Mombasa

The GSB crowd in Nairobi, i.e. Ziad, Abby, and I, went on a weekend trip to Mombasa. Before coming here, I knew very little about Africa. My limited impressions about Africa were the endless grassland, countless wild animals, local primitive people, disease, famine and poverty. I didn't know it offers some of the finest beach destinations in the world. So the trip to Mombasa, the largest city on Kenya’s coast, gave me another aspect of life in Africa.

Mombasa is the largest coastal port in East Africa. It has been, at various times, a Swahili city-state, the capital of Portuguese East Africa, and Omani provincial capital and the railhead for the British East Africa Railway.

We took the overnight train. Delux class cost us $60 per person one way, including dinner and breakfast. I was expecting something similar to the Oriental Express type of thing, but it turned out to be something between the hard and soft sleeper in China. Two berth per compartment, a cabinet, a sink and running water. Our train got delayed for about 40 minutes but dinner started on time at 7:45PM. They have a coach designated as restaurant. Four people per table. The meal was fine.

I had good sleep and by the time I woke up, it's almost 9AM. We had continental breakfast and spent the rest of the morning looking out of the window – acacias, bushes, small villages – very typical East African landscape. And there were many kids standing by the railroad, grinning, waving hands and yelling at us. I guess people drop small gifts or coins out from the train and these kids are waiting to collect some souvenirs.

The train was very slow. At some point, one kid was running after the train and he could catch up with us without much difficulty, which reveals how slowly the train goes. By the time we arrive at Mombasa railway station, it's already noon. Sixteen hours for 500 kilometers!

Nairobi Railway Station Abby and I leaning out of the train window

"Hello" we heard some kids greeting us but couldn't locate them at first. Then I discovered it's actually coming from these two kids behind a door.

We settled at Royal Court Hotel in town, had lunch and headed out for a late afternoon walk around the Old Town as there's no time left to go to the beach. The Fort Jesus was only two blocks away from our hotel, at the harbor entrance. It was built by Portuguese in 1593 and changed hands at least nine times in the years to follow. It looks very old and not very well maintained. A self-employed guide offered a tour to us but we chose not to go in the fort. From the fort, we started our walking tour in the Old Town. Lonely Planet says "while Mombasa's Old Town doesn't quite have the medieval charm of Lamu or Zanzibar, it is an interesting area to wander around." It is an interesting area. There are some old buildings with ornately carved doors, windows, and fretwork balconies but unfortunately they are not well preserved. Most of the old wood architectures are rotten. And some parts of town look so deserted. It is a pity.

Mombasa Old Town

For dinner, we went to Tamarind Restaurant at the other side of the harbor. It is perhaps one of the best restaurants in Kenya. I had the most expensive meal so far in East Africa but it was well worth it. Abby ordered a ginger crab and they offer some interesting gear to eat the crab. Seeing her wrestling with the huge orange shellfish was quite enjoyable as well.

Thanks to Ziad's zeal for seeing a sun-rise by the sea, we woke up 5AM in the morning. We checked out and went all the way to Tiwi beach, south of Mombasa. It took us sometime to find a proper way to get to a public beach. But finally we got there and the sun had just come out. We did a nice walk along the sea shore. It was very nice.

Early morning walk along the Tiwi beach

As this would be Abby's last weekend in Kenya during her GMIX and naturally her last chance to see some wild animals, they decided to go to Shimba National Park for a game drive. I opted out. I had seen enough wild animals in Masai Mara and from my game drive experience in Tanzania, I know the downhill feeling all that. So I'd rather stay outside the park and read book.

I am reading a book borrowed from Chris, The Shadow of the Sun. It is a book by Ryszard Kapuscinski, a Polish journalist. It is a travelogue that chronicles the journalist's various experiences in Africa from late 1950's to 1990's. It is also a history book that covers events from the early days of independence in Ghana to the ongoing ethnic genocide in Rwanda. It was a good read, an extraordinary depiction of Africa. Even though the stories in the book are mostly from the 1950's - 1970's, there is a timeless quality in these observations. I can relate what he witnessed in the past to what I am seeing in Africa today – the people, the landscape, and the daily perils of African life. By the time Ziad and Abby came out, I just finished the chapter about Rwanda, which gives me a better sense of what really happened in the movie Hotel Rwanda.

We headed back to the beaches in south of Mombasa and this time we chose Diani beach, right next to Tiwi. We had lunch at Forty Thieves Restaurant. Again, it was a good pick. The tide went down by 11AM and the beach looked just gorgeous, much better than in the early morning. Now we started to regret that we should have stayed in a beach resort, rather than a downtown hotel. Some local people offer camel ride on the beach. And there are some Masai people selling souvenirs.

By noon time, the beach looks just gorgeous. White sand, blue blue sky, and blue blue water.

Apparently, this camel is called George. He is 12-years old. His master, James, is a smart boy who managed to sell a boating tour to us.

After much debate, we decided to stay a bit longer at the beach. Ziad and I went on a boating trip out to the sea. It was a specially designed boat with transparent glass in the bottom that enables you to see what's in the water from the boat. You could do snorkeling during the boat trip as well but I didn't bring my swimming suits. We saw some pretty fishes. But my favorite is starfishes. They look as if they are dead, rubber toy. But if you observe them close and patient enough, you'll see them moving. They would stretch their legs, very slowly. And they are so cute when doing so. Supposedly, you can even see dolphins if you are lucky enough. We did see some dolphins jumping in and out of the water remotely but couldn't get closer.

Our "capitain" snorckled under the water and waved at us from the glass bottom of the boat.

The starfish is undoubtedly the Star of the Day!

3PM, we started to head back. Flights had been fully booked by the time we planned the trip; late buses are not good options either. So we hired a car from Mombasa with a driver. This turned out to be not the best experience we had in Kenya. We argued with the rental car company as they wanted to over-charge us for unfounded reasons. Then on the road back, we got pulled over by police and it was discovered that our driver didn't have a driving license. We had to bribe the police officer to get away. The drive seemed to be very dangerous too – on the single-lane two-way road, we had to pass by many big trucks. Ziad and Abby were so paranoid that they kept asking our drivers to slow down or speed up. I was the only relaxed, slept most of the way.

We reached our hotel at midnight. Again, I had a good sleep that night and had a nice dream playing with dolphins and starfishes.

The Shadow of the Sun