This morning we left Naivasha. The taxi was late, which annoyed me, as I’d made a reservation at a fancy restaurant in Karen, but it turned out to be ok. We took a different route to Nairobi, a less scenic one, but also with a wider road and perhaps less risk of getting stuck behind a line of trucks.
Karen is a rather wealthy suburb, with many trees and big houses. The restaurant itself was a bit of a shock to the system, as it was full of beautiful people of all races – not something we’d seen in some time, as for the last month our primary interactions had been with the dog and the odd herd of zebras. The food also, after months of mediocrity, was very good and fairly experimental, most notably the tortillas which were the real deal and made me miss Mexico.
We then went to a couple of shops and I bought a shirt that I thoroughly regretted afterwards, as I missed a zero so it was close to ten times the price I thought it was.
Finally we arrived in the centre of Nairobi, a city of brown and green and ochre with a grey expressway cutting through it close to our place. We’re staying in a modest but comfortable condo, like a downmarket version of our place in KL, so a little tinny and plywoody, but well laid out and sleek and modern. There is a large TV that the GF is pleased with, and I am most pleased with being very high up as when you open the windows you get a lovely cool breeze cutting across the entire flat. I miss living high up in a building – the openness is nice, but most of all that breeze, and the clarity with which you see buildings around.
At night we went out for dinner to a South Indian restaurant and I had a dosa after a very long time indeed, delightful. The walk was not pleasant – this is not a walking city, or at least this part is not.
It’s really very nice to be back in a city, and a global city, more so than Istanbul in many ways, judging by the variety and quality of the two restaurants we’ve already eaten at. But I really need a haircut.