By Hans

I realised the effects of the stressful traffic jams in the city were quickly getting to me. I can only imagine the state of people’s nerves by the time they arrive at their workplace in the morning and back to their homes in the evening.

I have also discovered that a typical African solution to an African problem is a party. On weekends and at the end of each month, Nairobi swings as people relax and have a good time in different joints.

One Friday evening, my friends took me to a nyama choma place in South B that was packed with a happy crowd making no move to go home. We also went to Tacos where I felt quite at home. From the long bar, I watched the mainly young crowd dance to the good music. On the veranda was an even younger crowd.

Our last stop was in Westlands, which is a haven for socialites. First, we started by bar hopping at different bars but we finally ended up at Black Diamond where we virtually had to push our way in. Inside I found a more sophisticated crowd. The atmosphere was pleasant, too, especially on the large terrace with beautiful girls dressed to kill.

A gigantic statue of mother and child stands at the entrance to the Nairobi National Museum.

One of the most amazing things of that night was looking down at Mpaka Road at around 4am and seeing a traffic jam, probably even worse than in daytime! That street must be the place to been seen by the young and beautiful. There was no sign of recession in Nairobi that night.

A few hours’ sleep brought me to Saturday morning. As Chairman of the Malindi Museum Society, I was really keen to see the improvements at the Nairobi National Museum so I headed there. I was not disappointed — it looks spectacular. I saw that the inner courtyard is used for functions including weddings.

The Savannah Restaurant here was quite a disappointment. After I had enjoyed a meal at the one in town previously, this one was a pale shadow. The dÈcor and everything else looked tired. To make matters worse, the toilets were dirty with no seats.

Later, I went to the Arboretum for a HIV prevention and awareness programme. What a pleasant surprise! The park is beautiful, the roads good to walk on, jog, and be in tune with nature within the city. Though we were gatecrashers to the event, we were warmly welcomed and registered before being directed to an old type colonial house where one of three ladies from Kenya Aids Vaccine Initiative gave excellent (and sometimes funny) talks on sexually transmitted infections, access of care and services. The event was organised by a group called ISHTAR and was very educative and interesting.

Later, the facilitators (Solomon and Anthony) invited me to join them for a delicious lunch of pilau and fried meat. Again and again I am overwhelmed by the Kenyan hospitality. Where in the world can a stranger just pop in at an event and be invited for lunch?