The new walk to work... part 2

After leaving Leah, the walk continues through the area of kilimani which is highly mixed with some bungalows used as offices, some as houses, some small apartment blocks, some newer offer buildings of several stories high, and some more construction. Most of the roads lack pavements, but occasionally they appear, particularly once we get through Kilimani. Not having pavements is a pain after it rains when the muddy sides of the roads can dirty shoes and trousers; especially outside the construction sites.

As I walk through Kilimani. I pass a Lebanese restaurant and an Italian restaurant, a petrol station, the office of the Irish foreign investment/tourism agency, a beauty parlour, a couple of local restaurants, and more kindergartens. There's also a Chinese restaurant on a side street. Outside Kilimani the next stretch is on a fairly new road with excellent pavements. On the corner, beside a roundabout, there's some people selling hand-made furniture, plants, and porcelain bathroom equipment. There's also a street-stall selling breakfast. Opposite is the office of Lavington Security, a private security company that provides many of the security guards for the buildings in the area (which soon turns into Lavington), and a massive new office block under construction.

As I turn right at the roundabout there is a very steep decline and incline in order to cross another river at the bottom of the hill. Near the bottom there are frequently a few people sitting with a noticeboard displaying some magazines, which i think are religious (christian). Along this stretch there is actually a cycle lane next to the pavement, and separated from the road, which is mostly used by the odd motorbike, though there is also the odd cyclist too (usually pushing their bike up the hill). On one part of the road are a few people washing cars; all over Nairobi there are people offering to wash cars: it is so dusty that it is a good business to be in and i pass several more men washing cars every morning, not that the water they are using (usually taken from the storm drain beside the road) is that clean to begin with!

In fact the number of people selling plants may be the only close rival to the car wash industry in terms of road-side jobs. Probably pushing second place would be food stands; and then in certain areas there's plenty of shoe shine people.

At the next roundabout, where there is always a traffic jam during rush hour, I cross over, past a new apartment building under construction, and then another that is already open. This is the enjoyable part - a good pavement and a flat road, and it is usually referred to as Kileleshwa. Past some more breakfast people and car wash people, down another steep hill to cross a river and back up the other side, to another turning.

This is off a main road, which means it is bumpy (both with more speed bumps as well as potholes), and lacking pavements again! it is also fairly posh. This is now Lavington proper, a nice area. I pass a bungalow offering gymnastics and a montessori school, as well as a high school. There are plenty of nice bungalows and town houses (more on that another time). Shortly we come to the Huawei office where there is a new mini roundabout. The other side of our office is a shopping mall (there is another one just around the corner of this one too). Shopping malls are a recurring theme.. this one has the usual with cafes, chemists, supermarkets, fast/snack food, dry cleaners, cake shops, banks, a shoe shine and more, but I'll go into that another time.

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