City Guide - Nairobi

NAIROBI is one of Africa's major cities: the UN's fourth "World Centre", East Africa's commercial and aid hub, and a significant capital in its own right, with a population of between a million and a half and three million, depending on how big an area you include.

As a traveller, your first impressions are likely to depend on how - and where - you arrive. Coming here overland, some time resting up among the fleshpots can seem a pleasant proposition. Newly arrived by air from Europe, though, you may wonder - amid the rash of signs for California Cookies, Wimpy and Oriental Massage - just how far you've travelled. Nairobi, just a century old in 1999, has real claims to Western-style sophistication but, as you'll soon find, it lacks a convincing heart. Apart from some lively musical attractions - some of East Africa's busiest clubs and best bands - there's little here of magnetic appeal, and most travellers stay long enough only to take stock, make some travel arrangements and maybe visit the National Museum , before moving on.

If you're interested in getting to know the real Kenya, though, Nairobi is as compelling a place as any and displays enormous vitality and buzz. The controlling ethos is commerce rather than community, and there's an almost wilful superficiality in the free-for-all of commuters, shoppers, police, hustlers and tourists. It's hard to imagine a city with a more fascinating variety of people, and almost all of them newcomers. Most are immigrants from rural areas, drawn to the presence and opportunities of money, and Nairobi, on the surface at least, seems to accept everyone with complete tolerance. On any downtown pavement you can see a complete cross-section of Kenyans, plus every variety of tourist and refugees from many African countries.

Nairobi's rapid growth inevitably has a downside however (read any newspaper or talk to any resident and you'll hear some jaw-dropping stories of crime and police shootings), and you should certainly be aware of its reputation for bag-snatching and robbery , frequently directed at new tourist arrivals. If you plan to stay for any length of time, learn the art of survival; with the right attitude, you're unlikely to have problems. For the few days that most people spend in Nairobi - if initial misgivings can be overcome - it's a stimulating city.

Despite the fact that it usually carries armed undercover police, a lot of people get ripped off within an hour of arriving on the #34 bus from the airport. Victims get distracted in conversation or jostled, or have their hands grabbed and shaken by strangers. It's no joke and the best way to avoid unwanted attention is to take exaggerated care of your valuables: stash away cameras, wristwatches and jewellery; tuck your money belt inside your trousers/skirt; keep nothing of value in breast-pockets; and ensure that luggage zips and pockets are closed before you walk out into the main arrivals hall. If anything does start to happen on the bus, make a lot of noise - it's no time to be shy. Sometimes it's enough just to clock the thieves - often young - and let them know you've seen them, which, surprisingly enough, usually stops them, and you can all have a (nervous) laugh.

Once in town, it helps to memorize any route you're walking, as lost-looking tourists are the easiest target of all. Keep your hands out of reach and be - rationally - suspicious of everyone until you've caught your breath. It doesn't take long to get a little streetwise. Every rural Kenyan coming to the city for the first time goes through exactly the same process, and many are considerably "greener" than you, having never been in a city before. Dressing like a local and not carrying a bag will help you avoid ninety percent of unwanted approaches.

Driving in Nairobi can be a nerve-wracking experience for inexperienced or nervous drivers, though you do tend to get used to it after a few days. The main things to watch out for are matatus, which stop as suddenly as they lurch back into the fray, and roundabouts. These labour under "priority traffic" regulations, which in theory means cars already on the roundabout have priority, but in practice means chaos as no-one is terribly keen to cede right of way. Always stay in lane. If you're worried, you should pick up the car at the airport, which gives you time to get used to the car and the traffic before joining the city centre fray.

Nairobi has no shortage of eating places . Their diversity is one of the city's best points, and eating out is an evening pastime which never dulls. Admittedly, African food is generally not highlighted in the more expensive restaurants which offer a range of Asian and European food, and spectacular quantities of meat.

This bias isn't really a problem. You can save money and eat African and Asian food in hundreds of unpretentious places, though to catch the cheap eats you'll have to go out early; by 8pm most of the bargain restaurants have finished the day's food. And if you want a burger or a pizza or a huge steak or totally vegetarian salad, it's all available.

With the limited range of cultural activities available, it's not surprising that drinking and dancing are what a night out in Nairobi is usually about. Entrance fees are low by international standards and prices for drinks are much the same as you'll pay in similar establishments elsewhere in the country. Be warned, however that, male or female, if you're not accompanied by a partner of the opposite sex, you soon will be.