style – Page 4 – Kikuyumoja

KJT Datsun

While working on the Suzuki, I came across this KJT (~ 1976?) Datsun station wagon which was completely worn out.

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The owner of the car told me that it had been involved in an accident and was parked under a tree at a local police station for some time. He wants to invest the sum of 20.000 Kshs to have it repaired and then intends to sell it for 120.000 Kshs. The bench was covered with exterior spare parts…

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“Yes, the motor, no problem – when I put a battery here, it just takes one kick and it can start.” – “Aterere….”

SANY9094 ´

“Come back on Tuesday”, the owner told me, “…and you’ll see this car like new.”

Yeah, sure…. (==> KENYA believe it??! :-)

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.

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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…

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“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 :-)

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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…)

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Nairobi National Park in front.

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Nakumatt Kitsch, exampoool 1

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Nakumatt Kitsch, exampooool 2

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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 MB E320 Paris-Beijing challenge

I just applied as a driver for the upcoming Mercedes-Benz E320 experience – a rally from Paris, France to Beijing, China starting from October 21st and covering about 13.600 kms through 8 countries within 26 days.
Application forms are available online (until August 20th) and there will be about 33 E320 cars with 300 drivers allthoghter from different countries.

And although I think I’ve sent in the smartest reason ever why I should be part of this great challenge, I just realized that I won’t be available later on this year in October. Doooooooooooooooooohh!

…but then, an internship in Kenya seems to be much more challenging than hitting the gas in an exclusive E320 for some kilometres only during that challenge. Sindiyo?

p.s.: dusty cars are soooo sexy…

JKE’s lanyard

There’s always enough time for childish bubudiu.

A very close friend of mine told me that my previous lanyard (which holds my keys and a little LED light) actually looks a bit awful.

I got this one from a horse trade show about two years ago while working at the fair as a promoter. The green colour isn’t really THAT beautiful + me & horses???
==> Guess this one goes into the Ralph Lauren Polo & upturned collar category.

…so the World Cup came up and my friend thought about giving me this special lanyard which was supposed to clearly identify my position on the World Cup (hint, hint – Jamhuri Wear – are you listening? How about lanyards with the Kenyan flag?).

Then, as I was dying to personalize this stupid lanyard bubudiu-stuff, I found a cheap seller on Ebay who prints letters on a lanyard and ordered this one as well as another one which is yet to arrive. Si, I had troubles finding the right words for such a print, but at least I am not running around with someone else’s company logo any more…

Bembeya, Rochereau et al

Ebay trouvaille – you won’t regret buying any of these plates!
Ive just come across this seller on Ebay Germany who apparently sells a lot of nice, old plates/records from the 1970s & Co musical Africa. So what’s so special about them?

1. collectors items!
2. try to get those ones in Nairobi or even Kinshasa today – impossiboooool!
3. some auctions include a preview link with an mp3 file (!)
There is this one Bembeya Jazz National record with current bids already as high as US-$ 102,50 and still 18hrs to go…
(@samsoum71: could u pls share your other mp3s of “analogue Africa” with the rest of the world? – the blogosphere will be delighted to enjoy these trouvailles from your collector’s shelves… THX!)

national rainbow co…

…itus interuptus.

P.S.: …für André & Astrid – enjoy! :-)

Nairobi lowdown

“The best of the City in the Sun” as promised by a (relatively) new blog: Nairobi Lowdown. This might also be of interest to those Kenyans in exile (“Exilkenianer”, as my friend Turbodave calls them) who always wanted to know WHAT exactly they are missing out in terms of interesting events/locations in our good old Nairobi.
Check out this cooooool video of a bubudiu-man trying to catch a lift from a Matatu while ROLLERBLADING on the streets of Nbo…ati? Roller Blades in Kenya? S T Y L E!

Btw, I think it’s about time to promote websites like ArtMatters.Info who are trying to cover some cultural events in EA. There’s still so much potential in NBO, so many interesting details that one could blog about – stuff that IS interesting and could also help to show a different image of the country (despite of the tourism industry, the marathon athletes, the media coverage of famines & raids on newspaper publishers, etc.)…
How about an open blog for cultural events in Nairobi? How about a blog that compares the lifestyles of Nairobi ppl with those from upcountry/shaggz?

AOB: Letta Mbulu “Zimkile” – a song that makes me think of Mshairi & Sokari – enjoy! :-)

Pop-In

After entering Pop-In on Moi Avenue, Nairobi (Kenya), and asking the owner for kind permission to take pictures (“I like this place, the machines are sooo unique”….”ok, basi…”), I instantly realized why you, dear Steve, started doing “something with computers”. Thanks for that great tip to pay them a visit!

I consider this and other “amusement arcades” the incubator for our never-ending interest in anything IT….? :-)

Pop-In is one of those institutions that actually requires huge funding to buy, repair and preserve all these old machines that introduced us to the world of 1010010100101 & Co from their death somewhere in dusty downtown Nairobi…
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the corner with “spare parts”.

Please excuse the blurry picture quality – I shot these pics without a flash and was so excited that I forgot about everything else! I’ll try to upload them on flickr in a higher resolution when I’m back on my (own!) computer…