Smile - You're in Kenya!

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Two years ago I didn't believe that the traffic in Nairobi could get worse, but how wrong could I be. We crawled along from the airport past broken down lorries and wrecked cars, through muddy streets flanked by muddier verges that only rarely sported actual curbs. Overhead the sky was gray and murky, and somewhere in between, Nairobi's giant 'pigeons' with their huge 5-6ft wingspans lurked while feeding on the ample rubbish discarded all around. Despite the excruciating pace however, it truly is great to be back.

Nairobi is a bold, 'in your face' type of city. Not for everyone perhaps, but I would love to experience living here long-term.

I'd noticed new carpet down in the airport, but it hasn't changed much. Service is fast though and I was through immigration, baggage claim and customs faster than in almost any other airport I've known. A huge sign above the concourse proclaimed "Smile - You're in Kenya!" I think this was the moment I truly realised, and actually accepted deep down, that I was back. I did smile, and boy did it feel good.

Last time I stayed in an upmarket hotel; today I made my way to the Nairobi Backpackers hostel a couple of streets further over. The courtyard here is as muddy as the surrounding streets and the rooms are bare and basic, but the welcome is both genuine and heartfelt. It may be a far cry from the hostels in Livingstone and that wondrously well-maintained city of Windhoek, but I think I'm going to like it here.

I ventured out in the afternoon to go shopping and after a short bus-ride costing the equivalent of just 25p, found myself at the modern shopping centre called Yaya. Spread over four floors linked by glass-fronted lifts and wide open escalators it almost seemed like being back in Europe. There was even a health food ship boasting much the same products as you would find in any Holland and Barret! I stayed only long enough to get a new Sim for my phone, buy a local paper and have a rather lovely lunch of grilled Calamari.

Back home I tried to sleep some more, but was woken by the loudspeakers of a nearby political rally. A presidential election is coming up and the placards are everywhere. This one supported the sitting president, but there are a myriad of others. I think I shall go to the bar (which is rather wonderfully, a self-service affair), and sit it out.

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