Welcome to the TravelPod forums

[masaimaraboy]

Hi all,my name is Timothy and I live in kenya, and mostly in Nairobi and maasai Mara, it is true post election violence was experienced here two weeks ago and especially it was ethnic chaos, but since the goverment and the opposition gave hints of dialoque and unity, alot of good things have happend starting with restoration of order in Nairobi and some parts of Mombasa, this is my 10th day at work and I would say it has been really calm, I have had clients going to Masai Mara, mount Kenya, Lake nakuru , Samburu, Amboslei without even a slight problem, the media has a way of taking things out of proprtion but the truth is apart from Mombasa which had some probles, all the other tourist destinations cum areas have not had any probles and roads leading to them have had no accessibilty problems, so keep up the great love for Kenya and carryon with your holiday plans.
thanks,
tim

[starlagurl]

Welcome to the TravelPod forums Timothy! Thanks for the information.
What do you do in Kenya? Are you a tour guide?

[duma]

Hi all,my name is Timothy and I live in kenya, and mostly in Nairobi and maasai Mara, it is true post election violence was experienced here two weeks ago and especially it was ethnic chaos, but since the goverment and the opposition gave hints of dialoque and unity, alot of good things have happend starting with restoration of order in Nairobi and some parts of Mombasa, this is my 10th day at work and I would say it has been really calm, I have had clients going to Masai Mara, mount Kenya, Lake nakuru , Samburu, Amboslei without even a slight problem, the media has a way of taking things out of proprtion but the truth is apart from Mombasa which had some probles, all the other tourist destinations cum areas have not had any probles and roads leading to them have had no accessibilty problems, so keep up the great love for Kenya and carryon with your holiday plans.
thanks,
tim

Masaimaraboy- How is the route from Nairobi to Tsavo? I have heard that since security is needed in areas of protests and riots that roads are not secure as they used to be... opening a door for bandits. This comment was from a friend residing in the Mountain View estates area. Please offer comments. Asante

[whoownsparis]

we just got back from Kenya 2 weeks ago and this was one of the most amazing trip i have done!the kenyans made it special, and their land is just full of natural beauties!even though we canceled our main safari triop we managed to do 1 day safari, that just made us forgot everything else!but the situation wasnt that bad anymore...i wish a peaceful future

[ScottWoz]

Cheers for the info, how is the situation over there at the moment?

[masaimaraboy]

Cheers for the info, how is the situation over there at the moment?

The situation is quite calm and life is back to normal except for the northern western parts of Kenya but routes to Masai Mara, Amboseli, Tsavo and coast, mount kenya and Samburu are perfectly okey, nakuru is also become okey, thanks and keep coming !!!

[masaimaraboy]

Welcome to the TravelPod forums Timothy! Thanks for the information.
What do you do in Kenya? Are you a tour guide?

Hi, my name is Timothy and I have a passion for travel and I do offer advice and consultation services to travellers, organisations, families, business people , students, travel agents, hotels e.t.c.But proffesionally I am a Tour hotel Manager.

Thanks and will be an active member here !!!
tim

[Paul]

Interesting and good to hear.

Ha ha - Nairobi has never been the safest place in the world, but if you are sensible it is always fine. I think currently perhaps just a little more sense is needed but otherwise everything should be fine.

Good luck to you all. Sorry that politicians and powerful people have screwed over the world again - not surprising.

[duma]

Interesting and good to hear.

Ha ha - Nairobi has never been the safest place in the world, but if you are sensible it is always fine. I think currently perhaps just a little more sense is needed but otherwise everything should be fine.

Good luck to you all. Sorry that politicians and powerful people have screwed over the world again - not surprising.

[branefatboy]

Maybe this or eventually next year i must visit Kenya.No matter what...The Safari,the animals...ooo
Is it expencive the meat there?
And do you have chip chinese restaurants there?

[duma]

Interesting and good to hear.

Ha ha - Nairobi has never been the safest place in the world, but if you are sensible it is always fine. I think currently perhaps just a little more sense is needed but otherwise everything should be fine.

Good luck to you all. Sorry that politicians and powerful people have screwed over the world again - not surprising.

Unfortunately, Life isn't back to normal - this is not very respectful for the Kenyan people... and face it, many people do not want to vacation in a place where people, including children are being hacked and burned to death on a "daily" basis. Peace Corps had withdrawn the rest of their volunteers out there. Plus, if I go out and riots evolve, once again, in Nairobi and can't get to the airport, travel insurance will not cover cancellation or anything else related to the political situation. I am also in communication with a few people who have lived out there for years. While I realize travel to some Game Parks has been safe, we do have to consider getting from point A to B etc and to be sensible. If a woman I know who has lived in Nairobi for 6 years feels it is not safe as it was before the riots and has to listen to news before leaving her house and had cancelled her own volunteers out there, I will take her advice. The situation is unpredictable. For those who want unfilltered information contact and talk to someone at the embassy. I am sorry the tour industry is suffering, so. I love Kenya and had also lived there for a while... but it is not the country it was before the elections, at least for now. I do hope the violence ends soon, for everyone's sake.

[masaimaraboy]

Hi, sorry never got back to you on time, true sometimes back the route to Tsavo was not so good but the biggest advantage with that is you go through the eastern parts of kenya down to the coast, the coast was was bad but central province and eastern province plus south riftvalley has been perfectly calm,the coast is now calm afetr the heavy loses in tourism and at the port and the politicians from this region of Caost/mombasa are now going from place to place preaching calmness.The situation is perfectly okey in Nairobi, Mt.Kenya region, Amboseli, masai Mara,Tsavo and Mombsa, Samburu also, Eldoret is a bit unpredicable though even schools have reopened there, have a great day,

tim

[masaimaraboy]

[thanks so much and the situation is calm in almost 70% of kenya, nairobi, Mt.Kenya area, Tsavo, Amboseli, Samburu,Masai Mara, Mombasa look oeky but nakuru, Naivasha, Kisumu, Eldoret and other northern area are a bit shaky and unpreddicatble,
thanks,

tim

[Paul]

Hmmm???

Interesting again. Conflicting thoughts. Anyone else there at the moment that can add to the discussion?

I know a volunteer travel company that is in contact with me has withdrawn their volunteers for safety, but they also said that the volunteers that were there never felt threatened or unsafe and were having a great time.

Duma - was I disrespectful to Kenyan people? If so, sorry, that was not my intention.

I don't want to make light of the situation and the fact people are dying - it is quite a stupid and destructive situation. I also don't wish to put travellers in danger. But I also don't want the people that make their income from tourism, or the industries that use tourism as a way to protect the environment to unnecessarily and unfairly suffer.

Should people avoid the whole country? I don't know. If you know the area, I suspect that wouldn't be necessary. If you are a first time traveller, maybe it is a good idea for the moment???

Hmmm, additional thought - if the economy is allowed to fall apart - and tourism is a big part of it - won't that then lead to more instability and probably violence?

[wakingdream]

I keep hearing that the western areas should be avoided.....anyone choosing to travel over should definitely register with their embassy and provide somewhat of an itinerary. Also think you have to keep on top of situation. Find a reliable source and check each day for updates.

Also read this which is something to consider'
*When a country issues a travel warning. all insurance becomes void. It may not be an issue for independent travelers, but if you have a travel agency or airline handling your travel plans, you will be liable for any expenses incurred in changes, unless specifically agreed upon. It's usually a strong enough threat that not traveling there makes sense.

*Eldoret and Kisumu are two hotspots to avoid (from a local)

Point being, in such a volatile situation, anything can happen. I'm not sure I'd risk it right now. Not out of fear but inconvenience and unrest. When traveling I prefer to have more freedom and it doesn't sound like Kenya is a very worry-free place ( aside from the usual ups and downs of travel) to travel right now, even in places that are 'safe'.

[Paul]

Hi Susie.

Hmmm, I am still not sure what to think.

One of the company that sends us volunteers still has volunteers in Kenya and they sound happy. He wrote on 6 Feb that they all feel safe and have seen no problems and even travelled to Nairobi the weekend before. No issues.

They are doing some good, seeing some wonderful sights, meeting good people and enjoying themselves.

If you are a particularly nervous traveller - sure don't go.

But otherwise....???

If I was booked to go - I'd go.

Sadly I don't trust the government warnings as governments seem to consistently lie to serve their own purposes. I can't trust what I see on the TV as it also seems to consistently lie to me. So??? Perhaps go and look for myself.

If we didn't go to all the places that had wars that wouldn't leave much:
England for most of the last 100 years was warring with the IRA.
The USA is a warmongering nation and is almost always at war or starting one.
Thailand is having an insurgency in the South.
Australia is at war with terrorism (although I think they have no idea what that means).
Indonesia - heaps of internal problems.
China - heaps of internal problems.
Tibet - currently occupied by the Chinese.
India - heaps of internal problems and border scuffles with Pakistan.
Bhutan - internal and border issues.
etc etc.

So what to do???? I don't know. Each person needs to decide. But I wouldn't so easily choose either way.

[wakingdream]

Hmmm, I am still not sure what to think.

I think no matter what you could only make up your mind for yourself, in the wake of any disaster, whether political, natural etc because we are all different we're all going to react differently and make different decisions, right? Some people would high-tail it, others would stay. Some people would be more cautious while others might throw caution to the wind. If I were booked I wouldn't back out but not sure I would book right at this time..... That being said I'm sure there are many areas that are completely safe right now.

Sadly I don't trust the government warnings as governments seem to consistently lie to serve their own purposes. I can't trust what I see on the TV as it also seems to consistently lie to me. So???

I'm with you on this one and have experienced this for myself many times in different 'volatile' situations. I've noticed that alot of great advice comes from locals and it's out there, you just have to find it.

[masaimaraboy]

I agree to this, goverments will say anything to serve their interests, locals coulod be a great sauce oof information, I still want to say normalcy has so much returned and schools have reopened in Kenya, we thank GOD for all the successes,,

[starlagurl]

What does G.K. mean?

[Paul]

I suspect it means General Knowledge as that would fit into the sentence, but????