First impressions of Kenya

To be honest, our first impression of Kenya is that it doesn’t differ much from Tanzania, except for that more people seem to speak better English. Although Swahili is also the lingua franca, English seems much more widely used than in Tanzania.

The services are polite and efficient, the roads relatively good, and we are finding everything we need everywhere. There are a few cell phone networks available, but the same Zain which we used in Tanzania is also present in Kenya (as well as in Uganda).

On 13 February 2009, the exchange rate was:
- Ksh 1 (one Kenyan shilling) to Tsh 16.6 (16.6 Tanzanian shilling)
- USD 1 to Ksh 78
- ZAR 1 to Ksh 8
- About Euro 1 to Ksh 100

Shopping for food in the streets is much more affordable than at supermarkets (and your money goes to individuals rather than big businesses). Below are a few ideas of prices (in the streets of Nairobi)…
- Ksh 50 for 1 Kg of tomatoes or onions
- Ksh 70 for 1Kg of potatoes
- Ksh 10 for a mango
- Ksh 5 for a banana
- Ksh 75.8 for 1l of petrol (It was around Tsh 1340 in Tanzania, and between Mt 36 and 40 in Mozambique)

The temperatures vary greatly depending on where you are. Nairobi is 1770msl and much cooler that at the coast. Yesterday was the first day I wore socks since we left Cape Town!