Nairobi nightlife

It would simply be impossible to spend 10 days here and not get out at least once. We were fortunate enough to have one of the fire fighter students and Nairobi-native to guide us around. We refer to our guide as "House", as in, the Kenyan Doctor House. He is smart, charismatic and a natural born trouble maker. In short, he was the perfect tour guide.

Our first stop was a quiet place he described as his "goto" dinner spot in town. It had a cafe feel and was essentially empty. House looked around and said, "We could stay here, or we could go someplace really FUN." Umm, is this really a decision? Let's move!

We walked through the streets of downtown Nairobi, saw some of the sights, got a bit of history from House and arrived at a bar called Tribeca. The irony of us going to Tribeca for drinks was not lost on the New Yorkers. The bar had three stories, each with it's own bar and atmosphere. We settled on the third floor, overlooking the street.

At first, there was really no one on the floor with us. We started with beers and quietly chatted amongst ourselves. The Tuskers started flowing, the conversations grew louder and more boisterous. Behind us was a VIP lounge occupied by a couple enjoying some food and drink of their own. Someone asked House what was the deal with the "Shark Room", as the name on the glass doors read. House gave a stern look and simply said, "You don't want to go in there."

Here's where we all became aware of an VERY important lesson. When a life-long Kenyan, and Nairobi native tells you that you shouldn't do something, it likely means that what ever that thing is, has an inherent level of danger that scares someone that will kill a red mamba with a stick, ride helmetless on the back of a dirt bike on the Thika Super Highway and randomly burn piles of garbage EVERYWHERE. When a Kenyan tells you something isn't SAFE, you are basically being told that death is not only POSSIBLE, but PROBABLE if you insist on going forward.

There are lots of great pictures taken that night. To protect the personal and professional reputations of the individuals present, and to ensure we are ALL safely able to leave the country tomorrow, most of those pictures will remain private. There is one thing that I just have to share...

These "statutes" ran the length of the bar and were positioned in front of each bar stool. It isn't visible in the picture, but the "statue" is wearing a pair of high heels, to distinguish the intended gender. So, when a patron sits down and slides forward to order a drink...you get the picture! It probably goes without saying that this was NOT the only photograph taken with these decorations. The other pictures will probably never see the light of day!