Nairobi Warnings Or Dangers

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Don't be scared if you happen to come across some of the wild pigs wandering in the park of the Bomas. Also there are many Baboons in the area around the Restaurant. Nice to take some photos of them.

Don't be panicked if a wild pig approaches you. They are not wild afterall, and the only thing they are interested in is to eat some grass. They will do their job, and you will probably take some good pictures of them.

The following goods may be imported into Kenya by passengers over 16 years of age without incurring customs duty:

• 200 cigarettes or 50 cigars or 250g of tobacco.
• 1l of spirits or 2l of wine.
• Perfume and toilet water not exceeding 0.5l, of which not more than a quarter may be perfume.

Prohibited Imports
The import of fruit, plants, seeds, live animals, ammunition and imitation firearms is prohibited.

Prohibited Exports
The export of gold, diamonds and wildlife skins or game trophies not obtained from the authorized Kenyan government department is also prohibited.

Kenya is one of the safest countries in East Africa with its friendly people. Nevertheless it is advisable that you be cautious of your surrounding. It’s good to avoid isolated or dark areas, to walk in groups, not to have flashy jewelry or carry purses and cameras loosely. It’s also advisable that you don’t carry large amounts of money with you, as there are ATM facilities all over

I walked in Nairobi downtown without problems. In the downtown you will find banks, shops and different offices. And all of them has a security guard sitting on a chair in front of the place. They are just sitting there to watch over the property. Just talk to them and say hi. Most of them like that and are polite against you. They can tell you where to go, where to eat and what to do in the night. They are your security and will see if somebody try to harm you.

Some tips: Don't walk around with flashy jewelery, cameras or watches on show. Don't flash your cash when paying for a drink. Keep out of dark and deserted streets and alleys. Stay in the man streets where there are people on the move.

Some areas outside the dowtown are not recommended for a white guy to walk alone at night, and a taxi is recommended for even short trips.

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They do happen from time to time in Nairobi. Whether it be hawkers, students, or just normal wananchi having a go at the state.

These photos I took during that time in the early nineties when there was a call for multiparty democracy. There were riots over several days and then the odd one on each Thursday. There was a good deal of looting going on and not only by the general public, the GSU General Service Unit the armed chaps that you can see in my photo did their fair bit of looting that day. At one point they raided dry cleaners and made away with some rather natty suits.

The title of my Nairobi page is Nairobbery. This is a name that I thought has been in use only recently, but earlier this year I read Black House by Paul Theroux where one of the characters refers to Kenya's capital as Nairobbery. The book was first published in 1974 so maybe the city's reputation for being a bit dodgy has been around fro a while.

Use a bit of common sense and you should have a robbery free stay.

when travelling with your parter in most parts of nairobi including kimathi street avoid contacts with guys even girls who are dressed in anything with rasta colour'(clothes or bands with 4 colours red; black, yellow ,green also known as 'ras' thats sheng a slung word,this guys are a group and are all over nairobi,what theyll do is try to make you angry by abusing one of you guys and they will be expecting you to say anything even HI? and they will start arousing you with alot of staff and without you knowing they will start a fight wich will lead to a robbery and assoult soo the best way to get out of this unarmed is to walk away and assume them, and dont smile with people you dont know there are people who dont like it and by doing that theyll think youre soft and the will hunt you.

My last visit in November 2008 was just a very short time at (outside) the international airport. I hadn't known about the ban of smoking in public areas (outdoor too) as there is no sign or any kind of information or warning about it. I was smoking on the street outside the airport when a security (police?) guy came to me and wanted to arrest me for that "offence".
Then, of course, he came to the point: he said he was hungry and asked for a "gift". I gave him 10 dollars while he "escorted" me to a restaurant. When I found out that smoking is not allowed there, he realized that I got really angry so probably he was afraid that I would go to the police station and he gave back the money. I know at the end this doesn't sound too hard but during that torment I really felt humiliated and naked :-(