Wrap Up

We are now on our way to Kenya! Our flight was so long. We were flying for 17 hours and 31 minutes, but the whole trip took 35 hours and 36 minutes because of layovers and waiting for connecting flights. We got to fly buisness class though, so it awsn't too terrible. We had delicious food that was turkey and macaroni and cheese, and a variety of movies and American on demand channels to watch. We finally arrived in Kenya a little before 3 pm Monday afternoon. We got a van to take us to our hotel, which cost us 100 dollars. Our hotel was the Safari Park Hotel and Casino. We were are extremely tired after checking into the hotel so we all decided to take a nap. Well, except for Alex who decided to wander because he was too restless to sleep. After everyone woke up, we decided to catch a shuttle to the Uhuru Gardens Memorial Park. We saw a lot of monuments, and everything was so pretty and relaxing. After we looked at all the monuments, we decided to take a walk around the lake and just talk about our trip so far. After we felt completely refershed, we got back on the shuttle and went back to the hotel. We were still tired from the previous days flights so we decided to eat and go to bed so that we would be well rested for an early day the next morning. We ate in the hotel. I had a chicken pasta dish, Kristen had steak, Alex and Noah had hamburgers, and Mark had a salad. We all took showers and got ready for bed and went to sleep. The next morning, we woke up at like 3 am to get ready to go to our natural site, the safari. We went to the Tsavo East National Park. Out hotel had a shuttle service that went straight to the park, but we had to beg them to take us at 3 in the morning. They eventually gave in and took us for 25 USD. Noah surprised us with a hot air balloon trip because he didn't want to disturb the natural environment of the safari. We arrived at around 5 am and had to take a safety course. Because we paid for an all day tour, they gave us a champagne breakfast that was delicious. After we completed the safety course, we went up in the hot air balloon for the first part of our tour. We stayed up there for around 4 hours. At first Kristen and I were scared of the height and the small basket that we were in, but after a while we relaxed and started to enjoy the scenery and the ride. We got to see "The Big 5" of the safari which were the buffalo, leopard, lion, rhino, and elephant. It was amazing to see things so big in their natural environment. After the 4 hours we went back down to stretch and use the bathroom But, we quickly went back up to enjoy the safari. We ended at around 7 pm, and because it was already dark, we got a candle lit dinner. It was so delicious. We all got chicken and mashed potatoes and ice cream. We all got a t-shirt and a souvenir photo included. I can't wait to show everyone my picture because it is so cool. We headed back to the hotel and showered and went to bed. On wednesday, we went to Lamu so that we could see something cultural in Kenya. We were all too excited to eat breakfast, so we decided we would just stop somewhere on the way. Once we were in the taxi, everybody decided that KFC was a good choice. We all got the chicken platter to go, and quickly got back in the taxi. Once we got to Lamu, we ate our food on benches in front of a beautiful stone building. We also people watched, which was pretty funny to me. The food was good, but everybody agreed that the chicken tasted different than our KFC at home. Somehow, Kristen talked a group of guys into giving us free donkey rides to the beach. It was so pretty. It was so cool to see all the dolphins and they kids paying on the beaches. We joined them with their games and just took in the beautfil scenery. We wanted to climb up the dunes, but decided we didn't want to mess them up. The water was warm and one of the prettiest blues I had ever seen. We stayed so lte tht we got to watch the sunset. Our new friends let us drink with them and we joined their cook out for dinner. After dinner, it was dark, so we thanked our new friends and caught a taxi back to the hotel. We all got ready for bed and fell asleep fast because of the long day we had. Thursday we went to Moi International Sports Centre to watch the local Mathare United football game vs. Nigeria. I don't really enjoy soccer every much but it was so cool to see everybody so intense and into the game. The game was in the afternoon, so we got to sleep in for the first time in a long time! It felt nice to just sleep all morning. Once again, we skipped breakfast because we didn't want to get out of bed. Once we got to the game, we decided to eat. Kristen has cheese pizza and Noah had meat lvoesr pizza. Alex, Mark, and I all ate fried chicken again. We thought it was weird that they served fried chicken at the concession stand. The opened a KFC which was the first American Food chain in South Africa. The stadium had just reopend after being renovated, so it was very nice. Even though they lost 3-0, it was still very fun to experience the excitement of a soccer game. It was also exciting to ride a Matatu, which are privately owned mini buses. They blasted African music which was new to all of us. After the game, we went back to the hotel. The hotel was having a celebration for one of its employees, so we got dinner for free. There were so many cool new foods to try. Kristen and I were kind of picky, but everybody else tried everything, even the tuff that looked nasty. I couldn't pronounce any of the foods' names, but it was still fun to look at and try some of them. After the celebration, we went back to our rooms and got ready for bed.

MONEY

Flight:

Total price for plane ride: $13,187.50
Average price per passenger: $2,637.50
Total cost of an airport van in Kenya to hotel:100 dollars.
Total flight and transportation: $13,287.50

Accommadations:

$123 (per person/night) x 5 (adults) = $615 USD
$615 x 5 (nights) = $3,075 USD
$3,075 + $20 (taxi) + $500 (meals/food) = $3,595 USD
$3,595 USD = 365,180 Kenyan Shilling

Safari Adventure:

$500 flat rate + $25 tip for shuttle = $525
252379.90 total kenyan shillings total w/ tip

Lamu Adventure:

Transportation (Taxi): 25 US Dollar = 2,528.89 Kenyan Shilling
Food (KFC): 19 US Dollar = 1,921.95 Kenyan Shilling
Total: 44 US Dollar = 4,450.84 Kenyan Shilling

Soccer Game:

Ticket price: 812.317 Kenyan Shilling per person which is 8USD
Tickets Total: 4,061.585 Kenyan Shilling = 40USD
Transportation: 2,550KsH = $25.64805USD.
Food: Lunch (2 slices of pizza, 3 fried chicken plates, 5 drinks) came out to a total of 2,843.11 Kenyan Shilling = 28USD.
Total : Transportation: $26 + Ticket :$40 + Food: $28 = $94 USD

Total For Kenya: 17, 545.50 USD = 1,750,157.12 Kenyan Shilling

$84,094.01-$17,545.50=$66,548.51 after trip