Nairobi - the city

Nairobi – the city of contrasts. I think this is what can give the best description in short. Towers and small, dirty pubs. Matatus among luxury cars. Serving Nescafé in a coffee exporter country. Beautiful parks, with unemployed people spending their days there…

When I arrived to Nairobi, the first thing that amazed me was its size. I’ve never seen such a big city before. Or at least it seems to be big, I’m not completely sure. The next thing a European discovers is that they drive on the left, as in the UK. Not so easy to get used to. And for first sight, you just discover the huge number of roundabouts. Just like in France. This is what comes to you if you spend around an hour in Nairobi, coming from the airport. After one week… well, it’s a bit more I can tell about.

Streets. As I’ve mentioned, cars are driven on the left. This made me crazy in the first days. Always checking at the wrong way when trying to cross the road… a bit dangerous. After a few days’ time I’ve learnt that I have to check at least both the sides, then now I’m getting used to look only at the right side. It’s crazy. And, what’s more, there’s no passes that you can take to get to the opposite side. Traffic lights? Only at the most jammed places. If you want to cross, look for a hole in the system. It seems to be highly dangerous at first times, but then you realize that, as all people are doing the same, drivers got used to this and slow down a bit. Anyways, I think I will crashed by the first car when I get home to Hungary I guess… after a year like this.
The other important point about streets is the people getting around. They are not in a hurry at all. Some of them are just sitting in front of shop windows. Others are staring at you cos you’re white and they think you have money to give them. Others again even dare to get that money from you –pickpacking or mugging – my new friends here say, these happen quite often. Fortunately I haven’t experienced it yet, and I do everything to avoid making me easier with a cell phone or some money (or even my laptop!).

Transportation. There are 3 ways of getting to somewhere in Nairobi: by car (including taxis), by bus or matatu, or on your own feet. If you’re going by car that means you will end up in a serious traffic jam, no matter where you go. If you take the taxi, don’t forget: you mustn’t accept the price the driver offers. You always can go down to it.

Taking the bus or the matatu – well, that is a cultural experience. The biggest shock of my Ugandan friend in Nairobi (arrived a few days later than me) was that you have to get on the bus while it’s still moving. His second shock was that for certain buses you have to wait in a line for around an hour to get on! No surprise that he’s shocked… The kings on Nairobian roads are the bus and matatu drivers (btw, matatu equals to minibus) – do not try to cross the road when they’re coming. It doesn’t cost much to get from one place to another – though you have to pay based on the time of the day you want to go. In rush hours, the price can be double. You pay for a gentleman/lady who is there to take your money, to shout out if there’s more place on the matatu and to give a signal for the driver if someone wants to get off. And no way that more people are getting on than the number of the seats. In these cases police can grab drivers for high amounts of money. There is no time schedule – only the route is scheduled, but based on the driver’s decision sometimes you realize that you’re somewhere else than you’re supposed to be. Hakuna matata.

Getting on walking around the streets – that’s an adventure too. Taking care of your pockets and bags, seeming to be self-confident and very conscious about where you’re going, saying sawa for taxi drivers that want to take you, and hakuna pesa for the small children asking for money from you… And looking for the big blue building and the Nation building that can help you with the way to go. I think I’ve never seen such a dirty city. My black shoes are completely brown by dust, I always can feel the dust even on my face and in my eyes. But never mind. You can wash yourself when you arrive home.

Buildings and so. As I’ve said there are high towers in the centre of Nairobi, with small, cheap pubs just nearby on the ground. Modernization and poverty at the same time, at the same place. And parks around – your impression is that Nairobi has several big parks around. And yes, it does. Though, it’s not highly recommended to go there if you want to keep in safe. There is another shocking view on the outskirts: the slums. These estates are built of cheap things found somewhere around. You see small children playing on the ground with items they’ve found there. People are lying on the floor. And these estates are so big that you just understand: the unemployment rate of more than 60% is not a joke.

Today there was a bomb exploding in the centre of the town, at Moi Avenue. I passed by an hour later on my way to the office. No worries, I’m ok. Since I’m here, there was no day without reports about killed people, conflicts and so. After a while you don’t get shocked, and realize: humankind’s stupidity is endless. And you start to work even harder so as to make at least a little change on that.