By JEFFREY GETTLEMAN
Nairobi the capital of Kenya, calls itself the City in the Sun, and a visit can be as pleasant as that sounds. Most outsiders drop in for two reasons: business and animals. A short flight from spectacular wildlife parks such as the Maasai Mara, Nairobi has also become a magnet for some of the world’s biggest corporations trying to gain a foothold in Africa.
The city is surprisingly beautiful with flowering trees and the perfect climate: 70s and 80s, sunny, low humidity — almost every day. It’s a palpably multicultural place, encapsulating what is happening in Africa better than any other city on the continent. Picture new construction, a lot of people, intense traffic, and more and more Western businesses. Yet you can still feed giraffes and baby elephants from within the city limits and see Maasai warriors ordering lattes in red-checkered blankets.
Friday
1. Curio Madness, 4 P.M.
Plunge in. Haggle hard. And console yourself that if you do get ripped off — which is almost inevitable — the people on the other side of that 500 shilling note probably need it more than you. Friday is Maasai Market day at the Village Market Mall in northern Nairobi, and this is the best place to load up on East African souvenirs, from toy airplanes made of bottle caps to Obama Africa T-shirts and kanga cloth. The vendors are pushy but friendly and not averse to talking about life as you bargain. Few things have a marked price. That’s the fun.
2. Into Africa, 6 P.M.
Indians arrived more than a century ago to help build the railway across East Africa known as the Lunatic Express. (Some of the original workmen were eaten by lions). Thankfully, the Indian community flourished, and there is no better way to get a taste of it than at the Diamond Plaza food court in Nairobi’s Indian quarter. Diamond Plaza is an old mall where everything is two-thirds scale: The streets are two-thirds as wide, the buildings two-thirds tall; it has the feel of a toy town. The food is served from a dozen booths arranged around outdoor tables. A favorite is Anil’s chicken tikka on the bone with gooey naan bread slathered in butter, costing together 600 Kenyan shillings (about $6). Wash this down with fresh ginger sugar cane juice for 150 shillings. Don’t miss Chowpaty’s vegetarian chana masala (675 shillings).
Read more: 36 Hours in Nairobi, Kenya
Source: NYTIMES
