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!
No comments:
Post a Comment