During her 16 days in Africa, although she only spent a little time in Kenya, this country made Le Ngoc Thien Trang (28 years old, Hai Phong) resentful. The emotions about the capital Nairobi, every alley and the people here in the hearts of young travelers are still more round and strong than ever.
brilliant life
Kenyan is known to many tourists for its pristine natural scenery with wild animals, ethnic minorities and unique and vibrant cultural life.
For Thien Trang, the initial information she researched online about Kenya mostly focused on this wild beauty.
However, when stopping in the capital of Kenya, she was constantly surprised by the brilliant beauty of painting, music, cuisine and people here that brought her in just 3 days.
As an art lover, Thien Trang affirmed: Kenya is a place where each work of art contains a lot of emotions, reflection, creativity and freedom to surpass the traditional artistic limits.
This is shown through the wildlife painting style, impressive interweaving with the touches of surrealist, contemporary, and doodle schools, with contrast in the way of using colors and dividing high areas to create brilliant and energetic painting nuances".
From the feelings of the 9X female tourist, Kenyan music shows its brightness and joy. She was able to directly admire the beautiful footsteps in each dance or dance of Kenyan people. She noted that they often use dance clubs to express emotions in many daily conversations.
On the first day in Nairobi, she explored museums and exhibitions, walked along neighborhoods and markets in the city center, then went to eat at some local restaurants, cafes, and supermarkets.
On the second day, Ms. Trang visited the Kibera hamlet - the second largest hamlet in Africa - in the morning, then went to the expensive living area of Nairobi as well as famous entertainment - dining complexes for young people here. On the third day, she explored a few more alleys in the capital and continued to explore more famous restaurants and bars.
The high-end commercial complex Village Market that Ms. Trang visited has full high-end services, meeting all customer needs, including indoor and outdoor areas, supermarkets, bookstores, shopping areas, beauty salons, high-end restaurants or football gathering areas...
However, the place that the female tourist was most impressed with in Nairobi was the Kibera slum. When she first came here, she felt uncomfortable with the space as well as the smell coming from the dirt roads with garbage, muddy houses mixed with straw, overgrown with grass, and many stagnant water ditches.
"But the happy faces, optimism, and friendliness of many residents here have gradually soothed those physical feelings in me. The children smile and play, the people dance and sing when returning from the church on Sunday morning, the brilliant colors radiate from the murals, said Ms. Trang.
Where the smile is forever
In the three short days in Kenya, the most profitable thing Thien Trang had was the smiles and stories of the people she met, from customs staff to friends crossing the street.
Ms. Trang said: This is the first country in 23 countries I have ever been to, the customs staff smiled brightly and greeted me, told me many stories, asked me about the trip, and danced proudly when I also liked Samosa like her.
Smiles are everywhere. The majority of Kenyan people speak English very well and clearly, they also like to talk and discuss in-depth topics.
From a simple greeting question, Ms. Trang had a half-hour-long conversation about life, art, cuisine, culture... in very random places such as in the hand washing room, on the bus, at an outdoor restaurant, and along the train tracks in the Kibera hamlet.
Therefore, the Vietnamese female tourist enjoys every moment here. She likes Kenyan tea the most - black tea mixed with whole cow's milk, rich, fatty flavor and delicious Notes.
Samosa, a simple cake, has also "conquered" Thien Trang's taste. This is a dish shaped like a triangle, fried until crispy, with meat filling, seafood and vegetables, spices, and can be eaten directly or with dipping sauce.
Kenians are very creative when making this cake with a variety of ingredients for both skin and filling. Samosa not only creates a feeling of excitement when biting the crispy shell but also brings a soft, fresh, sweet feeling of the ingredients inside. Whether I eat in the suburbs or at high-end restaurants, I find this dish very delicious, the female tourist expressed.
Although the trip to Kenya was short, it left an unforgettable experience for Thien Trang, more than that, it was a profound lesson. The Kenyan friends she met during the trip always chose to look at the good things in life and maintain a positive attitude and hope for the future.
