After a 7-hour bus ride, I have finally arrived at Nairobi, the first stop of my crazy lonesome journey. What a beautiful city! After being in small-town Moshi for 5 weeks, Nairobi with it's concrete, traffic lights, gridlock, and skyscrapers reminded me of New York -- there is even a Central Park here!
I took the impala shuttle, which left Moshi at 6:30am dropped me off in the city centre at 3pm, where I found the Terminal Hotel. I got an adequate single room for 1700 Ksh (Kenyan Shillings), which is around $27 US. Clean room, sink, hot shower -- I was in heaven!
One benefit (and curse) of this large city are the abundant restaurants. On the first day, I had lahmacun, a Turkish pizza. This morning, I found a shnazzy coffee house that makes banana walnut pancakes to die for!
Later this afternoon, I visited the 30-floor Kenyatta Conference Center, the second highest building in Nairobi. At the top (105 meters), I was able to see all of Nairobi -- including the former site of the US Embassy (bombed by Al-Qaeda members in 1998), which is now a parking lot.
I wish I could show you pictures, but my computer is still in Tanzania. I promise to post pictures at the end of my trip.
I still want to visit the National Museum, Village Market, and a few contemporary art centres. Soon, I will leave for Kisumu, on the coast of Lake Victoria!
Turkish pizza in Nairobi! (And, I hear Turkey might be on your itinerary before finally coming home.) I hope as you keep soaking it all in that you can feel some friends with you and not feel quite so lonesome. Four of us had lunch together today and talked about the wonders of your journey, and the people and life you are encountering, that we are enjoying vicariously.
ReplyDelete--Diane