Nairobi, Kenya
We went from the least populated park to the most populated African city – Nairobi. We’re in the middle of watching the World Cup in a loud bar with comfy chairs and good shakes. We’ve heard warnings about Nairobi and read things in the guidebook but Scott and I haven’t encountered any sinister feelings of danger. Nairobi is a bustling, clean city that feels comfortable and safe. We even visited Uhuru Park, the site of six deaths due to grenades just within the last two weeks.
We left Hell’s Gate by foot, watching over 3 miles from our campsite to the main road. On the way, we passed woken zebras, impalas, and lots of warthogs. We passed a group of bicyclers and took one last look at Fisher’s Tower and the looming wall faces of the park. Even in the morning, the sun was hot. We were relieved to reach the main road and within a minute hop onto a matatu to Naivasha town. Once in town, we had equal luck getting into another matatu headed for Nairobi.
After a long stop-filled, corn in our face (they roast corn early in Kenya and had many enticing cobs before us. We resisted due to having no change but our driver gave us each pieces from his long cob), we finally arrived under a blanket of smog and into midday traffic. None of this could distract from Nairobi’s shininess, its sparkle. Nairobi is a huge cosmopolitan city with everyone wearing business clothes in the central city. We checked into out hotel, ate lunch, and wandered around the city with trash cans on every block and ended up at the US Embassy August 8th Memorial Garden – the site of the former US Embassy prior to the 1998 terrorist bombing by Al-Qaeda. It killed over 200 people and injured thousands. The same day, the US Embassy in Dar es Salaam was also bombed, but wasn’t nearly as devastating. We watched the brief documentary on the event and walked through the small museum and I was amazed at myself for not having any recollection of the event – it would’ve been the summer before my senior year at Greeley, the summer I first went to China to broaden my mind.
Afterward we ventured into a Kenyan supermarket, Tuskies, to buy snacks for an indulgence of Western culture – a movie. After our respective movies ended, we walked into a dark Nairobi, but no less busy and no more sinister. More shops were closed but many were still open and we slipped into a clean fast food restaurant (another western indulgence) for dinner. Now – as I’ve already mentioned – we’re in a busy bar. Spain is winning by one over Portugal. I smell a mix of cologne, cigarette smoke, and food.
We left Hell’s Gate by foot, watching over 3 miles from our campsite to the main road. On the way, we passed woken zebras, impalas, and lots of warthogs. We passed a group of bicyclers and took one last look at Fisher’s Tower and the looming wall faces of the park. Even in the morning, the sun was hot. We were relieved to reach the main road and within a minute hop onto a matatu to Naivasha town. Once in town, we had equal luck getting into another matatu headed for Nairobi.
After a long stop-filled, corn in our face (they roast corn early in Kenya and had many enticing cobs before us. We resisted due to having no change but our driver gave us each pieces from his long cob), we finally arrived under a blanket of smog and into midday traffic. None of this could distract from Nairobi’s shininess, its sparkle. Nairobi is a huge cosmopolitan city with everyone wearing business clothes in the central city. We checked into out hotel, ate lunch, and wandered around the city with trash cans on every block and ended up at the US Embassy August 8th Memorial Garden – the site of the former US Embassy prior to the 1998 terrorist bombing by Al-Qaeda. It killed over 200 people and injured thousands. The same day, the US Embassy in Dar es Salaam was also bombed, but wasn’t nearly as devastating. We watched the brief documentary on the event and walked through the small museum and I was amazed at myself for not having any recollection of the event – it would’ve been the summer before my senior year at Greeley, the summer I first went to China to broaden my mind.
Afterward we ventured into a Kenyan supermarket, Tuskies, to buy snacks for an indulgence of Western culture – a movie. After our respective movies ended, we walked into a dark Nairobi, but no less busy and no more sinister. More shops were closed but many were still open and we slipped into a clean fast food restaurant (another western indulgence) for dinner. Now – as I’ve already mentioned – we’re in a busy bar. Spain is winning by one over Portugal. I smell a mix of cologne, cigarette smoke, and food.
posted by Siapiau | 10:29 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home