We arrived in Nairobi at 9PM so we didn’t get to see much on the way to the hotel. The one thing we did notice was the smog. We knew it was going to be bad but it wasn’t as bad as we expected. Beijing was much worse.
We arrived at the Radisson Blu Upper Hill and were stopped at the entrance by security. The hotel is fenced in and we had to go through metal detectors and all of our luggage was scanned, even the driver and the van were checked. Bombs are a significant threat here and they take it very seriously. Our driver told us they had found a bomb in a hotel last week. So trust me, they can wand and check us as much as they want.
We arrived 2 days early, our tour starts on Saturday so they assured us we can keep the same room for the 4 nights we were here. We decided to do the $30pp concierge for the first 2 nights which included breakfast buffet and access to the lounge. The lounge was fully stocked with water, drinks, wine, beer and snacks. Checkin was quick and easy. This is a pic of checkin.
A few shots of the lobby.
And our room with a view.
After breakfast we hopped in a cab and headed out to Junction Mall and the Maasai Market. The drive there was uneventful but once we left the city center the roads were not paved so the ride was a little bumpy. I guess it was getting us ready for our upcoming safaris.
At the gates to the mall they again checked the car for bombs and the driver even had to pop the trunk. The driver dropped us off at the entrance and we were wanded again. Signs everywhere, no pictures or video so we were not able to get pics and trying to sneak a few just wasn’t worth it. We walked around the mall a bit then headed to the Masai market that is held every Thursday in the parking garage.
The market was definitely an experience. Probably a hundred or so spaces set up and everyone was selling the same thing. Kinda reminded us of Mexico. Most of what they were selling was mass produced
We were everyone’s “best friend” and everyone was offering us the best price. The men kept telling me I was copying their beard. My response back was you copied me and my beard was better. They laughed.
One vendor gave Mark a gift, we heard they will do this.
One thing we like to do when we travel is to explore on our own. We found the city was just not set up for that, at least in the area we were in, but we never felt unsafe.
We just wanted a relaxing day after the 18 hours in a plane. So this little excursion was just the right thing to do for the late morning. We headed back to the hotel and relaxed in the concierge lounge for a while. We skipped lunch so we could eat well tonight at Carnivore. More of that later.
