Ngong Hills

On October 4th, I went hiking in the Ngong Hills just outside of Nairobi in the town of Ngong. I caught a bus early in the morning with my friend Anna outside of Prestige Plaza (a large shopping center near my home). It took about a half hour to get to Ngong Town and the bus was quite crowded with people going to the Nairobi Show. When we arrived we were dropped off at the main stage where all the buses and matatus pick up and drop off passengers. The town was very busy and had many different stands with vendors selling everything from fruits, sugar cane, rice, nuts and cellphone air time. As always, two white people walking around attracted some attention from people as we got the now expected chants of "how are you" and "mzungu!!!" We utilized the African Map which is basically asking people directions until you eventually find your way. We ended up walking about 1.5 miles from the town up and winding road and eventually found a very small sign that indicated that we were going in the right direction. From there we walked up a STEEP gravel path for about another half mile to the gate. We ended up having to pay 100 KSH ($1.38) to get in which we of course were hesitant to pay since we thought it was another instance of trying to get the white people to pay more for things than the average person. We tried telling the workers that we were residents and lived in Kenya (in Swahili) but they didn't buy it. We figured it wasn't very much so we gave up. They recommended that we take a guide with us on our hike and pointed to the disclaimer sign warning people about wild animal attacks in the area. We politely refused the assistance of a guide.

As we started hiking, we soon realized that having a guide would be completely unnecessary. The hike was very straightforward and we just followed a single path all the way to the top. The "wildlife" that they warned us about ended up just being the occasional grazing goat, sheep or cow. The path was pretty steep so we took several breaks for water and to admire the views. As we got closer to the top, we could see all of Ngong town and for many miles in the valley. It took us about an hour and a half to make it to the top. The top of the hill is home to many satelite dishes and towers. We decided to eat an early lunch and enjoy the views from the top of the hill. As we ate a dozen cows walked by us and we being the city kids that we are got excited and took pictures with them. It was definitely a lot colder on top of the hill and we ended up having to put on our rain jackets we packed. This time of year, the rains come quite frequently in the afternoon so we had to be prepared for anything.

The hike down the hill went a lot faster. Since the decent was so steep, it was hard on our toes. We took the bus back into downtown Nairobi and then went to the Maasai Market. When we arrived we were immediately welcomed by the self-proclaimed "chiefs" of the market. They explained to us that they would help show us around the market and gather things from different vendors to help us comparison shop. When we were finished they would bring together everything and then barter the price. I had been looking into buying a rhino sculpture since I arrived in Kenya and I had been doing a lot of comparison shopping so I knew exactly what I should pay for it. I walked around the market and picked up some African masks, a Maasai blanket, some jewelry and several batiqs (painted murals). One man brought a mural that I really liked but he told me the price was 10,500 KSH ($145). I knew from the minute I heard the price that he was trying to rip me off. I used my new-found Swahili to call him out on it saying that he was charging me "bei ya mzungu" (white person's price). He asked me to name my price so I told him I would pay him 750 KSH for it - a drastic difference from his 10,500 asking price. I could tell instantly that my price was too low and for the first time ever I actually had a vendor walk away from me. Of course being a true Kenyan, he found me 10 minutes later in the market wanting to bargain with me again. I eventually got him down to 2,000 KSH (1/5 his original price!) but I could tell that he was still overly eager to finalize the deal. I told him that it was still too expensive and that I wasn't about to pay an inflated mzungu price. Vendors are never very friendly when they realize you aren't going to buy from them.

It started to rain so I ran across the street with Anna and the "chiefs." I only had 2100 KSH with me so I knew I had to do some serious bartering. I knew that I could get a certain price for the rhino sculpture at the Hilton (hotel) Arcade. They started with all of the prices way over their actual value. I had set aside a small and a large rhino sculpture. They wanted 3400 KSH for the rhino that I knew I could get for 1500 KSH at the Hilton Arcade. They wrote down a price for each item and then asked me to write down my price. For each time I halved their price and then some. Oftentimes the mzungu price is SO inflated that even half the price is still more than you should pay for it. I've started to like the challenge of bartering so I spent about 45 minutes talking the various prices down. When they wouldn't budge any further, I employed one of the my dad's favorite tricks that he always uses when buying a car. I gave my final offer and when they said no, I grabbed my things and just walked away. This definitely got their attention and before I knew it they gave me the Maasai blanket and large rhino for 2100 KSH. They were originally asking for 3400 KSH for the rhino and another 2000 KSH for the blanket. I left the market feeling only mildly cheated.