It’s been a while since I used a feature phone, let alone reviewed one. I used this phone for about 5 days while I waited to return to the sane world of smartphones.

This is Baby C, The Nokia C1-01. Image from paperpk.com

Opera Mini

It’s the cheapest phone with a ‘good’ internet connection that I could find. It comes pre-installed with opera mini so you can start surfing right away. It has an Edge connection (2G network) but it’s pretty decent for a phone that size because its data requirement is minimal. You can do the usual sites: facebook, twitter, gmail comfortably.

Camera

I don’t how many MP it has but either way, the pics are the type give you a headache when trying to view details, so let’s skip the review. It’s probably 1.2MP

Radio

I could listen to X FM pretty well, so can’t complain. Standard Nokia headphones, standard port so you can play music on external speakers.

Music

A good music player, and since it has a slot for a memory card, I could listen to music in peace on my way home to and from town. It’s a long journey to Utawala, and the bus usually has friendly people who want to talk. Earphones will get you out of conversation.

Apps

It has the usual games… including Solitaire and Snake, except the snake is too big so not very responsive! You can download Series 40 apps from the Ovi Store so knock yourself out.

Size and Lightness

It’s a sleek phone, felt tiny in my hand considering my previous phone was a Samsung Galaxy S II named Calypso, but that is a story for another day.

Cost

Picture this: it’s raining. Heavily. It has taken me one hour to get to town from Strathmore, only to find no buses at my stage. I need to make a phone call but I only have a SIM card. I don’t have cash, my money is in MPESA. So when I asked the guy at the shop what’s the cheapest phone with internet, and we tend to trust Nokia brands for lower end phones, I decided to get the C1-01. For Kshs. 5,000. I’m ready to sell it for Kshs. 4,000. Any takers?

Anyway, I have moved on to a new phone: The Samsung Galaxy Y Pro Duos. It’s the one on the right that’s both QWERTY and touch, and runs on Android. Will review it soon. I haven’t named it yet and suggestions are welcome!

The Galaxy Y Duos and the Galaxy Y Pro Duos. Image from fonearena.com

The first ever Kenyan bloggers awards went down on Saturday 5th May at the Serena Hotel in Nairobi. Larry *pause* Madowo was the MC, and among the attendees were Paul Kukubo the CEO of Kenya ICT Board, Nzioka of Safaricom ( I forget his title ), the head of Red Cross Kenya and many other awesome people including yours truly!

@Wamathai pauses with Pinky Ghelani, one of the judges of the bloggers' awards

Here’s the List of winners, which I copy pasted from bloggers.or.ke!

Below is the list of winners in the different categories, who won through the votes that you cast (you being the reader and voter!):

1. Best Business Blog

bankelele.blogspot.com

2. Best Agriculture Blog

emmiekio.blogspot.com

3. Best Creative Writing Blog

www.crazynairobian.com

4. Best Fashion Blog

www.nanciemwai.com

5. Best Food Blog

healthylivingkenya.wordpress.com

6. Best General Blog

muruginjehia.blogspot.com/

7. Best New Blog

www.my254.com

8. Best Corporate Blog

blog.batakenya.com

9. Best Photography Blog

www.mutuamatheka.co.ke

10. Best Politics Blog

www.dennisitumbi.com

11. Best Sports Blog

www.michezoafrika.com

12. Best Technology Blog

www.moseskemibaro.com

13. Best Tweep – Corporate

@KenyaRedCross

14. Best Tweep – Individual

@KoinangeJeff

All in all, it was a successful first event, and of course next year it will rock much bigger! I needed an evening like that after a Saturday where AFC Leopards lost to City Stars 3-0, and Liverpool lost the FA Cup final to Chelsea!

P.S. Check out more pictures on the BAKE blog!

I’ve been keenly following the website Kenyanstar.co.ke for sports news in Kenya. If you ever tried reading sports in the main newspapers, The Standard, Nation and the like, you get a few sketchy pages of local news and splashes of pages covering the English Premier League!

The Maasai Cricket Warriors

KenyanStar also have a print edition and I picked the latest copy with an interesting cover story: The Massai warriors who play cricket. Here’s a colourful picture I got from this blog:

The Masaai cricket warriors are tall, colourful and handsome, I think they are bringing IT!

Aliya Bauer is the brainchild behind the now famous Masaai Cricket Warriors, a team that is currently fundraising to go to South Africa for the Last Man Standing Tournament.

This is just one among the many stories in the 4th issue of the KenyanStar magazine. Aside from a few *LOOSING typos (well, they were more than 4 of those and it got quite annoying, I blame the editor!), it was an interesting read. I’m even in one of the pictures PICTORIAL section, I’ll let you figure out which one when you pick your copy of the mag!

KenyanStar Issue 4..

Disability is Not Inability

In their third issue that had the most handsome footballer in the KPL Jonas Paco on the cover, the main story of KenyanStar featured disabled athletes who are able to do much despite various limitations. The Kenyan Paralympics team is busy training for the Paralympics (equivalent of the Olympics.) I don’t want to give away the entire story!

Jonas Paco on the cover of Issue 3.

The pictorial of the 3rd issue features pictures from the Safaricom Sevens that were held at Nyayo! Lovely pictures, including one where the Samoans were doing the Haka. Sadly, Kenya, though we were the hosts, did not win the Sevens despite winning like the past 4 Sevens.

Kenya Rugby Sevens: How Far They Have Come

The second issue of the KenyanStar had Eye Candy Biko Adema on the cover. He plays in the Kenya 7′s rugby team. In it, they follow the journey of Kenya’s rugby team has come to glory these days. There is also a feature on the Kenyan El Classico pitting Kenya’s two biggest football teams: Gor Mahia and AFC Leopards. The pictures make my day each time! The pictorial section focuses on the Bamburi Rugby Super Series. Check them out if you get the chance.

Biko Adema graces the cover of the second issue!

Top 10 KPL Players
The inaugural issue of KenyanStar, which was out in April of 2011, had PPO Erique Masika on the cover. For those who do not know Masika, he was a former Gor Mahia defender who was bought by AFC Leopards for a KPL record transfer fee of Kshs. 450,000. He’s now firmly in the den looking good in blue!

He was rated the number one player then, according to the author of the article.

Eric Masika, our star defender along with Jonas Paco

Anyway, if I was to recommend a sports magazine in Kenya, and I do not know of any other, I’d take Kenyanstar. They cover all sports news, be it hockey, basketball, cricket, swimming, athletics, football, rugby etc. In all levels, from village teams, to schools and colleges, to professional leagues. Here are my four copies

All four issues of Volume 1 lying on my bed ..

AFC Leopards Vs Tusker FC: Heartbreak in Mombasa

Last weekend (the one before the most recent one), I was on the road to Mombasa, imagining how AFC Leopards was going to extend the unbeaten run to 24 matches after beating Tusker FC at Mbaraki Stadium. I rallied my friends in Nairobi to travel with me, and called up my friend Veeh in Mombasa for her first stadium experience!

Needless to say, Tusker beat us 2-0, ending our unbeaten match run. However, we still remained on top of the league, and we’re the team to watch for the Kenya Premier League title in 2012.

AFC Leopards Coast Branch fans match through the streets to the venue of the match on that fateful Saturday!

My advice? Do not emotionally over-invest in a team. It can break your heart. Possibly your phone in the process.

The remains of Calypso, my former galaxy S II. Taken by Baby-C, my new phone, a Nokia C1 which I shall review later! RIP!

The loss humbled us Ingwe Fans, possibly bringing some sanity into our heady and lofty expectations!

Karuturi Sports vs AFC Leopards: Moving On.. to a Draw in Naivasha

Yesterday, Sunday 29th April, we Leopards took the fight to Naivasha. We played Karuturi Sports at their grounds in Naivasha. In spite of an early lead that they had, we equalized in the second half via a header from Erique Masika (the defender we got from Gor Mahia for a KPL record of Kshs. 450,000)

Eric Masika is the one with the blue hamstring guard(?). He plays defence, number 40 is his jersey and he spots a blonde mohawk! This picture was taken during Thika Utd's match when we defeated them 2-1!

Unfortunately I was not able to attend the Naivasha match, meaning out of the 12 games we have played this season, I have attended 10 and missed 2. Which is sad because I wanted a perfect attendance record.

The Nokia C1

If I had money right now, I would head to the nearest Samsung shop and get myself another S II. It was a fantastic phone. Even now, if you press the power button hard enough, you can feel the response, and the menu&back buttons light up. I may take it to the Samsung shops to see if the can revive it but I’m not having high hopes.

In the meanwhile, I have replaced Calypso with Baby-C, a Nokia C1-01, whose review will be coming soon!

The Nokia C1-01, my new swag. Nicknamed Baby-C. Image from paperpk.com

Bloggers’ Awards: Vote for My Blog

Meanwhile, you can vote for my blog in the bloggers’ awards coming up on Saturday. Click here to vote for my blog in the General Category.

Survey: Help a Sister Out

There is this lady doing her masters degree at the University of Nairobi, and if you have time, please fill these questionnaires. She needs the info for her thesis!

Questionnaire for Citizens – https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dHF2THZncmNyX3FuREs1V2hMZ1JLa3c6MQ

Questionnaire for Open Source Software Developers - https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dERNcTMtQWotckdPSUlnMTFkaXVfTlE6MQ

Questionnaire for Content Creators – https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dFQ2ZmY1dTRMMzV5emhSbkFBOFlDLVE6MQ

The Bloggers Assocation of Kenya (BAKE) has been running a blogging competition. Voting was open from last week and will close on 3rd May.

The awards themselves will be a gala event to be held on 5th of May. However, it’s by invitation only so I’m sorry no crushing

Image from lovesweetcrystal.blogspot.com

Here is the nominees list:

BAKE Blog Awards – Final Nominees List

1. Best Agriculture Blog

i. http://kipsizoo.wordpress.com

ii. http://emmiekio.blogspot.com

iii. http://youngagropreneur.wordpress.com

iv. http://bornreadyek.blogspot.com

v. http://panaac.co

2. Best Business Blog

i. http://rookie-manager.com

ii. http://bankelele.blogspot.com

iii. http://ujenzibora.com/nahinga

iv. http://Lilliankaivilu.wordpress.com

v. http://blog.sphere.co.ke

3. Best Creative Writing Blog

i. http://www.bikozulu.co.ke

ii. http://diasporadical.com

iii. http://kenyanmom.wordpress.com

iv. http://www.crazynairobian.com

v. http://www.kenyanpoet.com

4. Best Fashion Blog

i. http://www.nanciemwai.com

ii. http://ourstylekenya.blogspot.com

iii. http://www.kurlykichana.com

iv. http://geeksfashion.blogspot.com

v. http://sharzville.wordpress.com

5. Best Food Blog

i. http://www.tamutamu.net

ii. http://deeperthanmykitchen.wordpress.com

iii. http://www.yummy.co.ke

iv. http://healthylivingkenya.wordpress.com

v. http://poetrycafee.blogspot.com

6. Best General Blog

i. http://booksnblogsbysitawa.blogspot.com

ii. http://www.savvykenya.com

iii. http://muruginjehia.blogspot.com

iv. http://www.openbook.co.ke

v. http://www.akenyangirl.com

7. Best New Blog

i. http://www.my254.com

ii. http://mytechxperience.blogspot.com

iii. http://kahonge.com

iv. http://carlthatruth.com

v. http://kenyanjamaa.wordpress.com

8. Best Photography Blog

i. http://www.benkiruthi.com

ii. http://www.mutuamatheka.co.ke

iii. http://wraggz.wordpress.com

iv. http://www.thikaroadblog.net

v. http://joe.frontlite.co.ke

9. Best Politics Blog

i. http://www.dennisitumbi.com

ii. http://tribe46thkenyan.wordpress.com

iii. http://mwashy.blogspot.com

iv. http://iamnotmytribe.blogspot.com

10. Best Sports Blog

i. http://www.michezoafrika.com

ii. http://sportskenya.blogspot.com

iii. http://nafterli.wordpress.com

iv. http://panoramicdon.wordpress.com

v. http://fanatics.frankmwenda.com

11. Best Technology Blog

i. http://www.moseskemibaro.com

ii. http://www.a4architect.com/feed

iii. http://www.aptantech.com

iv. http://www.tommakau.com

v. http://www.tielict.com/blog

12. Best Tweep Individual

i. http://twitter.com/dee_spicable

ii. http://twitter.com/_ramzzy_

iii. http://twitter.com/WiseWordzdaily

iv. http://twitter.com/KoinangeJeff

v. http://twitter.com/SunnySunWords

13. Best Tweep – Corporate

i. http://twitter.com/rupukenya

ii. http://twitter.com/KenyaRedCross

iii. http://twitter.com/KenyaAirways

iv. http://twitter.com/UrbanBites254

v. http://twitter.com/MavunoChurchOrg

14. Best Corporate Blog

i. http://blog.batakenya.com

ii. http://squaddigital.com/blog

So click here to vote for your favorite blog.

I’m only 23 for another hour give or take,
I’m not a sinner or a preacher
So promise me only one thing, would you?
Just don’t ever make me promises
No promises, no promises

The above lyrics are a medley from the song Promises by Incubus. I’m 24 on Monday, with a lot on my mind. I’m not sure I’m as happy as I should have wanted to be. I have realized a lot of things. I’ll share those which my thoughts can allow to be stringed into words, those that form and perhaps a conclusion.

The quarter-life crisis is real. This is the point in life you are struggling to make something of your degree, your career, your business, your hustling, perhaps your relationships. You try to define yourself, yet society may have other expectations. Family has its pressures.

It's been 24 years

I have realized it is never about you. The decisions you make are hard to make only because you have to think of other people. If it was about you, you’d do what’s best for you, screw everyone else. But your friends, your colleagues, society, family.. they matter. That is why you choose to do that 8-5 job than pursue that risky career whose rewards may never be, but it will make you truly happy. However happy it may make you, bills have to be paid and so jobs have to be done.

I have realized it’s very easy to lose sight of the goals. It is easy to fall by the wayside. All it takes is that one time, that first time… it’s easier to do something wrong the second time, the third time.. sooner or later the guilty conscience is buried further away, and you’re drowning in your vices.

I have realized time and distance will cost you friendships. Relationships.

I have realized that though I may not have achieved whatever I wanted to by this age, God knows what that is, I shall be satisfied with what I have done so far. I got my first class bragging rights – as you can see, it’s almost a year later and I haven’t forgotten about it! I got a scholarship to do my masters in Kenya’s best IT university- Strathmore. I have Paul Kagame and Bob Collymore on speed dial. Okay, I kid. I have girls, teachers of girls and other people emailing me telling me I have inspired them, that I’m an encouragement to all the women starting out in technology and sciences in general. Sometimes I think that maybe I don’t deserve to be their inspiration, that my life is pretty mundane. Then other times I think these people who look up to me help keep me on my toes. I have to clean up my act, and maintain it. I have to keep my dreams alive.

I have realized that being a hero is not about thinking of what’s best for you. It’s about sacrifice. It is about others. It is not having the perfect life: you could hardly envy Nelson Mandela’s earlier life(27 years in prison! I’m not even 27 yet!), or Wangari Maathai’s, much less Mother Teresa’s. It’s about living your life for the good of others. Your purpose in life is to make life better for all those around you. For the whole world. I find this a worthy reason to get out of bed every day. Do you want to know my dream? Click that link.. he he I won’t make it easier for you!

So yeah, I’m still on Feetsubishi, sometimes Shoebaru… I’m still living in my parent’s house, still send please-call-me’s on occasion, still have to call on my friends to bail me out, still walking around with my backpack, still sitting in class listening to lecturers, still chasing after the shadows of relationships hoping to find the one, still doing that job whose payment comes a month late….. BUT I have every reason to smile. Every reason to wake up and chase after my dream. I have my friends, my family. I’m alive and I have been given another chance to be awesome.

Happy 24th birthday to me!

P.S. BAKE Awards Now Open For Voting.
You know this is your birthday present to me: your vote! Click here to vote for me in the Best General Blog Category!

P.P.S.

This Friday night, I’m off to coast to watch AFC Leopards beat Tusker FC at Mbaraki Stadium in Mombasa tomorrow at 3pm. Even a leopard drinks Tusker sometimes!

The Pivot East Conference and App competition will take place on 5th-6th June at Ole Sereni Hotel in Nairobi. It brings together developers and investors and other stakeholders together for two days of a pitching competition and conference speakers.

The app competition already started, with developers submitting app ideas in each category. After that, the judges picked the top 10 in each category, from which the 5 best will be picked. Here are the top 10 ideas in each category:

Financial Services Category

• Chamapro
• Changamka
• Future Magnets
• Kwachu Tiko
• mCollector
• MobiKash
• mPermit
• M-Tafiti
• Pay4Us
• QuickElec

Business and Resource Management Category

• AFRILANCE
• Art Pakacha
• Dairy Sacco App
• Easy Order
• Get-it! app
• MyBusiness App
• PROCUMENT OFFICE
• SMS Based Health Insurance Members Verification
• SMS Offline and Online virtual Market place
• Wakili

Entertainment Category

• Andromaid
• AngryKenyans
• KenyanEnt
• Ma3racer
• Mag Preview
• Magaziine
• Mingle
• Run For Afrika
• Tough Jungle
• TUBET

Mobile Society Category

• eLimu
• FarmPal
• FISHMATE
• Gorecycler
• GreenhousePro
• mpoultry
• MPrep
• Mtu wa Job
• SARURA
• StorySpaces

Utilities category

• 6ix degrees
• Crowdpesa
• I travel
• Mafuta Go
• Mare-Mare
• Migwa
• mTracker
• m-verified
• Smart Drive 360
• Tell-a-Friend

You may have heard of The Let Me Live Concert. It was a concert whose aim was to raise money for Caleb Kipkan Ngugi, a sixteen year old boy who needs to travel to South Africa for a bone marrow transplant to cure acute leukemia. The concert was successful and massive thanks go out to all those who made their way to NPC Woodley despite of the heavy rains. The various groups and artists who performed for free also deserve a big pat on the back.

Unfortunately, Caleb was taken ill on the night after the concert and is currently admitted at Getrudes Hospital (Muthaiga). He was in need of blood but luckily, Red Cross and Carol Radull donated about 16 pints of blood.

So many of you have helped in one way or another and you cannot be thanked enough for your kindness. However, the money that had been raised at the concert and through the sale of merchandise and artists CDs was not going to be enough to cater for the transplant that is set to cost about 5.5 million. It is in this regard that you are kindly asked to help out financially or in any other way that you can. Contributions of whatever amount can be sent to Grace Kipkan’s M-Pesa number 0727 647 085 or Caleb Ngugi Kipkan’s medical fund Co-op Bank University Way account number 01109172153500. Even that 50 bob will go a long way in helping. For updates, follow @teamcaleb16 on twitter.

Kindly share this post on various social sites to your friends and/or tell your friends or anyone who can help. Bloggers can re-blog this post on their blogs or websites and let their fans know about Caleb.

Let us help Caleb achieve his dream of being a pilot.

This year, one of my plans is to watch all of AFC’s Leopards matches. Out of 9 matches I have watched 8. I felt bad when I missed the match against Western Stima in Mumias two weeks ago, but I had to visit a former classmate who had lost her sister. Sometimes your friends come first.

This time, AFC Leopards (Ingwe) was playing against Rangers FC in Mumias on Sunday at 3pm. I was not going to miss it. I sent my money to the person who was organizing the trip; Kshs. 1500 return. A real bargain. I was in town early so I could buy red canvas shoes.. these go well with the red & black uniform of Ingwelets (female Ingwe fans), which we planned to wear. And we rocked it!

Ingwelets in the red and black uniform at a past match, note the red Bata canvas shoes! Image from facebook.

Fans travelling by whatever means: hired school buses, tour vans, personal cars etc, assembled at Kencom Stage in downtown Nairobi for some noise (if you were near you heard the vuvuzelas &whistles around 9pm) before prayers and departure. We sped on through the night, singing various songs and getting high on drinks that are carried specifically for the journey. Drinks & miraa were shared generously. Songs were sung throughout the night.. it was morning when I realized just how much I had been talking and was losing my voice, so I decided to shut up for a while.

The journey from Nairobi to Mumias took us through Naivasha, Nakuru, Eldoret, Bungoma.. then Mumias. Near Bungoma, at around 6am, we came to a scene where a trailer had overturned, spilling its precious cargo that had already been looted: Dock Beer. I am sure you have never heard of this brand! Neither have I!

This must be one of those for-export-only brand! So next time you feel fancy about taking some foreign beer know that manufacturing is probably local. Some looters were trying to hawk it to us, big mistake. When you are in bus full of a group of people who know each other, and you are trying to sell beer you just looted… to cut the story short, no one paid for no beer. I got myself two cans. Breakfast you see.

Dock Beer. Two cans for me. Tasted bleugh! But beer is an acquired taste, no?

One of AFC’s veteran fans, Doc Walela, had a welcome breakfast for all traveling fans in his home, and we passed by. I tried eating a mandazi but by this time I realized my mild cold had turned into a throat infection. The only thing I could swallow was liquids so I turned to Dock. I’m liking this name, Dock. Our bus then left for another fan’s place, who hosted us for lunch. Meanwhile, after showering, I slept peacefully under a tree all morning. Nothing beats sleeping under a tree on a sunny day!

Chilling under the tree waiting for the match to begin.

I was woken up at lunch time for a meal of brown ugali, chicken and traditional vegetables. I had taken some Celestamine (they really work) and was feeling better so I gobbled down my meal. Busaa and chang’aa were provided too Nothing beats eating under a tree on a sunny day after a breakfast of Docks and a morning sista under the same tree!

We made our way to the Mumias Sugar Complex, where the stadium is located. The place was already full even though it was 30 minutes to kick off. The Isikuti and whistles filled the air. the singing and dancing in the stadium was on another level. The players were out warming up. Koops, our coach, waved to us and we acknowledged with whistles and loud cheers. Rangers FC, the team that conceded 6 goals without scoring any against Thika United, was looking to redeem themselves. Oh how wrong they were!

The whistle went off. The game started. It was starting to look like a tough one, like we may not score. However, our Captain Imbalmbala opened up for us with a header from a corner. I didn’t actually see the goal because of the many people who were on their feet in front of me. But I sure heard the celebration! The linesman was disputing the goal but the referee allowed it!

Two minutes later, I saw fans celebrating and knew we had scored again! Allan Wanga made it 2-0. Too bad I didn’t see that goal either.. I’m telling you being in the stadium is not just about the game, it’s about the atmosphere there. The noise, the dancing, the electric wave that engulfs the stadium when a goal is scored, the moment of bonding when all are united in screaming “Ingwe! Ingwe! Ingwe!” as the players come nearer the fans to celebrate a goal!

Bageya and Victor Ochieng’ made it 4-0 and it was almost half-time. Unfortunately, Rangers equalized to make it 4-1. It was half-time.

Time to dance. Everyone who could took to the dance floor: the space between the benches and the field, and shook their shoulders or waists or whatever body parts to whichever tune they were hearing. The fans who sat in front of me had these tall cans of Tusker, and offered some. It’s my rule book that you don’t turn down free beer, it’s just rude

By this time, my cold was starting to take toll and the weather was changing, becoming cloudier. I asked my friend the pharmacist if I could take another pill, and he said it’s ok. I borrowed a bottle of water from someone so I could use it to swallow the pill. I put the pill in my mouth and took a swig of the “water”. It was KC!!!! (Kenya Cane) Burned a hole down my throat. So much for not mixing alcohol and pills.

The second half started. We sat down to enjoy the goals that were yet to come. I was rooting for 4 more goals. It started raining, lightly at first so the referee let the game continue. Bageya and Victor Ochieng added a goal each, making it 6-1!!! I saw these goals, saw how our midfielder Salim Kinje made some clever moves!

The rain got worse, even hail stones at some point. The referee stopped the game for almost an hour, while we sheltered. Some fans though, took advantage of this moment. To dance in the rain, what freedom! They didn’t care about the mud that now covered their clothes, or about skidding and falling in the pools of dirty water!

Some fans dancing in the rain. Image from fb

After the rain stopped, players and some fans helped drain the water from the pitch, clearly the drainage isn’t perfect. They used banners, bottles, anything they could find. The match resumed but the rain had stopped our goal momentum and it was Rangers FC who scored their much needed consolation goal. The match ended 6-2!

Players draining water from the pitch so the match could resume. Image from fb

I bet the gate collection was close to Kshs. 1,000,000. Since it is a home game, it’s our club’s for the taking. Rangers FC has been having some financial problems and I’m sure they could do with the milli.

After the game, some fans went to Kakamega, Kisumu, Bungoma, or their rural homes for the night, and to celebrate in their own ways. Most of us traveled to Nairobi on Monday morning.

This was my first time in Western Province and though I didn’t do much sightseeing, I had a wonderful time. I look forward to the next game in Mumias.

AFC Leopards is on top of the KPL table with 23 points from 9 matches. We are unbeaten this season.

This past week has seen me shuttle between Mombasa, Nairobi, Mumias and back again to Nairobi. I went to Mombasa for the connected Kenya 2012 summit, big tings agwan! I think what I’m trying to say is the connected summit is Kenya’s biggest ICT conference. The top (and everyone) industry players were there. Kenya ICT board, Ministry of ICT, Safaricom, Orange, Google, SAP, Microsoft etc. The event took place in South Coast at a 5 start hotel. Conference delegates were spread out among beach resorts near Leisure Lodge because we all could not fit in one hotel.

Together with some delegates, I flew on Monday from JKIA in Nairobi to Moi Airport in Mombasa. Since I live near the airport in Nairobi, I did not have to worry about traffic to the airport. From the airport in Mombasa to South Coast, we took a bus and had one of my scariest rides: the ferry. There is always traffic around the ferry area so it took us 2 hours to get to our hotel in South Coast! However, if you can afford it, you should fly to Ukunda Airstrip in South Coast, just 5 KM away from the major resorts. Then you don’t have to go through Moi Mombasa Airport and the mess that is the ferry crossing.

People and human traffic at the ferry crossing in Likoni, Mombasa. Image from tripadvisor.de

Every day of the conference ended with cocktails and dinner, sponsored by one company or the other. We all know what happens when you place free food and drink before a Kenyan; restraint is thrown out of the window. Moderation ceases to exist. And when the hotel finally closed down, like all people chasing after a fast life, most people went to the only club that kicks it in South Coast: Shark Attack. I hope that’s how it is spelt. The bad thing about staying out so late is that you end up missing the whole morning sessions of the following day.

I made it a point to swim every morning before breakfast at the Indian Ocean Beach Resort swimming pool, where I was staying. You couldn’t really swim in the ocean in the mornings because you’d find the water had retreated but you could take a walk and watch the sun rise over the ocean if you are the type to admire sunrise. Which I am.

The swimming pool at Indian Ocean beach club. Image from safarivo.com

Wednesday night was the last night of the conference and Safaricom/ICT Board held the party of parties. We were welcomed to dinner on the beach by beauties handing out branded kangas/kikoys. I located a seat and ordered my drink on the rocks, except the ice cubes melted so fast in the Mombasa temperatures. The atmosphere was great, people were in great spirits and I remember at one point I had a glass of one in one hand, knee-deep in the shallow beach water and staring at the expansive ocean as the waves came crashing in. I remember thinking that right there, is life.

A woman sips wine and watches the sun set over the ocean. Image from 123rf.com

Eric Omondi on a camel with some funny jokes, some repeated, some fresh. Wyre the Love Child on Stage, electric! Some dancing competition and someone winning phones/laptops/tablets. Wyre with that guy who sings in Kikuyu (just remembered JB Maina.) More wine, but this time the waiter decided to leave the bottle on the table so I could refill at leisure. At the dance floor again. Giving out phone to a trusted friend so I don’t lose it. Talking to people, everyone starts pouring out their hearts. Is that a dare I hear? Off to the ocean then.. I win my dare. Kshs. 500. But the sucker refuses to pay! Getting pissed and taking off. Oh, my bottle is still there. Meeting some new people, accepting business cards with a promise to get in touch. I should leave before someone does something they might regret. A good friend gets me a cab to the hotel. I get up at 8am on Thursday morning, one hour later than I had hoped. That is how I missed my return flight.

Thursday morning was a frantic rush to pack and check out of the hotel and rush to the airport. We arrived there at noon, one hour after scheduled take-off. Lucky for those of us who missed our flights, KQ sometimes operates like a matatu. We got seats in the next flight with no extra charges.

I took time on Friday to catch up on work and stuff. Since it was Easter, I’m still ignoring school work until Tuesday evening when I attend my first class a week after we opened school!

Saturday night found me on my way to Mumias to watch AFC Leopards play Rangers, but that is a story for the next post!