UPDATE!! (29 June 2011) We are fundraising CHICKENS for our Maasai family. We want to give them 500 chickens so they can sell the eggs for about $50/day … which means their entire village has enough income to survive on. Pretty good investment, at just $6/chicken. How many can you give?? Please PayPal your chicken money to jason@28page.com before the 4th of July holiday so that we can get to 500 and get our new family sustainable!!! Thanks!!    - Jason & April

So yesterday was a dream, right? I mean … where else does one stay in a colonial mansion with amazing people, incredible service (like hot water bottles to warm our feet in bed), umm … and giraffes which come to the door to eat? Well … if yesterday felt like a dream, today even more so.

We experienced more giraffe heaven, feeding them at the door and out the window for breakfast. We enjoyed more incredible food … and we generally loved every moment at Giraffe Manor. There were so many fantastic pictures they won’t all fit in the text here … check them out below in the gallery.

With sadness, we left Giraffe Manor, promising ourselves that we somehow need to find a way to come back here … even if it was the most expensive (by far!!) place on The Wedding World Tour. We left to the David Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage, where we giggled as we watched a bunch of baby elephants get filthy dirty and play in the mud. Oh, the joys of childhood!

The Kenyan school children, dressed colorfully, loved it was well.

And then … it was off to the airport, where we finally met Charles of Maridadi Safari, who was our amazing travel agent in coordinating many of the difficult details of a Maasai wedding. Many thanks, Charles!!!

We boarded an 18-seat Otter twin-engine bush plane. We flew low, and it was amazing to see Maasai villages as small circle below, and to see the left half of the Mara completely dry, and a massive storm off the right hand side of the plain, with flooding clearly evident … realizing that “we weren’t in Kansas anymore” … and quite literally anything could happen out here. As we landed, we saw a Maasai (and a TV crew from Kenya Broadcasting Corp) awaiting our plane … our excitement level jumped: was this Sammy, our kind and generous email friend whom we had been indirectly communicating with this whole time?

As we greeted him, we instantly saw that he was an intriguing mix of modern and Maasai. A large silver watch and a cell phone merged with his traditional Maasai attire. “Call me Sekerot,” he said as the plane roared up the dirt runway and off to it’s next destination.

We took a 2 hour game drive en route to Leganishu, the Maasai village which was soon to become our adoptive home in Africa. (In fact, we loved it so much and want all of our friends and family to travel there … so we built a website! We urge you to visit … it’s incredible!)

In those couple of hours, we saw wildlife that’s just incomprehensible to see wandering around in the States. Rainbow colored birds near wandering elephants next to sleeping lions … it’s all just normal in the Maasai Mara. And yet, it feels like it’s 1,000 years ago and humankind hasn’t overrun everything yet.

We arrived far too late at our village, and the surprise of being met by various villages was somewhat ruined as much of our greeting party needed to go back to their own villages.

We were surprised at how nice our accommodations were. We truly had no idea what to expect, and for that reason we kept our stay there short … which in retrospect, was a big mistake. Our manyatta (hut) was clean, had hot water and a standard toilet (!!), and we ate tasty and safe food.

We spent much of our time in the center communal hut, where we met our new  family members. At one point, I was asked to try on my Maasai clothing … and received a message: “Jason, your father would like to speak with you.” As this usually foretells a scolding, I was a bit nervous to see “Baba” (papa) Ole Mpetti, my newly adoptive father.

I was brought into the tribal hall area, and several elders sat, swatting flies with their ceremonial whisks, looking sternly at me. I sat, and he looked intently in my eyes. After a burst of Maa — completely incomprehensible to me — and I awaited the translation of this deep, serious piece of advice.

“You must always feed your wife, so that she does not starve,” came the translation. Hmmm … not exactly what I was expecting … however, as both an indicator of cultural differences and as a metaphor, this has given me pause for thoughts many times since.

I learned further that “A man is not a man without a wife. And a man is not whole without children.” It was impactful, heartfelt, and honest … and I don’t feel that there’s any equivalent in our culture.

This was followed by dancing and singing from April’s newly adopted “brothers” from her neighboring village. (April didn’t have any “official” duties that night.)  At all times I was accompanied by my best man, new brother, translator and planner of this entire wedding: Samuel Sekerot Ole Mpetti. He guided me through the rituals, and helped me at every turn. It would’ve literally been impossible to experience a Maasai event such as this without him — and as I learned later, this was the only non-Maasai wedding that any of them could remember in the past 15 years.

We headed to bed, our heads reeling with an intense day, my stomach churning, and a large spider guarding our toilet all night … curious and ready for our Maasai wedding to come…

The Wedding World Tour continued from the USA wedding — an outrageously fun and beautiful party — on 11 February 2011, to our incredible, spiritual, loving wedding in Lampang, Bangkok on 18 February … and now on to Kenya for our Maasai ceremony on Wednesday, 23 February.

We took an overnight flight Sunday night from Bangkok to Nairobi. We flew Air Kenya (the only leg of our flight not on our favorite airline), and I have to say … it was terrible. Never have I been so cold on a flight; it must have been 50 degrees in our seat, and the flight attendants were downright sour about just about everything. I slept with the one blanket I could get covering my head, only my nose sticking out, and 2 jackets piled on me, two pairs of socks … it must’ve looked hilarious, but certainly wasn’t funny.

We arrived about 5am, to be picked up by our host from Giraffe Manor (history here). In case you’ve never heard of it, Giraffe Manor is a world-famous guesthouse which has 11 rare Rothschild giraffes living on property, along with warthogs, birds, and the family dog (yes, a standard canine).

I’d chosen it based upon it’s nearly 70 ridiculously happy reviews on Tripadvisor … but to be honest it was our one big splurge, and somewhere down I didn’t believe that it could actually be worth the exorbitant price.

I was wrong.

It wasn’t just the giraffes — which in itself was an unbelievable experience — but also the incredible staff which attends to every need. Heavenly French-pressed Kenyan coffee? Yes … about 6 times in our 24-hours. A fine drink from our always-open liquor cabinet? Again, yes … several times. Food beyond compare? Yes … 3+ times a day. The company of interesting hosts and fascinating guests? Again … yes, yes yes. Giraffe Manor was heaven. It felt as if we had gone 100 years into the past, staying as kings and queens would at a colonial mansion in Kenya, surrounded by wild nature.

Our morning started early, with the famous Giraffe Manor breakfast. With giant giraffes poking their head into the window of our breakfast nook, it was hard to eat the delicious food … but we did, and had seconds to boot (as well as taking hundreds of photos!).

Next, we got the official tour of the manor by Nigel. He showed April how to put a pellet of giraffe food into his mouth, and the giraffe — with her 18-inch long tongue — would take the pellet out of his mouth. Then came April’s turn … and quite possibly my favorite series of photos from our trip:

Yes … a classic moment. April went up for a nap, and I went outside and got a massive sunburn (to be seen later in all the Maasai wedding pictures) from the high altitude (about 4,500 feet), and the equatorial sun. I couldn’t help but stand out there, having a Tusker beer, talking with the staff, and throwing pellets into Lynn’s mouth.

Lynn was one of our favorite giraffes — and also the namesake for our room — and she loved to play “catch.” One person would throw a pellet in, which she would amazingly catch … then she would turn her head and stare at the other person, awaiting the pellet from them. I have no idea why, but it was incredibly fun to go back and forth, taking turns throwing pellets into this giant’s mouth.

I must’ve spent an hour playing with Lynn and a couple of the other giraffes, and watching Nigel’s dog chase the warthogs. (She’d run up to them, nip their butt, then run in a feigned panic when they turned around in [real] anger at her.) It was hilarious to watch.

We had an amazing, amazing lunch — definitely among the best meals of our Wedding World Tour …

… followed by more giraffe-time…

…more social time, and a long, long meeting with a reporter from Kenya’s newspaper, The Standard. The reporter, Crystal, was quite nice, and we talked for several hours.

Soon it was time for dinner. We had the choice to eat outside or in; and although outside looked incredible …

… we chose to be indoor, as it was a communal affair. As we were introducing ourselves, I said “This is my wife — whoa!!!! – April!” I realized it was the first time introducing her as wife. (She, of course, then introduced me as her husband … and we explained the funny looks on both of our faces.) The dinner was candlelit, filled with joyous conversation, laughing, incredibly amazing food, and followed by desert and drinks and more talking in the main hall. It was the perfect end to a truly perfect day.

Below … some more pictures — some of them amazing in their own right but with no more room to post. Next up on the blog … a few more Giraffe Manor pictures from our next morning, plus our elephant orphanage  … and our meeting of Sekerot and the Maasai!

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Okay … the title of “One Night in Bangkok” isn’t entirely accurate: we actually had one night surrounded by two afternoons in this vibrant, contradictory, crazy city.

But before we arrived that Saturday afternoon … there was still Northern Thailand. We left Lampang early — after a bittersweet goodbye to our new family there — and took the hourlong taxi ride with our family and new friends to Chiang Mai, then the Air Asia flight to Bangkok.

(Two points of interest on this journey … the airport was shut down in front of our eyes while one of the Thai Princes arrived at the airport to great fanfare of military officials, and great amounts of military security. Meantime, we got a foot massage while awaiting our delayed flight, for like $5 … I love Thailand!) At this point, my mom and Jack stayed in Chiang Mai for a few days, and Holly, Nick and Missy went down to the south of Thailand to see Phuket and the islands. So it was me, April, and her brother Scott, to explore for a day before heading out of Thailand.

(Click below to see more Bangkok photos)

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Immediately following the Thai Wedding and brunch of our 4-wedding world tour, we took the chance to turn up the AC and take a short nap while our friends went shopping and got affordable Thai massages. (I think they said they were $3 or $5 for an hour.) Then on to our next excitement … a party with the entire small village!

(click through below if you don’t see more pictures!)

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The second of the four weddings on our Wedding World Tour took place in Lampang, Thailand on 18 February 2011 … just one week to the day after our first USA ceremony.

It’s only been a week, but since we had unbelievably great flights on Emirates, toured Chiang Mai and saw the most amazing temple, swam with elephants, and learned Thai cooking. Now, after so much anticipation, is at last the big (second) wedding day!

We started off very early from Papa’s house — about 5:30 am — for our wedding clothing, hair and makeup. While the girls got ready, I took a walk around the block and discovered the town center: an old clock tower, surrounded by a fire station and fountains. The sun was coming up on a beautiful Thai day, horse-drawn carriages passed on the streets, and monks made their morning begging rounds. All in all … a beautiful way to start the day.

(If you can’t see the rest of the pictures, click through below.) Read the rest of this entry »

It is 17 February 2011, and after an intense, amazing day with elephants, we slowed down a bit and attended a cooking class through Thai Cooking Farm.

As an aside, there was an elephant story that I forgot to mention on that post: April and her Mahout (her elephant’s trainer) had both taken their shoes off and forgotten. When they went to leave, the Mahout grabbed April’s shoes — and in so doing, forgot his. However — to prove that he was smarter than the both of them — April’s elephant went over, grabbed his Mahout’s shoes, and brought them to the trainer! April witnessed the whole thing, and was amazed at the intelligence this massive animal had just shown. Anyway … back to our story:

Once again, we leave our charming hotel, Baan Orapin, and travel a short distance to the local market.

Always a fascinating place for me to visit in any culture, we see the vast varieties of rice available, chickens (and their feet), and amazing varieties of food. (The pictures of the food still make my mouth water.)

(Click here if you can’t see the rest of the pictures)

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Swimming with elephants. Three words that can only give a hint at how incredible of an experience we all had at Patara Elephant Camp, near Chiang Mai, Thailand.

It had been 6 days since our USA wedding — the first of four on our Wedding World Tour — and tomorrow was to be our Thai wedding ceremony. So much had already happened, it was hard to believe our first ceremony had only been a few days earlier. We were traveling with my best-friend Missy, and April’s brother, sister, and her boyfriend … and were soon to meet up with my parents. And although expensive by Thai standards, we had done lots of Tripadvisor research and finally all decided to go together to Patara Elephant Camp’s “Mahout for a Day” Program. 

We were picked up from our fabulous hotel, Baan Orapin, and 30 minutes later were staring at a beautiful field with about a dozen elephants standing around. We first learned from Pat the mission of Patara, and why most elephant camps in Thailand — although they are much less expensive — aren’t so great for the elephants. By the end we were all fully convinced that Patara was the only camp that we’d ever recommend. (There’s lots to look out for if you’re researching a camp to go for … but whatever you do, avoid the camps where the elephants are doing tricks!.) Patara’s efforts at conservation and understanding the elephant’s needs are truly impressive.

We then “suited up” and headed out to meet our elephant. My “best (wo)man” from the USA wedding, Missy, was the first sent out to her elephant. It’s a bit (okay, a lot!) intimidating to approach a 14-foot tall animal with gigantic tusks, and to essentially stick your hand in his mouth as he eats each a bunch of bananas out of your hand. It’s even more intimidating when you’re the first one of the day, with the largest elephant … but Missy did great. Even so, when I approached my elephant Maesi Noi — I have no idea how to really spell her name — it was daunting. She iss about 35 years old, pregnant, and very stubborn. Her ears weren’t flapping in happiness as we were told they should, and I took this as a bad sign. (Turns out, she just really isn’t much of an ear-flipper.)

Into her massive, wet mouth my hand (and several large groups of bananas) went. (I still have my hand, so I consider this a success.)

(If you can’t see the rest, please click through!) Read the rest of this entry »

To continue the tale or our Wedding World Tour chronologically, I must continue onward from the post below, “Out of Asia…“. As I was writing, Lynn — a 15-year old female Rothschild giraffe – walked up to my spot on the lawn at Giraffe Manor in Nairobi, Kenya, and was eating from my hand … and mouth! But since I’m now back to telling the story chronologically, I’ll leave the rest of this for a future post.

I left off last as we had visited the umbrella-making area of Chiang Mai (northern Thailand), and here are a few overdue photos from that journey, from our flight through the silk factory:

(Click-through if you can’t see the pictures below)

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We return to “civilization” today not as “April Malina Niedle and Jason Niedle,” but as “Saruni Ole Mpeti and Nasieku Nne Mpeti.” These are the names that have been given us by Kenya’s historic Maasai tribe in our unbelievable ceremony with them. They have adopted us into their culture, and so I return with a new brother and friend, and April with a new sister and friend, and all of us with new family, from a ceremony that was as traditional as it was deep. And while I would love now to tell the bittersweet tale of finding new family overnight, and departing from them just as quickly, I am severely lacking sleep and still needing to book a hotel in Athens, download 1000+ photos, and choose a few photos quickly to post below.

(I had this romantic notion of posting full updates and details on the blog as we went along. That, though, would have taken as much time as our experiences have, and so just these short updates for now, and longer updates with more pictures to follow.)

We are currently at Mara Serena for our last night in Kenya before heading out via Emirates to Dubai. We are safe. We are happy. We miss our new family, but they have also left us many things to think about with you, our existing family and community. For now, a couple of photos from our Maasai ceremony.

Surreal. It’s the word that comes to mind over and over again as we circle the globe on our Wedding World Tour — four weddings in four vastly different cultures.

At the moment I’m sitting outside an old colonial style mansion in Kenya. It’s Monday, presumably February 21, 2011. April is napping after our overnight journey from Bangkok, I’m drinking an ice-cold Tusker beer, there’s a slight breeze, the temperature is ideal, the dog is chasing the warthogs, and several giraffes are eating from the trees a few feet away. We’re at Giraffe Manor — former home of “Out of Africa” author Karen Blixen — and life is heavenly. (Cell phone picture of the closest living being to me is below.)

Neither of us can believe that we’ve only been gone 1 week, and the experiences have been so unreal that, sitting here with the giraffes, we look back on activities only a day old and wonder “Did that really happen? Is THIS really happening?” As unreal as it feels, though, we are enjoying every moment like a wonderful dream you don’t want to awaken from.

After about 30 hours of traveling, we arrived in Bangkok on Tuesday last, and immediately flew to Chiang Mai in the north. With our amazing Emirates flight, we were actually pretty well rested and feeling healthy, so we hired our airport taxi driver, Josh, for the rest of the day (800 baht, about $24). We first took a “nap” (finally!!), and then took the tourist’s tour of Chiang Mai: the umbrella-making shop (colorful and interesting, but not so culturally authentic), then a jewelry store (turns out the taxi drivers get free gas if they bring you there, we later discovered), and a silk store. The silk shop tripped is out: inside were covered baskets with, we figured, product in them. But lo and behold, when we opened one up it was a writhing mass of worms and their silk cocoons … they were actually making silk. The scarves were of the most beautiful fabric and colors I have ever seen, but were quite expensive (around $40/each) by Thai standards.

(At this point on my writing, Lynn came over. Lynn is a 15-year old female Rothschild giraffe, about 16 feet tall. She first ate from my hand. Then, her 16-inch long tongue reached out and took from my mouth –

(and at this point, we had even more activities, all good … to be continued…))