Nairobi: Not too bad after all
After all the horror stories we’ve heard over the years about Nairobi – ‘Nai-robbery’ – and its cockroach-infested hotels (even at 4-star level), we weren’t exactly excited about our arrival on Thursday. In fact, when we first started planning this trip we tried to see if we could do it by excluding Nairobi altogether. Eventually we realised that Nairobi was unavoidable and it subsequently became the crux of the whole trip as the main air hub for East Africa.
So far, 24 hours in, we’ve been pleasantly surprised. Sure, the shuttle bus from the airport mentioned on various websites (including Ihatetaxis.com!) doesn’t seem to exist after all, but we took a cab without too much trouble or hassle (compared with, say, the airport at Kathmandu, or the bus station at Siam Reap etc). And less than a 1km from the airport, we were already seeing giraffes out the window.
The budget hotels in Nairobi are much-maligned if web reviews are anything to go by, but we found the Downtown Hotel to be pretty decent – it’s clean, there’s hot water (sometimes), and so far, not a cockroach to be found. (On a related point, there was a cicada on our plane from Doha that flew onto our seats and was mistaken for a cockroach by one of the flight attendants…) Meanwhile, there are plenty of restaurants on our street and a well-stocked supermarket across the road, 10 times better than any we saw in three months in West Africa.
After sleeping through most of yesterday afternoon and evening after the long flight from London, we took a short walk around the city this morning to run some errands and, apart from the odd beggar and safari tout, got everything done pretty easily. It hasn’t felt scary on the streets (though we haven’t gone beyond the downstairs restaurant at night) and no one has tried to pick-pocket us (a far cry from the Senegalese capital Dakar, where multiple attempts per day are the norm). So far we can conclude that either a) we have been pretty lucky, or b) most of the people who come to Nairobi are first-time Africa visitors and haven’t had as much third-world experience as we have, or a bit of both.
So, while there’s nothing particularly interesting in Nairobi, it’s proven to be a far more pleasant place than what we expected, and we’re off to a good start. After two nights here sorting out some things, we’re off to the Masai Mara National Park tomorrow for the wildebeest migration and hopefully many other highly anticipated animal sightings.
Tags: Africa, airport giraffes, East Africa, Kenya, Nairobi
Nick
Hi Wanderings,
We noticed your post included a mention of our site and are grateful for the firsthand information regarding Nairobi airport. IHT has been updated accordingly. Please drop us a line if you notice any other mis-information based on your experiences.
Many thanks
Jane
IHateTaxis.com
Hi Jane,
We looked and asked around but no one knew anything about the shuttle and there were no signs. We walked all around the outside of the airport, so I guess it’s safe to say the shuttle is not running. There are local buses running into town for 50 shillings that leave about 100-200m from the airport on the road heading out (ahead of you and slightly to the right if you exit from the main doors at international arrivals).
Hope that helps,
Nick