We arrived in Nairobi early in the morning at 4 AM and started our adventure. The minute we landed we had to wait in a long queue to get our ETAs checked. To make sure we could access internet, we faced another queue at the Safaricom desk at the airport. I bought 20 GB of data, which was enough for our 11-day stay in Kenya. Safaricom has good 5G service almost everywhere, even in remote areas like the Maasai Mara and the coast. We also set up M-Pesa on our phones, which is a way to send money and pay for things via mobile. This was really useful because using credit cards sometimes costs extra.
First, we went to Rapunzel Hair Salon in Westlands, close to where we were staying at Taarifa Suites, to get Slim Box Braids. It took a long time, from 6:30 AM to 2:30 PM, but it was worth it because the braids looked great. At this point in time we were exhausted, so we went back to our hotel to rest before going out to dinner.
Since we were advised not to walk alone in the streets by night time, we took an Uber to Carnivore, that we had booked a few days ago. Make sure you guide the driver to the right location because it can be tricky to find. Don’t expect the driver to know the place, Nairobi is huge and this is a popular place among tourists, not locals. Carnivore it’s a fun place and offers an all you can eat deal for 30$, excluding the drinks. The staff is very organised and profeswional and the atmosphere was also very on the point. They walk around offering various meat dishes for you to try. We tasted crocodile meat, which tasted somewhat like a mix of fish and chicken, and ostrich meat, which was similar to chicken but with a unique flavor. This wrapped up our first evening in Nairobi.
When we came back to Nairobi, we went to Nairobi Street Kitchen in the evening. We passed through security and entered a fantastic atmosphere. There was good music playing, and various kiosks in the area offered street food, pizza, and other types of delicious snacks. Despite being called “street” food, these kiosks had proper kitchens and were very clean, so there was nothing to worry about. It’s a cool spot with a dance area and shops that sell cool African clothes. A place not to be missed!
After a crazy night, we woke up at 5:30 am for the next adventure, “Sweet Valentine’s Run” outside the city. Our Uber driver tried some monkey business by asking us to cancel the ride and pay through M-Pesa. It’s best not to agree to such offers; our experience was not pleasant. The driver was preparing the terrain to ask us for more money.
A running event in Kenya is always huge. it was held at a beautiful resort surrounded by nature. We met the race organizer, who was very friendly, and he told us that they host this running event every three months with different themes. I accidentally joined the 31K runners and ended up running 11K instead of 8K, but I enjoyed it. Even thought it was too much struggle to run uphill in 2100m Altitude. I really liked the fact that they didn’t call it a race. Everyone who finished the race received a medal, but they didn’t give out awards for the top three places.
After the running event, we took a shower in our hotel room, had breakfast, and then visited the Maasai Market. It was smaller than I had imagined, but there were countless items available for purchase — earrings, necklaces, textiles, clothes, various home decor items. I even bought a small leather stool.
Here's some advice if you go to Maasai Market:
- Bring enough cash because things are cheap, and you can buy lots of gifts.
- NEGOTIATE, NEGOTIATE, NEGOTIATE
- Keep your money and phone safe because it’s very crowded.
- It’s a good idea to buy many of one item from one seller and then go to another seller for different items.
- You might spend around three hours shopping and bargaining.
After the market, we packed up at the hotel and prepared for our train trip to Mombasa the next morning. The first-class tickets were sold out, so we purchased regular tickets beforehand. We arrived a bit late and had to hurry through security. They checked our luggages like in the airport and after that, we left them in front of us in a line and 2 dogs came to sniff each of them. However we managed to board our six hour ride to Mombasa.
This trip to Nairobi showed us the city’s lively culture and fun places to explore.
