Day 1 - Nairobi, Kenya
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NAIROBI, KENYA.
The flight schedule to Madagascar left us with a 15-hour gap in Kenya. We’ve all had about one night’s worth of sleep in the last two nights combined, but that didn’t stop us from ordering a Bolt at 6:30 in the morning (yes, it’s the most common transport platform here too) to head into downtown Nairobi.
The flight schedule to Madagascar left us with a 15-hour gap in Kenya. We’ve all had about one night’s worth of sleep in the last two nights combined, but that didn’t stop us from ordering a Bolt at 6:30 in the morning (yes, it’s the most common transport platform here too) to head into downtown Nairobi.
As none of us had had any prior experience with sub-Saharan Africa, we didn’t really know what to expect. All in all, the picture turned out to be more positive than we had thought. Our first impression is that Nairobi feels a lot like any other big developing-world city. With 5 million inhabitants (about 10% of the country’s total population), at times it even feels like wandering through some Eastern European countries (Serbia, Bulgaria, Albania, Georgia…).
In some neighbourhoods, we probably wouldn’t want to walk alone for too long, but overall, the picture doesn’t differ much from Manila or Jakarta—there are both slums and luxury. If, for some yet unknown reason, we would have to move to Nairobi for a few years, we could probably set up life here quite comfortably.
In some neighbourhoods, we probably wouldn’t want to walk alone for too long, but overall, the picture doesn’t differ much from Manila or Jakarta—there are both slums and luxury. If, for some yet unknown reason, we would have to move to Nairobi for a few years, we could probably set up life here quite comfortably.
Since fatigue is hitting hard, we won’t go too deep into Nairobi today, but just a few quick facts:
- The average salary is €100–150.
- The climate is generally pleasant, with temperatures fairly stable year-round thanks to the equator. Around 15°C at night and 25–30°C during the day.
- It seems like a third of the city’s workforce is security guards—every shop has one or two, and banks have at least five. Haven’t seen this many Kalashnikovs in one day for a long time, and entering the airport required going through security checks three times.
- Why there are SO many guards, is unclear. We were advised to avoid certain areas, but the situation didn’t feel too extreme.
- Traffic chaos scores about 7.5/10. It seems manageable, definitely not as bad as in the Philippines.
- People are friendly, service is above average and everyone speaks English.
To wrap up the day, we visited a local coffee plantation—a medium-sized farm producing 70 tons of green beans a year. For Alex and Tomas, who had never been to a coffee plantation before, it was a great opportunity to walk through the whole process from start to finish before Madagascar. Halfway through the tour, we also got caught in a thunderstorm, making the experience all the more memorable.
Soon it’s time to board another flight and by tomorrow morning we’ll already be arriving in Antananana…rivo.