Day 2 – Nairobi for Tourists

After breakfast, we headed out to see a very little bit of Nairobi, the capitol of Kenya. This was definitely Nairobi for Tourists.

A little perspective:

In 2019, Kenya has an estimated population of 52.57 million, which ranks 27th in the world. The last official census took place back in 2009 when it was confirmed that 38,610,097 people were living in the country. Nairobi’s total metro area population is estimated to be 6.5 million people. I am not sure if that number includes the estimated 1,000,000 ppl living in a sprawling corrugated tin “village” that borders the city. The village attracts people coming from the rural areas in search of better opportunities. You can see the village off in the near distance in center this picture.

Here are 2 closer shots of the “residential” area taken through our tour bus window. In fact, I took a lot of the pics during this trip through the tour bus window….

Here are a few fast moving but closer pics of a village “business” street.

People in the village are industrious. We passed many small stores and fruit stands as we drove through. Needless to say, the life of the average village dweller is very different from the tourist experience in the camps, lodges and resorts. There is no running water or sewer in this village, except for a few public toilet facilities. Our tour guide told us that he has been living in the village for some years. He said that he is quite comfortable there and the residents are pretty happy. It is probably obvious, but I’ll say it anyway, this gave me a whole new appreciation for the phrase “first world problems.”

Once we got through the village, we went to a small shopping center. Guess what we found:

Ahhhh! First world problem makers! Pizza Hut and KFC! Some of the best examples of the Standard American Diet (SAD) that we can offer any developing nation.

Inside the mall, there was a little grocery store with more western brands and foods and a health food store. Prices were a little high. I am pretty sure these establishments were not catering to the village residents.