Earlier this year, I had traveled to Nairobi for a conference. While I was there for nearly a week, I only had the day I arrived free so I booked a car at the hotel to take me and a few colleagues to some places I had wanted to visit.

(1) Giraffe Center: The center is a conservation center for Rothschild giraffes. Visitors can learn more about the endangered species as well as meet a few and feed them.

(2) Karen Blixen Museum:

The home of Karen Blixen, author of Out of Africa, was another place I visited during my afternoon out. While I had not read the autobiography but rather seen the movie in which Meryl Streep acted, it was nice to connect pieces of the story to the place where the author had centered her story.

(3) Kazuri Bead and Factory:

Close to Karen Blixen museum, I had wanted to drop by the place. However, our driver was in a hurry to get back to the hotel so we only had time for a quick viewing and shopping. While I did not have time to take any photos, the Kazuri beads (ceramic beads) shop is a great place to get some gifts for yourself and family.

(4) Rooftop Maasai Market:

I learnt that there was a Maasai Market every Wednesday at the Thika Road Mall, near the hotel we were staying at. So a few of us decided to pop in there at the end of the day. It was a fun shopping experience especially as one of us was an expert bargainer and the rest of us relied on her to help with the bargaining.

(5) Ugali at Java House

During my week in Nairobi, I was looking out for traditional Kenyan dishes. However, while there were international restaurants at the hotel I stayed at, there was no Kenyan specific restaurant nor was there any offering apart from the fried bread served in the breakfast buffet. So, I was delighted to see a Kenyan dish served at Java House at Thika Road Mall. It was Ugali (a cornmeal dish) served with Chicken Dhanya.

(6) Coffee:

While Kenya is both a tea and coffee producer, I was keen to try out Kenya’s coffee. My favourite was the flat white I had at Artcaffe. 
Have you been to Nairobi? If you had less than a day to explore the city, which would be the experiences you choose to have?