Nairobian Nights, Part 1
The Flight Out,
Well... my trip to Nairobi was not as trouble free as I had thought it'll be, that's for sure. First, I couldn't get on the bus I wanted, and missed my plane ride by a day, but the guys at the Egyptian Airline was nice enough to put me on standby (with no extra charge), so I have no idea when I am leaving Nairobi.
The Border,
Then, there is the boarder crossing. Which I have to run to catch my bus, as it was leaving without me.... The guys at the boarder took a little longer with me (being the only non Kenyan/Tanzanian on-board), and I have to go change money to pay for my visa... Man....I thought I was going to be stranded at this boarder town. Good thing there is this short cut that cut across this turn on the road.... .
The first 10 Minuets,
8PM, Nairobi. After 12 hour on the bus, I just wanted a place in Nairobi to lie down. I looked at the guide book, and the nearest guest house is just a block away. Oh good, I don't want to go far in this town at night. I had read the warnings in the guide books about this place. There is this thing call 'Nairobbery', which is used by Kenyans to descried the daily muggings and robberies. But it is only a block away, I said. So, I walked out of the bus station with the huge backpack on my back. As soon as I did that, one of the security guards at the station approached me, and go to length to tell me it is not safe to do this.....but it is only a block away, I said....No matter, this guy decided to escort me on my way down the street, with a club in one hand, and a whip on the other.... (I think the guy was after a tip, or commissions from the hotel).
Not 20 meters down the road, we ran into this three heavily armed police/army guys, all with sub-machine guns, whom proceeded to ask us questions, and wanted to see my passport, and even my yellow card (immunization record). They proceeded to check my visa, and said it expired....What? I just got that 3 hours ago! It turns out, that in the dim light the guy thought he saw August 2nd, instead of August 12th.(I think that wanted bribes, if they can find any irregularities in the paper work) So they decided to let me go, and proceeded to walk me to my guest house. Which is only 30 meters away now. So, Here I am... guarded by 3 armed police with machine guns, and a security guard waving his whip, walking down this dark alley...This is Nairobi? The capital city?
Well, I got to the guest house unscratched (physically at least). A little hungry, but a lot more afraid of going outside now. "There is a restaurant across the street, if you run real fast, it'll only take ten seconds max.... you should be Okay", one Japanese guest staying there joked. I don't think he was joking, because coupled with Nairobi's frequent power outages (twice in my first night there), I think I'll wait for breakfast. It is daylight now, things are picking up. Lively town (in day time).
Well... my trip to Nairobi was not as trouble free as I had thought it'll be, that's for sure. First, I couldn't get on the bus I wanted, and missed my plane ride by a day, but the guys at the Egyptian Airline was nice enough to put me on standby (with no extra charge), so I have no idea when I am leaving Nairobi.
The Border,
Then, there is the boarder crossing. Which I have to run to catch my bus, as it was leaving without me.... The guys at the boarder took a little longer with me (being the only non Kenyan/Tanzanian on-board), and I have to go change money to pay for my visa... Man....I thought I was going to be stranded at this boarder town. Good thing there is this short cut that cut across this turn on the road.... .
The first 10 Minuets,
8PM, Nairobi. After 12 hour on the bus, I just wanted a place in Nairobi to lie down. I looked at the guide book, and the nearest guest house is just a block away. Oh good, I don't want to go far in this town at night. I had read the warnings in the guide books about this place. There is this thing call 'Nairobbery', which is used by Kenyans to descried the daily muggings and robberies. But it is only a block away, I said. So, I walked out of the bus station with the huge backpack on my back. As soon as I did that, one of the security guards at the station approached me, and go to length to tell me it is not safe to do this.....but it is only a block away, I said....No matter, this guy decided to escort me on my way down the street, with a club in one hand, and a whip on the other.... (I think the guy was after a tip, or commissions from the hotel).
Not 20 meters down the road, we ran into this three heavily armed police/army guys, all with sub-machine guns, whom proceeded to ask us questions, and wanted to see my passport, and even my yellow card (immunization record). They proceeded to check my visa, and said it expired....What? I just got that 3 hours ago! It turns out, that in the dim light the guy thought he saw August 2nd, instead of August 12th.(I think that wanted bribes, if they can find any irregularities in the paper work) So they decided to let me go, and proceeded to walk me to my guest house. Which is only 30 meters away now. So, Here I am... guarded by 3 armed police with machine guns, and a security guard waving his whip, walking down this dark alley...This is Nairobi? The capital city?
Well, I got to the guest house unscratched (physically at least). A little hungry, but a lot more afraid of going outside now. "There is a restaurant across the street, if you run real fast, it'll only take ten seconds max.... you should be Okay", one Japanese guest staying there joked. I don't think he was joking, because coupled with Nairobi's frequent power outages (twice in my first night there), I think I'll wait for breakfast. It is daylight now, things are picking up. Lively town (in day time).
posted by 54 at 2:00 AM
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