The sausage tree in the Masai Mara
I grew up on David Attenborough’s nature documentary, most of which features Africa heavily. So Africa is one of those places where it has a special place on my list but, I never found a strong enough reason to visit – much like Japan (more on that later).
I was fortunate that work presented an opportunity for me to be in Nairobi, Kenya, for 48 hours in February. Since I was going to be halfway across the world, I decided to extend the trip to include a safari tour and invite Mumsy along because that is what good Asian daughters do!
So when the words ‘why don’t you come to Africa with me,‘ left my mouth, I remember immediately thinking that it was a terrible idea. Mumsy in Africa? A twiddly image of her popped into my head which screamed ‘I’m a tourist, scam me.‘ Also, what will she eat? What if she gets eaten?
My fears and sanity were mostly unfounded; Mumsy and I had a blast, and we managed to return from Africa a week before the travel ban and isolation measures kicked in. Much has changed since our return; Singapore has been in a semi lockdown state, also known as the Circuit Breaker (give the PR agency an award) since the 7th of April 2020. The announcement gave me a mild panic attack. Under the new measure, I won’t be able to work in my studio while the place I live in is a murder case waiting to happen if I’m there 24/7 for a month. Thankfully, I currently have a home in a little oasis until I can work in my studio again.
Since pandemic is raging on the outside world and most of us are in some form of lockdown, I thought I’ll start by sharing some postcards of the great outdoors of Kenya. Hopefully, the stories to come will brighten your day a little and perhaps when this is over, encourage you to book a flight to Africa with your Mumsy.
It is such a special place!
Kenya
Kibera at sunset
Fields of gold
Roadside construction
Saint-Saëns during the blue hour at the Samburu Sopa Lodge
