ARRIVAL IN NAIROBI
We drive into Nairobi—population ca 3 million—from the airport at 4pm on a Friday in July. Traffic chaos leads to a total traffic jam, and what should take 30 minutes took us about 2 hours. Lanes of traffic form any which way, including down the sloping shoulder and into the ditch. Cattle roam at will and rickshaw men pull heavy carts, piled dangerously high with all sorts of stuff, struggling up the hills and slowing traffic even more. The road from the airport is in bad condition, and reminds us of Zimbabwe—potholes, worn-away tar. Buildings and signs alongside the road all have a slightly tatty, unkempt feel. Many huge Maribou storks nest on acacia trees next to the road and yellow-bill kites scavenge from the garbage liberally scattered along the roads.
Noisy, colorful, dusty, dirty. But totally fascinating.
Blue Chinese-made trucks chug along, and small blue tankers with “Clean Water” painted on the side pollute terribly (might be delivering clean water, but certainly not clean air). Air pollution is pretty bad, largely due to such badly-tuned vehicles. A yellow mini-van has a Missouri Tiger painted on the back window and we see a number of Obama 08 stickers.
We are warned to keep our taxi windows closed, as there is an amazing assortment of roadside vendors and beggars, such as a young boy leading an old blind man; barrows with huge piles of cut grass; bicycles piled high with chopped firewood; white paper cones filled with ground nuts (peanuts); plastic inflatable animal “chairs”; fruit in packets. Nairobi’s nickname is “Nairobbery” or “Nairobeggary” and downtown one must be especially careful. Given the level of poverty, it’s not surprising that crime and begging are so prevalent. The nicer suburbs are better and greener, but still very dusty and high fences are ubiquitous.
We wonder if this could be South Africa in 20 years time.
This does not seem like an auspicious beginning to a trip, but in fact we have a wonderful time—even in Nairobi, after we return from a week in the Masai Mara Game Park.
Agree with all … I often said I felt safer in the bush than I did in Nairobi, which I disliked from the moment a rancid-smelling ‘porter’ tried to take my bag off the trolley.
I did hear the tale about the tourist who was (supposedly) foolish enough to put his arm on the open car window, to have it chopped off with a machete by someone after his watch. But, I was assured by someone who lives in Nairobi that it’s just an urban myth.
However, they wouldn’t let us out of the hotel alone, unless we were accompanied by an askari … who, of course, we had to pay!
We didn’t hear that arm story, but others equally gruesome!
When were you in Nairobi?
1994 and 1997 … we were going to go again this year, but the new visa regulations required us to send in our passports & would take 3 weeks to process. I just can’t be without my passport for that long.
Your descriptions of Nairobi are spot on. Having spent many years in Kenya, I know that the folks who visit as tourists miss out on one experience when they come to Kenya, that is meeting the local people outside of the tourist circuit of safari/hotel/airport. Wish you could meet em. Superb folks!
Hi “Sunnykay”
Thanks for your comment, and what you say is so true for a visit to any country I think. To be able to learn how the locals live adds so much more to the travel experience.
we were lucky enough, after thee conference at the masai mara, to be able to spend 2 days on our own with a Kenyan who had been a student here at our university—and that was great.