I recently took a trip to Eldoret. A place I have never been to all my life even
though I am Kenyan. I was born and raised in this country, and I have read or
heard about almost every town of it but like most Kenyans, I had never been to
nearly all of them. So when I packed my bags for Eldoret, I thought it was just
another town like my home town. To be fair, I grew up in different towns of the
same region and never saw that much difference. Eldoret was obviously unlike
all of them; it was larger than Murang’a, Meru or any other town I had been to.
It was however smaller than Nairobi and friendlier. Being that I was going to
volunteer, I had to learn to make the most of my time and the small budget with
which I was living on. My friends and I ended up enjoying a wonderful stay in
Eldoret and seeing the best features and landmarks in the region. My time in
this epic town only inspired me to see my country more and to write about it.
The People
Eldoret is
the home of champions and it is common to bump into these athletes in every
other part of the town. Even so, the people are generally very humble and
friendly. They are also always willing to give directions in the event that a
visitor is uncertain of his way. The people are conscious of their culture and
will constantly talk about how they go about things. Despite being a
cosmopolitan town, the most conspicuous culture is that of the Kalenjin.
The Town
Eldoret is quite a busy town. It has a few streets
on which business men will be found going about their work. Most of these are
taxi drivers, shoe shiners, fruit vendors and Masai traders walking about with
their wares. People move about in matatus, tuk tuks, motor bikes and taxis. Fortunately,
the region is home to farmers and food is not expensive. Among the places to
eat are Maggie’s, Premier Members Restaurant, Nova Café and Cicada Hotel. There are a number of resorts as well such as
64 resort and bar which is a wonderful place for an evening and night out or a
weekend, Poa Place, Sirikwa, Ndupawa along Langas road has very good nyama
choma and the Rosewood Cottages. Like most places in Nairobi, it does have
street kids who constantly beg for money. However, the best places are in the
surrounding areas for a good day trip or even camping.
Hotels
The cheapest way to travel is couch surfing,
however, in the event that one cannot do this, and then there are hotels in
Eldoret to sleep over. The most common is the Boma Inn, the Clique, Hotel
Comfy, Cicada, Mahindi Comfy and Sirikwa.
After visiting Samich Resort where there is a great view of the valley, Iten for a nature trail and Baringo during my stay in Eldoret, I made a resolution to see my country even more. I learned that it does not cost as much given the right infrastructure and that I have obviously been missing out a lot. The highlands are breath taking. I will be writing more about these travels in my new blog.
