Advertisement
Published: February 22nd 2018
Edit Blog Post
Sunday 11 February – still in Nairobi! After an excellent breakfast (which I had missed the 2 previous mornings due to the tours starting early) I decided to get stuck into my blog and to further plan my earlier exit from Nairobi, perhaps by flying to Mozambique rather than having to go to South Africa.
After lunch, I caught a taxi to the Nairobi National Museum Tours. There are no metred taxis but they have a book which tells them how much to change going from A to B. There is such a dominance of paper-based systems – receipting, accommodation, etc etc. and yet I am sure there is one mobile phone for each of the 48.5 million Kenyans!
The National Museum of Kenya opened in 1930 as a place for local naturalists to collect and display their specimens. But in 2005, the museum doors closed, and the once archaic structure got a much-needed facelift. Today, it houses more than mere evidence of Kenya’s unique flora and fauna (although its massive East African bird collection is impressive, and the botanical garden and nature trail were perfect for afternoon wandering).
In addition to biological wonders, the National Museum now houses galleries that examine the rich culture and traditions of its numerous tribes, outline the nation’s history, and even galleries that display the talents of Kenya’s contemporary modern artists.
I thoroughly enjoyed the visit. The only technology they had in the museum was 4 TV screens which described the history of money, including through the English occupation and through to the 1963 Independence and beyond, the life of many of the 42 tribes in Kenya, particularly described by Joy Adamson, as well as the political path to independence.
I then returned to the hotel and for the rest of the afternoon, I blogged and confirmed my flight and accommodation to Maputo in Mozambique.
During the evening, I had dinner on the 10
th floor of the Diamond Plaza Cloud Hotel. There was a lovely sunset so sipping on a cold beer while I waited for my dinner to arrive and pounding the keys of my computer to get some of my blog done, was the order of the night.
Monday 12 February 2018 – still in Nairobi but only until tomorrow After I woke and loaded some photos on my blog (the wifi was excellent in Nairobi) I had a lovely breakfast on the 10
th floor – fruit, omelette and coffee. I then returned to me room to do more admin stuff. At about 11.00am I checked out of the hotel and caught a taxi to the easy Hotel Kenya which was close to the International Airport.
I called Mary at the Australian High Commission and she couldn’t tell me if my passport was going to be processed any quicker that the 1
st March!! She said to let her know if I wanted the passport to be delivered to another address. I decided to discuss the issue with the Mozambique guide when I get to Maputo. Tom & the tour arrive in Maputo on Wednesday 14 February.
It took about 45 minutes to get to my new hotel, the Easy Hotel Kenya which was near the Kenyatta International Airport so that I didn’t have to battle the
incredible traffic of Nairobi.
It’s really interesting to watch Kenyan decision-making. I discussed the direction and route to the new hotel, with the taxi driver before we started and he showed me on his Google Maps where he was going to drive. Suddenly, I heard him say “too expensive”. He turned off the highway into a side street and I realised he was dodging the toll roads. I knew we were going right in the middle of the CBD. It was a grid-lock. Kenyans have got plenty of time but no money, so hence the decision of the taxi driver. I decided to sit back and leave him to it. I also had the time.
All afternoon at the lovely hotel, I did my blog etc. They had a lovely restaurant where I had dinner with a cold beer. I went up on the rooftop bar but didn’t stay there for too long. I had a great sleep and was ready for my flight to Maputo, the capital of Mozambique.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.132s; Tpl: 0.016s; cc: 10; qc: 26; dbt: 0.089s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb