Kenya through the lens - part 2

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on October 20, 2008
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In this second part I share the rest of the images from wonderful Masai Mara. With reservations for sounding too dramatic I must say; The Rift Valley, cradle of life, a place everyone should visit at least once in life.

12

Hmmm.. the chronological order went a bit out of wack when uploading these… C’est la Vie. =)

Next time I’ll upload memories from another part of Kenya, on the East coast a few miles south of Somalia.  Lamu island and the surrounding archipelago.

Kenya through the lens - part 1

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NN
on October 6, 2008
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Finally, some pictures from the vacation in Kenya.

I returned with over 2000 images on the memory cards and it’s taken me forever to go through them all. Here’s first part of the choice selection of images from Masai Mara, including a river crossing which is for many the highlight of the Great Migration.

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Here, there, everywhere

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on September 25, 2008
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Sitting in a cab, knowing the driver is taking the extra long route is immensely frustrating when you don’t speak the language and the little time you have is running fast. I did make it to Pudong airport, caught my flight out of Shanghai in time and the last leg of my third trip around the world. Phileas Fogg, eat your heart out.

I started this trip almost three weeks ago traveling via Stockholm to Moscow. After a few very busy days in Russia I dropped by Copenhagen, met one of my oldest friends, ate a spicy pizza and sampled the local brew for dinner.  Hotel Guldsmeden still has the best breakfast, which I enjoyed before flying over to New York.

Over one year since my last visit to the big apple. I missed it so. It felt great to be back. Walking the streets, enjoying great food, the obligatory visit to B&H and stroll through Central Park. Birthday party in Brooklyn was fun and we had great work sessions. Hurricane Ike hit Texas shores as I prepared for my flight to Austin, via Virginia.

The flight was silky smooth, apart from my bags getting lost. It was good being back in Austin, the city surrounded by Texas. The city’s annual game development conference is one of my favorites of the year. It’s fairly laidback, informative and all the people you want to meet is there. I spent four days in Texas before I continued to a extended layover in San Francisco, via Denver.

I have difficulties deciding if like SF or NYC the most, or Paris for that matter. I’ve been very fortunate visiting San Francisco five times this year. I’ve always enjoyed my visits and this time was no exception. Enjoyed Vietnamese and Malaysian cuisine and got some time to walk around with my camera. It was nice to have a day off from work, well half day, before to mentally preparing for the 14-hour flight over the Pacific to China.

Shanghai was draped in smog like I’ve only experienced in Beijing before. I had almost forgotten about the humidity in this city. The new skyscraper hovering over Jin Mao is quite impressive in its bottle opener shape. I’m glad we visited Face for a good Indian meal and I bought yet another sweater from Shanghai Tang - I just can’t help myself, I really like them.

It’s been an eventful trip where time has both flown and stopped during my jetlagged stupor, but it’s going to be very nice to get back home. I’m writing this somewhere over the Ural Mountains. A few more hours and I’ll touch ground in Frankfurt and only one more flight to complete the circle – around the world.

Summer vacation III - Asante sana!

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NN
on August 14, 2008
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After five days splendid days on the Savannah we stepped into a small plane flew via Nairobi to the Lamu archipelago on the northeastern coast of Kenya, just south of Somalia.

When first looking for holiday destinations this summer a safari was not on the top of the list, but a place to disconnect completely. Leave the watch, computer and time schedule at home and just find a quiet place, preferably in the shade by a beach and read and listen to the waves. On Lamu you find this – and not much more. Perfect.

The weather was so, so. It’s late winter in Kenya after all, but it didn’t really matter. It was warm enough (26-28C / 70-82F) and the sun shone through the scattered clouds. Even the day it rained all day was a good one. Lying in a hammock, listening to the drumming of the rain and reading a good book was very nice. American Gods by Neil Gaiman – about time I read that one.

But restless as I can be I had to look around a bit too. Visited Lamu town, and the neighboring village of Kipungani. A day trip with speedboat up to Pate Island and the small villages of Siyu and Faza was very interesting and the lunch we had on a crystal white beach just south of Kiwayuu was very nice. The two-hour bumpy ride in rougher waters on the way back was, well my butt was fairly tender.

Bao is the oldest game in the world, very simple and seriously addictive. Perfect for a quick session or longer ones into the night. Brought one made out of old driftwood back home. Looking forward to playing many a time into the fall and dark winter.

The seven days on Lamu did the trick. I forgot about time and date. I hardly got sunburned… and slept a lot. Really a lot, I think I averaged on ten hours a night.
Safari+Beach is a great combination I can recommend. You should give it a try =)

Summer vacation II - Jambo

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on August 6, 2008
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Jambo, Jambo. Kenyans are very friendly people. If you are in doubt if you should visit or not – maybe because of the election revolts earlier this year, let it be said. Go, really you have to go. It’s a great country you just must visit, a beautiful, poor country that has been hit hard now that many potential visitors are deciding to go elsewhere – to a believed safer choice. I’m so happy that we decided to go.

I was not sure what to expect traveling south to my first real safari. Sure, I’ve listened to friends telling me how great it is, I’ve read numerous articles and watched many of the fantastic BBC documentaries. Yet, little did I know, how amazing it would be.

Oslo -> London -> Nairobi -> Kichwa Tembo. After to many hours to count I found myself standing next to the airstrip at Kichwa Tembo in the Masai Mara with cup of good coffee in hand. Just across the grass strip the savannah stretched out through the Rift Valley in front of me. To the right a few Thomson gazelles, to the left a group of Zebras and above, clear blue skies.

It was cold in Nairobi. I knew that it was the end of winter south of the equator but I was surprised to read only 10 Celsius (50F) on the thermometer. True, Kenya’s capitol is over 1660 meter (5450 feet) above sea level, but still. I had packed a few warm pieces of clothing as I was told of cold nights, but I had planned to wear less than back home. Luckily the weather in Masai Mara was much warmer. In fact the nights were warmer than anticipated.

CC Africa has some great lodges, luxury tents and more in breathtaking National parks around South and East Africa. Our camp at Kichwa Tembo is no exception, an amazing place with wonderful people in spectacular surroundings, which you just have to visit to truly understand how good it is. I for sure will book my next safaris with this company. Believe you me; it will not be long till my next visit. I’m hooked. I’m now - as a friend said when I returned – one of the people sitting at home dreaming about the next visit to Africa.

Of course the main reason for traveling on a safari is to watch all the great animals in their natural habitat. It’s hard do describe the atmosphere, the share size of it all, in lack of a better word. Leopards, Elephants, Black Rhinos, Buffalo’s, Giraffes, Zebras, Gazelles of all sizes, thousands and thousands of Wildebeest (aka Gnu), birds in all colors and sizes, Baboons, Hyenas, Crocodiles, Hippos and of course Lions, plus Timon and Pumba =D and so much more. The only animal we really looked for but didn’t get the fortune to see was the Cheetah.

The “Great Migration” takes place from end of July till September. Also known as the greatest show on earth was the reason why we traveled to Kenya at this time. Millions of animals migrate from Serengeti in the south up to Masai Mara before it returns to Tanzania later in the year. “Crossings” is what everyone is looking for. Stampedes of Zebras and Wildebeest swimming over the many river crossings where crocodiles are lurking. We were very lucky, or I should say patience do pay off in the end. For three, four hours we parked by a crossing where thousands of Wildebeest and few hundred Zebras were gathering. The “Mø”, “Me”, “Ma”, “Mu” sounds of the Wildebeest was growing in intensity as more and more animals arrived around the riverbank. A few other cars were standing there as well, but left after an hour wait. I did not look like any animal would take the first step into the water. We brought our lunch with us and stayed behind. Then suddenly the Wildebeest ran away from the assembly point back behind our car and into the brush to the side of us. More and more followed and we heard a great ruckus further down the river, out of sight. A giant crocodile that we had not seen before splashed into the water and we knew something was about to happen, and it did – big time - the first of three big crossings, with thousands of animals racing over the river. Four crocodiles emerged and did their best to stock up on meat. Surprisingly few kills, all the Wildebeest counted and the numerous attempts. The motor on my camera ran pretty hot and I believe I got a few good shots.

There is so much more to tell from the days in the Masai Mara like the hot air balloon ride over the savannah in the morning. The long rides through the landscape, the wonderful people we met, nice long meals – they have really nice food at Kichwa Tembo, when we got a flat racing the sunset out of the park. It really gets dark fast… and so on. Lets talk about it next time we meet.

Summer vacation I - Setting sail

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on July 31, 2008
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Summer two years ago. A wonderful week on “Villedagur”, a 27 feet sailing boat three close friends of mine bought a while ago. Could it be repeated this summer? The weather looked gloom. Grey skies and cold wind the week prior. There were also some technical issues with the engine that could have stopped us before we even left port. Engine you say, aren’t you sailing? Well, we’re not that good at it.

The day we planned to set sail came and the weather was – absolutely fantastic! With the mercury strolling past 30 degrees Celsius (that’s close to 90F), not a cloud in the sky and a gentle breeze we were ready for the open seas. Engine problems were solved, more than enough food and drinks stowed and SPF in abundance gave us a good outlook for the week.

Our timing was perfect. The sun kept shining through the week, the warmest, best week through the whole summer. The water was unbelievable warm. I remember fondly the really warm summers we had at the family summerhouse 10-20 years ago when the mercury tipped the 20C mark. This week the thermometer set a new record of 24 Celsius!! (75F). Let me remind you all. We were sailing out of the Oslo fjord, latitude 60 degrees north! That’s the same as Anchorage, Alaska. Needless to say, I spent a lot of time in the water.

The first day we sailed down to Ildverket. An old favorite of mine, close to our summerhouse on Brøtsø, stayed there for two nights before continuing down to Stavern. I must admit I do enjoy staying on smaller islands with fewer neighbors than the larger ports with hundreds of boats. Stavern was OK though, but it was nice to continue south the day after. We found a small island just south of Langesund, which was very nice. I kept beating myself for not bringing any hot dogs and/or hamburgers we could put on a makeshift barbecue – the place was perfect for a meat feast. We had great food though, so I won’t complain too much. The last leg was down to Kragerø, a beautiful town by the sea.

I’m glad we decided to set sail again. We were of course very luck with the weather. Oslo had a tremendous thunderstorm while we were further south. With two great sailing trips under our belt I’m really looking forward to the next. Summers are best spent at sea.

>> photos to come <<

In the 3rd degree

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on July 23, 2008
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Three cities, E3 and D3,

It’s that time of the year again, well that time of year the past two years to be exact. E3 the former behemoth of the computer gaming / entertainment industry was held in a deflated convention center in downtown LA. It’s really sad, it really is. E3 used to be the show where our industry pulled out all the stops and just flaunted its crazy being. That was until last year, when it was decided to scale down, become professional and boring and just fail… Last year’s show was not good, this year was supposed to be the show where the organizers would get it back on its feet. I don’t know what happened on the way between the two shows but what it ended up being was, oh-my-God so bad, bad, bad! Let’s not spend more time on the misery.

On the good side I was back in LA. First time this year. In fact almost ten months since my last visit. It was good to be back. Found a few new places to eat, most of them good. Had a very nice lunch at a Mexican restaurant in Silver Lake which I’m certain is more than a little bit crazy after hours. Amazing it’s taken me this long to get to Silver Lake as well. I like it. I will return.

And, I got my hands on my new dear D3. What a camera. Wow, really WOW!!! Can’t wait to share the photos in the time to come.

After almost a week in LA, which despite the poor show turned out the be a good visit with great meetings I flew up to probably the best place on the West Coast, San Francisco. A weekend with grey, cold weather, but I had a good time. And then, after a few days, it was time to travel up north to Seattle.
I don’t know what it is. It’s almost always very nice weather when I visit the Pacific Northwest. I’ve been told over and over that it rains more often than not, but I’ve yet to experience it, and I’ve been up there quite a few times.

Had a few good meetings, met some new people and crossed off the last lines on the shopping list I started on down in LA. Taking advantage of the weak dollar the list is fairly long in preparations for the upcoming vacation. And what a vacation it’s going to be. I now have the appropriate attire, stocked up on high percentage DEET and SPF in the upper segment. The newly acquired D3 with applicable lenses and gigs upon gigs in memory will get a good run for its money. And back home I’ve already stacked up on Malaria tablets. Care to guess where I’m going? Soon you’ll know.
=D

Na-Juung-eh-bayo!

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on June 26, 2008
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Every visit to Seoul makes me like the city and the people more. I must admit it’s a relief to arrive in a city bigger than Beijing, but with air you can actually breathe without having to chew.

One day I plan to visit Korea on vacation, to have all the time I want to walk around, take pictures and maybe even more importantly, travel out of the city and see more of the country. The little I’ve seen (in magazines, on telly etc) looks very nice. Looking forward to see it for myself. But for now I’m just count my blessings for having a job sending me to destinations like this and footing the bill.

I traveled this time with a colleague who never visited Korea. He, like me, enjoyed the visit. It was very hectic, very, but we did get the chance to see a bit outside work hours. Again I stayed at one of favorite hotels, Park Hyatt Seoul. I know I’ve mentioned it before, but it cannot be mentioned too often. If you want to have a great visit to Seoul, this is the place to stay.

As mentioned it was very busy, but we did have a very nice dinner at a nice Thai restaurant in Apgujeong-dong an upscale district within Gangnam-gu. It looked like this would be the only time out, as we had planned to fly down to Taipei, but as typhoon Fengshen left the shores of the Philippines in direct flight towards Taiwan we decided to delay our journey to the island and spent an extra day in Seoul. We we’re lucky to have very good guides taking us to places we probably wouldn’t have found ourselves.

It turned out that Frank (aka Fengshen) passed west of Taiwan and literally crashed into Mainland China instead. I’m believe we made the right decision and am glad that my colleague got the chance to see more of the city, feel a bit of the atmosphere and taste the local cuisine.

Countdown 888

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on June 21, 2008
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It’s been close to seven months since my previous visit to Beijing. It was cold and wet back then, the pollution was thick and the three days I spent went very fast. It is still very polluted, feels even more so than before. The grey air makes it harder to enjoy my stay, but the people always make up for it. Four days this time – I hope I’m not sensing a pattern and that my next visit will be longer.
It was next to impossible to see the sun most of the time, but you could definitely feel it, and when the sky finally cleared it was blistering hot, too hot for my gentle Norwegian skin and for most of the Chinese by the look of it.

Again I was visiting for work. Had a few good days in our Beijing studio, spent time with my colleagues, old and new, had a nice dinner in Hou Hai (ate too much as always…) followed by drinks and games. Long overdue, we had a good time.
Met a few friends, had my obligatory visits to Pan Jia Yuan and 798. The latter is ever changing. A lot of construction there now. It’s not the same. Good or bad – I’m not sure. It’s different yet I find it interesting and I think I got a few new interesting shots. Like always I like to wonder the old factory area with my camera.

I’m concerned about the Olympics. Not that it’ll suffer poor organization. All sporting arenas are apparently finished and ready for the athletes and spectators - hey, even the gravity defying CCTV building looks like it’ll be finished in time. No it’s of course the pollution. If I had trained like a maniac taking push-ups since I was a fetus and being on a diet depraving me of all the sinful delicious food out there I wouldn’t risk it all by sucking in that foul air with a pulse just below 200. Then again, maybe that’s why I’m no Olympian.

>> photos to come <<

From Russia with

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on June 18, 2008
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The first thing I see walking over the stone bridge and through the gate into the Kremlin was a huge poster of… Julio Iglesias? What the hell! The whole illusion of entering one of the most mysterious places in my childhood, cold war memory was shattered. Maybe not, but it was rather unexpected to say the least.

I was, once again brought to Russia for work, but I’m glad I spent my weekend in the city before the meetings. My second trip to Moscow this year was a good one. It was so much nicer than my brief stay in March. Gone were the heavy, wet, grey sky and cold wind. Suddenly I found an interesting city – surprisingly green in some parts – inviting for long walks. The wonders a little sunshine can do. I strolled around for at least fifteen hours through the weekend, before my colleague joined me on Sunday afternoon. As usual I set out with enough money for a taxi fare back to the hotel and a plan to get lost. Just walk the streets I found interesting and look and feel the vibe of the city. I stumbled into a great breakfast place, some interesting architecture a quite few dead ends. I managed twice to end up in front of the Red Square without planning to. Maybe all roads lead to Kremlin?

There is so much I should write about. The church turned into a gigantic swimming pool during the communist area, now a great church again, the never-ending quest to decipher the Cyrillic alphabet, the enormous metro system, watching Russia win over Greece in a local football pub with crazy Russians – the vodka floated freely, sitting on a bench in front of the Bolshoi theater playing a board game, beautiful, sweet, caring people and the best lemonade I’ve ever had.
I don’t think I could live in Moscow, but I like visiting. And I am looking forward to my next visit. To pick up my camera, put on the iPod and explore.

>> photos to come <<