The City of Nairobi

We had heard there was supposed to be a great bead factory in Nairobi and thought that it would be fun to see. Our driver said "absolutely, he could take us there". Where we ended up was a small shop, that sold lots of Kenyan souvenirs.  I am sure our driver is somehow related to the shop owner..lol.  But what the heck, why not take a look?

We bought a piece of art, an African mask (that now hangs at the entrance to our condo) and five beaded wristbands.  We later learned we probably paid double what we should have and somehow only 4 of the 5 wristbands made it into the package.  I am sure they were laughing at the foolish white people as we drove away. Oh well our contribution to the economy.

Turns out the bead factory we were looking for closes at 1pm each day so we wouldn't have made it even if our driver had taken us to the right place... Or at least so he said.

Next we were off to the International Conference Center for the best view of Nairobi in the city. Getting into the Center was like going thru security at the airport. We had to show our passports and go through a metal detector. 

Standing on the roof of the Center you get a 360 view of the city. It was gorgeous. Obviously looking like foreigners/tourists a guide quickly attached himself to us. He shared a detailed narrative of what we were seeing and some history of the city, including how poor his family was and pointing out the slums they lived in.  Can you say "tip me please"?  All in all we really appreciated his stories and guidance and were very happy to tip him for his efforts. We are not sure our new found friends tipped him though?

Next it was out for supper and early to bed. Tomorrow morning we would take in the Nairobi National Park safari.