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.