Sure here is an update. Each day since I wrote the last post Nairobi has been getting more and more back to normal. The crowds came back, and the traffic came back. It is its usual horrible self again. At the IC on Tuesday, the lure of the legendary Karaoke night got people out of their houses and it was absolutely packed in the Safari bar.

The President of Uganda arrived and they threw out the red carpet. CNN took over a section of the Club to edit their reports and I even saw a few tourists. I found out the air crews are temporarily staying an an airport hotel and not at all happy about it. The BA crews blame the UK government for the travel ban which killed their holiday (4 day rest in NBO). They were sequestered in the hotel which unlike the IC didn't even have an outdoor pool to enjoy the hot sun.

The local Kenya newspapers gave us MUCH more balanced journalism than CNN and the BBC. Yes there was bad tribal violence in certain areas around Nakuru and Kisumu. Nothing bad in Nairobi itself. The local Kenya papers also reported that not a single one of the 50,000 tourists in country were harmed. The foreign news agencies somehow left that little fact out of their report. :rolleyes:. But I know it is true because you know that if a single white person had been harmed, the BBC and CNN would have been all over it.

An honest assessment of the problems is that the election issues are simply an excuse for disenfranchised people to lash out and they are lashing out against ancient tribal enemies, mainly over land rights issues. Bizarrely they are fighting and killing the same people who they lived reasonably happy with just before the election. Most people are calming down now, but a few are causing the remaining problems.

In any case, the country is completely safe for foreigners. If you come here on business, and mind your business, you will be fine. If you come here for safari, the safari group will make sure you stay clear of the violence in the slums. As if you would be going to slums anyways. :rolleyes:

The local papers interviewed some Scots who have been on a long beach holiday near Mombasa. They wondered why all their relatives back home have been worried? They haven't seen a single problem at the beach. All is normal and they are not happy about their government saying otherwise. They, like me, say that such nonsense is causing a real economic catastrophe in Kenya.

Thanks, Stimpy. Nakuru, Naivasha, and Kisumu are all on the birding trail, so I was rather alarmed to see reports that the violence had spread there.

Sorry, stimpy, but I just can't buy what you are selling.

First, Kenya has not been a particularly safe country for a long time. If it was, you wouldn't have people living in walled communities with armed guards. Granted this violence has nothing to do with the recent political disturbances.

Second, violent political disturbances often seem minor, or confined to particular areas, until they erupt into dangerous situations. While I agree that foreigners are not the target of this violence, they can always be caught in the crossfire.

Finally, there are many places in the world which have economic problems similar to Kenya. Why should I take the risk of going to Kenya right now when I could go to Madagascar, Uganda, or Tanzania, instead? My dollars/pounds/euros will do as much good there, I will be safer, and there is less risk that any development benefits that come from my (and other tourists' visits) will be lost in a civil war.

That's pretty harsh, although I get where you are coming from. From a selfish perspective, Kenya is tough to beat for the number and variety of species to be found in one place. And I have not heard reports of problems from Masai Mara, which is the "star" of the park system. When I visited in 2004, I was strongly advised not to go even at that time, for the usual reasons of "terra terra terra" and I simply traveled there against the advice of the State Department and my travel doctor. But I felt I could put my trust in my guide and in his choice of a local guide, and I must say that I was most impressed and that the trip far exceeded expectation. So I would like to visit again. While guides do receive a financial benefit from promoting trips, they do have to travel along with us and presumably have an interest in coming home alive. So I tend to put the opinions of a guide on the scene, above the opinions of the press and the State Department. And if there is another, disinterested tourist or even a business traveler already in the area leaving a report, so much the better.


While Kenya is not as poor as the countries you name, it is still terribly poor to my eye and I think your dollar or euro does help, especially if you employ a native guide. They have a great program for training guides. Our guide had to pass a test, recognizing 1,000 birds by eye and many hundreds (I don't recall how many) by ear. He was amazing.

I would not like to see Kenya lost to the tourist trail. Tourist eyes in the parks do protect wildlife. And I saw some amazing sights around Nakuru, such as trees full of eagles like Christmas ornaments.

I hope we get a positive update soon.

I'm in Morocco now, which is also nice, but I spent several weeks in Kenya and had zero problems. I'm not trying to coerce anyone into going to Kenya. It's your money and your choice. However I am trying to counter the horribly one-side and racist media messages about Kenya now. Anyone who goes there now will see just how wrong the media is.

Good for you, Stimpy. People can complain about the need for security in Nairobi but there is a greater need in Israel but I haven't hesitated to go there, either.

Have the slums in NBO cooled down? We are considering a medical mission to Kibera (we've gone the last two years) and are trying to get a sense for the situation.

If you go with the Red Cross and during the day you will be fine. I wouldn't go at night though with the rowdies in their cups.

I was in Nairobi on business a year ago. The one of the parties we met with was carjacked and murdered the day we left. Two days later same thing happened to US embassy staffer in family.

Beautiful, fascinating country and culture. But hardly safe.

Cheers,

Any update on conditions in NBO? Particularly in the slums. We are currently planning on joining a medical team that will be there in May and are curious to hear what the climate is in the slums. We've gone many times and have always felt safe in the past, but with the recent unrest we are anxious to hear.

Hmmm. I don't know when the slums have ever been nice. That's why they call them slums. I would never go at night, before or now. Also Friday afternoons can be unpleasant when the beer starts to flow. But I have passed through some a couple of weeks ago during the day and I never felt unsafe. We drove out to Kitangela also and that was fine.