hint: the little houses in the middle = Nairobi skyline with Ngong Hills in the background. (higher resolution)
update: hint 2: GoogleEarth placemark…
Month: October 2006
the grave
Moi International Sports Centre – what a grave.
(a) Swimming costs 100/= Kshs for adults, 50/= for Kids.
Baptism 50/=, Photo sessions 1.000/= and Video sessions 5.000/=.
(b) What you see in front of the picture is the overgrown parking lot of the stadium. The lamps all lack their bulbs and the whole area behind the stadium resembles a small (bird) sanctuary – we even saw a guinea hen.
(c) With just a little bit of maintenance, this place could really look beautiful as the facilities still look very promising and were def. made to last longer.
Who is in charge of this place?
Lung Tonic
I caught a cold earlier this week and killed it with some Panadol Coldcap. To fight the upcoming cough, I bought “Good Morning – Lung Tonic”.
“Good Morning Lung Tonic is (a) greyish brown Syrup – dawa ya kuponyesha kukohoa, makamasi, maumivu ya kifua na kadhalika. Each 5ml contains: Tolu Solutionn BPC 0.56ml, Capsicum Tinc BPC 0.25ml, Creosote BPC59 66.65mg, Anise Oil BP 13.89mg and Liquorice BPC 25.00mg.”
Liquorice, yeah! Lakini….
Dear Parents,
please please please NEVER ever think about buying “Good Morning – Lung Tonic” for your children. Your children would otherwise instantly hate you for the rest of your life.
Verdict: -4 out of 10 points, but only since it only costs 55 bob which is ok for medicine.
kite
Anyone wants to fly a kite? :-)
GIS in/for Kenya
I read this story on GIS services to be installed at the Police in Kenya (for crime tracking) and a conference/workshop that had been in held in Nairobi on this matter, organized by ESRI (GIS software company).
Someone was quoted as having said that all GIS services // data should be organized in a central database and made available to anyone who needs to work with it (free & against charges).
Earlier this week I started working on some GIS maps for Kenya and combining a pysical map of a water catchment area with local attributes (poverty figures, etc.). I do agree that such maps should be stored in a single database so that all organisations and instutions in Kenya are using the same maps and shouldn’t start coming up with their own homebrewn versions. There’s no need for double work.
Ppl in Kenya know this and I am not the first person who had this idea. Yani, between having the idea and actually maintaining such a database is a huge gap. Does anyone know where to obtain maps & figures for Kenya?
So far I have collected data from these online resources:
Depha.org – Data Exchange Platform For The Horn Of Africa (good!!)
GeoCommunnity (Kenya national data )
ILRI Kenya – International Livestock Research Institute (awesome collection)
…and another resource I just can’t remember right now…
While googling for free gis data, I came across a workshop that had been held recently in Nbo and which showed that the top officials of the Ministry/Authority I am currently working for had been officially informed on the proper use of GIS systems. So….these folks know about the advantages and received proper training I wish I could have enjoyed as well. It seems that GISystems have been introduced many times in Kenya and still there is no central database for such data. Or is there?
Which brings me to another thing I wanted to mention: Like in any other country, there are the ordinary wanainchi on the streets and some very smart and intellectual people that always impress me with their exact analysis and understanding of certain situations. Social, political, environmental – you name it, they can explain it – and even under a historical context. Koigi isn’t the only frustrated intellectual out there, there are many others who qualify to substitute even those typical 1970s university dons (with their hatred and aggregated mzungu aggressions) and help build this country.
Well, you see, the reason I mention this normality which otherwise would imply some sort of contemptuousness for the rest of the nation is that our former landlord G.Kirima – to name at least someone – used to be Deputy Major of Nairobi in 1974 ALTHOUGH he doesn’t even know how to write his name. Now that’s 32 years ago. And Kenya has changed kabisa. The nation of drunkards, as some like to call it, also knows that a beer never goes without a story. The intellectual wit, this desire to get an understanding for the overall context and mix everything to a big picture while at the same time keeping this timeline and analysing political circumstances with social developments – I think that’s one of Kenya’s biggest potentials.
Happy 144mio Kshs. Heroes Day!
Panari Empire
Have you ever wondered where all this Nakumatt Kitsch goes (I’ve mentioned earlier)? Ever thought about getting a taste of Dubai without leaving the beautiful City of Nairobi? Or spending some 800 bob on 60 minutes of ice skating?
Well, wait no longer – Kenya’s “new” Panari Sky Centre has it all.
The Entrance looks a bit too Dubaiish. But compared to Grand Regency (which is another faux pas in terms of good taste) it is even worse. Big doors = big people? When I went inside, I saw a fat (very fat!!) American coming out. Hmm…
“Solar Ice Rink” @ 500/= pp under 14, 800/= Kshs. over 14 years and adults. It looks a bit improvised, BUT it works and looks great. Even shoes are available in my size 12 (I asked).
Ok ok ok….the centre of course accomodates a Hotel as well – and this is what we came here for. We came for the view. And because I am afraid of heights. The other day, Mbuzimoja took me to Safari Tower downtown where we just took the lift to the top floor and searched for a view until we found the fire exit ladder. I couldn’t look down. But take pictures :-)
This is the view from one of the floors where the rooms are located. Nice view. Please have a closer look at the interior design….hehe…
(=> this is a guests-only area….we stayed there until we got kicked out by Duncan, the security guy…)
Nairobi National Park in front.
Nakumatt Kitsch, exampoool 1
Nakumatt Kitsch, exampooool 2
Nakumatt Kitsch, exampoool 3
Just look at this picture: imported tiles, an ugly plastic Zebra carpet, some yellow & undefinable chairs from another spaceship (1970s rock, dude!) and a completely unfitting copy of an old (dutch, I pressume) oil painting.
In other words: the Panari Hotel has it all for those who ever wanted to get a glimpse of Dubai and never really developed their own (better) taste.
P.S.: the swimming pool looked nice though, even the Gym. Daily charges are 1.250 /= Kshs. pp., monthly membership 9.000 Kshs….they even have a Steam Bath!
the lights
So I was stuck in the usual traffic jam somewhere downtown and some hawkers approached me in my (borrowed) KXM Suzuki. The KXM registration (~ = 1986/87) should be reason enough to skip the annoying “mzungu = pesa” equation for a picture of someone who just happens to be in Kenya long enough not to buy anything from off the streets (although those things aren’t bad – only: who needs a goldfish bowl INCLUDING food as offered the other day for “just” 2.000 Kshs?). In other words: I am just as broke as Whispers used to be back in those days. Nairobi life is expensive.
Hawker #1: “Yesss…my friend…you want to buy this magazine?…or this one?….i give you good price”
me: “Aca.”
Hawker #1: “Oh…ok….so you are rrristening to Kameme FM?”
me: “Eh. I like it.”
Hawker #1: “Oh…so….your rrrrlights are on.”
me: “..alafu?”
Hawker #1: “No, I was just wondering”
me: “Yes, it is already 6.20 pm….I put them on…”
20m further down the road…
Hawker #2: “Yess…my friend…so how is you today? You want to buy this nice steering wheel cover?”
me: “Look, I have one right here, I don’t need a second”
Hawker #2: “But yours is broken”
me: “yeah….so what…”
Hawker #2: “And these cabooools (jump leads, booster cables)?”
me: “No, i already have so many tools in my car here and hardly ever need them”
Hawker #2: “And what about this hedge trimmer?”
me: “ati ??!! Me I don’t even have a garden….”
Hawker #2: “Oh…ok….so you are listening to Kameme FM? Do you understand what they are saying?”
me: “Yeah…well, no, I just like the sound of the words.”
Hawker #2: “Oh..hehe….sawa….oh, your lights are on…”
me (thinking): wtf?
15m further down the road…
Hawker #3: “Eh my friend…your lights are on”
me: YES, I PUT THEM ON!
etc.
(According to what is taught at local driving schools, lights should be on from 6.30 pm until 6.30 am).
The Nairobi traffic jams: makes me think what Half ‘n’ Half commented on the Githurai issue: “Kenyans just want to be seen in their cars.” How true.
Speaking about cars, I went to Kijiji Marketi this morning and saw these Rexton 4WDs from Korea on display in front of the market. The director of SYMC Motors (K) Ltd. showed me around and….well….the black one as pictured below (left) sells for about 4.5 mill. Kshs. (tax & VAT incl.).
These SUVs look like the Mercedes M-class and are direct successors of the Mussos which were sold here some time ago (Mercedes engine and similar parts). Now, I would never buy any SUV if I could go for a real LandCruiser or even LandRover instead, but these Rextons surely offer a lot of comfort and luxury and should be compared to Mercedes which actually sell for almost the double price. The only thing that really irritated me was that the processing quality seems to be very low on these cars. I would like to see them on Kenyan roads for two or three years. Also, the contraction joints between the mudguard and the passengers door (especially on the above pictured white Rexton RX 290) where just horrible. My fundi friends back home would cry about these flawy cars SYMC Motors used for presentation.
I like their low budget approach, though. But then, even 4.5 mill Kshs. are A LOT of money.
Money? Yes:
I found this 10 cents coin on the parking lot of a Ministry in downtown Nairobi and showed it to a Security Guard. The guy just threw it back on the ground and said: “ah…useless…”.
That’s Nairobi.
oops!
ati?!