Fun in Nairobi (Kenya)

0 Comments

During my time in Nairobi I got time to explore the city and do some fun activities!

Giraffe Center

The Giraffe Center is one of the most famous places to visit in Nairobi so one day I woke up and took a matatu to town and then walked to the Kencom building and transferred to the city shuttle (#24B) heading to the Giraffe center.

The matatu left me approximately 2km from the Giraffe center entrance so I decided to walk for about 20 mins and then I had arrived!

You can walk or take a motorcycle... I walked!

The entrance was 1,000shillings (aprox $10) and so worth it! One can get up close to the giraffes and feed them or even get a kiss from them! haha

When I arrived the place was almost empty so I got to feed a lot of giraffes and talked to the staff about the center and what they do.

The baby, only a couple of weeks old!

While I was there I attended an info session where they shared that all the giraffes in the center are Rothschild giraffes (if you look at their legs they look like they have long white socks on) and after being in the center for some time they are released into the wild. I was a little worried about the likelihood of giraffes surviving in the wild after being raised in the center and they said that they monitor them closely to make sure they are ok and also emphasized that not all giraffes are capable of living in the wild so not all of them are released.

Chart of all the giraffes in the center.

The Giraffes are huuuuge animals, their hearts weight about 11kg and are 2 feet tall!!! crazy! In every pump 77liters of blood are release, I bet these animals’ bodies work really hard to be able to pump blood all the way to their head!!!

I also learned that each giraffe eats 35-65kgs per day, their speed is about 50km/hr, and they can only close their eyes for 5 minutes straight throughout the day!!! Crazy, again!

In the center I also saw the cutest baby warthogs, or Pumbas in Swahili. The translation of pumba is “foolish” or “stupid” and apparently they got that name because they have a very small brain and very short memory and in the wild when being chased by a lion they quickly forget that they are actually being chased so they stopped and get eaten!

After the visit I walked out and one of the guards asked me if I wanted to go for a walk in the forest so I did! The trail had a lot of plants but nothing really interesting other than being a relaxing walk in the woods.

Kibera Tour

One day I decided to go visit Kibera, the biggest slum in Nairobi. I always find it interesting to go see how the life in the slums is; I have been to soweto in South Africa, the Rosinha favela in Brazil, and a couple of slums in India so for $20 I booked a private tour in Kibera and see how some Kenyans live.

I got on a matatu that I thought was straight from Kinoo to Kibera but somewhere in between the matatu stopped, everybody got off, the guy gave me 10 shillings back and pointed to my next matatu.

I finally made it to Kibera and met with my guide, Lemmy. Together we walked to Toi market, a huge market full of used clothes and toys; while walking through the market I even saw some places with "indoor/outdoor" pool tables.

What impressed the most about Kibera was how much garbage there was all over the place. We were literally walking on top of garbage bags. In August 2017 the Kenyan government passed a law to ban plastic bags so hopefully that will help decrease the amount of garbage found in Kibera.

In all honesty the walk was a little yucky, especially when we had to walk and avoid the hundreds of poopy diapers, or the plastic bags with human waste coming out of them! I can't imagine what it is like to live with garbage all around and all the diseases that the garbage carries and the effect on the population.

A regular street in Kibera!

Burning some of the garbage. I bet all the toxics from the plastic are awful for people's health!

The first official stop with Lemmy was at an art gallery where people from Kibera have a space to create art and sell it.

Then we moved on to a bone art studio where they create necklaces and other pieces with bones... Not a vegetarian friendly place!

We also stopped to take a look at how the houses are built on top of each other and Lemmy pointed out the water problem in Kibera.

First of all the pipes that carry water along few of the streets of Kibera are many times broken and touch the garbage which makes the water dirty and carry diseases with it. Then people go to streams and clean themselves with the dirty water that goes and therefore get sick since the water is not clean.

Lemmy also explained that many of the streets do not have water so the government has placed some faucets along the streets were people can fill up their containers for a small fee.

See the water on the left, I saw people cleaning their face there.

Lemmy, the guide

"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world" Nelson Mandela

Another huge problem in Kibera is sanitation so Lemmy took me around to show me some latrines (big holes for people to go to the bathroom) and then some of the facilities that have been installed by NGOS around Kibera to help the people get access to clean toilets and showers.

Some of the toilets

The picture below shows a bio bathroom sponsored by the French government for a cleaner Kibera. People can use the toilets and showers for a small fee; this one is particularly interesting since it is using the human excrements to produce heat and get hot water for showers... clever!

We ended our visit in a viewpoint of Kibera. To be honest it was heart breaking! But although people really live in poverty here they have normal lives! I walked through town and saw people selling charcoal, fruit, vegetables, having a hair saloon, a chapati stand; children screaming mzungu at me and playing like kids in any other neighborhood.

Standing in the viewpoint I could see how big Kibera is and how much this community is in need of help.

Visiting places like this really puts life in perspective and it reminds me of how much I need to be thankful for.

To book: https://www.facebook.com/diddyskiberatour/

Downtown Nairobi and KICC

I love chaos so I loved Nairobi's CBD and its craziness!

My friend Lucy told me not to go to River Road by myself but, since I tend not to listen to people, I looked it up on my map and realized I had been there before, many times! I ventured to downtown Nairobi every week to go get materials for the school I volunteered at and for changing busses to go to different parts of Nairobi.

While walking the streets in the CBD I felt very safe, never anybody followed me or was weird. On the contrary, people were extremely helpful when I asked where to go catch busses or had questions about stores in the area.

Walking on those streets requires some coordination and sense of direction as one can easily get lost or overwhelmed by the amount of people and the crazy traffic. Sidewalks are full of street vendors selling fruit and vegetables, underwear, reusable bags, knock off bags, shoes, and pretty much any thing imaginable!

During peak hour it is easier to walk on the main street trying to avoid getting hit by cars and busses rather than being squeezed in between the people on the sidewalk.

Need some undies? You can always find a guy selling them on the sidewalk!

Moi Avenue

Uluru park.

KICC

The KICC, Kenyatta International Convention Center, is located in the CBD and it is the largest convention center in East Africa. For $5 people can go up to the 27th floor and then walk up to the helipad and get an amazing view of Nairobi!

Here I am on top of the KICC!

View of Masai Market from KICC

View of CBD

Masai Market

On saturdays and Sundays there is a Masai Market in downtown nairobi in a parking lot next to the KICC and it is the perfect place to get Masai souvenirs to take home.

To be honest as a mzungu you get taken advantage of so make sure you bring your A game when it comes to bargaining. Before heading to the market I asked my friends about prices and they suggested to bargain at least 50% of the price and to also check out some of the Masai stores near the CBD as many times those prices are cheaper.

The Masai market is super cool and they sell so many trinkets that we don't need but are nice to look at.

I definitely didn't need one of these but got one anyway! haha

Leather drums!

Musical Instruments

The jewelry were my favorite! The beaded Masai necklaces, earrings, and bracelets are super pretty but also come at a very high price for mzungus. I wanted to buy a pair of earrings and the price started at 900 shillings! (about $9) but a friend of a friend had told me that earrings were between 150-300 shillings so I bargained hard for them and got a pair for 250 and another for 200… not too bad!

They didn't have a mirror so they said to take a selfie! haha

People I got my earrings from and they kept on saying i needed to marry a good Kenyan guy! haha

So many necklaces!

Bracelets for days!!

Be prepared for a lot of vendors to (sort of) harass you and get you to buy something that you don’t need.

Masai shall!

Another typical thing to buy while in Kenya are the beautiful Masai sandals!!! I was lucky enough to get 2 pairs as gifts from friends... and they both were my size and SO BEAUTIFUL!

…If you can’t make it to the masai market on the weekends you can always go to the Masai market in Westlands across the street from Sarit Center.

Also, Nairobi is the perfect place to start your wild safari into the Masai Mara National Park. I got the name of this company with super affordable deals: http://www.bonfireadventures.com

About Post Author

Andrea

Hi! It's me... Andrea! In 2016 I decided to drop everything and take a year to enrich my life and travel around the world. It turns out the world is just too big for 12 months! Still on the road and sharing my experience as a solo female traveler around the globe!