPPER D’HANOÏ 

Cuong’s Motorbike Adventure 

cuongs-motorbike-adventure.com 

Reunification Express 

vietnam-railway.com 

Hai Au Aviation 

seaplanes.vn 

Backyard Travel 

backyardtravel.com 

✈ Réservez votre vol 

Voir page 56


中文 

想要远离大陆 , 来一场岛屿之 

旅 ? 这 10 处神奇的肯尼亚海滩 

必将为您的海滨假日增添魔幻 

色彩。 

针对岛屿爱好者 

查莱岛 (Chale Island) 

虽说查莱岛更像是一个岬角 , 但却可以 

满足不同的旅客需求。这里不仅拥有迷 

人的海滩 , 悠闲的生活方式更会让您流 

连忘返 , 期待再次重游回味。 

休闲活动 

与至爱之人前往热带小岛并潜入色彩斑 

斓的海水中 , 尽情畅游 , 随后在静谧的 

沙滩上享受难得的独处时光 , 还有什么 

比这更浪漫的呢 ? 查莱岛上有一片名为 

卡亚 (Kaya) 的古老原始森林 , 此外还 

有占地 15 英亩的查莱岛金沙度假酒店 

(Sands at Chale)。您可以前往度假酒店 

的露天温泉犒劳一下自己 , 或者乘坐玻 

璃底船 , 一边细细品味鸡尾酒 , 一边静 

静欣赏船底下方的清澈海水。 

便捷交通 : 从内罗比出发搭乘 Jambojet 航空或 

肯尼亚航空的航班 , 飞往迪亚尼的乌昆达小型 

机场 , 然后乘坐出租车或小巴前往查莱岛。 

针对休闲度假 

旅行 

治愈系 

唯美海景 

霍马湾 (Homa Bay) 

这座海滨小镇位于肯尼亚西部的维多利 

亚湖畔 , 空气中弥漫着闲适惬意的热带 

气息。 

休闲活动 

当地最受欢迎的景点是维多利亚湖 , 在 

这里您可以游泳、垂钓或租船游湖。深 

入内陆 , 您可以在鲁马国家公园 (Ruma 

National Park) 来一场游猎之旅 , 或 

者攀登 Asego 山 , 大约一个小时即可 

登顶。 

便捷交通 : 从内罗比出发搭乘航班飞往 

基苏木 (Kisumu) 或埃尔多雷特 (Eldoret), 然后 

乘坐出租车、巴士或小巴前往霍马湾。也可以 

直接从内罗比驱车前往霍马湾 , 全程大约用时 

3 小时。 

针对蜜月新人 

迪亚尼海滩 (Diani 

Beach) 

作为肯尼亚最佳海滩之一 , 迪亚尼海 

滩拥有沿着海岸线绵延 12 公里的沥青 

路 , 而在海岸与路的中间则是海滨酒 

店、棕榈树沙滩、礁石丛生的水域和洼 

地森林。该地区以珊瑚礁和黑白疣猴而 

闻名 , 您从酒店客房即可看到这种动 

物 ! 此外 , 这里也是进行风筝冲浪的著 

名胜地。 

休闲活动 

在这里 , 您可以参观十六世纪的清真 

寺和美丽的猴面包树 , 或沿着海滩骑 

马 ; 如果喜欢探险 , 则可以到首批沿 

海居民区的热带森林 “ 神圣的 Kaya 

Kinondo”( 现已面向公众开放 ) 

游览。 

五星级斯瓦希里海滩度假酒店 (Swahili 

Beach Resort) 设有迷人的画廊 , 您可 

以在此选购当地艺术作品 ; 喜爱购物的 

人士则可前往海滩路旁的迪亚尼海滩购 

物中心。在这里 , 您可以选购小饰品、 

服装、珠宝、美容护肤品及手工编织的 

篮子等等。 

便捷交通 :Jambojet 航空公司每天提供从内罗 

比的乔莫 · 肯尼亚塔国际机场飞往迪亚尼乌昆达 

小型机场的航班。 

针对文化爱好者 

瓦塔木海滩 (Watamu 

Beach) 

这座低调小众的半岛拥有天然侵蚀的海 

岸线 , 而这里的海滩更以绝佳的潜水、 

浮潜和深海垂钓场所而闻名。 

休闲活动 

« 在神圣的 Kaya 

Kinondo 探索首批沿海 

居民区的热带森林 » 

参观迷人的格迪 (Gedi) 古城遗址 , 探 

秘瓦塔木附近的丛林 , 领略斯瓦希里文 

化遗迹。或者 , 造访 Local Ocean Trust 

海洋保护中心 , 该中心的志愿者活动致 

力于海龟康复和保护工作。然后 , 前 

往阿拉布科索科凯国家公园 (Arabuko- 

Sokoke National Park), 与大量本土野 

生动物和鸟类来一场亲密的邂逅 , 包括 

克氏织雀、肯尼亚角鸮 , 甚至还有草 

原象。 

便捷交通 :Jambojet 航空公司每天提供 3 趟从 

内罗比威尔逊机场飞往蒙巴萨机场的航班。从 

蒙巴萨机场乘坐小巴前往瓦塔木。 

针对独自探险 

马萨姆本尼 

(Msambweni) 

马萨姆本尼是一个清幽僻静的渔村 , 对 

于想要远离喧嚣的海滩 , 享受安宁时光 

的旅客而言 , 可谓完美之选。 

休闲活动 

在基本上空无一人的海滩休息放松 , 喝 

着饮料 , 享受难得的阅读时光 , 或者前 

往雄伟壮观的雪尔基克瀑布 (Sheldrick 

Falls) 或辛巴山国家自然保护区 , 近距 

离观赏大象、羚羊及其他动植物群。这 

两个景点都可从迪亚尼和查莱岛抵达。 

便捷交通 : 从迪亚尼的乌昆达小型机场搭乘出 

租车或巴士前往马萨姆本尼。肯尼亚航空和 

Jambojet 航空每天都提供从内罗比飞往乌昆达 

的航班。


针对浪漫之行 

曼达岛 (Manda Island) 

曼达岛主要由沙丘和红树林组成 , 大部 

分地区至今杳无人迹 , 是热恋情侣的理 

想度假之选。在这里 , 您可以参加丰富 

多彩的浪漫活动 , 亦可乘坐渡轮穿过姆 

坎达海峡 , 前往谢拉镇和拉姆镇。 

休闲活动 

傍晚时分 , 在棕榈树海滩之上一边欣赏 

迷人的夕阳 , 一边暮后小酌 , 乘坐传 

统三角帆船 , 体验悠闲的巡游之旅 , 或 

者在海峡畅快游泳 , 随后前往深受旅客 

欢迎的曼达海滩俱乐部 (Manda Beach 

Club), 躺在阴凉的吊床上品着饮料 , 

放松身心。 

此外 , 您也可以参观塔克瓦遗址 

(Takwa), 这是一大片在 17 世纪被遗弃 

的古代居民区。此处距离拉姆镇不远 , 

您可在这里更好地体验肯尼亚的丰厚文 

化底蕴。 

便捷交通 : 乘坐直达航班 , 从内罗比的乔 

莫 · 肯尼亚塔国际机场飞往曼达岛的曼达机 

场 , 或者乘坐 Jambojet 的航班经由马林迪前 

往曼达机场。 

针对勇敢的探险家 

蒙巴萨 

蒙巴萨集热带气候、多样化的海洋生 

物、世界一流的酒店、绵延 13.5 公里 

的迷人海滩于一身 , 非常适合家庭旅客 

前来游玩 ! 

这座城市将娱乐休闲与历史和发展的传 

统文化完美结合 , 其中以耶稣堡为代 

表。这座城堡守卫着海滨港口 , 曾是葡 

萄牙和阿拉伯双方争夺海岸控制权的中 

心战场。 

休闲活动 

海滨骆驼骑行深受家庭旅客的青睐。或 

« 海滨骆驼骑行深受家 

庭旅客的青睐 » 

者 , 您可以租辆自行车 , 跟随导游踏 

上徒步之旅 , 甚至还可以感受一下海滨 

垂钓的乐趣。蒙巴萨海洋国家公园和保 

护区 (Mombasa Marine National Park 

and Reserve) 提供寓教于乐的趣味沉船 

参观活动 , 此外还会介绍多样化的海洋 

生态系统 , 更有适合进行滑水、浮潜、 

潜水和风帆冲浪等活动的水域。 

便捷交通 : 肯尼亚航空和 Jambojet 航空每天都 

提供从内罗比飞往蒙巴萨的直达航班。 

针对家庭娱乐 

尼亚利海滩 (Nyali 

Beach) 

尼亚利是一处富裕的居民区 , 尼亚利海 

滩则是深受当地人喜爱的休闲去处。 

这里拥有丰富多样的水上运动和陆地活 

动 , 真正老少咸宜。 

休闲活动 

如需体验不同寻常的水上运动 , 不 

妨前往疯狂水上游乐园 (Wild Waters 

Amusement Park), 在这里 , 小朋友们 

可以体验 15 种不同的滑道、游戏厅、 

舞池、主题游乐设施 , 随后和家人到美 

食街用餐。 

便捷交通 : 在内罗比搭乘肯尼亚航空或 

Jambojet 航空的飞机飞往蒙巴萨 , 然后在市区 

乘坐出租车或小巴前往尼亚利。 

针对遗迹探寻者 

拉姆海滩 (Lamu Beach) 

在拉姆岛 (Lamu Island), 阿拉伯和葡 

萄牙要塞、中世纪建筑遗址和传统集市 

展现出肯尼亚悠久的历史底蕴 , 盛情欢 

迎八方客人的到来。 

休闲活动 

探索肯尼亚最早有住民居住的城镇拉 

姆 , 这座 12 世纪的老城被列入了联合 

国教科文组织世界遗产名录 , 而拉姆要 

塞 (Lamu Fort) 则可将整座城镇的景观 

尽收眼底。如果您 11 月来访 , 拉姆文 

化节则是不可错过的一站 , 在这里 , 您 

可以乘坐三角帆船、骑驴、观赏游泳比 

赛、体验身体彩绘艺术、参加非洲棋游 

戏等等。 

便捷交通 : 肯尼亚航空提供从内罗比威尔逊机 

场到拉姆岛的直达航班 , 预算有限的旅客则可 

从内罗比飞往蒙巴萨 , 然后乘巴士经由马林迪 

抵达拉姆岛。 

探索河内老城区 , 仿佛漫步于 

迷人宅邸的走廊之内。穿行于 

大街小巷 , 发现别样的城市。 

湖泊之城 

这座大都市拥有 770 万人口 , 市内散 

落着二十几座湖泊 , 其中风景最美的 

要数还剑湖 (Hoan Kiem Lake), 该湖 

又称 “ 归还宝剑之湖 ”。因为相传 , 

古代帝王借用神龟的宝剑打败敌军入 

侵者后 , 又将其归还给了神龟。黎明 

时分 , 湖面薄雾缭绕 , 当地人聚集在 

此练习太极 , 宛若仙境一般。漫步穿 

过被刷成深红色的阳光桥 (Rising Sun 

Bridge) 到达翡翠岛 (Jade Island), 参 

观造型优雅的寺庙 , 如果幸运的话 , 

还可以在湖里发现濒临灭绝的软壳 

龟。在 Huu Tiep 湖的水面上 , 您还可 

以看见一架坠毁的美国 B-52 轰炸机的 

残骸。西湖 (Ho Tay) 蜿蜒 17 公里的 

湖岸线则是避开游客潮、体验缤纷社 

区生活的绝佳去处。 

和平之城 

旅程 

越南 

“ 北方的 

灵魂 ” 

1999 年 , 联合国教科文组织授予河内


中文 

“ 和平之城 ” 的称号 , 而这与河内作为 

当前亚洲最安全、最休闲的首都城市之 

一的身份十分贴合。在 “ 西贡沦陷 ” 

四十年后 , 越南人称之为 “ 美国战争 ” 

的著名地标仍吸引着大量游客纷至沓 

来。火炉监狱 (Hoa Lo Prison) 也称为 

河内希尔顿 , 深刻地提醒世人当地自由 

战士 ( 在法国统治下 ) 所身处的境况 , 

美国战俘也常常被关押在此。越南军事 

历史博物馆深刻展现了战时的越南 , 博 

物馆内的河内旗台 (Cot Co Tower) 是 

河内城堡 ( 前越南帝王居所 ) 最杰出的 

遗迹之一。现代越南之父胡志明的长眠 

之地就位于北面的两个街区开外 , 陵堂 

建筑宏伟 , 庄严大气。数步开外便是独 

柱寺 (One Pillar Pagoda), 这座寺庙修 

建于大约一千年以前 , 是越南最著名的 

佛教遗址之一 , 也是河内追求和平的 

象征。 

住宿 

在法国区的林荫大道 , 您将深切地感 

受到河内实际上足以配得上 “ 东方的 

巴黎 ” 这一由来已久的称号。索菲特 

河内大都市传奇酒店 (Sofitel Legend 

Metropole) 是法国区无可争议的豪华 

下榻之所。自 1901 年对外营业以来 , 

这家奢华的五星级酒店一直都是河内首 

屈一指的住宿之选。现在 , 客人们可以 

参加游览活动 , 参观重新发现的地堡 — 

美国轰炸袭击期间 “ 河内的珍 ” 简 · 方 

达和琼 · 贝兹的藏身之所。金丝绸精品 

酒店 (Golden Silk Boutique Hotel) 位 

于丝绸大街 , 距还剑湖仅数步之遥 , 地 

理位置十分优越。如要体验越南现代精 

品时尚酒店 , 可以尝试河内时尚酒店 

(Hanoi Trendy Hotel); 河内喜来登酒 

店则位于西湖湖畔的花园绿洲 , 这里环 

境静谧 , 距市中心仅 10 分钟路程 , 是 

商务休闲度假的完美之选。 

美食 

越南街头小吃举世闻名。东宣夜市 ( 周 

五至周日营业至晚上 11:00) 既适合购 

物 , 又能品尝到越南最美味的街头小 

吃。要寻找深受当地人喜爱的食肆 , 最 

佳法则便是朝着人多的地方走。在无 

以计数的河内招牌美食中 , 最值得尝 

试的莫过于牛肉河粉、烤肉米粉或者 

越南法式面包 ( 以烤肉或香浓肉酱为馅 

料的法式面包 )。如果您勇气可嘉 , 

甚至可以尝试一下 “ 毛鸭蛋 ” 或烤田 

鼠。Madame Hien 餐厅受长期居住于 

越南的著名法国厨师 Didier Corlou 的 

启发 , 意在向越南多样化的美食致敬。 

La Badiane 餐厅代表了河内高级法式 

料理中的顶级水准 , 其美食融合了亚 

洲风味。Spices Garden 餐厅由 Nueyen 

Thanh Van 夫人 ( 首位被法国餐饮烹 

饪学院录取的越南女性 ) 担当主厨 ; 

大都会酒店 (Metropole Hotel) 的 La 

Terrasse 路边咖啡馆则充满了浓郁的巴 

黎风情。 

的、蛋清的和酸奶的 ...... 品种之多让人 

难以置信。装修时尚的 Cong Caphe 咖 

啡厅在市内随处可见 , 店内以越共纪念 

品为装饰 , 绝对是您品尝越南咖啡的首 

选。Top of Hanoi 餐厅 ( 河内乐天酒 

店第 65 层 ) 和 The Rooftop 餐厅供应 

琳琅满目的招牌鸡尾酒 , 并可俯瞰霓虹 

灯下的至美夜景 , 精彩的夜生活就此 

开启。 

河内周边游 

河内的一切可能会让您流连忘返 , 然而 

在越南 ( 南北相距 1,650 公里 ), 您还 

可以体验到东南亚最具吸引力的自驾 

游。您可以选择 Cuong 的摩托车探险 

之旅 , 在当地尽情游览 , 或者花一天 

时间乘坐美国陆军吉普车或配有司机 

的俄罗斯乌拉尔跨斗摩托 , 领略市区 

风光。或者 , 您也可以前往迷人的香 

寺 (Perfume Pagoda), 这是一组建在香 

迹山 (60 公里开外 ) 岩溶山崖上的寺 

庙建筑群。河内附近的其他主要景点 

还包括古螺城 ( 河对岸 )、巴查陶瓷 

村 (16 公里开外 )、唐林古村 (55 公 

里开外 )、红玉艺术社区 (76 公里开 

外 ), 这里的许多艺术家都是经历越战 

落叶剂浩劫后的幸存者。 

河内被称为越南 “ 北方的灵魂 ”, 

是向南旅行的理想出发点 , 统一线 

(Reunification Express) 则是全世界最 

具代表性的铁路之一 , 连接河内与胡志 

明市 , 全长 1,726 公里。此外 , 越南还 

拥有全世界最好的长途卧铺客车交通 

网 , 可以带您前往沙坝或南方的会安、 

顺化 , 甚至是胡志民市。 

« 湖面薄雾升起 , 当地 

人聚集在此练太极 » 

饮品 

Ta Hien 街也称为 “ 鲜啤 ” 街 , 街旁的 

人行道上摆满了各式啤酒摊 , 提供一些 

亚洲最好的 ( 也可能是最便宜的 ) 啤 

酒。传说 , 越南的酿酒艺术是由一位捷 

克工程师引入的 , 即使在今天 , 一杯 

Bia Hoi( 鲜啤 ) 也只需 0.20 美元。如 

果说越南人有一件事做得比啤酒更好 , 

那绝对是咖啡 , 可以说越南拥有全世界 

最好的咖啡 : 香浓、强劲、醇甜。这里 

的咖啡变幻无穷 , 有加炼乳的、椰奶 

✈ 预订航班 

见第 56 页

SAFARI NJEMA / 91 

Nairobi National Park is the 

oldest park in East Africa, and 

the only game park in the world 

situated within a capital city. 

✈ Book your flight 

on kenya-airways.com. 

Safari Njema 

Getty Images 

KQ’s safari 

stopover 

Together with its partners 

– Kenya Wildlife Service 

(KWS), the Kenya Tourism 

Board and the Department 

of Immigration – Kenya 

Airways has launched a free 

stopover tour of Nairobi 

National Park for travellers 

with four or more hours 

between flights in Nairobi. 

“This will give international 

guests an opportunity to visit 

Nairobi National Park – 

which is renowned for being 

the only national park within 

a city – while raising Kenya’s 

tourist numbers,” says 

Wanjiku Mugo, Corporate 

Communications Manager at 

Kenya Airways (KQ). 

In early September KQ ran a 

successful beta-test with 11 

guests transiting through 

Nairobi from London to 

other countries in Africa. 

The guests were fast-tracked 

through immigration where 

they received transit visas. 

They were then accompanied 

through the park by KWS 

rangers. During the tour, the 

KQ guests had a chance to 

spot some of the park’s wide 

variety of wildlife including 

the endangered black rhino, 

lions, leopards, cheetahs, 

hyenas, buffaloes, giraffes and 

over 400 bird species.

Kenya’s Great Rift Valley 

spans 8,000 km and was 

formed 20 million years ago. 

News 


✈ Kenya Airways accommodates 

over 11K passengers daily, and 

over 160 tonnes of cargo. 

Special Guest 

Revered religious leader visits Kenya 

Winning in Africa 

Increased service 

to Nigeria 

His Holiness Dr Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin, Da’i al-Mutlaq 

of the Dawoodi Bohras community, flew to Nairobi with 

Kenya Airways for the inauguration of the new state-of-theart 

Nairobi campus of the Dawoodi Bohras Islamic Arabic 

Academy. Attending the event were almost 200 local and 

international dignitaries and guests, as well as over 10,000 

members of the global community. Kenyan President Uhuru 

Kenyatta helped officiate the inauguration, which took place 

in Langata, Nairobi.“You are a true representation of what 

Islam stands for,” said Kenyatta. “We must work together to 

show that Islam is not a religion of violence but a religion of 

peace and that we can together appreciate our differences and 

recognise that, despite these differences, we all pray to the 

same God.” 

Kenya Airways has introduced a biweekly B787-8 Dreamliner 

service to Lagos from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport 

in Nairobi. 

The move will significantly increase journeys to Lagos as part 

of the airline’s “Winning in Africa” strategy. 

Kenya Airways (KQ) currently runs daily flights to Lagos 

operating with an Embraer 190 or a Boeing 737. 

“This is a game changer for KQ as we seek to consolidate our 

business in Africa,” says Commercial Director Vincent Coste. 

“We’ve grown Intra-Africa traffic by 14 percent in the past 

two years, and our Lagos route is a big contributor.” 

KQ continues to pursue more opportunities across Africa 

with increased flight capacity and frequencies to various 

African destinations. 

“We are committed to 

continued investments 

in supporting 

sports disciplines” 

− Francis Musila − 

Kenya Airways Ground Services Director 

Rally 

Biennial East African Safari Classic Rally 

Supporting the growth of sports tourism in Kenya is a key 

reason why Kenya Airways is sponsoring the East African 

Safari Classic Rally, which kicks off on 23 November, for the 

seventh time since 2003. 

As title sponsor, KQ aims to help the spectacular race claim 

even more recognition as one of the most prestigious and 

nostalgic rallysport events in the world.

94 / SAFARI NJEMA 

Want to know the carbon 

emission of your flight? 

Visit climatecare.org 

and click on the 

carbon calculator. 

News 

Kenya Airways launched a 

carbon offset programme in 

2011, the first African airline 

to do so. 

Recruitment 

Sebastian Mikosz appointed 

to IATA Board 

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has 

appointed Kenya Airways Group MD and CEO Sebastian 

Mikosz to its Board of Governors on an interim basis. 

Mikosz will be an IATA Board member until the close of 

the IATA Annual General Meeting, to be held in Sydney, 

Australia from 3-5 June 2018. 

“I’m honoured to be appointed to the IATA Board,” said 

Mikosz. “This represents an opportunity for me to bring 

knowledge, experience and passion for my profession to serve 

current, prospective and future communities, while also 

focusing on diversity and inclusion in the aviation industry.” 

Mikosz has over 20 years of professional experience in 

executive management in the private and public sectors. He 

has also held various non-executive roles as a supervisory 

board member. Mikosz has been CEO of eSky.pl, the leading 

Central European online travel agent, and President and 

CEO of LOT Polish Airlines (one of theoldest airlines in the 

world); a position he held twice, including an in-depth 

company turnaround that lead to the airline’s first positive 

results in many years. 

Sustainability 

In Honour of 

Rural Women 

Wildlife Works 

Jeroen van Loon 

“Your most unhappy 

customers are your 

greatest source of 

learning.” 

− Bill Gates, American business magnate − 

October 15th is the International Day of Rural 

Women, who make up over a quarter of the world’s 

total population, focusing on those whose livelihoods 

depend on natural resources and agriculture. 

Wildlife Works, KQ’s carbon offset partner, recognises the 

critical role of women in enhancing rural development, which 

conserves threatened forests and protects wildlife. This is 

achieved by reducing reliance on charcoal production, 

poaching and unsustainable agriculture, and by encouraing 

alternative livelihoods. Via the Kasigau Corridor REDD+ 

Project, Wildlife Works supports Hadithi, a community-based 

organisation, which uplifts women by giving them market 

access for traditional basket weaving and other crafts. Hadithi 

works with over 600 women, such as Grace Mwailoho of the 

Kideloni Weavers (pictured). Grace used to earn a living 

producing charcoal but now sells her baskets to Hadithi, 

ensuring food security and an education for her children. 

~ Offset your carbon With your KQ flight you can help to protect 

the environment. Simply tick a box when booking to offset carbon 

emissions per journey. Funds go to initiatives in conjunction with 

Wildlife Works. Visit wildlifeworks.com to find out more.

How many Miles did you 

earn while flying to your 

current destination? Find out 

online with the Flying Blue 

Miles Calculator. 

Flying Blue 


✈ There are new discounted award 

tickets, or Promo Awards, available 

every month, saving you up 

to 50 percent on Award Miles. 

Membership levels 

Redeem 

Your 

Miles! 

The Flying Blue frequent flyer programme allows you to earn 

Award Miles for every flight you take with Kenya Airways or 

a SkyTeam partner.You can redeem your Miles to fly with 

KQ-operated flights or upgrade your seats to Business Class. 

There are four membership levels in Flying Blue and with each qualifying 

flight you take, you earn Level Miles. When you first enrol, you will be 

awarded Ivory status, which progresses to Silver, Gold and ultimately 

Platinum. The more you travel with KQ or one of our partner airlines, 

the higher your level becomes, which results in you earning more Award 

Miles and enjoying more benefits. 

Award Miles can be redeemed for flights to destinations selected by 

Kenya Airways or our SkyTeam partner airlines. Your accumulated 

Award Miles remain valid for 20 months, which can be extended every 

time you fly with Kenya Airways or one of our SkyTeam partners, if you 

fly at least once every 20 months. The total number of Miles credited to 

your account depends on the distance you have flown and travel class 

that you have chosen. 

~ Enrol now and start to enjoy the benefits Flying Blue has to offer. 

Go to flyingblue.com for more information and to sign up. 

1 

Exchange 

Award Miles can be redeemed for a flight to 

any Kenya Airways destination or an upgrade to 

Business Class. 

2 

Check 

Your choice of destination determines the 

number of Miles required for your Award ticket. So 

please check if you have sufficient Miles for your 

choice. You can check this on flyingblue.com. It is 

advisable to have flexible date options in case your 

initial choice is not available. 

3 

Redeem 

Once you have made your choice, you can 

redeem your Award Miles in several ways: 

A. Call the Kenya Airways contact centres in 

Nairobi on +254 20 327 4747; +254 734 104747 

or +254 711 024747. 

B. Visit kenya-airways.com and go to 

Flying Blue and then Award Booking. 

C. Visit flyingblue.com and go to Spend Miles. 

For further information, you can always contact us 

at kenya-airways.custhelp.com. 

4 

Tax 

Award Miles do not cover tax charges. These 

will need to be paid for by you, and can be done so 

via credit card, M-Pesa or a cash payment at any 

Kenya Airways office. 

5 

Easy Does It 

Five steps to make 

the most of your Miles. 

Ticket 

Once payment has been received, your e-ticket 

will be sent to you by email. 

~ Award tickets are subject to seat availability. In the 

event that no seats are available, you can opt for a Flex 

Award, which gives you a confirmed ticket for double the 

Award Miles. 

~ Award Miles can be used to upgrade to Business 

Class when you have already purchased an Economy 

Class Kenya Airways ticket on B, Y, M and U classes for 

all routes. All upgrades are subject to seat availability in 

Business Class.

SkyTeam operates more than 

17,000 departures a day to 1,062 

destinations in 177 countries, and 

offers SkyTeam members 672 

lounges in airports worldwide. 

SkyTeam 


✈ Founded in June 2000, SkyTeam is a 

major airline alliance that consists of 20 

carriers from five continents. 

Dream combos 

Some of our favourite destination 

combinations in SkyTeam’s network. 

Portland, Beijing and 

Kilimanjaro 

Do a hike, or three. Forest Park (one 

of the largest urban forest reserves 

in the US) is within Portland’s city 

limits. Meanwhile, a trek along the 

Great Wall of China is an experience 

you’ll never forget. Or, why not spot 

the Big Five on safari before scaling 

Kilimanjaro? 

Buenos Aires and Berlin 

Cities to keep you busy around the 

clock, with their mix of history, 

culture and buzzing nightlife. 

Efficient Travel 

Round the World 

in Two Stops 

Cancún, Honolulu, 

Sydney and Bali 

Our network offers some of the 

world’s hottest spots for surfing, 

sunbathing and scuba diving, so get 

beach ready. 

When you’re a frequent flyer, time is tight. Juggling schedules when 

you’ve got to be on two different continents almost at the same time 

isn’t easy. Our solution is the two-stop Go Round the World Pass. 

We’ve learned from our own experience that going around the world is often a more 

time-efficient way to get from A to B to C and back. You have a meeting in Shanghai 

on Monday and a conference in Mexico City on Thursday? No problem – we can 

even take you between the two cities non-stop. 

Flexibility and convenience are what travellers need and that’s what we offer. Change 

your plans along the way, it’s not a problem. The two-stop ticket includes travel across 

our network of 20 member airlines, suits all budgets, has no extra fees or fixed dates. 

Frequent flyer benefits are available when you travel on a Go Round the World Pass. 

Meaning you can redeem miles and take advantage of all the SkyTeam benefits, from 

lounge access to SkyPriority services. 

AND LEISURE TRAVEL? 

What about squeezing a short vacation into your business travel? You can add up to 

15 stops to a Go Round the World Pass, making business and pleasure easier to mix 

than ever. 

GET PLANNING 

SkyTeam’s easy-to-use Round the World planner will find your perfect trip from 

2-15 stops, plus you can book up to seven days before you fly. 

~ Follow our tips next time you fly and 

you’ll discover how getting there can 

be as enjoyable as your destination. 

Visit skyteam.com to find out more.

98 / SAFARI NJEMA 

Global Network 

London 

GREAT-BRITAIN 

THE NETHERLANDS 

Amsterdam 

Paris 

FRANCE 

SUDAN 

SAUDI ARABIA 

Jeddah 

Dubai 

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES 

Mumbai 

SENEGAL 

Dakar 

Bamako 

Freetown 

SIERRA LEONE 

Monrovia 

LIBERIA 

MALI 

COTE 

D'IVOIRE 

Abidjan 

BENIN 

NIGERIA 

GHANA Lagos 

Accra 

Cotonou CAMEROON 

Douala 

Yaoundé 

Brazzaville 

Kinshasa 

Luanda 

CENTRAL 

AFRICAN REPUBLIC 

Bangui 

DEMOCRATIC 

REPUBLIC OF 

THE CONGO 

Khartoum 

SOUTH SUDAN 

Juba 

UGANDA KENYA 

Entebbe/Kampala Kisumu 

Kigali 

RWANDA 

Bujumbura Kilimanjaro 

BURUNDI 

TANZANIA 

Addis 

Ababa 

ETHIOPIA 

NAIROBI 

Dar es Salaam 

Djibouti 

DJIBOUTI 

Malindi 

Mombasa 

Moroni/COMOROS 

Lubumbashi 

ANGOLA 

MALAWI 

Dzaoudzi/MAYOTTE 

Ndola Lilongwe 

ZAMBIA 

Lusaka 

Blantyre 

Nampula 

Livingstone 

Victoria Harare 

Falls 

Antananarivo 

ZIMBABWE 

MADAGASCAR 

MOZAMBIQUE 

Mahé 

SEYCHELLES 

INDIA 

Johannesburg 

Maputo 

SOUTH 

AFRICA 

Cape Town 

Chantal van Wessel/Vizualism


Kenya Airways Fleet 

Boeing 737-700 

Aircraft 2; Seats Economy 100, Premier 16; Crew 7; 

Seat pitch Economy 32”, Premier 40”; Max. take-off weight 

70,080kg; Fuel capacity 26,020 litres; Range 6,225km; 

Typical cruising speed at 35,000ft Mach 0.785; 

Thrust per engine at sea level 26,400lbs; Wing span 34.3m; 

Length 33.6m; Interior cabin width 3.53m 

CHINA 

Hanoi 

VIETNAM 

Bangkok 

THAILAND 

Guangzhou 

Hong Kong 

HONG KONG 

Boeing 787 Dreamliner 

Aircraft 7; Seats Economy 204, Premier 30; Crew 14; 

Seat pitch Economy 32”; Premier 75”; Max. take-off weight 


Typical cruising speed at 35,000ft Mach 0.85; Thrust per 

engine at sea level 69,800lbs; Wing span 60.1m; Length 

56.7m; Interior cabin width 5.49m 

Boeing 737-800 



79,015kg; Fuel capacity 26,020 litres; Range 5,665km; Typical 

cruising speed at 35,000ft Mach 0.78; Thrust per engine at 

sea level 26,400lbs; Wing span 34.3m; Length 39.5m; 

Interior cabin width 3.53m 

Embraer 190 




Typical cruising speed at 35,000ft Mach 0.82; Thrust per 

engine at sea level 20,000lbs; Wing span 28.72m; 

Length 36.24m; Interior cabin width 2.74m

100 / SAFARI NJEMA 

Kenya was voted Africa’s 

leading meetings and 

conference destination 

at the 2016 World Travel 

Awards. 

Welcome to Kenya 

✈ Passengers travelling in 

a group of at least ten 

(economy cabin), or five 

(business cabin), can 

request for a group fare. 

Practical tips 

What & How 

Getty Images 

Getting around 

On Arrival 

TO THE CITY 

Jomo Kenyatta International Airport is about a 30-minute drive away 

from Nairobi city. Moi International Airport, Mombasa is a 20-minute 

drive to Mombasa city. More time is needed during rush hour. 

VISA 

Most visitors to Kenya require a visa. Multiple and single entry visas are 

available. You can apply at any Kenya High Commission or Embassy 

prior to travelling. The single entry visa (obtainable upon arrival at the 

airport) is US$50 (correct at time of print) or the equivalent in local currency. 

You will also require a passport that is valid for three months from 

the moment of entry. 

Health 

Emergency services 

Dial 999. Note that 

ambulance services are 

mostly private. Services 

include: St Johns 

Ambulance +254 72 161 

1555 or Kenya Red 

Cross Ambulance 

+254 71 771 4938. 

Hospitals 

Nairobi and Mombasa 

have good hospitals. 

Medical expenses 

Make sure you have 

adequate travel health 

insurance and accessible 

funds to cover the cost of 

any medical treatment. 

Consultations and 

treatments will have to 

be paid for at the time, 

and the costs claimed 

back later. 

General 

Voltage 

240 volts AC, using 

three-square-pin, 

13-amp-type plugs. 

Security 

It is advisable not to walk 

alone in isolated areas 

in towns or on beaches, 

particularly after dark. 

Tipping 

Tips are appreciated. Most 

hotels/restaurants add a 

10 percent service charge. 

Water 

It is wise to drink or use 

only boiled or bottled water, 

and to avoid ice in drinks. 

Self-drive 

Traffic adheres to the lefthand 

side of the road, and 

most cars are right-hand 

drive. A current driving 

licence with photograph is 

accepted for up to a threemonth 

stay. 

Public transport 

Nairobi is the only city with 

an effective municipal bus 

service. Local (private) 

matatus are the main 

means of getting around. 

Taxi service Uber operates 

in Nairobi and Mombasa. 

Photography 

Taking photographs of 

official buildings, including 

embassies, can lead to 

detention. Photography is 

also prohibited at airports. 

Embassies & consulates 

All embassies are 

located in Nairobi. 

ID 

You must carry a valid form 

of ID with you at all times. 

Post office 

Open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., 

Mondays to Fridays; and 9 

a.m. to 12 noon Saturdays. 

Telephone/internet 

Phone cards may be 

bought from post offices 

or international call 

offices. Emails can be sent 

from most hotels. 

Money matters 

Currency 

Kenyan shilling (KES) 

Currency regulations 

There are no restrictions on 

the movement of currency 

into or out of Kenya for 

currency transactions. 

Banking 

Banks are generally open 

from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., 

Mondays to Fridays; 

and 9 a.m. to 12 noon 

Saturdays. Banks in 

coastal towns open 

and close half an hour 

earlier. Most ATMs accept 

international VISA cards. 

Credit cards 

Visa and MasterCard are 

widely accepted. 

Hotel bill payment 

Pay in Kenyan shillings or 

convertible currency. 

Most hotels also accept 

credit cards. 

Gulu

SAFARI HABARI NJEMA //101 

SOUTH- 

SUDAN 

ETHIOPIA 

Lokichokio 

Muruasigar 

2149 m 

Songot 1755 m 

Central 

Island 

National 

Park 

Namoratunga 

Stones 

Lodwar 

LAKE 

TURKANA 

Sibiloi 

National 

Park 

CHALBI DESERT 

Moyale 

Malka Mari 

National 

Reserve 

LAKE 

VICTORIA 

UGANDA 

Nasolot 

National 

Reserve 

TANZANIA 

South 

Turkana 

National 

Reserve 

Masai Mara 

National Reserve 

South 

Island 

National 

Park 

RIFT VALLEY 

Nairobi 

National 

Park 

LAKE 

MAGADI 

Shompole 

Conservancy 

Loiyangalani 

Mt Kulal 2285 m 

Marsabit 

National 

Reserve 

Losai 

National 

Reserve 

Marsabit 

Marsabit 

National 

Park 

Maralal 

Saiwa 

National Matthew’s Peak 

Swamp 

Sanctuary 2375 m 

Mt Elgon 

National 

National Park 

Kaisungua 

Maralal 

Reserve 

Kitale 

3167 m 

Samburu 

National 

Mt Elgon 

Kerio Valley 

Reserve 

Shaba National 

4322 m 


Reserve 

ELDORET 

Archer’s Post 

LAKE BARINGA 

Kakamega 

Buffalo Springs 

Forest Reserve 

Lake Bogoria Isiolo 

National 

Meru 

Reserve 

Kakamega 


National 

Park 

Ndere Island 

Nanyuki 

National Park 

KISUMU 

Meru 

Mt Londiani 

Rusinga Island 

Kericho 

3000 m 

North 

Nakuru 

Mt Kenya Kitu 

Lake Nakuru 

5199 m 

National 

Mfangango 

National 

Park 

Nyerri Embu 

Reserve 

Island 

Kisii 

Muranga’a Mwea 

Ruma 

Hell’s Gate 

National 

National 

National Park 

Mt Longonot 2777 m Reserve 

Park 

RIFT VALLEY 

Longonot National Park 

Thika 

Migori 

Narok 

NAIROBI 

Oi Donyo National Park 

Chantal van Wessel 

OFFICES & AGENTS 

Head Office Airport North Road, Embakasi 

P.O. Box: 19002 – 00501 Nairobi, Kenya, Tel +254 (0)20 6422000, 

Safaricom +254 0711 02 2000, Airtel +254 0734 10 2000 

Contact Centre (24 hours) Tel +254 (0)20 3274747 

Safaricom +254 0711 02 4747, Airtel +254 0734 10 4747 

Email: customer.relations@kenya-airways.com 

JKIA Sales Office Terminal 1C – International Departures 

Tel +254 (0)20 6423506/8, 

Terminal 1D – Domestic Departures Tel +254 (0)20 6423570 

Baggage Services Tel +254 0737 33 3954 

Email: delayedbaggage.nbo@kenya-airways.com 

KENYA 

Voi 

Kora 

National 

Park 

Kajiado 

West 

Chyulu Game 

Conservation 

Area 

Amboseli 

National Park 

Tsavo 

East 

National 

Tsavo West 

Park 

National 

Park 

Mt Kilimanjaro 5895 m 

Rahole 

National 

Reserve 

Mwaluganje 

Elephant 

Sanctuary 

Shimba Hills 

National 

Reserve 

Garissa 

MOMBASA 

Wajir 

Tana River 

Primate National 

Reserve 

Arabuko 

Malindi Marine 

Sokoke 

National Park 

National 

Park 

MALINDI 

Watamu Marine 

National Park 

Kilifi 

Diani 

Kisite Marine National Park 

Kisite Marine National Park 

Boni 

National 

Arawale Reserve 

National 

Reserve 

Dodori 

National 

Reserve 

SOMALIA 

INDIAN 

OCEAN 

100 km

The local Kikuyu tribe calls Mount 

Kenya Kirinyaga, meaning ‘place of 

light and darkness’. They believe this 

mountain is the throne of god (Ngai). 

Magical Kenya 

SAFARI NJEMA / 103 

Kenya’s enormous 

biodiversity includes 25,000 

different animal species. 

Shutterstock 

African Adventures 

Luxury Safari Utopia 

A luxury safari in Kenya should 

be on everyone’s bucket list. Here, 

the art of combining the wildlife 

adventure with impeccable service 

has been perfected down to the 

satin sheets and lavish tents fit for 

the royalty and jet-setters who 

frequent the country. 

The leisure safari was born in the 1920s 

when wealthy Westerners flocked to 

Africa for the wildlife. Reflecting the 

excess of the Roaring Twenties, they 

travelled in style; resting in tented camps 

outfitted with silver service, gourmet 

food and gramophones. With safaris led 

by celebrities as varied as Hemingway, 

Prince Edward and Teddy Roosevelt, 

Kenya set the safari bar higher than 

anywhere in Africa; and still continues to 

do so today. Now the day of the hunter 

is done and ecotourism is the buzzword 

in the bush, offering a gentler but no less 

thrilling introduction to the last place 

on earth where luxury exists in its old 

abundance. 

Private planes, gourmet dining, spas, 

sparkling pools and high-quality wine 

enjoyed under a canopy of stars. Want 

to get even closer to nature? How about 

exclusive access to 60,000 acres of land 

with one of the last thriving black and 

white rhino populations? 

It’s hard to come across a more perfect 

destination to see game than the Maasai 

Mara and its unparalleled inventory of 

wildlife. If you’re after the Big Five, 

you’re in the right place. The most 

dynamic time to visit the Mara is during 

the great migration when millions of 

wildebeest, zebras, gazelles, and many 

other animals travel to and from Kenya. 

The sheer volume of wildlife on view is 

staggering, but the migration is also 

exciting because these animals’ natural 

predators (the lions, the hyenas) follow. 

So prepare to witness some life-or-death 

drama on the African plains of Kenya. 

Mount Kenya, located in the centre of 

the country, delivers rugged beauty with 

its fair share of wildlife. At 5,199 m and 

with its craggy shape, it’s one of the 

world’s most picturesque mountains. 

Sail across the skies sipping champagne 

and enjoying breathtaking views of 

mountain ranges, savannah and flora. 

Be whisked away for an adventure on the 

high seas with world-class instructors in 

scuba diving, kite surfing, snorkelling 

and deep-sea fishing. That is, if you can 

pull yourself away from the immaculate, 

secluded sandy beaches at the coast. 

Whether you’re in the mood to unwind, 

discover beautiful cultures or explore 

vast landscapes, there’s an opportunity 

to create incredible memories at every 

turn you take. 

Visit magicalkenya.com to make your 

holiday booking today.

SAFARI NJEMA / 105 

Cargo 

Courier Material 

It’s in the Mail 

Text: Ben Clark 

Need a contract signed in Dubai? 

Left your medication behind at 

the hotel? Need a spare part as 

soon as possible? Kenya Airways 

Cargo can make it happen quickly 

and safely. 

Kenya Airways (KQ) provides a tailormade 

airfreight service for the rapid 

transportation of time-definite courier 

material by registered courier companies. 

KQ’s partners – which include DHL, 

FedEx, UPS and ARAMEX – 

complement KQ’s offering with their 

door-to-door service. A dedicated 

courier-handling team at the hub helps 

simplify customs clearance and ensures 

shipment delivery within an hour of a 

flight’s arrival. 

KQ’s service is flexible, allowing late 

acceptance cut-off times: one hour for 

domestic packages and two hours for 

regional and international packages. 

Shipment size is not limited, and the 

maximum weight per item is 32 kg, 

although exceptions are permitted to 

certain destinations with prior approval. 

In addition, customer service and 

support are available around the clock, 

and comprehensive tracking information 

is provided from the origin to the final 

destination. 

“We provide VIP handling and shipping 

at competitive prices because for us, 

clients’ shipments are Very Important 

Packages,” says Sylvia Odari at KQ 

Cargo.

106 / SAFARI NJEMA 

KQ won the Best 

Business Class in 

Africa for four years 

in a row from World 

Travel Awards. 

Get Comfortable 

✈ KQ received an International 

Safety Award in 2016 and 2017 

from the British Safety Council. 

What you need to know 

Flight Mode 

Safety 

Please watch the safety demonstration before 

take-off and refer to the leaflet in your seat 

pocket. Smoking is prohibited on all flights. 

Electronic devices including laptops, tablets 

and mobile phones may not be used during 

take-off and landing. 

Hand luggage 

Place hand luggage in the overhead storage 

or beneath the seat in front of you. Cabin crew 

will remove hand luggage from passengers 

seated in exit rows for take-off and landing. 

1 Get a good night’s sleep, eat a light 

meal and take some gentle exercise 

before your flight. 

Travel 

On The Move 

Six top tips for a healthy and comfortable journey 

2 Wear comfortable clothing and shoes. 

3 Keep your circulation going by standing 

up and walking in the aisle when 

possible. Flex muscles in your feet, arms, 

shoulders and neck. 

4 Low cabin humidity on longer 

journeys can cause dry eyes, nose and 

throat. Remove contact lenses and apply 

“The new leadership is 

about working together” 

– Jack Ma – 

Chinese business man 

moisturiser and lip balm. Avoid salt, 

drink plenty of water and moderate 

your intake of alcohol, tea and coffee. 

5 When travelling across time zones 

your body’s sleep rhythms can become 

disrupted, leading to insomnia, loss of 

appetite and fatigue. Try to give yourself 

some time to adjust to new night and 

day cycles when you arrive. 

6 On arrival spend as much time as 

possible outside. Sunlight helps your 

body to adjust to a new time zone. 

Seat adjustments 

Ensure your seat is upright for take-off and 

landing. 

Infants 

Baby-changing tables can be found in 

selected toilets. The crew will help prepare 

baby food. Cots are available on some flights. 

Inflight service 

A hot meal is normally served during longhaul 

flights. Special-diet or vegetarian meals 

are available when pre-ordered. There is a 

courtesy inflight bar service for wine, beer, 

spirits and soft drinks. 

Entertainment 

Seat-back entertainment featuring a range of 

movies and music is available on our long- and 

medium-haul flights. Please refer to the IFE 

guide in Msafiri. 

Take-off 

The aircraft climbs steeply immediately after 

take-off. Shortly afterwards you will hear 

a reduction in the engine sound, while the 

aircraft continues to climb. All aircraft cabins 

are pressurised. Due to a change in pressure 

during take-off and landing, some passengers 

may experience slight discomfort in their ears. 

Relieve this by swallowing, yawning or pinching 

the nostrils gently, while keeping lips sealed. 

Landing 

After touchdown you may hear an increase in 

engine noise due to the reverse thrust applied 

to assist braking. Remain seated until the 

engines are off and the doors are open.

msafiri_2017_10

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