After roughly 17 hours of flying, I was picked up at the Nairobi airport by a friend and her driver. After dodging a group of cattle on the road (am I in India?), we started to head into Nairobi. Traffic was said to be lighter than usual due to the Christmas holiday period, but it sure looked pretty crazy to me.
Eventually after a few encounters with gridlock in the center of town, we made it to the gates of a very secure compound. The compound was protected by double gates, razor wire and electric fences, multiple patrolling guards, and guard dogs patrolling the perimeter at night. Once inside, it was easy to forget you were in the heart of Nairobi. The condominiums surrounded beautiful lush gardens with a swimming pool and other posh amenities.
Nairobi, also known as Nairobbery by some, has had some bad episodes of crime and terrorism in recent years, so many precautions have been put in place. My hosts were allocated a driver and secure car through their employer, whose location was continually tracked by GPS and equipped with tinted windows and a panic button. If out after 10pm, their car was automatically greeted by a well marked escort security vehicle that tailgated them home to deter car-jackers and kidnappers and to make sure they got into their home safety.
Certain neighborhoods around Nairobi, like Eastleigh, were complete no-go zones due to their high rates of crime and terrorist activities. Some of the largest slums in Africa can be found in Nairobi and they are quite notorious. The streets were filled with cameras posted high above that photographed every car’s movements around town day and night (creating a distracting strobe effect when they flashed).
