Maybe Kenya & Nairobi are different to what you expect…

Welcome to a new episode of Africa with André, where we celebrate Africa. One story at a time.

André: Hello, and welcome to the third episode of my podcast.

Just a little note: I'm not entirely happy about the sound quality on this episode and the next one, but I'm still learning and let's focus on the content, which I think is a lot more interesting anyway.

Today, we're talking about Kenya, that country in east Africa, which has a population of around 55 million people, and is the size of about one and a half times that of California or Germany. Our guest today is Guido Bürger.

rman speaking markets between: 2012

Hi Guido, and thanks for taking the time to join us.

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[00:01:03] André: You were, for many years, the face of Kenya Tourism in the German speaking countries in Europe, which you did with great passion. I always enjoyed working with you on the project that we worked on together. Tell us briefly what your work for KTB, or Kenya Tourism Board, involved.

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[00:01:51] André: And by trade, sorry, by trade, you mean travel agents that the clients go to, to book their actual holidays.

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[00:02:27] André: Um, sorry. So you had the three pillars with the trade and the press and the tour operators,

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[00:02:34] André: the consumers. Yes.

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[00:03:31] André: Let's take a step back, you're obviously an expert on Kenya. You've worked, with the country for a very long time, but when was your first visit to Kenya? How did you travel? And was it “Love at First Sight”?

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[00:04:36] André: yeah,

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[00:05:07] André: that's true. One of the things that you mentioned in our preparatory talk and that I've heard from so many people is, what made a lasting impression was just the interactions with the people that you met along the way.

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[00:06:06] André: One of the things that I always like to look at is what people expect before they travel to a country in Africa, because I think people have various impressions in their head, and what it was actually like once they're there or once they've been there. And I think often that changes. How was that for you? Did Kenya live up to your expectations or was it, was it very different?

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We had a seminar before, where we learned about the settlement and development of Kenya and the industrial development and so on and so forth. So we had a lot of information and knowledge about the destination, but being there and feeling then just… I mean, it was 2001 being a white-bred among Kenyans somewhere in Nairobi, the busiest city, this was overwhelming, but it was positive.

It's usually when you read about Kenya, you read all the bad news, and this is not working and this happened. So it's, when you live abroad, and this is probably the same with Germany, when you live abroad, the perception you get from media from a certain destination, always has a specific tone. And Kenya's tone used to be not too positive. But during the time, of working for the Kenya Tourism Board, we did a bachelor analysis on the image of Kenya in comparison before and after traveling into the destination.

And no matter if it was a professional from a tour operator, travel agency, or a consumer: the perception of the destination and certain points like security, cleanliness, friendliness of the people, accessibility: It completely changed 180 degrees once they visited the destination. And this is really impressive.

And I always try to, to tell people: Try it out. Enjoy your time there…

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[00:08:45] Guido: Exactly.

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Tell us about two or three questions that often came up.

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So, you can't really answer these questions because you don't know the weather patterns in six months. And it's like you mentioned it before, it's like the snow outlook in the Alps: you know, in a certain period, there will be snow, but you don't know the days or the week.

And it's similar in Kenya, you do have two rainy seasons. It's very likely it's going to rain somehow in the afternoon or in the evening, or maybe the whole day. But you only know how the weather is when you look outside your window.

And another question is many travellers come to Kenya during summer to see the migration.

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[00:10:13] Guido: You know, the wildebeest and zebra migration between Kenya and Tanzania. And they also ask, “when do I need to be here or there to see the migration”?

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Because of course there is a lot to see in Kenya besides beaches, and wildlife. Including cities and culture. So let's have a chat about Nairobi.

I'm a big fan of the big cities in Africa, including Nairobi.

From, your experience, what should holiday makers see and do in Nairobi.

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And one of my favourites is Nairobi Street Kitchen. I think it's an old building from a bigger company, but it's completely refurbished, and you have different stalls and street food wagons there. And wherever you sit, you can order from here or there. And on the rooftop at the weekend, there is a disco where you have nice music, meeting literally the melting pot of Nairobi. Expats from everywhere in the world, Indian Kenyans, British Kenyans, travellers, youngsters, and sometimes they have live bands and live acts. So, this is a really, really pulsating city and I really enjoyed being there.

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So, music lovers really could have a good time there as well. I went to a restaurant in Westlands called “beit é selam”, which I found beautiful. You have outside sitting area under a chain of lights. There's a bar which serves any drink that you want, beautiful green walls, art on the wall. And again, just people of all colours, black and white, locals, visitors, everyone spending the evening together, enjoying a drink and a laugh and something good to eat.

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[00:12:57] André: So, we both have something new to visit next time. Excellent.

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[00:13:02] André: Yes, definitely. Let's talk briefly about safety in the big city. Uh, that's always a topic. How do you prefer to move between your hotel and one of these restaurants when you're in Nairobi?

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[00:13:32] André: I also have good experiences with Uber when I'm there. Nairobi being a big city with 6 million people, there's often traffic jams, and I think some of them are renowned where it would take you, an hour or more to get from the airport into the city centre. But it's very exciting that, they've built these new flyover expressways, which are toll roads. And if you get your transfer to use that, then it's reduced, the last time I was there the travel time from the airport to the city centre hotel to only 20 minutes. Which made me smile again.

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And, last year, I arrived almost at the same time: 20 minutes, I was on the doorstep of the hotel from the airport. So, it really is a game changer. And those guests who travel in Nairobi in the afternoon, they could ask their drivers to take a route around Upper Hill. Um, this is the opposite side where you have a complete view of the skyline of Nairobi and the Expressway. And this gives you a complete different perception of the city. It's modern, it's vibrant. It doesn't look like the city you expected, when you initially arrived.

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[00:15:22] Guido: And it's, they are not building in similar styles like in our cities. You have different sizes, different patterns, glass, concrete. It's a nice mix and it's really, um, appealing as a skyline; and not only the city centre, all the business suburbs around, there's so much development going on.

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[00:15:52] Guido: Thank you.

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Right. So, let's take a break there and talk about wildlife and safari in the next episode, where we will meet Guido again.

Today we spoke about the work of the Kenya tourism board and falling in love with Kenya. We also talked about expectations before traveling and how they usually do 180 degree turn for the better once you've been there. Or even more positive turns if you're a regular.

We also talked about the music and food scene in Nairobi, for example, Nairobi Street Kitchen, and the restaurant “beit é selam” in Westlands. I'll put some links in the show notes.

And now: start dreaming and see you soon!