Up’s and Down’s of city life

By Hans

The late Dan Aldon wrote; "the journey is my destination." That is what crossed my mind as I imagined the long and exhausting journey to Nairobi. Leaving Mombasa, the scenery was filled with green hills littered with palm trees and small villages. The Coast is truly blessed!

Then the total surprise — the Mombasa-Nairobi dual carriageway. Is this highway for real? It looked like a mirage. The trip was wonderful, the bus comfortable and the driver competent. We were on Uhuru Highway at around 7am and I was shell-shocked by the gridlocked traffic jam and the aggressive driving style of Nairobians. Giving way is not a priority. How lucky we are at the Coast where there is less traffic and the drivers are more polite and courteous.

A view of the city of Nairobi

I dropped off at Bellevue Cinema and my host, Elphas Navaisha, picked me up. He is a procurement manager who also studies in the evening at JKUAT. He has extra rooms in his house and rents them out to visitors. His dog Ella welcomed me and made me feel quite at home. Rukia the house-help cooked an excellent dinner over which we planned the days ahead.

Friendly Service

For transport, I found Kariuki and hired his taxi for Sh3,500 a day. This was inclusive of fuel and driver, a fair deal I thought. My first appointment was the next morning at 9am with a journalist friend based at Finance House. He introduced me to Savannah Coffee Lounge on Loita Street. What a perfect place to meet people. It has an international feel, fast service, friendly and serves excellent coffee in big cups. I realised this was a favourite meeting place for business people so in the next few days I met people there.

On a separate occasion, I had a meeting on the third floor of the Kenyatta International Conference Centre and, for me, it was a great problem understanding how things work. Being from the ‘rural’ area, I felt utterly lost. First, I was directed to a side entry where I could not see the elevators. I decided to use the staircase.

Later, I found the elevators. It took a while before I learnt that one has to press their desired floor and wait to be shown which lift to enter before getting into one. This is the first time I have encountered this technology.

Confusing Lifts

Before I discovered how it works, I got into a lift and it went straight up to 24th floor! I desperately looked for the panel to press my floor I wanted but it got to the ground floor.

Thankfully, a good Samaritan showed me how the lift works. To get to the third floor, I had to either press the number two or four and then walk either up or down. Needless to say, I got late for my appointment.

Keywords:travel; Nairobi ; city life

Up’s and Down’s of city life

By Hans

The late Dan Aldon wrote; "the journey is my destination." That is what crossed my mind as I imagined the long and exhausting journey to Nairobi. Leaving Mombasa, the scenery was filled with green hills littered with palm trees and small villages. The Coast is truly blessed!

Then the total surprise — the Mombasa-Nairobi dual carriageway. Is this highway for real? It looked like a mirage. The trip was wonderful, the bus comfortable and the driver competent. We were on Uhuru Highway at around 7am and I was shell-shocked by the gridlocked traffic jam and the aggressive driving style of Nairobians. Giving way is not a priority. How lucky we are at the Coast where there is less traffic and the drivers are more polite and courteous.

I dropped off at Bellevue Cinema and my host, Elphas Navaisha, picked me up. He is a procurement manager who also studies in the evening at JKUAT. He has extra rooms in his house and rents them out to visitors. His dog Ella welcomed me and made me feel quite at home. Rukia the house-help cooked an excellent dinner over which we planned the days ahead.

Friendly Service

For transport, I found Kariuki and hired his taxi for Sh3,500 a day. This was inclusive of fuel and driver, a fair deal I thought. My first appointment was the next morning at 9am with a journalist friend based at Finance House. He introduced me to Savannah Coffee Lounge on Loita Street. What a perfect place to meet people. It has an international feel, fast service, friendly and serves excellent coffee in big cups. I realised this was a favourite meeting place for business people so in the next few days I met people there.

On a separate occasion, I had a meeting on the third floor of the Kenyatta International Conference Centre and, for me, it was a great problem understanding how things work. Being from the ‘rural’ area, I felt utterly lost. First, I was directed to a side entry where I could not see the elevators. I decided to use the staircase.

Later, I found the elevators. It took a while before I learnt that one has to press their desired floor and wait to be shown which lift to enter before getting into one. This is the first time I have encountered this technology.

Confusing Lifts

Before I discovered how it works, I got into a lift and it went straight up to 24th floor! I desperately looked for the panel to press my floor I wanted but it got to the ground floor.

Thankfully, a good Samaritan showed me how the lift works. To get to the third floor, I had to either press the number two or four and then walk either up or down. Needless to say, I got late for my appointment.