I’ve been back in Nairobi for three days after a six week absence. There have been some changes, and some things that haven’t changed.
Roads: As the driver took me home from the airport about 9:00 p.m., he started to turn on to Masaba Road I cautioned him not to go that way as it is not particularly safe at night. He turned up Bunyala, but at the top of the hill, we ran into some serious construction. When I left six weeks before, the upper side of the road was nearly finished. It has now been finished, and they have started working on the lower side of the road. There was a large machine banging away and it continued to do that all night. We had to drive around rubble, but managed to find our way all the way up to Don Bosco and came in over the two dirt roads that have now become a major thoroughfare in the area.
On Friday, I went for a walk down Kiambere to try to see what was going on. As I got to the end, I noticed the lady who runs a rather informal “fast food” place has acquired a new yellow tent. Apparently business is good. However, the road itself was piled high with dirt, about 15 feet of it! There was a footpath over one lower side and a large digger was moving the dirt around.
On Saturday, I went shopping via Masaba Road. As I returned from my outing, I noticed Bunyala had been closed off completely. Men were scurrying around doing various jobs. Today, Sunday, I walked up to Kiambere once more. The dirt had been put back on the road and it was smooth, hardened and ready for the tarmac to be put down. I wondered how it had gone from rubble to ready for paving so quickly. Then one of my colleagues told me that President Uhuru is planning to attend the opening of the new Radisson hotel just up the road. That occasion is coming up in the next week or so. Apparently the last time the President went to an opening, the road had not been finished. He pitched a fit. The same company is working on the Bunyala Road. If they don’t have it ready for him to ride smoothly and easily to the opening, they will lose the contract and maybe a lot more of them in the future. So, I expect we will have a nice road to drive on in the next week!
This has nothing to do with road construction, but during my shopping on Saturday, a young woman was pushing the trolley in front of me as I was going to check out. I was glad I was behind her because it gave me time to stare at her without being observed. The reason for my interest was her hair. It was braided in very thick braids that hung almost to her waist. This would not have been so remarkable except that the color of the braids from scalp to end was electric purple! I thought about asking her if she was enjoying her purple hair, but couldn’t quite work out how to word the question without seeming odd.
Roads: As the driver took me home from the airport about 9:00 p.m., he started to turn on to Masaba Road I cautioned him not to go that way as it is not particularly safe at night. He turned up Bunyala, but at the top of the hill, we ran into some serious construction. When I left six weeks before, the upper side of the road was nearly finished. It has now been finished, and they have started working on the lower side of the road. There was a large machine banging away and it continued to do that all night. We had to drive around rubble, but managed to find our way all the way up to Don Bosco and came in over the two dirt roads that have now become a major thoroughfare in the area.
On Friday, I went for a walk down Kiambere to try to see what was going on. As I got to the end, I noticed the lady who runs a rather informal “fast food” place has acquired a new yellow tent. Apparently business is good. However, the road itself was piled high with dirt, about 15 feet of it! There was a footpath over one lower side and a large digger was moving the dirt around.
On Saturday, I went shopping via Masaba Road. As I returned from my outing, I noticed Bunyala had been closed off completely. Men were scurrying around doing various jobs. Today, Sunday, I walked up to Kiambere once more. The dirt had been put back on the road and it was smooth, hardened and ready for the tarmac to be put down. I wondered how it had gone from rubble to ready for paving so quickly. Then one of my colleagues told me that President Uhuru is planning to attend the opening of the new Radisson hotel just up the road. That occasion is coming up in the next week or so. Apparently the last time the President went to an opening, the road had not been finished. He pitched a fit. The same company is working on the Bunyala Road. If they don’t have it ready for him to ride smoothly and easily to the opening, they will lose the contract and maybe a lot more of them in the future. So, I expect we will have a nice road to drive on in the next week!
This has nothing to do with road construction, but during my shopping on Saturday, a young woman was pushing the trolley in front of me as I was going to check out. I was glad I was behind her because it gave me time to stare at her without being observed. The reason for my interest was her hair. It was braided in very thick braids that hung almost to her waist. This would not have been so remarkable except that the color of the braids from scalp to end was electric purple! I thought about asking her if she was enjoying her purple hair, but couldn’t quite work out how to word the question without seeming odd.
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