It appears like my writing has trickled to like a post a month....well I guess I have not been given the benefit of those few minutes to let my creative juices flow and express themselves. I must say it's been a while since I was involved in those annoying traffic snarl-ups that characterise a Nairobi population sooo scared of the rain you'd think it's the dreaded Al Qaeda or their more chicken wannabe Somali counterparts, the Al Shabaab threatening an attack on them. It's as though they'd react and melt or violently react with the rain if it touched them....We are a certain percentage sodium I guess!
Friday was such a day....It rained like we was in the Amazon and the malady that the weather brings befell our dear Nairobians...My workaholic self stayed behind in the office to try and reduce my chances of having to work over the weekend by quelling a few fires that were threatening to mess it up for me. So between 4 and 7.30pm (when I finally left the office), I kept busy slaving away. I kept seeing updates on twitter and workmates calling to complain about the parking lot that our roads were slowly turning into, especially those unfortunate enough to have been on Mombasa road. I offered them the only assistance I could at the time (Mu ha ha ha ha ha ha! ....ok am working on that evil laugh..it will come worry not!)..Anyway just before I left the office I scanned the roads round the office on Upper Hill all clear I thought as I mapped my exit heading for NPC Valley road. I had no plans yet. That was to be decided once I picked someone I had promised to pick at 8pm (Only the government thinks that far ahead!...coolest but true saying that I am not sure who came up with...thanx Anonymous!) Anyway so I get onto Haile Selasssie Avenue, heading towards KNH, oblivious of the racket on the roads up ahead...The road was clear upto the National Library roundabout (or so I thought), and before I knew it I had joined the parking lot. For 25 minutes I did not move an inch and it was getting annoying. By some magic the vehicles on my lane started turning and heading back into town (the other side of the road was very empty and there is a certain liberating feeling one gets of movement....any movement!). So I decided to go back down to the NSSF junction and try going round via Integrity cCentre and use the back-route that "toklezeas" at Slims on Lenana road. Surprisingly I went through that stretch pretty fast, and by 8.15pm (yes I was late...). I was there parked on the gravel outside NPC.
Now it was crunch time...the government had to decide, no procrastinating excuse...So out came madam and the question I had no immediate answer to popped...."So where do we go?". Seeing that it was a parking lot all around, any answer would fly I thought..."Up Lenana road to Junction...maybe if we get stuck in between we can just branch off into Caribana and wait for traffic to ease!" Anyway the cars looked like they were kind of moving, so off we left to join the parking lot procession..That was 8.30pm. We were at Caribana 1 km away at 9.30pm or thereabouts and snaked along the remaining 2kms of Lenana road reaching the end of that road at like 11pm...Not that I was complaining thaaaat much.It was great company, and I honestly wouldn't mind getting stuck in traffic with the same person again.
Anyway as we were cursing our luck..it was quite late and we were still on the road. Out of nowhere a fellow suffering "mheshimiwa" , the last person I'd expect to see stuck in traffic as well pops from behind. Now him being one of the few "waheshimiwas" with chase cars and some semblance of a motorcade in Kenya, he is not used to traffic jam, let alone parking in the road like the rest of us. So his security detail, in the interest of securing the safety of their charge, were busy clearing and making way fro him (Bless you Wiper)...So like the true Kenyan, immediately his motorcade passed, we dovetailed onto the motorcade and on came the hazards as we followed his motorcade out of the parking lot...We made it to Junction in record time I must admit. That side of town surprisingly had zilch traffic. I guess everyone in Nairobi was stuck around KNH, Mbagathi, Mombasa road or somewhere on Ngong road.
Anyway, suffice to say I never went back using that route on my way home. I preferred the longer route round Karen onto Lang'ata road which took me just 25 minutes after I had dropped my company for the evening home.
Anyway heard some people slept on Mombasa road from Daystar that night, so I think Wiper doesn't just clear the rain from your windshields, but clears the road ahead for those of us stuck in traffic
P.S. I in no way whatsoever endorse the political inclinations or support any political party other than Gor Mahia which is a movement, a calling, a lifestyle and a fashion statement! heh heh heh!
Friday was such a day....It rained like we was in the Amazon and the malady that the weather brings befell our dear Nairobians...My workaholic self stayed behind in the office to try and reduce my chances of having to work over the weekend by quelling a few fires that were threatening to mess it up for me. So between 4 and 7.30pm (when I finally left the office), I kept busy slaving away. I kept seeing updates on twitter and workmates calling to complain about the parking lot that our roads were slowly turning into, especially those unfortunate enough to have been on Mombasa road. I offered them the only assistance I could at the time (Mu ha ha ha ha ha ha! ....ok am working on that evil laugh..it will come worry not!)..Anyway just before I left the office I scanned the roads round the office on Upper Hill all clear I thought as I mapped my exit heading for NPC Valley road. I had no plans yet. That was to be decided once I picked someone I had promised to pick at 8pm (Only the government thinks that far ahead!...coolest but true saying that I am not sure who came up with...thanx Anonymous!) Anyway so I get onto Haile Selasssie Avenue, heading towards KNH, oblivious of the racket on the roads up ahead...The road was clear upto the National Library roundabout (or so I thought), and before I knew it I had joined the parking lot. For 25 minutes I did not move an inch and it was getting annoying. By some magic the vehicles on my lane started turning and heading back into town (the other side of the road was very empty and there is a certain liberating feeling one gets of movement....any movement!). So I decided to go back down to the NSSF junction and try going round via Integrity cCentre and use the back-route that "toklezeas" at Slims on Lenana road. Surprisingly I went through that stretch pretty fast, and by 8.15pm (yes I was late...). I was there parked on the gravel outside NPC.
Now it was crunch time...the government had to decide, no procrastinating excuse...So out came madam and the question I had no immediate answer to popped...."So where do we go?". Seeing that it was a parking lot all around, any answer would fly I thought..."Up Lenana road to Junction...maybe if we get stuck in between we can just branch off into Caribana and wait for traffic to ease!" Anyway the cars looked like they were kind of moving, so off we left to join the parking lot procession..That was 8.30pm. We were at Caribana 1 km away at 9.30pm or thereabouts and snaked along the remaining 2kms of Lenana road reaching the end of that road at like 11pm...Not that I was complaining thaaaat much.It was great company, and I honestly wouldn't mind getting stuck in traffic with the same person again.
Anyway as we were cursing our luck..it was quite late and we were still on the road. Out of nowhere a fellow suffering "mheshimiwa" , the last person I'd expect to see stuck in traffic as well pops from behind. Now him being one of the few "waheshimiwas" with chase cars and some semblance of a motorcade in Kenya, he is not used to traffic jam, let alone parking in the road like the rest of us. So his security detail, in the interest of securing the safety of their charge, were busy clearing and making way fro him (Bless you Wiper)...So like the true Kenyan, immediately his motorcade passed, we dovetailed onto the motorcade and on came the hazards as we followed his motorcade out of the parking lot...We made it to Junction in record time I must admit. That side of town surprisingly had zilch traffic. I guess everyone in Nairobi was stuck around KNH, Mbagathi, Mombasa road or somewhere on Ngong road.
Anyway, suffice to say I never went back using that route on my way home. I preferred the longer route round Karen onto Lang'ata road which took me just 25 minutes after I had dropped my company for the evening home.
Anyway heard some people slept on Mombasa road from Daystar that night, so I think Wiper doesn't just clear the rain from your windshields, but clears the road ahead for those of us stuck in traffic
P.S. I in no way whatsoever endorse the political inclinations or support any political party other than Gor Mahia which is a movement, a calling, a lifestyle and a fashion statement! heh heh heh!
