Part One: Nairobi by Car

Bay Area traffic is terrible. LA traffic is terrible. I can imagine NYC traffic is terrible. I will do anything to avoid putting myself in its midsts and most of the time, through waiting, avoiding and careful timing I can more or less pretend it doesn't exist.

When we first arrived, we asked out cab driver about traffic hours. His answer went something like this:

"Well, it starts around 4pm and goes til 8:30pm."

"Oh, ok," we say.

"And in the morning it starts around 6:30am and goes til 10am."

"Wow, ok," we say.

"Then it is all day too."

"Hm."

This has proven itself to be true. So that is the level of congestion we are talking about. Then there is what happens during this congestion:

Yes, it is everywhere. Why is this happening? I have a slew of theories. Let's start with the facts: the cars are right hand drive. The main roads are paved, most of the side roads are not (even in the middle of the city). There are very few, if any (I can't remember of any), stop lights. There are definitely no road lines. The city is growing incredibly quickly and there is tons of construction going on:

This is one of the roads behind our hotel.

Then there are the more subtle things, from which you can draw your own conclusions. Relatively few people have access to optometry. There are vast numbers of public buses, matatus (private mini-bus taxis) and Range Rovers on the road. This is definitely not Switzerland, where everything and everyone is expected on time. Anyways, it makes for very slow travel through the city. But that's ok, god knows I'm in no hurry!