I’ve just got back from another great holiday - this time to Kenya in East Africa - and really enjoyed this first visit to such an interesting country. The journey from Bath to London was a nightmare though - it started nicely with a train journey to Paddington Station in London but when we got there we found the Circle Line was closed due to rail track works and part of the District Line was closed as well. This meant changing trains three times altogether, hefting our heavy suitcases up and down flights of stairs and escalators so that by the time we reached Victoria we were worn out. We had upgraded our flights at the last minute and increased our baggage allowance from 20 kg to 30 kg and were sure regretting the extra weight! Even then our journey hadn’t ended as we had to get a train to Gatwick Airport. Despite all these delays and setbacks we arrived exactly 4 hours before departure when the check-in desks first opened which meant we were able to hand over our cases without waiting in a long queue and were so thankful we had booked places in the airport lounge where we were able to unwind for a couple of hours. It was only the thought of arriving in that lounge that kept us going on the difficult transfer from Paddington to Gatwick. The airport lounge had snacks and drinks – soft drinks, alcoholic drinks and coffee/tea etc - and had we realised on arrival, we could even have had a shower there with free towels and shower gel provided! All well worth the £20 cost each for the use of it.
Then we were boarding the plane, a huge airbus. June had an aisle seat with me next to her in the middle and the flight wasn't too bad. We were served an excellent meal and in the morning a continental breakfast. We managed to sleep a few hours in the night and we arrived in Mombasa at 6 am. There we had to queue to get our visas and then had to leave our luggage in a designated place and board the bus to be taken to our hotel, the Paradise Shanzu Beach Hotel, with our luggage to follow on separately. I slept most of the way on the bus, about an hour from the airport, and only woke up as we pulled up outside the hotel where we were welcomed with singers and drums and a fruity cocktail each. Soon we were ushered to our room which was comfortable and clean and decked out with flowers everywhere. The rooms were quite basic but with excellent bathrooms and air conditioning. Luckily we had toiletries in our flight bags which enabled us to have a quick shower to freshen up and felt great after that, apart from poor June slipping in the shower which resulted in an enormous bruise appearing later on. Our luggage arrived and we then zoomed straight down to the beach, 5 minutes walk from our room. On the way I was charmed to see monkeys swinging freely in the trees and after a while we realised they were quite tame and could pass them on the paths even when they had their babies with them. On the beach we headed straight down to the sea and were immediately accosted by lots of beach sellers trying to sell us goods at highly inflated prices! We’d wondered what the rope was sectioning off the beacha few metres from the ocean, and realision soon dawned that it was to prevent these sellers encroaching on the whole beach. We retreated to sunbeds just the other side of the rope and chatted to them instead; the hard sell only commenced when people crossed that line. The beach was fantastic, covered in tall coconut palm trees, lots of them, so that people could position their sunbeds beneath them and avoid the direct rays of the sun. I bought a wooden carved giraffe and got measured up for a sarong type of garment which I collected next day which I managed to get for £16 but most of the time those sellers were asking astronomical prices. For example one seller wanted me to give him a tea shirt in exchange for a couple of wooden ornaments and expected me to pay him £40 as well!!!!
Having learned that during the previous two weeks it had rained solid at the tail end of the monsoon, we were lucky to realise that the weather was dry and sunny and this would last through practically the duration of our holiday. Even when we had the odd shower it only lasted 10 minutes and then the sun came out again. Although a tropical and humid climate this was offset in our resort by the sea breeze which rendered our enjoyment of the sunshine more comfortable. The warm balminess of the weather, even early morning and at night, was a joy and we made the most of it.
The food was excellent - we had two dining rooms to choose from, one being completely open air with a circular Makuti style thatched roof by the upper swimming pool known as Shanzu restaurant but we preferred the one down by the beach where the waiters were really friendly and the food was better protected from flies with overhead fans etc. This one was closed in but with open areas. The head waiter, James, ran a really tight ship in Paradise restaurant and was so friendly and nice, as were many of the other waiters. Even so, once or twice the odd monkey got in and tried to jump up on the buffet tables and had to be chased away by one of the waiters! We spent the first few days on the beach relaxing after that long journey and it was sheer heaven, relaxing under those coconut palms on sun beds with the sound of the waves rolling on the shore. Sometimes we ordered cocktails on the terrace in front of the beach, trying out a different ones each day - whisky sour, planters punch, out of Africa, Mai Tai and others. On our second day we relaxed by the pool in the morning but it was too hot there - June went in to swim, the depth being an even 2 metres all over and one could walk in from wide steps on one side and there is a pool bar in the middle where it gets shallower, with underwater benches so that one could sit at the bar and have a drink whilst swimming. I preferred it down on the beach though where we could get the full strength of the breeze off the sea. Also when lounging by the pool you had to watch out for the monkeys who would try to grab items of clothing - if they succeeded they then proceeded to destroy them!
On Sunday morning I woke up with a bad back and could not straighten up. I was so glad that had not happened on the long journey otherwise I could not have coped! I walked around bent over for part of the day until June produced a magic pen which when applied to my back healed it up like magic. Hour by hour I could straighten up a bit more so that by evening I was fully upright again. I could hardly believe that anything could work so quickly.
When we got back to our room on Monday a maid arrived with a huge basket of fruit and wished June a happy birthday. She was quite overcome with delight and amazed that they knew about it. Then when we went down to dinner we found that they had braided an arch of flowers and greenery on her chair and I took photos with her and James. Then later all the waiters came out in a procession, singing and dancing with her birthday cake and making music with knives and spoons and trays and singing happy birthday in both Swahili and English. It really made her day and was lovely. All this had happened because James looks out for birthdays via the hotel guests’ passports.
On Tuesday evening we did the first of the trips we intended to book ourselves onto - we went to an African night in an African village where we walked down a load of steps through foliage and flowers to the village where there were flares and a huge bonfire lighting up the place. We sat at tables and were entertained with tribal dances from many of the 42 different tribes living in Kenya, the last of which was my favourite, the masai who chant and can jump up and down on the spot as high as two or three feet. They are tall and compete to see who can leap the highest. We then helped ourselves to dinner from the buffet which included things like crocodile curry, realAfrican food, and was very nice. I had a few glasses of wine with it and June had soft drinks. It was a lovely evening and we managed to survive mostly without being bitten by mosquitos - June got bitten once - through her trousers! The only problem was that as the evening wore on I realised I had eaten something that day which disagreed with me and was feeling quite unwell by the time we went back.
Back in our room we had to finish packing for our safari trip because we were leaving at 5.30 the next morning, which meant I wanted to be up about 4 am to get ready. By 5 o’clock we were in Shanzu restaurant but I didn't dare eat anything because my tummy was so upset, plus I had a horrendous headache that even strong Ibrufen could not cure throughout that day. By 6 o clock we were on our way to the Bamburi airstrip where two or three small planes awaited and about an hour later we boarded - it was an 18 seater plane and taking off in it was really exciting, so different than bigger planes. The flight took 25 minutes and after landing we were taken to the Crocodile Camp which would be our base that day and the next. We were given another breakfast (just coffee for me!) and then went out on the first of our game drives. We were out about four hours, driving through Tsavo East National Park but by this time I was feeling really ill and my head ache was so bad all I could do was close my eyes. I saw a few of the animals and took a couple of pictures but really I was longing to get back to the camp and lie down and sleep.
We were in Nissan mini buses (six per bus plus driver/commentator) with the roof raised two or three feet open so that we could stand upright and take photos. Our first experience of the red elephants was a very big aggressive one who almost charged us as we hurriedly turned round and beat a hasty retreat. My favourite animals that morning were miniature
antelopes, not much bigger than cats, so unbelievably cute. We saw several zebras, giraffes, water buffaloes, impalas and lots more elephants, but at least half the time I was asleep! Then back at the camp I was dismayed to find we were in a tent and no way was I going to stay behind as planned on my own, especially as in front of our tent were a few steps leading down to an open gate onto the river bank with crocodiles basking there! Fortunately by stressing how ill I felt we were allocated the last of the wooden lodge bungalows which were lovely, beautifully furnished with bathroom, shower etc. We had lunch – just a small bowl of soup for me, and when the others went out on the second game drive that afternoon I stretched out in bed and it was heaven to lie down, even listening to the grunting of the hippos in the river outside. At least I felt safe behind wooden walls instead of canvas!
I skipped dinner that evening and slept on so that by morning I felt much much better. After breakfast we set off to drive all across the national park as part of our drive homeward. Eating breakfast in that open air restaurant beside the river was lovely, seeing the sun come up and the silhouettes of the trees against the dawn sky. With the sound of the running river it was so peaceful and lovely. I may not have relaxed in that restaurant so well had I known they once had a rampaging elephant in there - that lions come right up to the outside of the camp, and that once in floods the crocodiles came over the wall and into the swimming pool! We later learned from one of the other guests in our hotel that when they were getting into the minibus for a game drive, his son spotted a lion lying down just 20 yards away and he dropped and broke his mobile phone in the panic to get onto the bus quickly.
I really did enjoy the game drive that morning. We were in the national park for six hours from 6 am until about noon and saw a huge variety of animals. The best was a troop of seven lions who came loping right past our bus just a couple of feet away and didn't mind several mini buses crowding round snapping photos of them. About noon we exited the park and were soon on the main Nairobi Mombasa main road. At this point the driver asked us if we would like to visit a masai tribal village and we said we would love to and that proved very interesting. We were warmly welcomed by the people there and saw the way they live and they didn’t mind us taking photos. I bought a length of material which they wear in a variety of ways to clothe themselves and they gave a dance performance for us as well - look out for the photos! About 5 miles after that we turned off to the Sagala lodge and animal and bird sanctuary where we were given lunch. Most of the main meals featured beef dishes (to my dismay) but at the Sagala when I felt like eating something again they gave me a second bowl of soup instead. It was a beautiful setting with over 200 species of birds in the sanctuary and I took some photos of one which took my fancy.
Then the long drive homeward. Only 100 miles but it took us nearly six hours because they are rebuilding the main road and the traffic both ways was horrendous, completely gridlocked. Our driver was driving off road at times to get ahead of the traffic, even though we weren't in an off road vehicle, with a petrol tanker in front of us that looked as though it was going to tip over in places. It was quite a relief to get back, have a cool shower and then go down to dinner. I was quite shattered after our safari what with being ill on the first day of it as well. Everyone coming back from safaris looks exhausted. Most seem to have enjoyed it better than I did. I was too nervous at the crocodile camp to enjoy it much, although I did enjoy the six hours driving through the game reserve on Day 2. We were in Tsavo East national park and our safari was called the Red Elephant Safari, called so because of the red earth which the elephants roll themselves in. The elephants there are the largest in the world. June would have liked to do a second different safari the following week but I couldn’t face it again. Once was enough for me! My imagination works overtime too much!!! We then spent a quiet couple of days, sunbathing on the beach and swimming in the pool. Bathing is completely safe in the sea as the beaches are protected by the coral reef which you can see from the shore, and one can even walk out to it at low tide wearing beach shoes. Swimming in the sea was only recommended when the tide was in though, because sometimes jelly fish get stranded at low tide.
The day after our return from safari we spent mainly at the pool or beach but we then booked a couple of tours for the weekend. Unfortunately our favourite of the tours wasn’t running, a 60 kilometer sail by yacht to see dolphins and basking whales, due to the yacht being out of action but we chose the next best two instead. After enjoying another day on the beach Saturday we got ready and caught the 4.30 bus to take us to the yacht marina at Mtwapa Creek and we went out on a boat up the creek which is heavily overgrown with mangrove trees on the sides, but is quite a wide river. We were served cocktails on board and set off on an hour and half cruise to watch the sun set, observing normal African every day life on the river banks and beyond, little kids waving as we sailed past. All the while an African band played music for us, and it was just perfect. We saw a variety of bird life and local fishermen coming home with their boats. In the middle of the river the engine was switched off and we just sat there for 15 minutes watching the sun go down below the horizon. You could almost see it descend as night falls quite quickly there on the equator.
We finally reached our destination, one of African Safari Club’s more upmarket hotels called Kasr al Bahar which means 'the Seafarer'. There we disembarked and climbed about 100 steps up to the hotel above, where we were given a glass of champagne each. Afterwards we were taken to a roof terrace restaurant where we enjoyed a 5 course sea food dinner which was excellent - sail fish in honey and ginger, a rich lobster bisque with crabmeat, king prawns in chilli sauce, a seafood platter of lamu fish, half a lobster, more king prawns and squid, finishing off with flambeed exotic fruits and coconut icecream. The hotel was so posh they even had a guy standing outside the loos who opened the door for you as you went in!
Our Sunday excursion involved another early start so I was up first at 5.30, and we were able to have a light breakfast before meeting up at reception at 7.30. Our original first choice of bush tour was the Wednesday one which travelled as far off as Mahindi and included a visit to an open air market, but unfortunately this one was sold out so we opted for the Sunday one instead which was more a local affair. Once off the main road our bus followed dirt tracks through plantations and farms and little farm holdings owned by individual African families with their mud and straw houses on their own land, mostly under trees – coconut palms, mango trees, lemon and orange trees – growing maize and their own vegetables. As we approached each village children appeared from all over the forest, crying out with joy at our arrival because it is the tradition to give out sweets to them. Everyone had arrived with armloads of sweets to give out and the guy giving the running commentary on the bus had to control the giving out of them because otherwise the older kids snatched them from the younger ones.
Later we got out of the bus and walked for a mile and were so surrounded by children wanting sweets I didn’t want to open my bag there, despite requests from mothers with babies. Later when I felt it safe to do so I gave mine out to the youngest children I could see and I think June captured this on her camera. We saw their local school, their church - most Africans are Christians - Pentecostal, Baptist, Catholic, even Jehovah's witnesses and Mormons, but there are Moslem communities too, one of which we passed through later on. It’s fantastic that all 42 tribes and varieties of religions live happily side by side without strife. One of the children gave me his address so I took a photo of him and promised to send it. We also visited a sisal farm and last of all a snake farm but June and I gave that a miss and waited in the bus and chatted to some of the children outside. English is the second language there, with Swahili being the main mother tongue and also Kikuyo. All children go to primary school for 8 years and this is free apart from having to buy school uniforms, pens, pencils, paper and books. All lessons are taught in English so children learn English from babyhood in preparation for this. For those who can afford it they go on to four years secondary education and even a further four years at university, but these two levels have to be paid for and many families cannot afford it.
Finally about 12 noon we arrived back at the marina at Mtwapa Creek where we would enjoy a barbeque buffet lunch - in fact joining onto the end of a couple of other excursions, the Sunday Modelling Show and the Sunday Barbeque. The fashion show was a joy to watch as beautiful garments were modelled by both men and women, and then the guys invited a few of us up to dance and I danced when invited to by a young lad called Emmanuelle. In the background an African band was playing throughout and coupled with the bright sunlight added to our enjoyment there. The lunch was excellent too, served with free Tusker beer.
Back at the hotel afterwards June and I went straight to our rooms, changed into our swimwear, went to the pool and we both got in for a swim. Then we decided to do a bit of exploring around the complex. Our hotel - Shanzu Paradise Beach - was one of several, all of which could be walked to following paths by the sea, and we were entitled to enjoy the facilities of the other hotels as well as our own. First we found our way to the Shanzu Holiday Market in the Coral Palm hotel - a series of quite highly priced boutiques. There I bought a beige African Safari shirt for Colin, two kanga style dresses for myself and a colourful bag and an assortment of other smaller souvenirs. The system of paying for everything was in euros and by signing slips for every single item (shop purchases, drinks at the bar, everything) which would then be settled up later at the cashier’s office. Also in the Coral Palm we found an Italian ice cream parlour and had the first icecream of the holiday, We befriended the girl who served us the icecream, a really cute young girl called Lucrencia, and as a result went back there most evenings after dinner to enjoy a freshly squeezed cocktail of papaya or mango. Sometimes there would be evening shows laid on free with market stalls set up around the pool and even a camel there for those brave enough to sit on it for photos. (One could actually ride a camel on the beach). There were acrobatic shows and disco music in the cafe area and one evening I even got to handle a live chameleon and another lizard about the same size, both of which were really cute and quite placid at being handled. Another lizard (quite crocodile looking in appearance!) was about a metre in length and didn’t mind being draped around people’s necks for photos but that one was so popular I didn’t get the chance to handle it.
On the Wednesday of the second week we went on our last excursion which was the Mombasa tour. By then we had learned it would not be wise to attempt to visit Mombasa alone. One of the chaps from the hotel had previously lived in Africa and it was him who warned against any of us attempting to go alone or in pairs by taxi. Whereas in the villages the people are genuinely honest, hard working and kind and friendly, this isn’t always the case in Mombasa town and one has to be on guard against some bad people who target tourists, snatching their purses, cameras and even their sunglasses. An African Safari Club bus picked people up at the various hotels and it was about 10 miles into the city. Our first stop was to the famous Tusks where we alighted for photos and at this point I bought my one and only CD of the whole holiday - ‘Best of African Songs’ by the Safari Sound Band, which is actually quite a brilliant CD, tropical style music. Then we stopped at a large covered market and were taken through it but we were all in single file behind our guide and none of us dared stop and buy anything and risk losing the others! We were next taken to an Indian Temple and were able to go inside it. Our next port of call was to a huge Jewellry shop where we were invited to browse round. Gold, silver and all kinds of precious jewels were available there and to begin with I didn’t look at the jewellry because I hadn’t brought my card with me. However our guide said that if we saw anything we could pay for it back at the hotel so I went back to look at a beautiful bracelet that I had spotted but walked past on our way in. It was beautifully crafted in high quality hall-marked silver with various safari animals all carved by hand around it. I managed to get the price down from £108 to around £88 and was able to take it away there and then, having agreed to meet someone at the hotel at 4 pm to pay for it. We then saw the port where the slaves used to be taken to and got out of the bus here and walked through the old town which was mainly an Islamic community, to admire the old style of architecture, a beautiful mosque etc. We ended up at our last port of call, Fort Jesus, and several of us went inside to look around but with only half an hour available for this and quite a high entrance fee, June and I opted to stay in the square and look at souvenir shops, and some guys there showed us the back of the fort where we could see the old canons pointing out to sea, the place where the slaves used to be chained up prior to being sent to America. From an artist there I bought a painting of giraffes which the guy unmounted from its frame and I am hoping Colin can make me a similar one to stretch it onto. When I paid for the bracelet later in the afternoon, I did so at a jewellry boutique in our hotel which is a subsidiary of the main jewellers in Mombasa and ended up buying two silver dolphins as a pendant which is destined for a lovely long silver chain that I bought on my last visit to Tunisia. The dolphin pendant was quite reasonable for its quite large size and cost me around £28 or £29. In Kenya you can ask the price in pounds, euros, dollars, and only really need the Kenyan shillings for purchases from local people.
The following day we did the long walk out beyond the hotel complex, out past the security barrier and guards in order to explore the shops in the local village of Shanzu, where I ended up placing an order for some beaded sandals to be made in my size, which I would collect the next day. I then ended up doing that walk out to Shanzu several more times before the end of the holiday because each time I went to collect something ordered, I ended up ordering something else which involved a repeat visit. The villagers were so friendly and nice, and relied on us tourists to survive. I bought a sign for my house with my name Amanatullah on it and Jambo Kenya 2007 underneath, carved into ebony, courtesy of Eric, a highly skilled wood carver. He made me a matching keyring as well in the shape of an elephant. From Katherine I ordered a belt made from assorted shades of blue tiny beads, from others I ordered a throw for my house and in village shops I bought dresses for myself and Tia and Jasmine. I really enjoyed getting to know the villagers. Part of the joy of any foreign holiday for me is getting to know the local people wherever I travel.
The night before our last day Lucrencia offered to take me to her village to meet her 2 year old daughter and some of her family, which I eagerly agreed I would love to do. She met me outside our hotel and we went first by matutu up to the main road (a kind of covered scooter with a double seat on the back), and we then flagged down a passing bus and got in, which took us as far as the Bamburi Cement Company. At that crossroads we flagged down another bus to take us to her village. The buses were tiny like the ones in Peru, and were crowded with at least 12 passengers in each of these mini sized buses, so much so that whenever anyone wanted to get off, half the bus had to get off to let them out and then get back in again! On the way we passed markets, with goats and crows picking over nearby rubbish dumps which I suppose is a good way of getting rid of their trash. And one passenger even got in carrying a live cockerel, holding him by the wings so that he couldn’t fly around the bus! About an hour later we arrived at the village and I stayed there a couple of hours or so until it was time to go back, as Lucrencia had to get to work. I watched her and her sister prepare lunch, a vegetarian dish of spicy greens and rice for me as I couldn’t eat the beef stew they had prepared. It was lovely to meet her 2 year old daughter Elsie and take photos of them all. I felt quite privileged to have enjoyed that visit to a real African village where tourists never go. Lucrencia told me on the bus journey back that I might have been the first foreign tourist ever to set foot there. Arriving back I said goodbye to all my friends in Shanzu village and exchanged phone numbers with some of them as they wanted to keep in touch by SMS. Lucrencia and I will also keep in touch by SMS and email until I see her again when I go back next year. I found June at the pool and we both had a swim and generally relaxed on that last day. One of the other popular forms of travel was on the back of a bicycle - there is a seat on the back on which a passenger can sit side saddle and this was offered to me when I walked through the village and I couldn’t help but laugh at the thought as I could not imagine that the seat suspended over the back wheel could possibly bear my weight! In the evening June and I went to the Lion King club to see one of the many shows that were nightly entertainment there. This was an African style show with comedy, dancing and singing and was very colourful and fun, all enacted to a live band who played on into the night. Apparently there were two or three different performances there each night and we regretted not having been there before, plus arriving so late that we couldn’t sit close enough to the front to enable photos. We had gone to say goodbye to Lucrencia and her colleagues so only arrived right at the start of the last show.
The day we travelled home, next day was a very long one. We were woken at 3 am, had our luggage collected by 4 am, had breakfast and were in the bus and on our way to the airport by 5 am. We had a 3 hour wait there and I bought a few more souvenirs at the airport - pendant and earrings of malachite, animal shaped pens and animal shaped mugs as small gifts, two lots of Kenyan coffee and bottles of vodka and Trinidad rum. I also bought an African cookery book which featured many of the meat, chicken and fish dishes we had enjoyed during our hotel stay. By 9 am we were in the air with a 9 hour flight ahead of us. We were served breakfast soon after take off, and lots of drinks throughout the flight, a good lunch in the early afternoon. Unfortunately when we arrived at Gatwick there was a shortage of baggage handlers which meant we weren’t on a train for Victoria until nearly 2 hours after landing and therefore impossible to get to Paddington in time for our train home. In fact it was touch and go whether we would make it to Victoria coach station in time to get the bus (having bought both bus and train tickets previously). Trying to run with a heavy suitcase, rucksack and bag of duty frees isn’t easy you know! We made it though and finally reached Bath just after 10 pm, where Colin met us at the station.
We now look forward to our next visit to Kenya which will be for our Indian Ocean cruise in March 2008 (taking in Zanzibar, Comores, Madagasgar and Mauritius as well as Mombasa).
