My colleague called me from Kakamega and told me to go online and download a new binary file for the software we are currently using (the programmer compiled a new binary and had it sent to us – 1,3 MB, which is a lot for the average modem connection).
So I went out at 8 p.m., in the search of a decent inet/cybercafé for kesho asubuhi that would enable such a download. I think they were already closed by that time as I couldn’t find any and also some descriptions aren’t that reliable (“somewhere there down the road behind this building” (waving his hand into that direction). Somewhere can be anywhere.
“Mori turi te salutant” is what I first thought upon catching this scene with my cam:
The bad news: these poor little (fat) kukus were sitting in front of “Morning Glory Hotel” here in Embu, with their feet tied together and awaiting their death “Furahiday” morning.
“Don’t you have any mercy with me?”, I asked the nearby waiter.
Waiter: “Me? Nooo..you see, they can already see their friends being grilled in the oven so they know what will happpen. We will cut their throats tomorrow morning.”
No wonder the place is called Morning Glory…
The good news: Safaricom GPRS works perfectly well. I just made the mistake of using a mixup of sent & own settings so it never worked. But then I thought about deleting all settings and trying it again with a clean installation et voil? : GPRS in Embu, the mobile phone connected via Bluetooth, everything at full speed and no need to look at the clock as the rates are charged per MB downloaded. It really works! Amazing….
I also used Safaricom GPRS successfully for several month while waiting for an ADSL line last year. If only the government had the resources and forward-thinking to subsidise this service from Safaricom to be used by rural Kenyans all over the country! Yo have also given me midnight craving for kuku + chips + kachumbari – unattainable for me :x
I have had the chicken there and it is spectacular! Plus that joint is even mentioned in Lonely Planet guide to Kenya, complete with the chickens outside oblivious to their destiny!
@aco: is it? Aiiii….Guess I will have to get a copy of Lonely Planet one day. Thx!
Hiya!
I have a request to all postors (posters? poststers?): could you (maybe in a separate thread) provide details of getting GPRS working in Kenya? My gf lives in NBO and I want her (and me, when I visit) to have *reliable* Internet access. Which carrier is “best”; what are the rates; is EDGE or faster available; did you need to load software on your lappy; I heard there is filtering of websites by Safaricom – true/false?; etc.
I’ll get the GPRS-enabled phone from over here, but if there’s a good spot to buy it in Kenya, lemme know.
Oh, if you’ve already talked about ths, please “link me”. Asante.