Writings and Travels of Lina Em
As winter finally sheds its fickle grip over New York, we finally made our first exploration trip outside of the city that didn’t involve running. Getting out of the city doesn’t require a car or hundreds of dollars for the tolls. It just needs making it to the MetroNorth on time, which runs every hour off-peak on the weekend.
Continue reading “Touring Boscobel and Main Street, Cold Spring”
It’s been over 10 years since I’ve lived in New York and living in Queens, I pass by Roosevelt Island stop many a times but I never stopped myself to actually explore the island. My morning runs along Astoria’s East River front, I can see the lighthouse and a beautiful domed building and I told myself, I’d like to visit that island. As the Spring finally begins to behave properly, I took the first beautiful weekend to visit Roosevelt Island.
To start off, I’ve never seen Highlander (the movie), but I hear is great so it will be on my list of movies to watch before visiting the Highlands.
But I’m so stoked about my trip to Scotland, mostly because my experiences of Scotland have been through novels. Understandably, I won’t be finding hot Scottish men with brogues and kilts (oh, I so hope I see some).
Continue reading “Prepping for My Highland Experience”
The Daphne Sheldrick Baby Elephant and Rhino Orphanage is a sure place to see African elephants with their large floppy ears and red dusted skin. Located near the Langata Gate of Nairobi National Park, it is part of the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust Fund. It is opened only for 1 hour from 11AM-12PM and it is 500 Kenyan shillings, minimum donation.
Continue reading “Baby Elephants & Karen Blixen”
Before coming to Kenya, I did know that many of the world’s tea is originally from Kenya. It was with pleasant anticipation that for a day trip, we went to Limuru, which is an hour drive from Nairobi to where Kiambethu Tea Farm is situated. It is said to be an old farm from the early 1900s that is now open to the public for viewing and lunching/picnicking.
Continue reading “Day Tour of Kiambethu Tea Farm”
Boxing Day, which is typically a British holiday in which you open Christmas gifts, arrived quite warmly, cool breeze and partly cloudy weather. It is a rest day but we are invited to have lunch at an ex-UNEP employee’s home near Karura Forest.
Continue reading “Tempura Shrimp & Vegetables”
I’ve never been an early morning riser. 7AM is the most I can manage. How does one manage intend to wake up to get to a National Park at 630AM?
Well, one doesn’t.
Continue reading “Roaming Nairobi National Park”
The Rift Valley is best seen in Kenya, so says the hotel guide. For this part of the trip, bookings were made at Lake Elmenteita Serena Lodge. It is a “hut/tent” style of lodge, designed to be the ultimate form of African “glamping”. Located on the conservancy of Baron Delamare, purchased in 1845, the hotel chain, Serena (owned by a famous Indian), opened its first lodging in 2011.
Continue reading “Glamping at Lake Elmenteita”
They say honesty is key to telling a story. A good story.
The truth is, I’ve never had any desire to visit Kenya, let alone Africa. Maybe Morocco or Egypt but not so much Africa. The savannahs never really called to me the way lush rainforest did.
But I find myself in Kenya, nonetheless, and I decided to make the most out of the opportunity.
Despite being well traveled and organized, I am always aflustered the day of travel. The house has to be cleaned spotless before departure, the dog sent to camp and the cat prepared meals in advanced. It’s a time consuming process and with only half a day to prepare, I somehow made it and arrived at the airport. Of course, without my phone cable. Why does Apple make their phone cables differ for various devices? Money, most likely.
The past few months, I had taken up a semi-full time freelance position with an ad agency, allowing myself 3 days weekend, never exceeding 8 hour workdays, and also learning how to balance money for insurance, taxes, rent, and savings. It feels like being an adult while still enjoying my time. I went into the job feeling quite burnt from the last one; weary and heart sickened, I kept my distance and just went about doing my work and not wanting to get too close to the people there.
Continue reading “Seasickness On the Hudson”