I'm staying at the Nairobi Hilton, as I mention yesterday. It is located in Nairobi Central, which is an extremely busy part of the city. I'm located on the 14th floor of a 15 floor of the hotel, so it gives me about a 180 degree look around the hustle /bustle city, the far away mountains and parks. The traffic is horrendous around this area. Buses and trucks seem to be the primary vehicles on the city streets. The traffic lights seem to be more of a suggestion than a rule.
Interesting enough I look outside my window of the hotel and I can account for about a dozen "schools". I googled all them and surprised to find them all private proprietary schools started within the last 20 years. Most are business, computer, travel/tourism. A few, like the Royal Business School and Zetech College are CPA testing sites. The Nairobi Aviation College has several branches and includes aviation business operations and aircraft maintenance. And what would be an education center of schools without...Ashley's Hair and Beauty School. There is an American based WAC school, Alliant International University located here as well, there is one located in San Diego too. Okay I see no Kaplan school...so Andy let's get going. There are 3 million people living here and looking at all the school websites could use a little "sophistication".
About 11AM, it started to rain, as I was sitting out by the pool deck having a late breakfast, complete with armed security guard. Very few times have I seen it rain so hard and loud as it hit the cement deck and the pool. It only lasted about 20 minutes.
Okay time to do a "walk about", the first thing I notice is that I'm the only white caucasian walking the streets. Does that make me a little nervous, you bet it does. But, after a few hellos and smiles from the locals, I feel much better, though I do get a few notorious glares from a few others. The information I read said to be sure not to dress "flashy or noticeable". Also not to wear shorts, which I thought a bit odd considering that Nairobi sets near the Equator. But, unlike the Amazon, it is quite mild around 84 degrees at 3PM, with a constant breeze. One of the reasons for the milder temperature is that Nairobi is 5,500 feet above sea level, higher than Denver. They were right about the shorts, no one wears them despite the warm temperatures. Most people dress very conservatively, both women and men in dark slacks/dresses and light colored (generally white) short sleeve shirts/blouses/tops. I guess I was expecting more of an African dress influence, but Nairobi is not far removed from being an English run colony, getting its independence in 1963. The English influence is still present, especially since the primary first language in Kenya is English, the native language is swahili.
There really isn't any "shopping" markets or kiosks in this area. This is a government and education area of the city, so you don't see any "tourists" around. I walk around and don't see much to "visit" so I decide to go back to my hotel base. Again, as yesterday, there is only one entrance into the hotel from an armed 2 man post with a red and white gate. I show my passport and room key. After a visual by one of the guards I'm shown through with smiles and a "have a good day". Then it is on to the front door and throughout the metal detector. Didn't shoot any pictures today, since no one on the street was doing so. I didn't want to stand out too much, though it was obvious that I did.
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