Mombasa Best and Worst Bits
Trip Start
Sep 10, 2008
1
24
46
Trip End
Sep 04, 2009
Mombasa, Kenya
Thursday, January 15, 2009
This third part to my second placement was a latter addition to explore the much talked about "must see" coast, and tea auctioning in person (which I had read about on Jonathan's TTW 07/08 blog). I thought my experiences couldn't be exceeded, I was wrong!
In no particular order…
Best Bits:
- Combining work with a holiday, arriving with a safety net of people to welcome me
- Socialising with Lucy (Finlay's employee) - out in the evenings like a local
- Fort Jesus and Mombasa old town personal tour
- Eating baobab seeds
- Having a fan in my room in Summerlinks, Mombasa Old Town – an essential!!
- The independence of my run down hostel
- Sitting in on a tea auction in action
- Watching Madagascar 2 at a cinema (first time in months), only a week after going on my own safari!
- Being taken out for a few yummy meals
- Meeting "Miss Tourism Kenya" and getting her to show me how to make traditional porridge!
- Surviving the epic 12 hour+ train journey from Nairobi to Mombasa and back!
- Meeting kind souls throughout
- My whole time at Diani Beach
- Staying in a treehouse in a resort practically to myself, for backpacker prices! (Stilts – highly recommended)
- My mud bath using the mud that elephants use to bathe in (cleaned first)!
- Star bath - the height of luxury! A warm bubble bath surrounded by candles under a black star filled night with the waves lapping near your feet, being served hot apple crumble with custard!!
- Camel ride down the white sandy beach
- Eating in a restaurant carved into an ancient cave under the starry night sky
- Seeing the range of Kikoy materials available
- Flexibility of my time and everyone around me
- Gorgeous weather and scenery
- Touring the tea blending facility
- Being safe despite traveling alone
- Eating real Nyama Choma (barbeque meat) from a roadside café with the locals.
- Lucy, the lady at the Finlay's HQ who was so helpful and kind
- The Finlays' drivers who were also very kind as chauffeurs.
Worst Bits:
- The oppressive, sweltering heat!
- Bothersome 'Beach Boys'
- Hardly any other tourists!
- Looking forward to going to the famous Tembo Disco Bar (biggest outdoor disco in Africa) with Lucy to find (after paying entrance fee) only 4 others were inside!
- Loneliness whilst alone on the Diani beach aspect, it would have been far, far nicer with company to share the experience!
Comments
interesting read. thanks for sharing!