WhatsDown

WhatsApp

I heard the tale of a young lady aged 17 and in high school. Her mother is a distraught woman after accidentally downloading a nude image of a young man; the age of her daughter on the social communication app, aptly named WhatsApp. It wouldn’t be such a bad scenario apart from the fact that they are neighbours with the aforementioned lad. See the two ‘love chicks’ (not yet birds) had a habit of staring away at their gadgets’ screens to no end each and every evening after a long day at school. It was revealed later after confrontations between their parents that amidst the giggles and wide-eyed stares, they’d actually been ‘trading nudes’ of each other.

This is an embarrassing scenario that one wouldn’t be too keen to have been part of but dear Reader, ever considered some etiquette when engaging in conversations through WhatsApp?

The developers of this amazing app that has literally sucked millions of us in its vortex-that guarantees ease of communication with minimal usage of data and across the entire planet probably never envisioned any of the unwritten violations that many of us carry out.

Reduce the spamming!

The most annoying thing, well for me that is, must be the persistently irritating, repeated, recycled, misinformed, ‘attention seeking’ and downright ignorant forwarded messages. For how long shalt I be warned that I risk a cancellation of my dear WhatsApp if I do not forward the same message to at least 36 of my contacts?! Or a common one: ‘My name is God….blah blah….. Send to 44 people and you will receive a surprise call after 17 hours, 4 minutes and 8 micro-seconds…’ Don’t get me wrong. Some of them are genuinely hilarious and can make one’s day more jovial. Importantly some offer great insights, inspiration and information but let’s rethink twice before sending such spam messages. The ability to send multi-media messages makes WhatsApp really efficient when words alone prove insufficient in relaying what we feel but this is abused too and that is downright wrong. It can be really offensive what image, audio or visual message you send. I’d be cool with a lot of stuff that many crazy friends of mine send but wisdom would help if applied again-before hitting ‘send’.

The concept of group chats is also invaluable but why (ladies mostly!) find it a great thing to start a conversation the rest of us don’t relate to just beatsthe whole idea of it being a group while messages in the dead of the night should be a no-no! ‘Amnesia…guys anyone ever seen a blue shooting star?’ Such a message awaking you at 3 a.m. ain’t such a brilliant idea. I’d include ‘WhatsApping’ us images of how delicious ones’ dinner looks but I won’t because it’s never too serious, right?

...last seen

Most of us normally have busy schedules and it’s not always possible to reply to WhatsApp messages prompt but why some of us start whining as they refer to you ‘last seen’ information just confuses me. Anyway, I’ve been guilty of that but we can collectively work on thatJ.

With a lot said, bottom line is we need to actually incorporate some common sense and etiquette even as we WhatsApp each other or it’ll pretty soon be WhatsDown.

STOP!

WESTERN DELIGHTS

Kisumu and its 'pull factors'

It is a well known fact that Kenyans barely take leisure travel seriously. I was guilty of the same until the time I enrolled at Utalii for a diploma in Travel and Tourism Management. Like majority of my countrymen, I envisioned a visit to upcountry as the epitome of being away from home. The good thing is that the perception especially of domestic tourism is changing, albeit at snail's pace. The government is doing the best it can with sensitization campaigns geared towards this especially through 

KTB’s 'Tembea Kenya' campaign. The media too is doing well with KTN’s Nature Diaries a good example.

In the course I study, we visit all the Kenyan tourist circuits and the last one is amazingly very rich, the youngest of all the circuits and sadly the least promoted and visited. Welcome to the Western Kenya Tourist Circuit.

Some of the attractions in Western Circuit

As its name states, this is the vast region west to our beautiful republic and should not be confused with Western-the administrative province. It spans from the golden shores of the biggest freshwater lake in Africa; Victoria to the high altitude slopes of Iten that Kenya’s world beaters in athletics mostly hail from and train at. Northwards it stretches to the agriculturally rich Trans-Nzoia County, Kenya’s ‘food basket’ with its undulating slopes carpeted by maize and wheat plantations. This gives way to the spectacular Cherangani hills that wind down in a surreal spiral of evergreen forests and crystal clear streams of water.

Kitale and its nearby attractions

Westwards to the town of Kapenguria lies the iconic Mt. Elgon that is rich in flora and fauna of all kinds, spectacular caves and salt licks that elephants utilize as you watch from a safe distance. One can also climb to the summit of its three peaks using both Kenyan and Ugandan routes as it sits right at the border. One can then head into Nyanza province and attractions are diverse and plenty; ranging from the homestead of the grandmother of the most powerful man globally, US president, Barrack Obama in Kogelo, Siaya County. This can be complimented by crossing the famous Yala River as it powerfully roars towards Lake Victoria and just before reaching Kisumu, Kenya’s 3^rd largest city; one can marvel and even pray at the astonishing rock formations famously known as Kit Mikaye.

The city of Kisumu is not only rich in fresh fish from the lake, but also plays host to one of the most rich sanctuaries in the land, the Kisumu Impala sanctuary that houses all the Big 5 apart from the elephant among other attractions. One can then pop into the Kisumu National Museum and get a chance to experience a Luo traditional homestead, aquariums of different kinds, snakes from around the continent among other cultural and historical artefacts.

In Kakamega one can view the exquisite rock formations that is the crying stone and the natural rain forest; the only one of its kind in the country while other attractions in the region include the  Saiwa Swamp, tea plantations in Kericho and the Kapenguria museum.

Infrastructure improving in this 'virgin territory'

Words are not enough but for an experience of a lifetime, visit the Western circuit and Tembea Kenya!