Last month, I took a trip to Kenya to fulfill my dream of visiting the home of my favorite BBC show, Big Cat Diary. Going on an African safari seemed to be a once in a lifetime trip, so I made sure I took a few weeks off to experience Kenya to the fullest!
Before meeting up with my safari group, I took some alone time to run around Nairobi and see all that I could see. When I travel, I love to experience each destination like a local. I like to stay in a home instead of a hotel. I like to experience the local hot spots and meet the people that call each place home. I find the best way to do this is with Airbnb Experiences. Airbnb now offers unique activities that are hosted by a member of the local community. Imagine going on a tour that takes you beyond the typical, overcrowded tourist spots. Your Airbnb guide shows you the places they LOVE and are PASSIONATE about. If you travel to my hometown in Cali, I’m not going to let you take the cliché movie star homes tour. I’m going to take you to all my favorite LA places that are going to really WOW you.
For my Nairobi experience, I chose to book “The Kenya Girl Guide” hosted by Carolyne. Her listing offered an afternoon of second-hand shopping at an open market, drinks, and other experiences in the Kibera neighborhood. And, I must say, I had an amazing day with Carolyne.
My experience didn’t feel like a tour at all, it felt like a day out with my girl friend.
We started off at Toi Market where I had a chance to experience Nairobi life from Carolyne’s point of view. I learned about the daily operations of the market, the types of goods sold there and shared some memorable moments with the traders. By the end of my shopping experience, Carolyne and I were exchanging views on African and African American family lifestyles and beliefs. The two of us shared an amazing bond; we were already ‘besties’. So, at this point, when the scheduled experience stopped, we continued our afternoon at her favorite places in Nairobi.
“African Shopping Queen”
For lunch, we went to Mama Oliech Restaurant. This was a true gem that I would have never been able to find on my own. It’s best known for its large deep-fried tilapia, straight from Lake Nakuru. Carolyne admitted she had only been to this restaurant once before but felt it would be a great place for a local to take a first time Nairobi visitor (like Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg in 2016).
Mama Oliech Restaurant is best known for its large whole deep-fried lake fish from Lake Nakuru.
Next, we jumped in an Uber and went to the best-known landmark in the city center, the Kenyatta Plaza! This plaza contains the tallest building in Kenya and is named after a former president. The best treat that Carolyne gave me was a ticket to the top of the Kenyatta International Convention Centre. The KICC rooftop offers the most epic 360° views of the city! From this vantage point, I could clearly see that Nairobi afternoon traffic was way worse than our LA 405 freeway.
Our final activity was an upstairs patio view at Charlie’s Bistro to enjoy two of my favorite things: cocktails and chocolate cake!
My Nairobi Guide, Carolyne
Kenyatta Plaza
It was an amazing day with my girlfriend Carolyne, sharing life experiences, laughter, and tears of joy. It’s absolutely incredible how two women who have known each other for only a few hours, coming from opposite ends of the planet, can become close friends before the day is done. This is the beauty of travel for me, meeting people around the world, celebrating our differences and realizing just how similar we are in the end. Over the course of that afternoon, this complete stranger had become my sister from another mister.
This was my first introduction to Kenya, and to Africa, and what an introduction it was. Such an incredible experience, such warm and open people. It wasn’t hard to feel at home, here in this land so far away. This land that I had dreamed about for so long was already exceeding my (very high) expectations. I quickly realized that this wasn’t a once in a lifetime trip, I would definitely be back to visit Nairobi and my new bestie Carolyne.
