How to make international calls from Uganda [UPDATED]
In this blog post I share my personal tips on Ugandan mobile phone and internet providers, where to find free WiFi, SIM card registration and how to send money using mobile phone apps.
Making an international phone call from Uganda can be pretty straightforward. It can also be a right pain in the kabina (bottom).
When I first arrived in Uganda as a volunteer, I very rarely called home. For some reason outbound phone calls from the UK to Uganda were easier. Skype video calls just didn’t work.
Making a Skype call from Uganda circa 2009
A Skype conversation would go something like this:
Caller: Hi
The muzungu: Hi
Caller: How are you?
The muzungu: I’m fine. How are you?
Caller: I’m sorry, what are you saying? You’re breaking up a bit. Can you say that again?
The muzungu: I can hear you. I’m fine, how are you?
Caller: I can’t really hear you, there’s a bit of an echo on the line, I don’t think I can cope with this.
The muzungu: [Sigh…]
I think to myself: “This conversation is starting the same as the last one, and the one before that. Can we move on and have an actual conversation?”
… Call drops off…
The average conversation lasted for four minutes. I would redial and we would have a two-minute chat. The whole conversation proceeded in two-minute chunks, before one or both of us just gave up.
How to make international calls from Uganda using your mobile phone
Calling directly from your mobile phone in Uganda is far cheaper than it used to be. In fact, sometimes it is cheaper to call than to send a SMS. Mobile phone companies offer call bundles; pre-paid international call bundles are very affordable and can be loaded directly from your Ugandan-registered SIM card. Skype too is better, thanks to improved internet speeds; just don’t expect the video to always work. WhatsApp has transformed connectivity and Ugandans have embraced using Zoom, Google Meet and other communication apps. Rainy weather can affect the quality of the internet (the call quality can also be affected by someone cutting through the internet cable under the sea!)
The best-known providers are Airtel and MTN, and many of us have two phones or dual SIM phones. Other providers include Lyca Mobile, Tangerine, Zuku and Roke Telecom. Note that Africell, Smile, Vodafone and Zain no longer exist and the future of government-owned UTL is unclear (January 2023). It’s very rare to have a home landline phone in Uganda. Airtime can be purchased in tiny amounts and just about anywhere.
How do you pay using your phone if you don’t have a Ugandan bank account?
Mobile money ‘M sente’ has revolutionised airtime and bill payments. Kenya Safaricom led the world in developing M-Pesa, the first solution for sending money and airtime and paying bills via your mobile phone. I rely on mobile money apps to pay my bills. They are robust, reliable, secure and widely accepted. Buy a local SIM card and you can load local currency to buy goods and services and send money to friends, family and colleagues. The two most common providers are MTN and Airtel.
My relationship with MTN
I once spent an afternoon hidden in an airtime vendor’s shack in downtown Kampala, sheltering from an immense thunderstorm. As rain battered the roof, I had an illuminating conversation “Grasshoppers – nsenene: do you eat them or smoke them?”
And then of course there’s “MTN Sunday.” What is that all about? Without fail, every Sunday for several years, I lose contact with everyone. Texts disappear or arrive a day and half later, thus “would you like to meet for Sunday lunch?” has to be organised a day or two in advance. If Sunday is maintenance day, why have I never received a SMS telling me so? (I first wrote this post in 2013 – it was still true in 2018 – and at the end of 2023, I still had issues with my MTN line on Sundays!)
So how does the muzungu call abroad now?
Video Skyping works like a dream now with 4G. My sister prefers FaceTime and mum calls via WhatsApp. I can’t believe how easy it is to call internationally from Kampala now!
How can you access internet on your phone in Uganda?
Ugandan SIM cards can be bought very cheaply everywhere, whether at the exit of Entebbe Airport or at vendor kiosks everywhere. Show your passport to register the SIM card. You can also buy a portable wireless MiFi (some tour operators provide these for guests who want internet accesss while on safari).
You’ll find free WiFi at Entebbe Airport and in most hotels, cafes and restaurants in Kampala and in major towns and popular tourist destinations.
Do you have any tips on how to call internationally from Uganda?
… And if you have other travel tips or advice for expats in Uganda, please comment here or contact the Muzungu. I love hearing from you!
MASH-tastic! The muzungu’s bus tips from Kampala to Nairobi [UPDATED]
Taking the bus between Kampala and Nairobi? Try MASH! Bus travel tips and visa info.
The brilliant East Africa Tourist Visa and Interstate Pass mean that travel between Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda is easier than ever for nationals and has become easier and cheaper for tourists and expats too. Cue: a lot more travel around the three countries for this Muzungu! I’ve taken the MASH bus between Kampala and Nairobi a few times now, and can recommend it. [NOTE this blog post was updated in February 2023. We tried calling various advertised numbers, but failed to get through].
Overall, the Kampala / Nairobi MASH bus service has been excellent. I hardly felt the dreaded bump, bump, bump of the ‘rumble strips’ and managed to sleep most of the journey. Or shall I say, I fell asleep / woke up / fell asleep / woke up… over and over again.
We liked the idea of having a toilet on the bus. If it had been working, that would have been even better! According to the driver, “it is women’s fault that the toilets do not work.” Hmmm… surely they could have fixed it though?
The MASH system is well organised and departs – on time – from the relative calm of the National Theatre, making it a far less hectic experience than going to downtown Kampala bus parks with all their congestion and pickpockets. In Nairobi, however, the bus departs from the equally crazy River Road. Have your wits about you here, as lots of guys will come running at you trying to sell you a cab fair / give you unwanted directions, etc. It can be a bit overwhelming if you’ve just woken up! Don’t rush to get off the bus; pace yourself and check you have all your belongings first.
Back outside the National Theatre in Kampala, an hour before the agreed departure time, a lady called us over to a table in front of our bus where she checked our tickets and passports. Next to her, a very friendly guy checked the contents of all our bags. Another three men in bright orange overalls loaded bags and boxes into the bus. I was asked to remove the padlock from my bag, which obviously I did not want to do. I was told that it was necessary for the security check at the border. I removed a couple of valuables that I’d put in my big bag, and just hoped that everything else would be safe. It was.
The MASH bus was clean. The seatbelt worked, as did the single power socket on the wall next to me. I chose to sit in the second class ‘executive’ section, just a few seats from the front. It had a decent amount of legroom and a reclining seat. My friends in the VIP seats, directly behind the driver, had even more legroom, plus they were allowed to have their big bags with them.
Every bus passenger was handed a small packet of biscuits and a packet of sugary ‘juice.’ My experience of cross-border bus journeys in East Africa is to avoid drinking at all costs, as you can never be sure the driver will stop when you need him to! However, on the MASH bus, we had three ‘comfort breaks’ before we arrived in Nairobi. It’s a “short break for a short call” and these guys do not hang around, believe me.
The driver put on some loud music for our uneventful drive to the border.
Entering Kenya later that night, one of the immigration officials growled a demand to see my Yellow Fever certificate. Luckily I had a photograph of it on my phone.
My friend Julia complained that she hardly slept for the whole journey between Kampala and Nairobi. She only fell asleep for the most interesting part: passing through a private wildlife reserve, where I spotted zebra and antelope from my window seat! “You snooze, you lose” as she likes to tell me… Lol.
According to Wikipedia, “Elmenteita is derived from the Masaai word muteita, meaning “dust place”, a reference to the dryness and dustiness of the area, especially between January and March. In the south-to-north sequence of Rift Valley lakes, Elmenteita is between Lake Naivasha and Lake Nakuru. The major Nairobi – Nakuru highway (A104 road) runs along the nearby escarpment affording motorists a spectacular vista towards the lake. Today the lake is a protected area due to its birdlife. Elementeita – together with Lake Nakuru and Lake Bogoria – has been named a heritage site by UNESCO.” (In 2019 I finally went on safari in Lake Elmenteita – I am still thrilled at the large numbers of flamingos I saw that weekend! The horse ride along the lakeshore was spectacular).
Travel tips for taking the bus between Kampala and Nairobi
NOTE: I don’t guarantee all info is correct. You should check prices, departure times yourself. This is a personal account based on my own experience.
- MASH buses leave on time.
- The MASH booking office in Kampala is in Dewinton Road opposite the National Theatre.
- In Uganda, you can use MTN mobile money to purchase your ticket. Tel +256 (0)774 082853 is the MTN Mobile Money number registered to Mash Bus Services. I used this myself. I first called the booking office to reserve my seat numbers; confirmed my payment using mobile money; then made a second phone call to check they had seen my payment.
- The MASH booking office in Nairobi is in River Road. Their official number is +254 733 623260. In Kenya, you can also book your bus tickets and reserve your seat online and pay by Safaricom’s M-Pesa. (Paybill number 857988). This worked well too.
- To double check ticket prices and times, check out the MASH East Africa website or visit one of their offices.
- Please don’t message me – I don’t work for Mash, I’m just a customer like you 😎
Bus departure times from Kampala and Nairobi
(Please get there early: we’ve called several times to check timings and prices and the info given is inconsistent). Ticket classes are: VIP, business class and ordinary (availability depends on whether you get MASH POA or MASH COOL).
Kampala to Nairobi
At 4 pm and 6 pm MASH bus departs from the National Theatre.
Nairobi to Kampala
At 4 pm and 6 pm MASH bus departs from the MASH office in River Road.
MASH Cool is the air-conditioned bus. (MASH POA can get a bit sweaty!) I liked MASH Cool but you will need a blanket (or shuka) if you take the overnight bus. The MASH Cool bus has curtains too.
- Make sure you have your Yellow Fever and COVID-19 vaccination certificates (or a negative PCR test).
- Keep photographs of your passport and other important travel documents (bus ticket and Yellow Fever Certificate) on your phone.
- Although the bus does have power sockets, in my experience, they don’t always work. Take a spare battery pack for long journeys so you can access digital documents any time.
- Nationals of Uganda, Rwanda and Kenya just have to show a passport or national ID and are given a temporary Interstate Pass. Ugandans who do not have passports are advised to get a temporary travel document. Cost 10k UGX. If you’re in Kampala, you can get one issued at Port Bell (or you can buy it at the border).
- Expats with work permits can get an Interstate Pass at the border as well. There is no form to fill in (just the standard arrivals form) and there is no cost. Yay!
- If you need a visa, you are supposed to apply online in advance, whether it’s for a single country visa or an East Africa Tourist Visa. However, all visas appear to be available in person at a border (except EATV, you’ll need to read my blog about that one).
Check out the blogs I’ve written about tourist visas
- Uganda – NOW LIVE: apply for Ugandan tourist visas online
- East Africa – What is the East Africa Tourist Visa? A definitive guide
- Rwanda – Rwanda announces all travelers can get #VisaOnArrival
- The set-up at the Kenya / Uganda border has changed and you now leave one country / enter another within the same building. Previously, you had to get your exit visa from one country and then walk across the border before getting your entry visa into the next country. I found the new system confusing and had apparently entered Kenya illegally! Apparently I did not have one of the required passport stamps, even though I had been processed by three different people at immigration.
- The MASH ticket says “Smoking, alcohol, chewing miraa is prohibited. Maximum luggage limit is 15 KG, any extra weight will be charged. Passengers are warned not to take any foodstuff offered by stranger.” In the past there were incidences of bus passengers being drugged and robbed (not on any particular route or with any particular bus company).
- In addition to the Uganda / Kenya route, MASH also operate to major towns across Kenya.
- Dreamline have also been recommended to me.
Have you taken the bus between Kampala and Nairobi? Which operator do you recommend?
Nairobi in lockdown – but Kenya still open for international tourists
Kenya’s President announced #lockdown to reduce spread of Coronavirus in the five counties of Nairobi, Kajiado, Machakos, Kiambu and Nakuru – that has now passed. Pole sana to my friends in and around #Nairobi as President Uhuru Kenyatta announced another #lockdown Friday 26th March 2021.
UPDATE: Saturday, 1 May 2021. NAIROBI – Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta has lifted the COVID-19 lockdown; curfew hours in the Zoned Area are revised to 10 pm to 4 am and restaurants can reopen. Across Kenya, bars can operate until 7 pm; education institutions and sporting activities can resume; nevertheless, Kenyans are encouraged to work from home.
Photo of Nairobi – pre-lockdown – photo courtesy of @Kasyokall and @Kenyapics.
Nairobi has been experiencing a third wave of COVID-19 infections and Kenya is reporting the highest rates of Coronavirus infections since the pandemic began one year ago. Kenya’s rate of COVID-19 positives jumped from 2% to 22% between January and March 2021; Nairobi accounts for nearly 60% of those cases. (Note: Coronavirus infections are predicted to spike again in Uganda as a result of rainy season weather).
However, it’s not all gloom and doom. Jomo Kenyatta (Nairobi) and Moi International (Mombasa) Airports are still open for visitors coming on safari and beach holidays in Mombasa, Diani, Watamu and beyond.
Some key points about #NairobiLockdown for anyone who is in Nairobi (or “the five counties”) or who is planning to travel to Kenya:
- No movement by road, rail and air in and out of the counties of Nairobi, Kajiado, Machakos, Kiambu and Nakuru until further notice. (Anyone got a camel I can borrow?) 🐪 🤭
- You can move freely within the five counties but you can’t leave or enter the ‘One Zoned Area.’
- International arrivals into Nairobi are still permitted, as long as travellers have a negative COVID-19 test that is no more than 96 hours old.
- For my Ugandan readers: my understanding is you can still fly from Entebbe International Airport to Nairobi or from Entebbe to the Coast but internal flights (e.g. between Nairobi and the coast will cease on Monday 29th March 2021).
- International buses are affected too (and had only just restarted)… 😥
- The only bus service that Mash are currently operating is the Kitui to Mombasa route.
- No in-person meetings of any kind in the five counties until further notice. This includes sports matches, church services and political meetings.
- Bars are suspended and restaurants can only provide takeaway services and are banned from selling alcohol. Schools and universities are closed (except for those taking exams).
- Everyone has to work from home until further notice, except for those whose services can’t be provided remotely.
- Weddings may have no more than 30 people attending; no more than 50 people are allowed at a funeral.
- Curfew will start at 8 pm and end at 4 am in the five counties. (Elsewhere, Kenya’s nationwide curfew will continue from 10 pm to 4 am for a further 60 days effective from 12 March 2021).
- According to the UK’s Daily Telegraph, the British High Commission in Nairobi has indicated that Kenya is likely to be added to the UK government’s red list. “If you have been in or through any of the countries on the red list in the previous 10 days, you will be refused entry to the UK.” If indeed Kenya is added to the UK’s red list, British tourists will still be allowed to travel to Kenya but they will have to quarantine for ten days when they return home to the UK. That is likely to discourage many. However, since the UK government has banned all international travel until the end of June (at least), you might speculate that this is a ‘storm in a teacup’! By the time Brits are free to travel, Nairobi will have reemerged from lockdown (we hope). I believe it would be extremely unfair – and massively damaging for the Kenyan economy – to add Kenya to the UK’s red list. The biggest number of visitors to Kenya do not even visit Nairobi; they go on safari and they travel to the coast.
- UPDATE April 2 2021 Covid-19: Kenya added to UK’s ‘red list’ travel ban *scroll down to the comments for latest info on what that means*
- The UK has expressed concern that the free movement of people between Tanzania and Kenya during the pandemic has brought COVID-19 variants into Kenya. In April 2020, the late President Magufuli of Tanzania declared the country to be free of COVID-19. He claimed that God had protected Tanzania from the pandemic and ordered reopening of the country’s borders. Despite some border controls (people traveling from Tanzania into Kenya must have a negative Covid-19 certificate), there are many unofficial border crossings. Tanzania has not published statistics on Coronavirus since May 2020 (yet a friend recently attended a festival of 1000+ people in Zanzibar recently!) Keeping the Tanzania border open means that Kenyans who travel to the UK are forced to spend 10 days in government-sanctioned quarantine hotels.
- UPDATE end March 2021 President Suluhu says Tanzania to re-evaluate position on Covid-19 “We cannot isolate ourselves as if we are an Island but also, we cannot accept everything brought to us. We cannot continue just reading about Covid-19 worldwide, yet Tanzania is all blank [sic]. It is incomprehensible,” she said. “Tanzania needs to have its own understanding of where we stand on the issue of Covid-19.”
The new Nairobi lockdown is not good news. I only hope it stems the high rate of COVID-19 infections in and around Nairobi.
I can’t wait to revisit Nairobi. In fact, I’m planning to fly to Nairobi soon (and had my first COVID-19 jab in Kampala last week). Read my blog about the Nairobi Serena Hotel’s ‘architectural, cultural and conservation tour,’ a fascinating voyage of discovery across the continent – all from the hotel.
Thinking of all my friends in Kenya 🤗🇰🇪😷
Are you in Nairobi? Or are you planning to travel to Kenya soon? Travel arrangements change constantly during COVID-19 so I will be updating this page frequently. You are welcome to post a question here in the comments or contact me directly. (Comments are better as your questions may help a wider audience).
How to tour Africa from the comfort of your Nairobi hotel
The Nairobi Serena Hotels’s Architectural, Cultural and Conservation tour takes you on a fascinating voyage of discovery across the continent – and is highly recommended!
On my last trip to Nairobi, I stayed at the fabulous – gorgeously renovated – Nairobi Serena Hotel. Over breakfast (an event in itself!) I planned a day’s sightseeing.
I was disappointed to see the rain falling and reluctantly shelved my plan to take a short walk through Uhuru Gardens to the Murumbi Gallery at Point Zero. The Murumbi Gallery started as the private collection of Joseph and Sheila Murumbi who travelled the continent to curate a mind-boggling collection of artefacts that present African culture through hundreds of years of craftsmanship. The scope and beauty of the Murumbi Gallery’s collection is breath-taking. I have to visit every time I’m in Nairobi.
When I learned that the Nairobi Serena Hotel has their very own Architectural, Cultural and Conservation Tour, you can imagine my delight! In fact, this unique hotel tour is led by the highly professional concierge Felix Tiony who was trained at the very same Murumbi Gallery. There was no need to brave the rain: I could have my cultural experience (with a personal guide) within the comfort of the hotel.
Felix, a Concierge Clefs d’Or, explained how Alan Donovan, chairman of Murumbi Gallery and mastermind of the phenomenal Heritage House, had been curating interiors at Serena Hotels for over 40 years! My affection for Nairobi Serena grew deeper by the moment.
Click on the images in the gallery to read about some of the items on display.
Fragrant flowers are always a central part of the Serena Hotels’ decor. Here in Nairobi, next to the huge floral displays are intriguing historical artefacts, statues and carvings.
I believe the Architectural, Cultural and Conservation Tour is only supposed to take one hour but I was so full of questions that I’m sure I must have taken up three hours of Felix’s time!
This tour is complimentary for hotel guests and Felix has a wealth of interesting details about the artefacts on display. He also revealed the Pan-African theme throughout every space in the hotel. As he described the motifs and their origins, I perceived the same shapes in the flooring, in etchings on glass windows, on furniture. It was thoroughly engaging.
Established in 1976, the Nairobi Serena is certainly not just another Nairobi city hotel. I had a great feeling for its sense of history and its Pan-African theme.
The hotel’s architecture reflects a fusion of cultural influences from West Africa, Morocco, North Africa and Islam. Click on the images below to see the Bambara Lounge, named after the Bambara community of Mali and designed around a West African theme. The gorgeous hand-carved camphor wood panels depict African legends and superstition. The backdrop to the Mandhari Fine Dining Restaurant is a 60-foot Kisii soapstone mural of the Ngong Hills by Jony Waite. I loved the colourful lanterns, tapestry screens and Moroccan-inspired brass decorations of the Cafe Maghreb restaurant, also pictured below. The Ethiopian-themed Aksum Bar is named after the Northern Ethiopian town. The Kingdom of Aksum reigned at the heart of ancient Ethiopia until the 13th century. The Aksum Bar’s unique style is fittingly fun for a sports bar!
My guide Felix pointed out the motif of ‘an abstracted lizard,’ that originates from the Senofu people of Cote D’Ivoire where it can be seen carved on doors and is believed to be a sign of wealth and status. This is just one of many interesting symbols that run throughout the design of the hotel. (By the way, descriptions of various artefacts here are taken from the exquisite book My journey through African heritage by Alan Donovan, which is available in the Nairobi Serena gift shop).
The Architectural, Cultural and Conservation Tour is also available at the Serena Beach Resort & Spa in Mombasa and Kampala Serena Hotel and is complimentary to all in-house guests.
If you’d like to experience the Nairobi Serena Hotels’s tour for yourself, call +254 (0)202 842333 / (0)732 123333. Read more about the fabulous Nairobi Serena Hotel’s 5 star facilities in my Travel Directory. It’s gorgeous beyond words!
Kenya
The Muzungu’s top 10 reasons for visiting #MagicalKenya
The divine Karen Blixen Camp seen from the river. In the Mara North Conservancy, the Maasai work with lodge owners to conserve wildlife
I LOVE Kenya – for a hundred – THOUSAND – reasons – but let’s just start with ten …
- Kenya is the home of the classic African safari and the Big Five
- Kenya is a vast country of contrasting landscapes
- Kenya has 48 national parks, reserves, marine parks and private sanctuaries
- Kenyans are world-class leaders in wildlife conservation. Read Why Kenya’s ivory burning makes sense #worthmorealive
- Kenya has 400 mammal species and 1057 bird species, the most of any country in Africa
- The Great Migration passes through Kenya’s Maasai Mara
- Kenyans are proud of their 42 tribal cultures, who play a big and colourful part in welcoming tourists
- Kenya offers an unmatched range of beach holidays, think: sunbathing, snorkelling, scuba diving, SUP Stand Up Paddling, kitesurfing, sailing
- English is widely spoken throughout Kenya. Swahili is the official language
- The East Africa Tourist Visa makes travel to Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda even better value
Famous as the birthplace of the African Safari, you can never tire of Kenya’s limitless attractions for visitors and incredible diversity of landscapes and natural diversity.
Giraffes on the horizon. Photo Riz Jiwa rizjiwa@gmail.com
Kenya’s world-famous wildlife is exceptional by any standards, and is protected in 48 national parks, reserves, marine parks and private sanctuaries, although many say that it is outside Africa’s national parks that the majority of wildlife still resides (meaning those animals need greater protection too).
The ‘Sleeping Warrior’ AKA Lord Delamere’s Nose is a stunning backdrop to views of flamingos from Lake Elmenteita Serena Camp
Have you visited a conservancy? I loved my three days at Lake Elmenteita Serena Camp in the Soysambu Conservancy in Kenya’s Rift Valley.
Read 10 fascinating flamingo facts (I bet you didn’t know). Lake Elmenteita is a birder’s paradise! (And a superb place for horse riding; game drives to see eland, Rothschild’s giraffes and leopard; the lakeshore breakfast among flamingos and pelicans was unforgettable too!)
Hot air ballooning safari: the sun rises over the Maasai Mara, Kenya – the GoPro view! from @CharlieBeau Diary of a Muzungu on Vimeo.
Kenya offers visitors an infinite array of authentic wildlife experiences, on land, on the ocean, and even from the air!
Great Migration, Maasai Mara, Hot Air Balloon Safaris. Photo Riz Jiwa rizjiwa@gmail.com
Kenya is most famous for the million and a half Wildebeest (and other four-legged friends) that, twice yearly, traverse the Maasai Mara in the epic migration.
Cheetah with three cubs, Maasai Mara safari, Kenya from @CharlieBeau Diary of a Muzungu on Vimeo.
Lesser-known ecotourism attractions include the Marine Big Five: sea turtles, dolphins, whales, whale sharks and billfish.
Hawksbill Turtles. Photo Turtle Bay Dive Centre Watamu
Did you know you can now experience the Twin Migration – uniquely – in Kenya? Watch the migration in the Mara and watch whales migrate along the coast too! Read all about whale watching trips from Watamu.
The highest point is the snowcapped peak of Mount Kenya, the intersection of the Equator and the Great Rift Valley.
Kenya is a geographer and naturalist’s dream: a country the size of France and Spain combined, featuring mountains, extinct volcanoes, soda lakes, Equatorial rainforest, alpine glaciers and arid deserts.
On the Indian Ocean coast, the white sandy beaches of Watamu, Malindi, Lamu and Mombasa, and the Swahili coast’s blend of African and Arab cultures, add an extra dimension to this must-visit country. Read 17 must-try experiences in Mombasa. 
The snorkeling in Watamu is out of this world. Diary of a Muzungu on the beach at Watamu, Kenya
TripAdvisor Winner 2015: Medina Palms’ clients voted this resort the BEST of all hotels, lodges and establishments across the whole country. A series of infinity pools lead down to the white powder sand beach
With eight swimming pools cascading down to the Indian Ocean, Swahili Beach Resort in Diani is high on my list of places for ‘a proper holiday.’🌴🍹🌊🥥👙⛱️
Read Swahili Beach – confessions of a travel blogger.
The 5 star Swahili Beach Resort in Diani – SWOON! Click on the image above to read my blog and view a gallery of this resort’s amazing architecture and interiors
A technicolor start to our morning’s sightseeing in Mombasa. Shree Cutch Satsang Swaminarayan Temple, Haile Selassie Avenue
When it comes to food, I can’t think of any better combination than the Kenyan coast combination of fresh seafood and spices: crab samosas, fresh fish and lobster, with a Swahili twist (washed down with an ice-cold Tusker beer, of course!)
Enjoying a cold Tusker at the Bomas, Nairobi
Kenya is famous for her colourful human culture, notably the Maasai, the Samburu and the Turkana, just three of the country’s 42 tribes.
Kenya’s rich heritage can be traced back a staggering 4.5 million years. Didn’t we all come from Africa once?
Walking to school through Uhuru Gardens, Central Business District, Nairobi. In November, the Jacaranda trees are in full and glorious blossom
I love Nairobi more every visit. The streets are becoming more familiar to me now: I LOVE this incredible video!
Nairobi- A Timelapse Portrait from xixo collective on Vimeo.
The capital Nairobi is the only African city with a national park in its centre. Even if you don’t get a chance to leave the city perimeter, it’s still possible to go on a game drive if you are visiting Nairobi. Read my blog all about Nairobi National Park: the muzungu’s first city safari!
If you’ve seen the incongruous-looking photographs of wildlife in front of a modern urban background, then you may know I’m talking about Nairobi National Park (which is actually IN Kenya’s capital, making it very accessible for weekend or business visitors).
I recently stayed at the 5 star Nairobi Serena Hotel, conveniently situated on a quiet and leafy corner of the Central Business District. The hotel has been totally refurbished and offers a complimentary Architectural, Cultural and Conservation to guests. The creativity is quite mind-blowing! If you’re a fan of African history and culture, the Murumbi Gallery and Heritage House, you must read How to tour Africa from the comfort of your Nairobi hotel.
Admire the fabulous wood carvings in the Bambara Lounge, Nairobi Serena Hotel on the Architectural, Cultural and Conservation Tour
This delicate brass box derives from West Africa. Isn’t it gorgeous? Click on the images to see more artefacts you can see on the Nairobi Serena’s Architectural, Cultural and Conservation Tour
Did you know…? The East Africa Tourist Visa makes it easier and cheaper to combine a trip to Kenya with a visit to Uganda and Rwanda. Read the Muzungu’s definitive guide to the East Africa Tourist Visa here.
I’ve only just skimmed the surface of what Kenya has to offer as a tourism destination but the country has blown my tiny little mind, I can tell you!
View from the Lunatic Express train from Nairobi to Mombasa
If you are travelling between Kampala to Nairobi, you might enjoy reading my cross-border bus journeys.
Travelling between Nairobi and the Mombasa coast? The photo above was taken on the Lunatic Express train – a real highlight of my travels across East Africa. It’s been replaced by the rather less romantic – but infinitely more reliable – Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) train. Read my detailed comparison between the bus and the train journey between Nairobi and Mombasa here in Brief encounter – of romance and railways.
Keep reading Diary of a Muzungu for more travel tips and adventures from across Kenya and East Africa.
Nairobi National Park. The muzungu’s first city safari!
A city safari in Nairobi National Park. An early morning game drive to match any safari in the bush!
It seemed weird to leave our four-star city hotel and drive through commuter traffic for an early morning safari. Usually, it’s a question of stumbling out of a tent into the Bush… [Note to self: next time, don’t miss the safari vehicle when it leaves the hotel!] If you’ve seen the incongruous-looking photographs of wildlife in front of a modern urban background, then you may know I’m talking about Nairobi National Park (which is actually in Kenya’s capital, making it very accessible for weekend or business visitors).
A flight with Safarilink shows the proximity of Nairobi National Park to Kenya’s capital
Despite many wonderful safari experiences in Uganda, notably while working for the Uganda Conservation Foundation, this was my first safari in Nairobi National Park and my first time to see White Rhino, Thomson’s Gazelle, Wildebeest, Eland, Ostrich and Reticulated Giraffe in the wild. (Uganda has Eland but they are very shy, and Ostrich are in the remote northeastern park of Kidepo).
Nairobi National Park is a pocket-handkerchief-sized 117 km² and the animal diversity is pretty amazing! The park is home to to 100s of species – elephant being one of the few that are missing. You’ll have to go to Maasai Mara, Amboseli or Tsavo – among many other conservancies and National Parks – to see elephants.
Aerial view of Nairobi National Park in the rain
Immediately we entered the park, there were the familiar smells of damp vegetation and animal manure. It smells like a National Park, it sounds like a National Park, and the variety of wildlife we encountered was soon to demonstrate that we really were in a National Park, despite it being surrounded on three sides by human development. Small aircraft flying overhead gave the Park another dimension. (You might say Nairobi National Park is boxed in from the air too).
‘Pemba’ the Swahili for warthog, Nairobi National Park. Photo Kenya Tourist Board / Magical Kenya
We passed the site where the Kenya Wildlife Service made history and burned the stockpile of confiscated elephant ivory. Kenya has taken bold steps to tackle poaching. It is well documented that the sale of legally gotten ivory (through the natural death of an elephant, for example) has stimulated unprecedented demand for ivory in China and fuelled the catastrophic levels of ivory poaching across Africa.
“If no elephant ever complained about the weight of their tusks, why take them off?” #WorthMoreAlive Kenya Wildlife Service
Click on this image to read why “Why it makes sense to burn #elephant and #rhino #ivory stockpiles…” #worthmorealive
The destruction of ivory, sometimes by burning, but these days by crushing, is the only answer. The temptation to steal confiscated ivory (valued at several thousand US dollars per kilo) is too much for many, and the penalties for being caught not harsh enough.
Early morning, our driver Anthony communicated in Kiswahili by radio with the other drivers in our safari convoy and announced that another driver had just spotted a pride of eleven lions ahead of us. (You can imagine our excitement!) We paused above a wooded ravine but it seemed the big cats had gone to cover. They were (understandably) not in a rush to come out and be gawped at by us lot!
RIP Mohawk the lion, seen here in his natural habitat: the sad reality is that lions which leave the safety of Nairobi National Park will be lost in the surrounding city and killed. Photo Will Knocker
Instead of seeing lions, we were rewarded with seeing three White Rhino.
Nairobi National Park has a population of 27 White Rhino. It was wonderful to see them in the wild! (To date, I’ve only seen White Rhino at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary in Uganda. Uganda’s own population of Black and White Rhino are extinct).
Look carefully and you will spot three of Nairobi National Park’s white rhinos !
[Note to self: wear something warm if you’re going on an early morning game drive when the safari vehicle pop-up roof is open!]
An ostrich and a wildebeest. Ostrich are much bigger than I had imagined them to be. Uglier too! We saw five of these big birds in Nairobi National Park
Did you know… a group of zebras are called a DAZZLE? Common zebra grazed one side of the dirt track
My most memorable moment of our Nairobi safari was watching the single, elegant giraffe walking slowly down the track towards us
It peered at us through the open roof as it brushed the side of the van. With gasps of excitement as the giraffe walked within inches of us, not one of us professional travel writers, bloggers and photographers managed to take a decent photograph!
[Note to self: do read the manual before you use your new camera for the first time!]
Wildlife is under immense pressure by human encroachment. Nowhere demonstrates this better than Nairobi National Park: human development on three sides of the park; planes flying overhead; the need to install water systems for the wildlife because the human populations are preventing water reaching the park. Controversially, infrastructure projects such as the Standard Gauge Railway have also been designed to go through the park. I’m a big fan of train travel – as you may remember from my trip on the Lunatic Express from Nairobi to Mombasa but I believe that one day Kenyans will regret the decision to let the train route go through the park (many are bitterly against it). Why can’t the SGR and the bypass be rerouted around the outside of the park? Why can’t underpasses be built? The deal has been done. We just pray disturbance of animals is kept to a minimum.
Have you been on safari in Nairobi National Park?
I really enjoyed our early morning game drive and saw many species I had never seen before. A safari in Nairobi National Park is a fantastic day out if you have limited time in the capital. It’s a delightful way for people who live in Nairobi to (re)connect with their incredible natural heritage too.
Vervet Monkey waiting for me to put something in the bin…. so he can quickly remove it again! Near the hippo pools, Nairobi National Park
Where to find more info on safaris in Nairobi National Park
I think that if I lived in Nairobi, I would volunteer with Friends of Nairobi National Park. Check out their web site, plus the management’s own Nairobi National Park website and the Kenya Wildlife Service’s Nairobi National Park and Nairobi Safari Walk pages.
Wildlife fans will have to visit the Nairobi Animal Orphanage too! (It’s located in Nairobi National Park so you can visit after your game drive).
Feeding the cheetahs at Nairobi Animal Orphanage. PHOTO Nairobi Animal Orphanage
MIAW! Bottle-feeding a lion cub at Nairobi Animal Orphanage. PHOTO Nairobi Animal Orphanage
If you enjoyed my blog about Nairobi National Park, feel free to share it!
Have you read The Muzungu’s top 10 reasons for visiting #MagicalKenya?
Do you stop the car in Nairobi?
“Stop the car,” says Jane. “Take me back to the airport.”
It’s 11 pm. After an uneventful flight – save for the mother who let her (very obviously distressed) 4 year old son bawl for 20 minutes, we land in Nairobi.
We’re last on the plane. (Are there many international airports where the flight attendant approaches you in duty-free to remind you the plane is about to leave?)
We banter with the guys at immigration at Jomo Kenyatta Airport. Despite being EAC residents – and regular visitors to Kenya – they still want to charge Jane the standard $50 tourist visa fee. (Where’s EAC integration when you need it?) The Guy with the Attitude tells her to show him where her visa is (isn’t it HIS job to decipher all those pages of stamps and dodgy handwriting?) “Na na na na” she says as she flashes the page in his face. Too late. He has started writing her name on the visa stamp.
Next in line, mine therefore reads her name crossed out then mine.
A note to Immigration: I’m trying to adhere to the rules but … despite my best and honest efforts, last time I entered Kenya as Nagawa (my Ugandan name) and I left as a US citizen.
It’s only when we get in the taxi that Jane – two hours sans fags – notices the large sign in front of her saying:
NO SMOKING
“Stop the car,” says Jane. “Take me back to the airport. I want another car.”
“What?” asks the driver, confused.
“It is against company policy to smoke in our taxis.” He carries on driving.
“It is against the law to smoke in a taxi in Kenya.” He’s biding his time…
A fast one-way road stretches out in front of us (how will he turn round?) Uganda’s potholed roads force us to drive slowly; smooth, fast roads always scare me when I first leave Uganda
Jane picks up the phone and calls his boss. I squirm in the back of the car.
Jane’s voice rises. “You lied to me!” she tells him,” it is NOT company policy that passengers can’t smoke in cars and it is NOT illegal to smoke in a taxi in Kenya.” Even I’m feeling like a fag by now!
Her accusations are met with silence from the driver.
Karibu – welcome to Kenya … ! This conversation just would not happen in Uganda. Few people smoke / few people care if you smoke and disagreements are met with grace and humour (and a good measure of bullshit) but there’s rarely anger.
Tight rows of reflector posts guide us towards the well-lit UN HQ, soldiers patrolling its perimeter. And then, amidst all this security, a young man launches himself into the middle of the road ahead of us, grinning and waving his arms at us to slow down.
Our driver slows down. “Just keep on driving,” shouts Jane.
Why, after speeding all the way from the airport, does he choose to slow down at the chance of trouble? (Nairobi’s reputation for car jackings precedes it).
“Drive the fucker over!”
I didn’t come to Nairobi to kill someone; but suddenly, all the rules have changed. It feels so different to Uganda.
The driver puts his foot down and we continue into the night.
I first visited Nairobi en route to South Africa – A quick glimpse of Nairobi nightlife
To save money, I slept in the airport. Check out this funky web site – Sleeping in Airports! and my review of Nairobi airport.
An alternative way to travel from Uganda, is by bus – Kampala to Nairobi – 14 hours of speed bumps
Kampala to Nairobi by bus – 14 hours of speed bumps!
Travel by bus between Uganda and Kenya – with tips and links to some of my favourite travel stories!
It was a terrible night’s ‘sleep’ – a 14-hour bus journey from Kampala to Nairobi: the speed bumps shuddered us awake every few minutes. I swear I woke a hundred times. I awoke cold, shivering and aching.
A few glasses of Waragi – it was my birthday after all – would have knocked me out, but I daren’t drink too much when I know (from the equally long bus ride to Kigali in Rwanda) that the bus drivers have bladders like camels and only stop once, twice if you’re lucky, on the whole journey.
Cowhides for sale along the road to Nairobi from the Uganda border
As night became day, I heard Chinese say “Nagawa, look!” and she pointed to a beautiful caldera (volcano), tinted pale brown, with a pale blue sky and mist in the distance. What a magical sight.
An hour before reaching Nairobi, I watched people walking to work: a man carried enormous lidded baskets over his shoulder, donkeys trailed box carts, a man lay on the ground inspecting his bicycle. Stalls sold cowhides displayed at the roadside.
The bus sped past the ‘Master Kitchen Hotel’ and ‘Hotel Paradise’, two-room shacks painted in bright vertical stripes. Despite their simplicity, I enjoyed the variety of the architecture, in contrast to the uniformity of Uganda.
As we passed tree plantations, I thought of Professor Wangari Maathai founder of the Green Belt Movement and wondered whether they were her work? She died just a few days before we travelled. Since 1977, the Green Belt Movement has planted over 45 million trees in Kenya, and thousands of women have been empowered to lift themselves and their families out of poverty. In 2004, Wangari Maathai became the first environmentalist and African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize. I’d been thinking about her all week and what an incredible role model she was so it was quite moving to be racing through Kenya and seeing plantations of young trees.
In Nairobi, street sweepers’ brooms have handles! – unlike the back-breaking work in Kampala where the ladies are bent double, laboriously sweeping the roads by hand, as rush hour traffic speeds past inches away from them.
Despite the grubbiness of downtown Nairobi (why do bus stations always take you to the shittiest parts of town?) I had to smile at the wonderfully named shops ‘Recovery Pharmacist’ ‘Arise and Shine Fashions’ and ‘Best Care House Girls.’
Our group stumbled, bleary-eyed, out of the bus and jumped in a matatu (slightly less battered than the Kampala ones!) and headed to our hotel in a leafy part of town. I couldn’t believe it when we pulled up next door to the HQ of the Green Belt Movement! The Hashers made for the bar; I made my way to the condolences book and paid my humble respects, alongside tributes from governments and politicians from across the world. I couldn’t believe the timing – I confess I’d only recently known of Professor Maathai’s work and here I was staying a few metres from the base of this fantastic operation, during the week of condolences.
Paying respects – condolences book. late Professor Wangari Maathai
This cross-border bus journey marked the start of the epic Nairobi to Naivasha Relay which Kampala Hash House Harriers have emulated with our equally awesome Kampala to Jinja Relay!
I love the Hash – together we have travelled all corners of East Africa – and beyond – to Hoima, Kigali, Addis Ababa, Malindi and even to the border with South Sudan (where some silly muzungu got rather lost!)
If you enjoy my cross-border bus journeys, read The real ‘boda boda’ – Nagawa travels sidesaddle into Kenya and MASH-tastic the muzungu’s bus tips from Kampala to Nairobi.
