Saturday Night in Kericho

So here I was sitting in an outdoor beer gardens with a live band playing in lively tunes in the background. Jack, one of the locals I had met, was explaining to me that he was not, in fact, a “player.” Jack’s girlfriend in Nairobi wasn’t able to visit him that weekend so he was patiently waiting for a different woman to arrive. A universal rule of thumb is that if someone denies that he’s a player then he likely is.

This past Saturday I ventured up to the hillside town of Kericho, about a 1 ½ matatu ride from Kisumu. Passing through on previous journeys I had been attracted to the bright green tea fields that carpet the countryside. The idea of getting out of Kisumu and going to an unknown destination also had an appeal, as this is part of what being a traveller is all about. You never know what you what may happen and that was certainly the case in Kericho.

After exploring the town and finding a place to stay, I figured that I would have a quiet drink in the Lodge’s garden area, read my book while it remained light and then listen to the band for a while. Before I even had a chance to sit down I was greeted by a group of fellows having a “night on the town” and welcomed to join them. They were aged somewhere in their late twenties and/or early thirties and made for excellent company.
My quiet evening turned into staying up until 1:30 am.

I still can’t get over how welcomed this group made me feel. It occurred to me that if it had been a similar but reversed situation in the west it is highly improbable that a group of white guys would be as hospitable to a black person. Later on in the evening Patrick insisted that I should stay at his home instead of the Lodge and meet his family. I managed to politely decline with the promise that I would come back to Kericho to visit another time. I had such a nice time that evening hopefully I will.