Life in Nairobi and Life on the walk to work

As with moving to Shenzhen two years ago, I'm alone for a month so I'm in a simple regular routine involving walking to and from the office, cooking dinner in the evening whilst watching something on TV (such as the Crown or Sherlock) and relaxing at the weekend with some running and even swimming in the pool too.

We've intentionally chosen to live in one of the apartment complexes with many others from Huawei so that the kids will have other Chinese kids to play with and keep their language skills.It is an area with a significant Chinese presence; not too far from the Chinese embassy and with at least a dozen Chinese restaurants within a few miles as well as a couple of Chinese hotels and office buildings built by Chinese. We're also planning to employ a Chinese nanny for Leah to keep the language skills up (the nanny being a grandma who is here with her family but with some spare time on her hands).

The area, suitable for Andrea, is also the main hub for NGOs and start-ups in Nairobi. Like much of Nairobi, which is mostly a combination of suburbs around a downtown, it is fairly green with some gentle hills. We have lots of birds and also some monkeys that come by looking for food.There's 3 large shopping malls within a ten minute walk; one of which has a cinema. All of which have metal detectors that you need to get through before being allowed in (a shopping mall in another part of town was subject to a large terrorist attach a few years ago, from Somali terrorists angry at Kenya's role in Somalia).

Safety is of course a concern in Kenya--particularly in comparison to China, probably one of the safest places in the World due to the large number of security cameras, police and security guards, and enforcement/punishment of crime among other factors. Kenya has made tremendous progress in recent years, with more security cameras and police, as well as security in shopping malls. There's also many private security employed by different apartment complexes and houses. However there is no denying the risk is real-which means not walking alone outside at night in particular, though in general during the daytime it is safe. This is something we'll need to adapt to (more taxi, less walking).

In fact the walk to and from work is quite pleasant. The temperature it not too hot, the skies blue and the sun shining (there is a rainy season though at some points of the year). Along the way I walk past quite a lot which I'll list so it gives a sense of Nairobi. I walk from a suburban area towards downtown but about 2/3rds of the way to downtown veer off to one of the main business districts, which is also not too far from the main government buildings.

- a couple of boutique style hotels

- the Chinese Xinhua Media Agency,
- the China Center,
- some road widening,
- a Christian hospital and a couple of churches,
- several Matatu stops,
- a couple of busy junctions where there are policeman at rush hour directing traffic (though a smart traffic light system may be coming in the future, even where there are traffic lights in Nairobi, they aren't used much with policemen preferred),
- the new buildings for Nairobi Hospital (a private hospital) and several other health centers (dentists, opticians etc) as well as the Kenyatta National Hospital (the largest public Hospital) and its Medical Training College,

- a company selling solar panels

- a second-hand car shop

- the National Library and their unfinished new building,

- the European Union Embassy,

- the Japanese Embassy,

- several banks and insurance companies' headquarters

- Coca-cola's office

- the Teacher's Union building

- several shacks which serve as hairdressers or restaurants

- several newspaper and snack stands and a few shoe-shining guys

- 3 or more beggars (always in the same spot every day, all day long)

- 5 or more local street sellers, usually selling fruit, breakfast of some kind, or something else

- several motorbike taxis hanging around on the corner

New Year and first experiences living in Nairobi

New Year has never been a particularly big deal for us in China (though it is a long weekend public holiday) but it is a slightly bigger deal in Kenya as most people take the Christmas-to-New Year (and often more days afterwards) off to go back to their village. The most significant consequence of that? Absolutely zero traffic on the roads over New Year! Even on the Friday before New Year's which was a normal working day (in theory) there was no traffic at rush hour (a week later the traffic at rush hour is definitely back!). 

Over the weekend I met some friends for lunch along with a walk and run in the fantastic Karura Forest (somewhat like the Lane tradition in the UK, yet it was 25 degrees here, rather than 5 degrees in the UK!). There is a wonderful cafe in the forest with great views, a small playground and good food. I suspect we'll be going there regularly. The forest itself has a variety of routes for walking, and I returned there on New Year's Day for the 15km run (it covers most of the man paths in the forest) which has been a regular weekend activity for me in previous visits to Nairobi and is still really nice. 

I had to dodge a deer and see a monkey run away from me and it always smells very nice. Much of the route is on tracks, usually with a gradient though there are some stretches properly off-road through the woods and up or down some steep inclines. It is mostly in the shade so it is not too hot.

I've been walking to and from work to get some exercise (35 minutes walk) and since it is quite cool in the mornings and late afternoons (low twenties) it is pleasent. It only heats up to the high twenties during the middle of the day (which today I took advantage of to use the swmming pool in our apartment complex for the first time, even though the water was pretty cold). I also did some shopping for the apartment, though we'll be trying to get by on the basics until the stuff from China gets here.

Kenyan supermarkets are very similar to those in the UK and very different to those in China. All the usual Western brands and products as well as food items (even Branston Pickle, which goes well in a toasted cheese sandwhich, since i'm not much of a cook). And cheaper than it was to buy the same imported products in China. It also seems like many of the shopping malls have outdoor kids playgrounds which is nice. It is a nice shopping experience and exciting to have easy access to certain little treats (the mince pies are cheap now post-christmas!) though I have forgotten how little food one actually gets through when living alone and only really eating one meal a day.

As would be expected, with the low average incomes, many things that are produced/provided locally are quite reasonable, and this includes cinemas. It seems like Kenyans aren't really into the cinema yet as prices are low and seats always available.  I've taken advantage of that (and I recommend the film, Why Him? as a surprisingly good comedy) with the local cinema a ten minute walk away.

Kenyans enjoy going out to eat and drink (the middle classes, obviously) and apart from the local snack stalls and restaurants downtown, in the suburbs all the restauants are basically bungalows with large car parks, outdoor seating, and a barbeque for grilling meat. It means most restaurants are quite hidden and also spread out down various leafy lanes. There's a range of Chinese restaurants as well as other international cuisines. I'm looking forward to exploring more of them in the future!

A new adventure: Moving to Kenya

On Thursday I finally flew to Kenya to start a new job and a new life; having spent almost 2 months off working through various recruitment approvals and processes as I moved from Huawei HQ to Huawei Kenya. Andrea and the girls will be here in a month after stopping by Europe.

It's a big deal. I think the change surprises others (who never thought we'd ever leave China) more than us. There's several reasons for the move such as work and education but it's one step closer to Europe and time for a new, and interesting adventure, after spending such a long time in China.

China is still an interesting place of course, though it is probably changing less nowadays, and I remain interested in seeing how the future there evolves. None-the-less, whilst hoping we don't regret leaving one of the safest countries in the world and one of the easiest and most convenient lifestyles there is, a new adventure is exciting and interesting personally and professionally--some things are in place and others are not, but over the next few months we'll work things out as a family.

I expect a whole new raft of blogs if I find the time about the new experience and the new life--and some updates on how things are going. As ever the blog is part a personal diary and reflection and part an update for anyone that is interested.

So come to Kenya--a place with easy-to-get e-visas, fantastic climate year-round, and a relatively safe and mosquito-free environment plus of course national parks, beaches and much more. It is one of the most dynamic and leading countries in Africa and a bit of a shining light....long may it continue!

The consumer benefits of a very large market

China is a large country with a large population--and this causes many challenges but it also creates many opportunities, not least because almost the entire population speaks (and reads) the same language, and is of the same ethnicity.

For technology companies it is hugely helpful to have such a large market speaking the same language, using the same regulatory system, having similar interests, and even using the same banks. When trying to scale up services this makes it much easier to invest money and get fast results at a large scale compared to having to do this across multiple countries where none of these factors are true. This is one reason why many of the Chinese technology companies are so successful and able to invest in innovation: because one single service can quickly be rolled out to several hundreds of millions of people.

There is also a whole ecosystem that works together at large scale: the same suppliers and distributors are often nationwide and thus good partners for companies. And with such tremendously large and dense urban populations, like Shenzhen for example, which are also fairly wealthy, with good infrastructure, and with many relatively wealthy people within them, it is a consumer's paradise.

Having lived in Shenzhen you can find a dozen providers of organic food who will bring food to your door daily, that you order in advance on an app, hundreds of restaurants nearby who will deliver food to you (also ordered on an app or by phone if one really prefers) directly or indirectly (through a delivery company), and millions of locally manufactured products that will be at your door within 24 hours. In fact there is almost too much choice!

Then of course there are the additional services. Shenzhen has more than a dozen trampoline parks (last year there was only 1), more than 4 large theme parks, a wildlife park, multiple beaches, hundreds of parks, hundreds of shopping malls (all with cinemas, playgrounds and more inside), several exhibition centers and so on. No matter what you are looking for, you can find it simply because there is such a large market. Even if you are part of a very niche market, that would be sizable enough for someone to cater to it--whether it is a strange hobby or a weird product.

As so many things are made in China, even things that the Chinese don't want you can still buy in China--such as a toasted cheese maker (though online rather than taking up space in shops). But it is also imported products.I don't think any Chinese would eat smoked salmon but its easy to buy online from a company who imports it and then sends it across the country to your door still frozen within a day due to the good logistics system (and suitable packaging). I also don't know who would want to buy a Christmas advent calendar but there are several available; or Original Source Tea Leaves Shampoo - but even that is available online that someone has already imported into China and can send to you. In fact even this availability of imported goods is only possible when you have such a large domestic market.

Governments have been able to invest in infrastructure; companies have been able to invest in services and supply chains; and consumers get a fantastically convenient life. Spoilt......