safety in Nairobi

The nickname of nairobi is nairobbery. Is it very dangerous to travel
alone? Also, I'd like to go to some tourist spots , such as national
museum, railway museum, international conference, by taxi. Is it
sensible of me to do so? can I go to Giraffe centre by taxi? Is it
very expensive? Thanks

It is certainly very sensible of you to plan to travel around by taxi.
You will find that the hotels often want to escort you from the lobby to
the taxi for safety. Make sure you know about how far you will travel on
each journey, and agree with the driver about the price before you set
out. A hotel will give you some idea of costs. Be very careful walking.
Don't drive with the window open, or the door unlocked. Enjoy!!?
Peter

In message <8a9f3188.0311060627.411c11f4@com >, Wilson
<willpan39@m> writes
>The nickname of nairobi is nairobbery. Is it very dangerous to travel
>alone? Also, I'd like to go to some tourist spots , such as national
>museum, railway museum, international conference, by taxi. Is it
>sensible of me to do so? can I go to Giraffe centre by taxi? Is it
>very expensive? Thanks
Nairobi is a city and like any city it`s wise to watch your bag, not
wear expensive jewellery, or have cameras slung around your person.
Otherwise, I walk around on my own shopping, going for a cup of coffee
etc. At night don`t walk out into town, the same as any city.
The museums mentioned are an easy taxi ride from city hotels, as is
the International centre. The Giraffe Manor is a bit further and in a
taxi will cost more. You can go with an organised tour with others and
should pay less.
Pat
--
Pat Anderson

> Nairobi is a city and like any city it`s wise to watch your bag, not
> wear expensive jewellery, or have cameras slung around your person.
> Otherwise, I walk around on my own shopping, going for a cup of coffee
> etc. At night don`t walk out into town, the same as any city.

I really do not agree with this.
Nairobi is really, really more dangerous than other cities. In Rome or
Paris, or even London, you can walk around by night without thinking you
will be mugged for sure.
In Nairobi you can never feel safe, at any moment of the day or the night.

Really, Nairobi is definitely more dangerous than other big cities, even
more dangerous than other african capitals where I've been (e.g. Dar Es
Salaam, Antananarivo, Cairo is even better than Nairobi).

It is true that also in other big cities you must take care, in particular
places, about your bag or whatever, but I would never walk alone in Nairobi
by night (or even day), as I do normally in my city (Rome, which is
absolutely safe).

Ciao

Maurizio

> The museums mentioned are an easy taxi ride from city hotels, as is
> the International centre.
The first three times we visited Nairobi (1979, 81 and about 93) we walked
into town (from the Panafric) and out to the Museum/snake park and felt Ok
about it; we were warned not walk about at night tho.
The last time (2001) the driver of the mini-bus which picked us up from the
airport told us to keep the windows of the bus shut as otherwise things
might get grabbed through the window, and the hotel staff were not happy
about us walking to the museum if we were carrying camera stuff with us - as
there was nowhere we felt it was safe to leave our valuables, we took a
taxi. The driver arranged with us a time to come back and collect us. So I
dont know whether I would have felt 'unsafe' if we'd tried walking.

--
Rita Daggett

> It is true that also in other big cities you must take care, in particular
> places, about your bag or whatever, but I would never walk alone in
Nairobi
> by night (or even day), as I do normally in my city (Rome, which is
> absolutely safe).

I have been mugged once in my life, in Rome, during the day. Well, at least
they tried to....
I have only been to Rome once.

On the other hand, I have been staying in Accra last summer and walked
everywhere, day and night, without any trouble at all or being afraid....
except for the dogs.

In message <lm8sqvct9m0q07scejejrkpcl22uguph78@>, Hans-Georg
Michna <hans-georgNoEmailPlease@michna.com> writes
>Gary,
>
>don't play it down. Nairobi has had around 10 carjackings per
>day in recent times and now shares its reputation as one of the
>most crime-ridden cities in the world only with Johannesburg.
>
>Talk to people who have lived there for a little longer, and
>they will all tell you stories of what happened to
>them---robberies with the car owner tied and stuffed into the
>trunk, people trying to stop your car with gun in hand, things
>like that.
>
>Nowadays when I look back at the 80s when I could walk through
>Nairobi with my camera equipment, a fairly big box, without the
>least worry, this seems hard to believe from today's point of
>view. I hope I'll get to scanning my photos soon, scanner
>already slowly on the way, then I can show you what Nairobi was
>like in those days, a very pleasant, peaceful city in Africa.
>
>Nairobi has sunk very low.
>
>Hans-Georg
>
Oh dear, just when I thought Gary was "our man" to tell us all how it is
in Nairobi!
I thought Gary had it right, as he lives there, I know you have been
this year Hans Georg, and I haven`t been since 1999. I`m still in touch
all the time with friends who live in Nairobi and they haven`t reported
anything out of the ordinary.
On the topic of hiring a car to get to various tourist attractions,
that`s a great suggestion Gary, it`s something we did to get to Giraffe
Manor and Karen Blixen`s house. The cost is OK and it`s a very
convenient way to get around.
I`m surprised I didn`t see you in the eighties around Nairobi Hans
Georg. I used to walk around on my own shopping and having coffee etc!
Pat
--
Pat Anderson

Hi again, Pat!! Hans-Georg said it well: people living there have come
to accept the present standard as the norm. To a visitor it is shocking.
I don't think there is anywhere in the west where ladies come to work
without jewellery, and then put it on at work, because of serious danger
of theft from their fellow countrypeople.

In message <3FAED4F0.9070AA97@sympatico.ca>, Peter Gower
<peter.gower@sympatico.ca> writes
>Hi again, Pat!! Hans-Georg said it well: people living there have come
>to accept the present standard as the norm. To a visitor it is shocking.
>I don't think there is anywhere in the west where ladies come to work
>without jewellery, and then put it on at work, because of serious danger
>of theft from their fellow countrypeople.
>
Peter,
I can understand why it happens, even though it`s strange to you and I.
I have a good friend in Nairobi, Jenny, who was born in Kenya and has
a film production company there. When we`ve stayed with Jenny and her
husband, she told me that she had put away her gold jewellery and
started to wear silver, since doing that nobody has bothered her! It`s
gold that is the attraction as it`s more valuable.
In twenty years of living in and visiting Kenya, we only had one
incident and that was an inside job. We used to stay at the Sindbad
hotel in Malindi, which sadly has now become derelict, and one night
somebody removed the mosquito netting and removed some louvre windows,
climbed in and stole money, travellers cheques etc. I woke up and saw
the chap getting out of the window! It was the room cleaners son.
Pat
--
Pat Anderson

Hans-Georg Michna wrote:
> "kees" <kees@removethisparthcopleidingen.nl> wrote:
>
>
>>I have been mugged once in my life, in Rome, during the day. Well, at least
>>they tried to....
>
>
> Me too, by a gang of children in front of the main station. I
> had to shake them off somewhat vigorously, but the biggest
> surprise for me was that the adult people around obviously saw
> this as absolutely normal.
>
> Totally unimaginable in Germany, for example, where there is a
> "culture" of people watching over each other (which sometimes
> goes too far in the other direction for some peoples' taste).
>
> Hans-Georg
>
Get real. Wake up.
In Germany you can rob someone and no one reacts, afraid that they
themselves are assaulted. All you can hope others call the police.