Five Foods you must try when you visit Sri Lanka.

If there is one thing I did in 2018,it's that I ate to my heart's content.As with all things this has it's benefits and disadvantages.The good however outweighs the bad. For one I have no regrets or thoughts like 'maybe ningekula ile cake last week'. Sometimes I think maybe I should have gone easy on the rice last year because even if it's shrimp fried rice or vegetable biriyani at the end of the day it is still rice.FYI,vegetable biriyani I am so glad I tried you,because you are my answer to a delicious dish that doesn't have meat.The negative though is as expected I am basically a huge drum now,a friend that hadn't seen me since mid 2017, exclaimed 'UMENENEPA wala nini siku hizi?' 😭😭😭.

People travel for many reasons; to explore parts unknown,to rest,to learn new things and to experience a different culture .One thing is for sure,whatever your reason for travelling is you must eat every where you go.

My philosophy as regards eating while travelling is 'DO NOT EAT WHAT YOU CAN EASILY PREPARE AND EAT AT HOME'.I kept this in mind while visiting Sri Lanka.It's an Island country in Asia nicknamed 'The Pearl of India Ocean'.If you are ever in this beautiful tropical paradise be sure to try these foods.

Red Rice

Yum!!

It's very obvious that eating is one of those things that gives me joy.I am no glutton though so most times before a buffet confuses me,I try and make healthy choices.Red rice is whole grain,it has antioxidants and can aid in weight loss.On top of all this it so very delicious.Rice is a staple here.It's eaten at all meals including breakfast! My advise choose red rice for all it's health benefits.Also chances are like me this will be your first time eating it.

Buffalo Milk Curd

Buffalo Curd

Of all the foods I tried,Buffalo curd was what stood out the most for me.It tastes a lot like plain yoghurt and is eaten with a syrup made out of  jaggery.It's eaten as a dessert and felt like my redemption at the end of every large meal.This might be why I loved it so much.Guilt free dessert 😊.

Egg Hoppers

The deliciousness that is a egg hopper.

These are a breakfast meal that mimick the Somali anjera only difference is that they are bowl-shaped.They are made from fermented rice flour and coconut milk.One can have them plain or with an egg.They are the perfect breakfast as they are very filling.

Sea Food

Spot the shrimps on this plate 😋😋

Sri Lanka is sea food heaven as is expected for any place that is along a water body.There is such a wide variety ranging from; different fish species,prawns,shrimps,crabs..................the list goes on and on and on.It will be a shame if one visited the country and didn't eat any sea food.Eat what you love and then try something from the sea that you have never eaten before.

Coconut Sambol

Spicy coconut sambol,if you love hot food this will make you very happy.

Coconut sambol is some sort of  'kachumbari' that one eats with their meals.There are two types; plain and spicy.It's made out of grated coconut and if spicy loads of chilli is added to it.Sri Lankan's love their chilly therefore the spicy sambol isn't for the weak.The plain sambol however is so so good as it's just grated coconut 💖💖.

Spicy Beet Root Curry

Who knew beets could be used for more than smoothies and salads.Honestly it had never even crossed my mind until the day I ate some spicy beet root curry.I didn't particularly love this because of how HOT it was.If you love hot and spicy food,then this should be in your must try list. Also after eating this I did some research and found a beet-root and sweet potato soup recipe that is everything.Easy to make,nutritious and so delicious.

Sri Lanka is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to.It's affordable,the people are very friendly,it's so very scenic and the food is out of this world.If you are looking for locations to travel to this year or to add to your travel bucket list.Sri Lanka should top it.

Haller Park- A Mini Forest By The Beach

Karibu Haller Park.

Mombasa is known for it's beaches,its food,its peoples' hospitality,their Swahili and how slow paced the city can be.That is why a visit to Haller Park was a very pleasant surprise for me. It is an award winning park that is a product of Bamburi cement company's efforts to convert barren landscape of disused limestone quarries into a vibrant and diverse ecosystem of forest, grasslands and ponds.Currently it plays host to a variety of wildlife including hippos, giraffes, buffaloes,antelopes, a tortoise,monkeys and birds.The diversity of vegetation in the park is out of this world,from mangroves, palms, majestic indigenous shade trees to coastal forests.Visiting it you will have a hard time believing that it's a man made park on land that was once barren and just a few metres away from the beach.

Things to do while at Haller Park include;

Feeding the giraffes

I must say,I am quite the expert in giraffe feeding 😊

Feeding giraffes is not for the faint hearted especially the first time.They have long tongues and use them to scoop their food.Once you get over your fear of their tongue and their proximity then it becomes a very fun thing to do.At Haller Park giraffe feeding hours are between 11 AM to 12 PM therefore if you plan to do this better arrive early.

One can still see the giraffes through out the day.They make  for very good photographs so if you are late and unable to feed them take loads of pictures of them and with them.


Appreciate the beautiful views

Monkeys chilling in their beautiful home.

Such beauty,makes one think how nice it would be to walk here or in similar places every day.

If you love forests,lush green forests,Haller Park will make you so so happy.It's huge with many kinds of trees.All so green and so healthy that I couldn't help but wonder how much water is used to keep it like this.The air is so clean, cool,crisp and refreshing during the day,at night not so much I guess.Plants exhale oxygen during the day and carbon dioxide at night.This might result in differences in how clean,cool and crisp the air in the park is at different times of the day.

See Wildlife

The tortoise and his fans 😄😄.

A mother and her child hang out.

The park has a lot of animals and birds to see.All one needs is a lot of time,patience and a bit of luck and they will be able to see loads of them.When I visited I had only an hour so lets just say I rushed through the park but I saw monkeys,antelopes,giraffes and a tortoise.Now imagine if I spent  three hours there,I would have an experience similar to one who visited the Maasai Mara 😅😅. The more time one spends in the park the higher their chances of seeing a bigger variety of wildlife.

Appreciate water bodies

Look at the reflection of the blue skies in the water.

💗💗

The water bodies here will blow your mind,they act as mirror where you see the sky and the trees.They were my favourite in the park.

If you are in Mombasa and are looking to do something besides the beach and Swahili food I highly recommend a visit to Haller Park.They charge KES 500 for entry and KES 150 for the giraffe feed.I think this is pricey but good thing is you can spend as much time as you want exploring the park and the money goes towards maintaining it.

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A Twelve Item Bucket List-See A Sold Out Play

The cast and crew of the play.(I know bad quality picture but the theatre was dark and my phone camera does really poorly in dark places).

 “To be brazen is to be bold and unashamed, to be headstrong even when facing difficult times-TEFB(Brazen Edition)

At the start of this year I made a list of twelve fun things to do before the year ends,one activity for each month.It is very clear I am struggling with this. So far I have done only three.There are five months to the end of the year Insha aa Allah, so maybe I might just get to do six of them.

This past weekend I went to see the Too Early For Birds show at the Kenya National Theatre.TEFB is a group of actors and actresses who turn stories from Owahh's blog into plays and mostly have shows based around certain themes in Kenya's history.This particular show was about strong women in Kenya's history.

The play was set in a living room in rural Kenya(I think).A group of women were visiting their ailing grandmother.They sat in her sitting room telling each other stories.The stories they told were about brazen women in Kenya's history.What I loved most is that there was a second set of actresses who enacted the stories being told.They did this in what seemed like a flash back in time to the exact time in history when these brazen women were alive.

During this two hour play the stories of Mekatilili,Nandi,Wangu wa Makeri,Zarina Patel,Field Marshall Muthoni and Philomena Chelagat Mutai were told.Whilst all these women are remarkable I loved the most the story of Wangu wa Makeri,she was a bad ass boss bitch(not my words,the words of the narrator who told her story) that became village head man at a time when women weren't allowed to be leaders.

Actress Nyokabi Macharia did really well as she took on the roles of Mekatilili,Nandi,Wangu wa Makeri and Zarina Patel.She played all these women and did it in the best way possible.The actress who told the story of Nandi did an excellent job and had the audience in stitches all through her set.The play was part musical as there was a group of dancers who performed relevant pop/r n b/modern songs in most of the stories and this made the show such a joy to watch.

In this play I learnt for the first time about Philomena Chelagat Mutai,Zarina Patel and Field Marshall Muthoni.Guess who sat front row at the Saturday afternoon show (........drumsroll.........) Zarina Patel and Field Marshall Muthoni. I can only imagine how they felt seeing 'themselves' and their contributions to this country's history portrayed on stage.Many things I would think but mainly honoured and appreciated.

The awesome writers.

The writers of this particular TEFB show wrote as authentically as they possibly could painting the colonizers in their true colours. During some parts of the show I thought the white people who had come to see the play were getting uncomfortable 😅😅.

You should definitely check out the Too Early For Birds (TEFB) shows if you are looking for informative and entertaining plays to watch .They announce dates for their planned shows on their social media pages so follow them on facebook, instagram or twitter.And the tickets sell out fast!

Lamu Museum-A lesson in Lamu's history.

The beautiful entry to the museum.

Museums are one of my happy places because there is so much about a place and it's people that you will learn by visiting one.

The Lamu museum provides a lesson in the history of the island,its people and the culture.The Museum is organised into categories and the different rooms tell different aspects about Lamu. I loved the fact that it tells all the important things about the town and even shares other historical sites and monuments one should visit to learn more about the Island's history.

This museum is so full of history that if you visited Lamu and the only two things you did was see the sea and visit the museum your visit will be 75% complete.The other 25% will have to be, you eating all things that are edible in the Island 😅😅.

These are the things at the museum that stood out the most for me;

Lamu and it's trade routes.

High school history anyone?

This map at the entry of the museum that sums up all the trade routes that were used in the old days and the items that were traded then.It seems that the Chinese were as tricky then as they are now because they brought China plates to Lamu and exchanged them for things that were far more valuable.

The doors of Lamu.

All the door types in one place just in case you wanted to be an expert on door types

Lamu amongst many other things is famous for its doors.The Museum has information on all the types of doors in the Island,their origin and what differentiates them from each other complete with pictures.

Visit the museum as soon as you are in Lamu,so that when you walk along the streets you know which doors are from where and what their style is.

The Kofias.

The caps are made from scratch by people from Lamu.All the details on them are made using a needle and thread.It takes about a month to make one of them.

Do you know/remember the kofias  Miguna Miguna always has on? They are made in Lamu and aren't exactly cheap.One goes for between 20,000 and 30,000 KES depending on the patterns and size.So maybe a lifestyle audit on M.M so that he can tell us how he can afford to have many of these 😅😅.

They are hand made, the skill of making them has been passed down through the generations and it takes quite a bit of time to make one.It would be great if they could find a way to make them faster hence mass production so that they could be affordable to more people.

The communities that live in Lamu.

The Pokomo's  of Lamu.

The Boni people have held on tight to their traditions and upto date are mostly hunters and gatherers!

There is a whole section of the museum dedicated to the different communities that live in Lamu.Their traditional houses,dress,jewellery,ceremonies and what they originally did for income.I only recently learnt of the Boni people and was so happy that they have a whole wall on them and their history.

Swahili architecture and home decor.

A swahili bed.

The Swahili's of the past clearly knew a lot about home decor.

Beautiful Swahili wall finishes that are still done even today in most of the houses on the Island.

Lamu town has the feel of an ancient town and is the best preserved Swahili settlement in East Africa hence it being a UNESCO world heritage site.It's people have done so well in maintaining their architecture such that the museum looks like a lot of the homes in the Island.The bathrooms in most of the homes are the same as what is displayed in the museum and I am yet to see a modern staircase in Lamu's old town.

The Museum is located in Lamu old town and it costs only 100 KES as an entrance fee. A visit to Lamu isn't complete without time spent at the museum just make sure you allocate a good amount of time to this visit.

Foreigness and Swahili Iftars.

The sea at Ishakani village in Lamu one of the last villages in Kenya before crossing into Somalia's Ras Kamboni.

 “At the end of the day, it isn’t where I came from. Maybe home is somewhere I’m going and never have been before.”-Warsan Shire.

The civil war in Somalia has led to the Somalis fleeing their country, this is no news I am sure.As a result Somalis are conquering and running the world.Allow me to jog your memory about famous Somalis-my love Warsan Shire,British marathoner Mo Farah,Canadian model Sabrina Dhowre and beauty icon and model Iman to mention but a few 😂😂.

Thing is Somalis are a resilient people with an unmatched business acumen that is why they own and run Eastleigh and unapolegitically so.They care so little for Swahili or blending in for that matter and this part of the city has had to change to accommodate them.Vendors,touts, generally anyone who has a business in Isli now speaks a bit of Somali.This is how much power they wield because they have CASH and we all know cash is king.It is rumoured that they do not bargain for stuff and so if they move into any estate in the city the place automatically becomes expensive.

There are Somalis who unfortunately do not rule the places they have migrated to.An example is those that are from Kismayu and have moved to Lamu's Kiunga island.They are a minority living amongst the Bajuni community.Their hosts have welcomed them with both hands and they co-exist peacefully but what a cultural contrast between the two communities.They don't do the same thing for income,they don't dress the same,they don't speak the same language and even live differently with the Bajunis being the more liberal community of the two.

War forces you to do hard things like blend in where you would never have even thought about it.Now the Somalis fish for a livelihood,speak swahili (coastal swahili) at that and there is even intermarriage between them and the Bajunis.

The Bajunis on the other hand have learnt about the Somali sea bounties and are now increasingly going to fish in the Somali waters that they say is so rich that fish catches are only measured in tonnes.They wear deras,travel to shop in Kismayu which they say is much cheaper that Lamu or Mombasa and even wear jilbabs more.

Iftar set up 😊 #myhappyplace

Food forms a big part of the Swahili culture,yaani these people can cook and if you live amongst them you will inevitably pick up one or two things about food. For Iftar they have a somewhat standard list of dishes that could be eaten which are;bhajias,fish samosas, fried fish,chapatis,viazi vya rojo,dafu,black tea,tamarind juice and tambi.They sometimes switch it up and include viazi vya nazi,mhogo wa chumvi,mahamri na baazi za nazi.If I was a man I would seriously consider marrying a Swahili solely for her cooking skills.

Dafu to break your fast.

        

Fish samosas to be eaten before maghrib as part of what is known as kifungua mwadhini

Chapatis to be eaten after Maghrib mainly eaten with viazi vya rojo or maharagwe za nazi.

Deep fried fish to be eaten at any time between after Maghrib salah and before the next day's fast.

Somalis on the other hand are less elaborate with food and are a meat and milk people but those in Kiunga Yo! are learning fast and turning into Somali-Bajunis real quick.

From my little escapades outside home I have learnt being a foreigner is hard and this is for me who has the comfort of knowing I am going back home in a few days or weeks.I sometimes think how hard it is for people who are forced to leave everything behind and move to new places to start new lives.In most cases in lands so different from theirs.May Allah give us peace and making it very easy for everyone struggling through foreigness.

Have you been to a place where you felt distinctly foreign? where? and what was the experience like?

Welcome to Lamuuuu

 

Sometimes wishes come true and you get something you have always wanted.Lamu has been on my list of places to visit for a really long time and finally I got an opportunity to visit this famous island.Being here feels like meeting an old friend,someone I knew from my past and loved greatly. I cannot put into words what I felt that first day in Lamu. I walked in the streets and saw all I knew I would see from all the blogposts and vlogs on Lamu I had watched/read but somehow it all managed to feel new 💕💕.

If you are like me and get easily obsessed with things only for them to disappoint when you finally get them, Lamu would do no such thing,it will only become more attractive the longer you spend time in it.I came to Lamu 'knowing' the town and when I saw it for the first time,it was better than had been shown by the bloggers/vloggers it honestly felt like a warm rainy hug because the rain here is warm and never too heavy and we all know I love love warm rains.

Everything I read/watched about Lamu talked about the sun,the sunsets/sunrises, the beach,the donkeys,the people and the food.All this is very true but there are things about Lamu that nobody says so I am spilling all of Lamu's secrets ok maybe not all but some of it's secrets.

It is so very Muslim

Mosques by the ocean 💘💘.

Lamu is a muslim town,this is no secret,exactly how muslim is what no one ever says.It is so Muslim that people keep quite when the Adhan is made even if it was in the middle of making a sale.If someone talks during this time they are reminded to keep quite.The Lamu museum even has a warning asking visitors to the island to respect the muslim culture practised here.If you are planning to travel to Lamu just remember despite what bloggers/vloggers show bikinis can only be worn in specific places and not all places.Also decent clothes will go along way in making you blend in and have an easy travel experience which is always a good thing.

Everything is planned around salah and they even have three days celebrations prior to Ramadhan called mfungo where they eat and make merry to welcome the holy month.

It rains in Lamu

Rains at sea.

If all you based your knowledge of Lamu on was blog and vlogs like I shamelessly did,you would think that Lamu is sunny all year round but this is definetly not the case as it rains here just like most parts of the country they have two rain seasons each year.

Rural Lamu 

Coconut husks.

Who would have thought that there are farms and cows in Lamu,I for sure didn't think this.There is a whole part of this county famously known for the insecurity as it's along the Kenya-Somali border and the now infamous Boni forest.The people who live in this part of Lamu county are farmers and they keep livestock.

Rural Lamu is dope as there is plenty of coconut trees,which translates to a lot of madafu and sometimes even free dafus for Iftar. It is where I have learnt about tembo tamu, siki and mnazi and how they are different from madafu.Also tembo tamu is halal and I am on it 😆😆 because new experiences right?

Dafu,tembo tamu,mnanzi and siki are all coconut water at different stages with siki being fermented coconut water that is used as vinegar, tembo tamu being fermented coconut water that still isn't alcoholic and mnazi being the alcohol made from fermented coconut water that is so loved by people living in the coast.Chemistry at play,talking of chemistry does anyone remember the lesson on oxidization and that metals/iron rusts rust quicker in places along the sea? I am guessing no.

Truth be told I haven't thought of this in a long time until the other day when I was told to always wash the metal parts of my eyeglass frames after any of it touches sea water.This by a man who doesn't speak any english and I bet doesn't know about iron/metal rusting quicker in areas along the sea from theoretical high school chemistry.I thought I would discuss oxidization with him but figured I don't remember much and if he decided to be inquisitive it will make the easy conversation we were having very uneasy.

   Lamu is a maze 

The sea is the north star in Lamu,if you are lost find the sea and from there you will always be able to find your way around the island.

Lamu Island is a maze of narrow streets with buildings and streets that resemble each other a lot therefore getting lost especially if you are new is very easy.Word around town is if you are lost always find your way to the sea,then from the seafront you can always find where you are going to.

The spoken Swahili in Lamu

This magazine has really good travel stories and its free.I don't know exactly how to get the hard copies but you can read the soft copies on an app called issuu that allows you to get loads of free magazines for free

I love love to watch swahili TV shows made in Mombasa and my favourites currently are KTN's chini ya mnazi and Citizen TV 's Aziza.Why I love these shows you ask,the spoken swahili in it makes me happy and in Lamu it's like watching it for extended periods of time.These guys even have maana fiche when they speak and you might be forced to bring out all your high school fasihi(mashairi na maana yao) to understand what they actually mean for example; Mi mwenzio sijiwezi-I thought this meant either I am sick,tired or financial strained but no! it means I am weak with love 😎😎.

Lamu is very picturesque

The 'matatu' stage and fishing boats in Kizingitini.

Fresh off the boat.....................I mean fresh from the sea.

Lamu is so so beautiful and if you are not careful you will end up looking like a crazy person taking pictures of each and every thing.

Have you been to Lamu,what did you see or find out that is often not spoken about by the people who visit it.