For all the niceties we have in Kenya (especially in Nairobi), we lack the presence of large Western chain stores and restaurant franchises. Honestly I couldn’t care less, but I remember it being a surprise when I first came to Kenya in 2007. In the United States at least, we’re used to being constantly bombarded with McDonald’s, Starbucks, and Walmart, etc; I was so sure that at least some of those familiar things would be here in Kenya.
You can’t buy a Big Mac in Kenya. There are no Burger Kings. But there’s good news for chicken lovers…
KFC at the Junction mall
To my knowledge, this is the first Western chain which has come to Kenya. The doors opened in August, 2011, and everyone’s been talking about it. I happened to be at the Junction mall the other day so I snapped a picture of the (in)famous Colonel Sanders logo.
I haven’t eaten there yet, and I probably never will (I hear it’s really expensive); I just think it’s funny to see that logo in Nairobi after all these years of seeing nothing but local brands…
Cassandra, Bill, and I went ice skating this past weekend at the Panari Sky Centre‘s “Solar Ice Rink” (whatever that means). Bill’s visiting ILRI from the UK to help with some embryo transfer stuff, and I figured it’d be fun for him to see something outside of the institute over the weekend.
I had my fancy shmancy phone with me so I just had to see how well I could skate backwards and take pictures…
Cassandra on the ice
Bill on the ice
Cassandra and Bill showing their Linux support
Alan ice skating
Hockey puck! Brings back memories…
… and video!
They only let you skate for one hour (after which they have to refreeze the ice… or something), but we must have gone around 400 times in that hour; a good workout, and very enjoyable!
There have been on and off shortages of sugar in Kenya for a month or two. I don’t buy sugar very often (how much do you really need anyways?), but twice in the last few weeks I’ve gone to my regular supermarket to buy some and I’ve found shelves empty. Last week, for example, I wanted to buy some sugar so I could bake some OMG brownies, but neither Uchumi or Nakumatt had any sugar!
Luckily my buddy found a few bags in a store downtown and dropped by to deliver ‘em. As we chatted he shared a theory with me about the shortages: supermarkets in upper-class suburbs like Westlands will never have sugar because, after a shortage, people will buy ten bags once it finally trickles back into stores. Grocery stores in other areas, though, have a different demographic: people who can only afford one bag!
Looks like he was right; I saw this sign on the pile of sugar at Nakumatt Junction yesterday:
Sugar notice at Nakumatt Junction
Hopefully not a sign of things to come, I love sugar in my coffee!
If you’re in the island-buying business you’re in luck: there’s a private island for sale in Lake Victoria, the lake that borders Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania. I happened to be perusing the property boards in the mall the other day and this caught my eye:
Island for sale
You have to wonder whether the “resort on site” is part of the deal? I also wonder if there’s some sort of protection against President Museveni of Uganda, as he’s been known to make bold claims with regards to Uganda’s interests in the lake region of East Africa. I’d hate to spend my life’s savings on an island only to have it usurped by some politician!
Lover of Linux, death metal and Indian food, blogs about living and working in Nairobi, Kenya.