The over 20-hour flight from Nairobi to Vancouver, Canada, was the beginning of one of the best and most enjoyable, relaxed and memorable family holidays.
It started with a stress-free trip to the Canadian High Commission’s visa section agent in Parklands for the mandatory greenlight before we booked airline tickets for three; my wife, Rosemary, son, Biko, and I.
We presented our passports and a letter from our daughter, Terry, to confirm that we would be her guests during her graduation at University of British Columbia (UBC). The officials were very friendly and courteous; they received our documents and requested us to check back after four days as they processed the visas.
Stress-free visa process
An indeed, we received an official telephone phone call two days later confirming that our visa applications had been approved and we should feel free to go and collect our stamped passports.
By then we had applied for a round trip air ticket from our local travel agent who was on standby to issue them and we had passed by the famous Yaya and The Junction Masai markets to buy souvenirs and gifts for our daughter and some of her friends in the beautiful port city on the Pacific Ocean.
Two days later, we packed our luggage and off we were to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) for the much anticipated flight to Vancouver with a brief stopover at Schiphol International, in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. The eight-hour overnight flight was not very exciting for us as we had travelled to other parts of the world before and sampled the best that most airlines had to offer like their cuisine, movies, audio stations and in-house magazines among others.
Our five-hour stopover in Amsterdam was a good break for us as we moved from a developing country and continent to the developing world with the skyscrapers, superhighways and different culture from ours we had been used to.
Amsterdam - world flower capital
One of the key attractions as we were about to land was to see the hectares of plantations of flowers, one row after another as far as the eye could see, as we approached the airport at dawn.
What came to my mind was the stiff competition they were giving the same products we export from our Kenya and is a leading foreign exchange earner after tea, coffee and tourism. The sub-sector is a major creator thousands of jobs and supports small and large scale businesses in the value chain.
By then we had made an attempt to join members of the Kenya Flower Council (KFC) by investing in planting, transporting and exporting Moby Dick, through JKIA to Amsterdam from our river farm in Fort Ternan, Muhoroni sub-county in Kisumu County. But the venture ran into headwinds after the third trip when our sole market was flooded with the precious cash crop and matters worsened by the entry of the winter season when fresh-cut flowers are not in high demand. We burnt our fingers and moved on.
Another attraction at Schiphol which is a major business hub and market for selling fresh-cut flowers from all over the world to Europe and North America was a giant size bicycle facing the sky and hanging precariously from the roof; it had a carrier on the handle and another behind the back seat carrying fresh-looking colorful flowers.
I opted to spend time at the bookshops and the music stores where I was mesmerized by the number of new books and magazines waiting to be bought and read. The music section and collection was something else; the biggest variety I had ever imagined that included my favorite Rhythm and Blues; South African and American jazz, Lingala from Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC); country music; and assorted gospel musicians.
Trans-Atlantic Flight
The marathon 7,720 Kilometers trans-Atlantic flight was one of the longest direct flight I had ever been on. I watched several movies, listened to the on board audio stations and then read their online magazine and some books I had carried from home, but time was still crawling.
It was such a big sigh of relief after 10-hours to hear one of the flight attendants announce that we should belt up and get ready for landing at Fairmont Vancouver International Airport. And 20 minutes later the pilot brought the huge jetliner to a safe and smooth landing and thanked the hundreds of passengers for choosing their airline.
On hand to receive and welcome us was our daughter, Terry, whom we had not met for over two years, and her friend Mike. After the warm hugs, handshakes and introductions, they ushered us into their car and drove us to a home-stay facility overlooking the beautiful port city and harbor.
We freshened up and off we were to the beach, a stone’s throw away, where we enjoyed a long-awaited family reunion and the Canadian sunset with refreshments and early dinner of fresh seafood.
The beach was a beehive of activities with people swimming, jogging, cycling, walking while others relaxed and others took their dogs for a walk, as we arrived at 7pm. and left at 10pm. when the sun was setting in the many mountains in the horizon.
When I asked Terry why there were so many people on the beach on a week day, she said it was because they were celebrating one of the many holidays linked to the British royal family; and also because Vancouver was a leading tourist destination in the world.
Day One
We woke up at dawn ready for the holiday vacation and went for a relaxing walk in the neighbourhood where we fell in love with the work done by landscape engineers, architects and contractors in terms of unique beautiful buildings, walk ways, well tendered flowers, shrubs and lawns.
After the 30 minute walk, we were back to the three-bedroomed bungalow ready home-made breakfast as we switched on the television to watch Canadian TV and videos on the U-tube channel as Terry updated us on plans for her graduation the following day.
We then called a taxi driver who arrived after 10 minutes and drove us to University of British Columbia (UBC) where our daughter showed as around starting with her student hostel before she later moved to an apartment, and her lecture halls.
The taxi driver was an Indian whose parents had lived in Uganda in the 1960s and 1970s, but were victims of President Idi Amin Dada’s dictatorship and directive to chase all Indians out of the Pearl of Africa. Most of the victims migrated to United Kingdoms, United States and Australia among others.
According to Terry, there were no Uber services in Vancouver because the powerful Canadian Taxi Association and labor unions had blocked their entry through a court order. On his part, our driver, who was a Sikh, the inhuman act was a blessing in disguise for many Indians who later turned the problem into an opportunity by excelling in academia, business and other professions.
From the campus, we walked to the nearby Centre where we had lunch after Terry had visited a body shop (salon) run by a Chinese-Canadian lady who was pleased to meet us and share her experience as a professional dealing with many foreign students and tourists who patronize her business.
We then boarded an electric bus, the first I had ever seen and used, to down town as we crisscrossed the highways with some of the latest car models in the market. Traffic flowed freely and all rules were obeyed to the letter by motorists, cyclists and pedestrians. We ended the day on the verandah of the country house catching up on family issues and plans for the Big Day.
Day Two:
We started with another dawn walk around the neighborhood with Terry as she shared her dream and vision for her future outside the Ivory Tower. We returned to base, had breakfast and then dressed up for the graduation ceremony as our son, Biko, armed himself with a 55mm Nikon camera ready to capture the historic day. I also had my small camera and smart phone as a back up to capture the iconic moments.
But just before we left the house for the campus, Terry caught me off guard saying: “Daddy, please be of your best behavior today by not falling over yourself taking photos!”
And with that polite notice, I felt like a kindergarten toddler facing the wrath of his or her teacher!
We hailed a taxi and we were off to UBC for one of the most enjoyable occasions for us as parents and a family. Unlike in Kenya where both immediate and extended family members are invited to attend, in UBC it was restricted to the parents and siblings.
The official programme was followed to the letter: pick up and wear gowns at 8am; meet at the graduation venue at 8.80am. then prepared for the ceremony at 8.45am. At 9am. the procession led by the Chancellor of the University and Deans of the various faculties walked into the venue and the ceremony started in earnest with very brief speeches about the university and a keynote address by the guest of honour who congratulated and inspired the grandaunts.
Two hours later, the ceremony was over and the excited elated graduates walked out of the venue to attend a garden party in their honour as photographers had a field day. As our daughter’s name was called among the hundreds of graduating students, my wife and son shot up from our seats and cheered along in joy as we did a little Kenyan-Luo jig and ululated!
She was among a handful of Kenyans and Africans whom we recognized on the programme. We were later glad and proud to meet one of the Heads of Department, Dr Samson Madera Nashon, a Kenyan from Vihiga County, and had been at UBC for the past two decades!
We exchanged niceties and addresses before taking a group photo together. For once, it was a big honour to be a Kenyan on a foreign land. They were then invited to the Alumni Centre where parents and/or guardians and the graduates mingled freely; registered and got more information about goals and objectives of the association.
For the graduation luncheon, we took a taxi to downtown where we enjoyed a sumptuous meal by the beach followed by a boat ride into the lagoon, where we saw the lovely apartments that had been built for the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games.
The day ended with a sundowner bottle of wine at our elevated country house’s verandah. Our son, daughter and her friend later went dancing as the “wazee” stayed home watching the smart TV.
Day Three:
We had an early morning starting with breakfast at Terry’s friend, Mike’s parent’s home followed by a family treat to the snowcapped mountains to a popular tourist’s town called Whistler. We enjoyed a two-hour drive into the mountains for sight-seeing and visit to a spa and saw two unique 90 degree water falls along the way.
The visit to the mountain town 134 Kilometers from downtown Vancouver was not only refreshing, but also very inspiring. We toured a popular water-spot facility where the signboards warned visitors to “beware of bears!” Thank God we never saw any.
At a public park near a dam and a river, there was a section set aside for pets to swim and had a signboard saying: “Barking area!” From there, we went to Whistler’s Nature Spa, an exclusive retreat and spa at the summit and in the middle of the snow-capped mountains where after paying “an arm and a leg” we were treated like royalty for the next two hours. The lovely Canadian, American and Chinese hostesses welcomed us with a broad smile and reminded us to respect other guests company and privacy saying: “Silence is a source of great strength.”
At the entrance they welcomed their guests with a signboard that said: “The perfect way to unwind; indulge in ultimate apres-ski experience by immersing your body in hydrotherapy experience that is both relaxing and rejuvenation.” Indeed, we walked out of their feeling like a breath away from heaven!
We started off with an ice-cold shower (below 5 degrees!) followed by an option of steam bath, Jacuzzi and massage. Thenceforth, we had a heated and regular pool to relax in addition option of lying in any of the several hammocks hang under mature trees.
The two hour experience was something out of this world, thanks to the natural sounds of birds in the facility, flowing water from the gardens and pin drop silence by the visitors and staff.
The drive back was even more interesting as we took photos of the hills, valleys, waterfalls and the Pacific Ocean. Mike’s parents hosted us for a sumptuous dinner at their bungalow that had a basement guest room where we spent the night. Also invited were Mike’s uncle, aunts and nephews and nieces. On guard through our stay was their well-behaved pet dog, who watched every move from a safe distance.
Day Four:
The second last day was spent on a city tour of Vancouver where we met a village mate of ours, Dr Dave Kojwang, who was introduced to me on telephone by his cousin Dick Oyuo, who had relocated to the United States with his Ugandan wife, Judy, and two children, Joel and Chrystal.
We met at The Water front, where we saw one of the biggest cruise ships docking and passengers disembarking while others boarded. Dr Kojwang, who was a lecturer at UBC before he moved to British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT), made our day by taking us around in his car all the way to the one of the venue of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.
Thanks to the visit, we came face to face with snow and the major infrastructure and investments involved in hosting such a huge international event. Enroute back to Vancouver in the evening, our lecturer friend took us for early dinner at a restaurant by the ocean where we saw other huge ships docking and taking off to other parts of the huge country.
Final Day:
We had breakfast at Mike’s parents’ home and off we were to the airport where Dr Kojwang and his wife were there to bid us “kwaheri” before our return trip to JKIA.
We arrived well the following day and Rosemary and I went to work later in the day. But on driving back to the house from the office, I did not realize the jet lag was taking its toll. I knocked a car ahead of me and it got a small dent but the rear lights broke. The latter costs me Ksh5, 000 to repair and replace. But that did not mar the sweet memories of the awesome Vancouver trip.
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