A Summary of my Impressions of Kenya so far

[ernestombayo7]

I've been in Kenya for about 4 months now.for those Kenyans who have been away from home here is a small summary of developments and the general state of the country.kenguy and most posters have already done a good job of pictures.So mine will just be words.

Nairobi

Since the new Town clerk of nairobi Mr Kisia took over from John gakuo,there have been some positives and some negatives.I will start with the positives

1. Nairobi is much more cleaner and garbage collection has improved alot.The streets are generally clean except for the downtown areas after riverroad.

2.The Paving of the pedestrian walkways has really added to the orderliness of the streets.Though Mr Gakuo is credited for starting this project,am glad it hasn't stopped.One thing i hate is dusty streets which turn into mud pools when it rains.

3.The Council has done well in trying to enforce the noise laws.With the exception of Downtown nairobi,the CBD areas are pretty quite.The Music shops in this part of town have either switched off or turned down their radios.In short,there is less noise pollution which has reduced apparent chaos.

4.With the exception of a few cases,Nairobi is generally safe.Trust me,I'm almost always in town at Night,and I have never been mugged or approached by thieves.Cases of daylight muggings are very very rare,there are tonnes of plainclothes policemen everywhere and council officers.

5.Streetlighting has also improved,and its a real joy to see uhuru park light up at night.Uhuru park is magnificently maintained,green grass,with benches to sit on.

6. Surprisingly there has been an upsurge of Tourists in nairobi.Its good to see that tourists are spending a few days in Nairobi before heading to the parks and beaches.This shows that Nairobi is becoming more tourist friendly.

The Negatives

1. Due to laxity by council officers,there has been an increase in the number of beggars and street kids in Nairobi at night. They show up especially on fridays and weekends at night outside pubs and busy streets.The annoying thing is that they are not your typical beggars and street kids.Can you imagine my amazement when a beggar approchaed me outside a pub in westlands and as he was asking me for money his phone started ringing.I simply walked away.The beggars are well dressed healthy looking people who have homes but are either lazy to look for work or are just out for a quick buck.
The city council has been trying to round up these beggars,and hopefully they will find a permanent solution.

2. Hawkers on main roads like mombasa road near nyayo stadium,and uhuru highway are also a nuisance and an eye sore.So far nothing has been done to try and move them to alternative trading areas.Although am glad that there are no hawkers in the CBD area.

3.Prices of food in the city have simply skyrocketed. It simply not feasible to have lunch in town everyday. Frys,Quarter Chicken and soda will set you back around 220Kshs at kenchic.The same meal was 120kshs 5 years ago.A beer in most pubs is 140-160kshs.So with 500kshs you will afford only 3 beers.

A few more observations

-there has been an explosion of new universities.
-I lost count on the number of fm stations.
-Tv stations have also increased.Kiss Tv,Classic TV,Oxygen TV,EAfrica are some of the new ones.
- Internet speeds have greatly improved and become much cheaper.
- Finding an affordable house to rent in Nairobi is a nightmare.There is a big shortage of low cost housing in Nairobi.
- malls are popping up everywhere.The latest addition will be Galleria mall in KAREN.from the look of things,its going to be huge.Much bigger than Westgate.(if am correct). Trust me there is a big market for malls and supermarkets.Go to any Nakumatt and you will see how long the queues are.
- Road constructions are everywhere,thika road,northern bypass,enterprise road etc.

Outside of nairobi,the Nakuru - Nairobi Road is just a masterpiece.Smooth all the way,well marked and a joy to drive on.The remaining section of the nairobi - Kisumu highway is Mau Summit - Kisumu section which is deplorable but still motorable.The government has said construction will begin soon.

Thats all folks...