Travel and Personal
A Tourist in Karen
For all my travels in Kenya, I have spent precious little time in Nairobi itself. So today I played the unabashed tourist, spending the afternoon in Nairobi’s expat mecca - Karen.
This serene suburb of Nairobi is named after Karen Blixen, who lived here from 1914-1931, and brought Kenya to the ‘civilized world’ in her widely read book Out of Africa. Today, the suburb has built upon that reputation, and with loads of museums and art and craft shops, is a must on every tourist’s itinerary.
There is certainly plenty to see here. Karen Blixen museum - her earstwhile home; or Karen Blixen Coffee House - previously the Suedo African Coffee Company and Estate. There is also much to please the animal lover. The giraffe orphanage, where one can relish giraffes eating out of ones hand.
True to form, I skipped the animal tour. Instead, I spent three hours at the coffee house, enjoying the most lazy lunch imaginable. The food was not worth recommending, but the environment was.
Next came Matbronze artworks, a veritable jungle of lifelike animal sculptures in bronze. From the lifesize crocodile at the entrance to the miniature fishes and birds, everything was exceptional - and expensive. I did not buy anything.
Matbronze is not the only art workshop. Our next stop was an even more expensive art gallery, with souveniers for tourists that only have time for one stop to do their shopping. Some interesting trinkets, but nothing ground breaking.
Karen certainly lives up to its reputation as an expensive and exclusive suburb. And this before I’ve even set eyes on the residential district. Still, it has nothing much to offer me. Sure, I’d like the photo op with the giraffes and elephants, but the pleasure of walking the streets of town and eating corn for Ksh. 10, or photographing the city from the top of KICC must take priority.
Discussion
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As someone who lived in Karen/Lang’ata for many years, I can assure you it is not as exclusive as some would like it to be. We have the same bad roads, NO water, power cuts etc as anywhere else. I’m sorry you didn’t like it. It is much more of a local area - locals being black, white and brown, than some of the other suburbs which are full of expats, “2-year wonders” and red number plates. There used to be very little tourism in this part of town until the film Out of Africa was released, and Karen’s house turned into a museum. As for the Matbronze gallery, what a pity you didn’t take the time to learn how much work goes into each and every piece. If you had, you would realise that some of the pieces there are VERY reasonably priced. I guess bronze just isn’t your “thing”. No - I don’t work for them, and I am not a wealthy mzungu, in case you’re wondering.
Perhaps most of the attractions in this area appeal more to the kids and older adult (giraffe feeding, elephant and rhino orphanage, museums etc).
Next time you have the chance to go to Kenya, visit this area with a Karen / Lang’ata resident - you might see it with different eyes!