I’ve been to Kenya a couple times now and it’s very easy to get a visa on arrival at JKIA for a mere $50. I’ve also stayed in Nairobi twice but until now I never got an opportunity to actually hang out and check out the city. I’ve scoured the inter webs and it seems pretty difficult to find out about things to do in Nairobi or Kenya for that matter that aren’t wildlife/national park related. Don’t get me wrong the parks here are some of the best in the world, but I wanted to write a different kind of article solely about my experiences in the city.
Upon arrival i’d arranged for airport transfer to my hotel because I hate getting ripped off by taxis at airports. As soon as the driver saw where I was staying he was reluctant to go there because he felt it was a dangerous neighborhood. I was staying in the city center. My driver instructed me not to look at my phone with the window rolled down because someone was likely to steal it right out of my hands and run off, apparently this happened to him the day before. On the way to my hotel a bus hit his car and took off his side mirror. He yelled at the bus driver who just shrugged and drove off. The hotel I stayed at was the Ash White Hotel. It was in an old dilapidated building, but at $22 per night, with a clean bed, wifi and a private bathroom I couldn’t complain.
The staff was super friendly and helpful and the building had a lift so there’s not much room to complain. I’d been warned of pick pockets from several other travelers, but my room had a safe in it so I was able to put all my valuables in there before leaving to walk around the city.
Nairobi is a very busy place with even more pedestrians than cars. The traffic is definitely in the top five worst i’ve experienced in the world coming in at number four behind Tehran, Los Angeles and Cairo.
I walked all over the city and stumbled across the Kenyan Supreme Court House. I was taking a picture through the gate and a security guard came out. I thought I was in trouble, but actually it turned out there was a museum on the bottom floor and he invited me in to give me a tour!
The museum was actually pretty interesting! It displayed the history of Kenyan law from colonial times when they were a British colony, through their independence in 1962, up until today. They adopted the rule of Common Law from the British.
After leaving the museum I headed back towards my hotel. The weather was beautiful, sunny and 70 degrees. I took a few photos on the way.
When I was finally back in the part of town my hotel was in, I took a photo of a bus that had “FBI” and “Quantico” written on it, I found this a kinda funny since most of the busses had murals of famous American rappers like Jay Z and Tupac on them. I was approached by a young man that told me to stop taking photos or he would “Beat the hell out of me.” Rather than call his bluff I put my phone away and went to my hotel.
For dinner I went to a restaurant right by my hotel that served traditional Kenyan food. It was quite good but the power wasn’t on when I went in. All the tables were taken but the waitress just had me sit in a table in the corner that another guy was at trying to read a newspaper by candle light. Half way through my meal the power turned back on and I noticed all the TV’s were bolted to the wall in steel cages, to ward off would be thieves.
All in all I could see why people have warned me that Nairobi is a dodgy city but I met an equal amount of charming friendly folks for all the dodgy arseholes.
I’m sure I’ll be back some day.
