What's really going on in Kenya? Is it now safe for tourists?

If you've been following the news, you'll no doubt be aware of the recent political unrest and violence in Kenya. But what's it like really? And is it now safe to visit Kenya?

I've got relatives who live in Nanyuki just North East of Nairobi. My parents have been visiting there (and are still there in fact) so have been able to give their thoughts and impressions on the recent turmoil - and whether Kenya was in fact, as violent and dangerous for tourists as it's been made out to be in the press.

Here's what they said:

"It's been interesting to hear about the troubles here first hand. The first person we spoke to (a barman) said that in Nairobi it was very localised to the slum areas and that he saw nothing of it.

In fact, he watched the same feeds on the news as the rest of the world to find out what was going on. Obviously it was bad in places, mainly in the Rift Valley and in the North West, but again very localised. It seems there was nothing in Mombasa.

However the effect on tourism has been devastating.

A lot of hotels in Mombasa have closed down and thousands of hotel workers have been laid off. When you realise that about ten people rely on the income of one worker, a lot of people are struggling.

Everyone is very frustrated with the international news organisations for their very biased and negative reporting. Instead of pointing out that places on the coast were unaffected and safe (no tourists or foreigners were involved or hurt at all in the whole thing), they concentrated on all the negative things and when there was nothing new to say, they just regurgitated the old stuff."

Africa is often portrayed as a violent and dangerous continent; one that you'd have to be mad or incredibly brave to visit.

We've just spent the best part of three months here in South Africa - also often widely reported as having violent crime problems.

We've had no problems whatsoever and whilst the trappings of a crime-ridden country are evident (bars on windows, electric fences, armed response alarms), it's interesting to read in the local papers that South Africans view the teen crime problems in the UK as being just as big a problem as the crime here.

Fortunately, the internet has levelled the playing field and with bloggers and roving 'amateur' reporters on the loose, perhaps we'll get a more balanced view of global situations than ever before.