Party in Nairobi

Waking up Friday morning we had breakfast in our B&B and then texted our motorcycle driver Wilfred to arrange for he and his buddy to pick us up. We made it way to the bus station to buy our tickets to Kampala next week, and then we took one of the busy streets to get to the Hilton. Those drivers know the parameters of their motorbikes within the inch, we were weaving, very slowly, in and out of traffic and buses and people it was nuts. Josh said he only bounced off of a bus once haha.

We got to the Hilton and Josh has been talking about the little shopping centre inside since we got here, saying the souvenirs are the cheapest you can find and they're a fixed price so no need to barter. I thought, being the Hilton, prices would have gone up since he was here last in 2009. He was right, everything was INSANELY cheap and we kicked ourselves for buying things in the other places. We got a few good finds and then carried on with our day.

We found a little open air patio to have a Tusker and Josh's friend Anne who he volunteered with met up with us. It was so nice to reconnect with her and chat for a bit there. Meeting her after hearing so much about her I see now why she and Josh have always remained in touch! After a drink she called an über for our group and we made our way to a gorgeous new mall near where she lives. We had lunch at her favourite spot, where I happily ordered an iced American with soy milk! First soy I've had since we've travelled, and also the first coffee as I've been drinking tea this whole time. Lunch came and my hummus, falafel, salad and roasted eggplant were all phenomenal. I'm glad we stopped there.

Next we went to a local sports bar called Natives, it's this humungous place with different seating areas and a rooftop patio. We headed to the roof and had a few more drinks each, paired with great conversation. We then made our way to Mama's house where Josh stayed the two times he came volunteering. It was very nostalgic for him to see the house as he says absolutely nothing has changed about it, besides the fact that it was just her and one other house when he lived there and now streets are full of homes.

Next Josh's brother Roy came over, and again, lots of nostalgia. Roy now has a wife and a child, he's a very successful business man, but Josh and him reminisced about the times they would go out until 5am and party in Nairobi. Between Roy and Anne telling stories they had Josh in stitches laughing about all of the memories. It was really fun to be around these people who have such a strong place in Josh's heart.

We decided at about 6pm that we were going out to party that night, and that Josh's other brother and sister would join us. I guess it's hard to get the 3 of them together (Roy, Jay and Sandra) so it was gearing up to be quite a night. We figured we should go home and freshen up, so we got an über home. We had a bite to eat, a quick nap to get us through the night, and we were picked up by Anne and her boyfriend Nick at 10:15 to head out.

The club we got to could have easily been in Vegas, it was huge and gorgeous and fairly new to open. We were of course the only 3 white people in the club, and I already stood out as I didn't really pack clubbing attire! Once we got in we met with Sandra, Josh's sister, who looked like a gorgeous Kenyan doll. She is a flight attendant for Emirates and she lives in Dubai. She was absolutely stunning and dressed to the nines. Next Roy and his wife came, and he showed off his awesome dance moves. I felt so awkward dancing because I just know I have zero rhythm and natural ability compared to the rest of the club! The music was really good, a mix of African popular music and then western music mixed in. Lots of drinks were flowing, lots of dancing, lots of people watching. Lots of laughs with the family. Hearing Sandra and a Roy introduce Josh to their friends as their brother was really cute, that's actually how they feel about him and Anne.

Side note - something popular in Africa right now is the silent DJ. So you go to the club but you put on these LED lit up headphones and listen to a different DJ playing music. So people are dancing off of the beat of the regular club because they've got these big, noise-cancelling headphones on. I was like, why don't they just go home and listen to Spotify? Very strange.

Last to arrive close to midnight was Jay who, now that I google it, does look just like Ray Allan. The siblings got some photos together.

We had a blast dancing and drinking and it was time for the four of us to head out around 2am. I tried to explain that this is when clubs in Canada close, and nobody understood! Their clubs just stay open. We drove home and hit the bed hard after such a fun filled day on the town.

Up today for breakfast and Josh is feeling a bit fuzzy. We're off to the orphanage and then to a BBQ at Anne and Nicks's place. Breakfast conversation was going over how tiny the women were last night but how big their butts were. We agreed they probably don't do squats.