Culture shock in Nairobi

  Nairobi, Kenya
Sunday, November 27, 2005

Hi Everyone,

We are on a much faster internet connection so we can finally write our entry about our short stay in Nairobi. Unfortunately we can't post any pictures yet. It seems so far all the internet cafes we have come across will not let you upload anything onto their systems. I guess in case of a virus. Hopefully we will be able to post some soon.

We arrived quite late at the Nairobi airport and our hotel shuttle picked us up. Although the 20 minute ride was on a highway we got our first taste of Africa right away. The driver pointed out dozens of gazelles along the side of the road.

At our hotel it was a madness of traffic and people, even at the late hour of midnight. We were warned about the dangers of Nairobi, and it was apparent right from our arrival. We had to walk thorough security guards and a metal detector to enter our hotel. Once inside it was a warm and friendly welcome though.



I slept well being so exhausted from a lack of sleep from the days before. Jack was not so lucky. The whole realization of what we were doing and the immediate culture shock were a bit too much to handle. He was awake most of the night worrying about what kind of challenges we would have to face the next day.

We were both up at 6am , our bodies were so out of whack from the time change. We found a complimentary postcard on the desk in our room. It was an artists rendition of the area outside our hotel. To our surprise it shows among the buildings and people a man running away with a ladies purse and a policeman with his back to the whole incident. The bottom of the card reads "It happens at the Hilton" How nice even the hotel depicts the crime on their postcards! When we looked out the window we were shocked to see tons of people already scurrying about the streets. It was way busier at 6am than any given hour in downtown Vancouver .

After breakfast we asked if there were any areas of the city we should avoid. We were told to stick to an area of about 4 square city blocks to the west of our hotel. Any where else you wanted to go you were advised to take a taxi. I don't know if it is really that bad in Nairobi or if this is a ploy of the hotels to keep you at the hotel. That way they hope you will spend more money. Or maybe they just want to make money from arranging taxi rides for you.

In the hotel and on the streets as we walked we got pestered by people. Most of them chanting safari, safari, and shoving pamphlets in our face. The main reason tourists come to Nairobi is to take a Safari. I don't think many people come to just visit the city. Our anxiety levels started to rise as we felt more an more uncomfortable, there didn't seem to be many other tourists so we were more of a target for the touts selling stuff.

We wanted to book a safari but didn't know who we could trust, you have to be very careful, there are lots of rip offs. Even the people in our hotel seemed dodgy. Considering they want cash too is of a concern. We ditched into another hotel known as a travelers hangout. We approached a family with 3 small children. We asked if they had booked anything. It turned out they are a family from Squamish B.C. and have been living in Tanzania for the last 2 years because of the husbands work. They were just in Kenya for a few days to do some Xmas shopping. They could see how stressed we were and offered to help in anyway they could. They suggested getting out of Kenya and coming to Tanzania to do a safari. It is much more laid back in Tanzania and thought we would feel more comfortable.

They were nice enough to give us a ride to the shopping mall they were headed to. I can't even begin to describe the traffic. We thought we had seen it all in our past travels through Greece and Turkey . This was beyond compare. Cars were zig zagging in all directions, cutting each other off, making up their own lanes as they go along and parking in the road, even on the highway. Speeding traffic was everywhere with pedestrians weaving there way through it like they were invincible to being hit! Even the highway was madness, you have to keep your windows up and the doors locked. People are walking up the sides of the road and down the middle of the lanes through the traffic trying to sell you anything from plastic beach balls to live puppies!

We finally arrived at the mall in one piece, barely! It was very modern, once inside it was just like a big mall in Vancouver. We felt comfortable there knowing we were not going to be bothered by anyone.

Anyways we have the contact info for the family in Tanzania, we will be calling them and the wife will help us arrange a safari through a friend of hers. She is willing to help us with anything else we may need. We are getting the heck out of Nairobi , the family is used to Africa and even they said they feel uneasy here. They have given us a hotel recommendation in the town of Arusha in Tanzania. We have booked a shuttle bus to get there. Ahhhh stress relief for both of us. Our recommendation if you are coming to East Africa, skip Nairobi and pay the extra to fly to Tanzania to do your safari or make sure you have your safari and other arrangements prebooked so that you are not having to do it when you are in Nairobi. I'm sure lots of people have had great experiences in Kenya once you get outside of the big cities like Nairobi . For us it was a little too much all at once. Maybe Nairobi was not the best choice for our first place to visit on this trip.

Despite the fact that we were probably magnifying how we felt because of this being our first stop on the trip, we just didn't feel welcomed here at all. We couldn't even get a hello or thank you from clerks in the few shops and food markets that we went into.

Nairobi was not as hot as we thought it would be, I think it was about 70F. They have the Kenyan shilling as their money. About 74 shilling equals 1 US dollar. From what we could see most of the city is derelict looking skyscrapers and buildings, very industrial looking. Across from our hotel were 3 small take out places all in a row. Pizza Inn, Chicken Inn, and Creamy Inn, don't ask! It took us almost an hour to figure out how to work a payphone with an international phone card. They have a 6 day work week, and start the day very early. I think it is because the sun sets early at 6pm.

See you in Tanzania !