Nairobi, Kenya
I decided to do a city to bush to beach vacation in Kenya and Tanzania. I flew from Washington D.C. to Doha and after a long layover, unto Nairobi. Using mileage points, I flew Qatar Airways in a “Q-suite”, which was EVERYTHING. Not only did I have a lie-flat bed, the suite had a door, yes, a door. Qatar did not play regarding COVID - flight attendants wore fullPPE and everyone received a mask, gloves and hand sanitizer.
I had a 8 1/2 hr layover in Doha. What an incredible airport! The Qatar business class lounge was 3x bigger than my home airport. There were gorgeous shower rooms, multiple restaurants and semi- private sleeping lounges. I would do a layover there any day.
After 27 hours of travel, I arrived in Nairobi. It was 60 degrees— cooler than most places in the U.S. in July. It’s winter in Kenya and Tanzania and peak season for safari. Most of Kenya and all of Tanzania is below the Equator, so technically those countries are in the in the Southern Hemisphere.
I only had a few days in Nairobi, so Wanted to take advantage of every minute. I landed, dropped my luggage at the hotel and went on a walking tour of the city with a guide I hired while in the U.S. I visited the Nairobi National Museum, the Maasai Market with its amazing colors and textures of handcrafted goods, had a Covid test at the hotel to meet the timing requirements needed for Tanzania, then went to meet up with a local journalist, Purity Mukami, for dinner. I accidentally left my phone (and cash) at the hotel, and ended up stranded at the restaurant.
Purity wasn't able to make it, but since I had no phone, she couldn’t reach me. She was supposed to have been my ride back to the hotel. Nairobi taxis don’t take credit cards. There’s Uber, but, I had no phone. I couldn’t reach my driver, Martin Maina, because I had no phone.
Then a wonderful thing happened which speaks to the warmth and spirit of Nairobians. The waiter who had called a cab for me went to the cab driver, told him I had no cash but to take me anyway and I would pay him when I got to the hotel. And the cab driver took me. Yup. Needless to say, I tipped him generously.
That’s not the only good ending. When Purity couldn’t reach me, the investigative journalist in her kicked in and she came to my hotel and we were able to connect and I even got to meet her family.
I crashed at 8 pm from sheer exhaustion, plus I had to be ready at 5:30 am the next day for a mini-safari in Nairobi National Park, the only national park in the world that sits within a major city. Plus I had a visit to the Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage which had only reopened the prior week after being closed for more than a year. The Sheldrick Orphanage provides a home for baby elephants who lose their mother to poachers, illness or injury. Such special place. What an exhilarating few days and a great start to my East Africa trip. Now I’m off to Tanzania for the real safari.
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