Viewing the big game may be your top priority on your Kenyan travel but you should be prepared on how to use a pit latrine which you will encounter in the course of your safari in Kenya.

The layout and practicalities of a pit latrines give many visitors from 1st world countries a cultural shock. It doesn’t matter if you are on a cheap camping safari or top of the range luxury safari, as long as your Kenyan wildlife safari involves road travel, count on it – you will probably need to use a pit latrine. So it’s best to know before you go.

What are pit latrines? They are small sheds with wooden or concrete walls and same materials are used for the floor which is constructed over a shallow hole.

There is a rectangular aperture in the middle over which you squat or stand with one leg on each side of the hole. Neither of these two choices are easy for first time users and especially for children, the elderly or safari travelers with serious weight issues.

Ventilation is normally poor in the latrine resulting to a build-up of pungent odors which can easily knock you down. Flies which are attracted by the contents in the shallow hole are another nuisance you will have to deal with.

Most Kenya safaris start from Nairobi heading to either Masai Mara, Great Rift Valley, Amboseli, Tsavo or Samburu via the Aberdares and Mt. Kenya regions. On all the Kenya safari routes there are latrine stops which are numerous to list in this article.

For Kenya safaris heading in the Rift Valley, the pit latrines at the View Point on the escarpment call for a special mention, as they hang precariously on stilts at the very edge of the Great Rift valley. But they give you the best views of the expansive floor of the valley below, which hopefully compensates for the fear of using the fragile structures.

Souvenir shop owners build and maintain pit latrines as a bait for attracting tourists. The arrangement, though not obvious to tourists is a win-win for the curio shop owners and safari drivers who get a commission every time they make a stop at the shop.

The downside is that your Kenya safari driver may stop in every souvenir shop on the way, all in the pretense of giving you an opportunity to use the toilet but in truth he is looking for his commission.

Have in mind that pit latrines are provided more as a courtesy rather than as a strict hospitality item, so their hygiene may not measure up to that of the safari lodge.

5 easy to follow tips on how to use a pit latrine:

1. Use the toilets in your hotel before you start off for long Kenya safari drives. This way you may be able to hold on until you get to the next lodge or keep your visit to the pit latrines to the minimum.

2. Be as comfortable as possible when using the pit latrine. Therefore hand over your bags and jackets to people traveling with you on the Kenyan safari. Be careful not to leave your belongings unattended.

3. Whatever contraption has been put up as a door latch, give it a test and hook it up properly. You can’t afford to have the door flying open half-way your operations!

4. Carry your own toilet paper. Though some curio shops along the Kenya safari routes provide toilet paper, it is not guaranteed. No harm in realizing that you didn’t need it, than needing it and you don’t have it.

5. Finally, after using the pit latrine wash your hands thoroughly preferably with liquid soap. There may be a running tap or a water tank outside the toilet, if not use your bottled water. Where a bar soap is provided, use it only if there is a good supply of tap water, remember a bar soap can be a good depository for germs.

Finished and ready to go on with your wildlife safari? Not so quick before posing for a picture outside the pit latrine, this will be one photo that will show that you were truly there and did that!

PART 1.

Mombasa, Kenya.

The Kikambala Paradise Hotel attack on 15th November 2003, is still fresh in the minds of millions of Kenyans, who vividly recall the lives lost at the once vibrant hotel.

The car bomb explosion rocked Paradise Hotel in Kikambala, Coast Province, destroying property worth millions of shillings. 13 people were killed, seven of them being members of a traditional dancing troupe. More than 80 people were also injured, most of them seriously.
The powerful explosion extensively damaged the hotel building, sparking off a fire.

In as much as the hotel lost its staff and some of its guests, the biggest loser was the Kenyan economy as tourists stayed away in the months following the attacks, leading to the closure of a number of hotels and the resultant laying off of staff.

The tourism sector has just recently recovered, but true to nature, Kenyans are a forgetful lot who do not learn from past mistakes and oversights.

Breaking News Kenya, sought to find out just how prepared our hotels are barely weeks before some of the host World Cup bound teams and fans.

The answers we have found, are to say the least, troubling.

Breaking News Kenya surveyed 12 major hotels between February 2010 and April 2010, with the aim of evaluating the security arrangements of these hotels, access to guest parking, common area among others.

The Sarova Whitesands is a premier hotel along the Malindi Mombasa highway. It is one of the leading hotels in Mombasa and an ideal candidate in our assessment.

I dressed sharply and hired a top of the range Toyota VX and drove towards the hotel, where I used the main entrance.

Fair enough, there were guards manning a barrier at the main gate. The guard smiled at politely asked me to open the rear door, which I obliged.

Then the shock of my life dawned upon me, when the guard casually circled the car with a mirror-on-wheels, ostensibly checking whats under the car. Then I was waved on.

No bomb scanners.  No ID Taking.  No questions about my business there. No checking WHO or WHAT is on my rear seats whose windows I had deliberately tinted.

As I drove towards the hotel parking I could not help but imagine what DAMAGE a terrorist with an explosives laden Land Cruiser VX would do to the hotel.

I left the car with a small duffel bag (read explosive), and seeing the receptionists kind of pre-occupied with a couple checking in, sat at the lounge, the bag besides me, surrounded with a sea of humanity. Maximum damage.

The sorry truth was repeated at the Nyali International Beach hotel, Travellers beach hotel and surprise, surprise, Reef Hotel where the guards waved excitedly at me, possibly in the vain hopes that I will tip them.