68 – “Nairobbery” (Addis to Nairobi – part 5)
Tue 2nd Feb, New Kenya Lodge, Nairobi, Kenya
Woken up by the same joker who brought us to the hotel, he just hangs around and gets under our skin. He tells us the checkout time is 9am and we need to clear. I can’t be bothered with him, but we needed to sort out transportation and so left the place.
The Polish guys left on the matutu for Nanyuki (200 KSH), the gateway town to Mount Kenya where they were headed. I went on a matutu, a seven seater van, (650 KSH) to Nairobi. Waited for the Aussies at the matutu station but they didn’t turn up so i left.
The journey was mostly on good road and way more comfortable than the last 4 days. I even managed to snooze a couple of times. We reached Nairobi around 3pm, roughly a 4-5 hour trip. Nairobi looks like a very modern city, more developed central district than the other central areas in other cities i based myself in. The matutu dropped me in the matutu area. I was a bit apprehensive about being in Nairobi, since it had the honour of being one of the most dangerous cities in the world to live in. I found the New Kenyan Lodge, a cosy little place with shared dorms at 500 KSH. There is a comfortable living room area where i can sit and watch tv and meet with others. The place is also popular with the Jap traveler crowd, so it must appear in those Japanese or Korean travel guides that i see the carry. So the hotel area i am in is relatively safe, as long as i watch my valuables and avoid going out at night.
Took a shower. It feels good to be clean. And i went out to the streets to get some food. There is a bit of a fast food culture here, with fish and chips, as well as chicken, being sold and ate at the counters, standing up even. Living costs can get rather expensive here though, since a decent fast food meal set me back around 440 KSH, for a quarter chicken and fries, plus fruit juice.
Came back before dark, with all the stories here, it pays to be careful. The hotel is a cosy place, where i meet other travelers to get info etc.