As previously mentioned we moved to a new location today. The apartment is great and spacious, our host is very caring and the compound in which we live is strictly guarded and monitored. That being said however, the environment around the apartments is pretty harsh, and not a place we would recommend for general tourism. It was not too long ago since we had similar experiences to this, although at that time in Bangladesh.
To get some groceries home we ordered an Uber driver (4.8/5 stars in rating) to take us to the nearest shopping mall. It would have been great to just relax today and instead go tomorrow, but the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Utrikesdepartementet) highly advice people not to visit the Nairobi shopping malls during weekends. Although the most dangerous risks don't linger for normal week-days like these, it is still recommended not to bring anything to the mall except for exactly what you need.
Our Uber driver was great and told us just to call him whenever we needed a ride again. For a single trip lasting about 5-10 minutes we payed about 200 shilling, corresponding to less than 20 Swedish kr. When coming to the shopping mall we had no idea where to go. But everybody were really friendly when we were asking, and the guards at the mall were quick to point us in the right direction.
We went into an electronics shop to buy an extra power plug adapter when we ran into some really friendly staff in the store. They were curious and concerned about how we are liking Kenya, and they were also interested in travelling abroad some day. Most people working in the store were around our age. A common trend for the people that we have interacted with so far is that many move to Nairobi for work, and apart from travelling to Tanzania or Uganda, most people have not travelled much.
The food from the grocery store in the mall was really expensive. Just for a tiny package of instant coffee we had to pay about 600 shilling (about 60 kr), and for 0.5L of icecream we could pay as much as 1100 shilling (110 kr). That gives a strong impression of that this food is not for everyone... After buying our groceries we called our Uber driver who brought us back home safe and sound again.
This is a picture I took not far from where we live. It shows some children apparently not able to attend school, most likely from a nearby slum area. Consider this, and then again the price for groceries..
