I’ve been home from my trip for a week now and it still feels surreal that I had such an amazing opportunity to see Kenya. When my best friend Megan told me she was working in Nairobi and invited me to come along, I almost immediately shot the idea down. It was too expensive. I’d already traveled a lot this year. It was too last minute…..excuses, excuses.
Then, while I was walking on the treadmill and exploring flight options (just looking, of course), I forgot that I was logged into my United account. What was meant to be a quick scroll turned into accidentally hitting submit on the “purchase” button and suddenly, my trip was confirmed. I guess it was the universe’s way of telling me to just do it already! Ten days later, I made the 21 hour trek halfway around the world and couldn’t wait to explore.
I spent the first part of my trip in Nairobi, Kenya’s capital, exploring the city while Megan finished up her work. Nairobi’s a massive, fast-paced city and I was so glad I got to see some of it while I was there.
Where we stayed
Megan’s work put her up at the Tribe Hotel. The rooms were beautiful, with big soaking tubs and plenty of room to spread out. The hotel itself was gorgeous, with an awesome restaurant where we ate breakfast each day and I had dinner a couple times when Megan had to work. The staff was incredible and even set me up in 10 minutes with a private driver when I had a day to explore by myself.
I took advantage of the hotel spa while I was there and got an amazing 2 hour treatment of a scrub and massage. It was one of the best spa treatments I’ve ever had and it was only about $100.
Exploring Nairobi Solo
My first day was what I’ll call “jet lag” day. I spent 11 hours sleeping and recovering from the long trek, then got in a workout at the hotel gym. After a shower, I ventured out to the nearby shopping center for some lunch. I had a delicious quesadilla dish at a restaurant called Harvest.
After Megan and her co-workers got done with work, the five of us headed to the nearby Karura forest for a hike. The park was beautiful, complete with a restaurant on site and miles of trails. We ended up hiking for a couple hours. It was longer than we’d planned, but I think it’s because we accidentally took the longer path and ended up covering most of the park.
We saw lots of wildlife and a bunch of local Nairobians walking and running. The whole park was super clean and I think that’s due to the country’s strict rules on plastic. Plastic bags are banned in Kenya and anyone trying to enter the park with a plastic water bottle had it confiscated. I think we could probably learn something from Kenya’s efforts to be eco-friendly!
After our hike, we were starving and went to this gorgeous restaurant called About Thyme. We sat in their garden and there were lanterns everywhere and live music playing.
I was so impressed with the variety of meatless options in Kenya! Everywhere I went, at least 1/3 of the menu was vegetarian. We had the most awesome Mediterranean veggie appetizer and I had an eggplant dish as my main meal. The wine was flowing and I had so much fun getting to know Megan’s co-workers.
Solo Nairobi Day #2
My second day in Nairobi was Megan’s last day at work, but I didn’t want to be cooped up at the hotel, so I hired a driver to take me around the city to explore and visit a few places. The hotel was able to get me one of their drivers within a few minutes and he was awesome! Evans is a local Nairobian and he made sure to show me the “real” Nairobi, not just the areas tourists usually see. We saw the city center, the slums, where he grew up, the local university, and even where Obama’s grandfather lived (the building in the second photo).
I didn’t take any photos of the poorest areas in Nairobi. About 60% of the city’s population (2.5 million people) live in the cramped slums. It felt tacky to sit in the car with my private driver taking pictures of them, so I refrained. I am glad I got to see it, though. I also enjoyed talking to Evans and hear his thoughts on the poverty in Nairobi and what the government is trying to do about it.
Our first stop was the Giraffe Sanctuary. At the sanctuary, you could meet giraffes and learn about their conservation efforts.
I had a blast and Evans was the best travel buddy. He came into the center with me, took pictures, and fed the giraffes with the rest of us. Even though I’m sure he’s done this a million times, he said it never gets old!
After the giraffe center, Evans took me to the Nairobi National Museum. It was overrun with school groups that day, but it was still worth doing. I read a lot about the history of Kenya, their colonization by the British, their independence, and some of the older traditions of the culture. It was also really cool to explore the human history section. I didn’t even know that Kenya was the only place in the world with enough fossil evidence to trace our entire evolutionary history.
My final stop with Evans was a trip to a local souvenir shop, complete with a Masai man who made me take a picture with him, then asked for a tip. Standard tourist trap, but I fell for it.
Nairobi and the countryside with Megan
Our last day in Nairobi, Megan and I had a full day planned! We made another stop at the giraffe center so we could do it together. I didn’t mind paying twice because the proceeds to go a good cause, plus who wouldn’t want to see these faces twice?
Megan was brave enough to give them kisses, but I was not. Those tongues were huge.
Next, we headed over to the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust. This orphanage takes in baby elephants who’ve been orphaned for one reason or another. They nurse them to health, socialize them, and care for them until they turn three. After that, they spend the next several years re-introducing them to the wild, helping them find a herd that will accept them. This can sometimes take up to five years to find an acceptable herd, but after that they can live normal lives.
The orphanage only opens up to the public for one hour a day, so we made sure to get there early. It was so worth the wait in line to see the babies run into the arena, ready to eat and play.
We learned all their names and why they were orphaned. For a small fee, you can even adopt one of them and get updates on how they’re doing!
After the elephants, we took a drive out of the city to the Kiambethu tea farm, the first big tea farm in Kenya.
The farm offers tours and lunch. We only made it in time for lunch, but it was still well worth the trip. There were monkeys everywhere, amazing views, gardens, and the food was delicious!
On our way back, we made a stop at a cheese farm. They weren’t offering tours, but they did sell us some cheese.
We were wiped out after that long day, so instead of going out for dinner, we got some wine, bread, and snacks at the grocery store and ate dinner in our PJs at the hotel. Dinner of champions, right there.
It was an early night for us, because the next day we were checking out of the hotel and headed out the Masai Mara for a three day safari. I’ll be back with my recap of our safari soon!
Kelly Runs For Food 