Thurs 13th. Caught the dala after 10:00 on Links Road for the 25 mins into the city. Walked to Duncort and checked in. Similar room as before…large single for 2,000 incl breakfast. Fortunately Club Rio is no longer a popular venue for nighttime revelry, so a good nights sleep is guaranteed !! We walked the few mins to Live and Joy where I know I can get a good cup of tea. After a walk along Makadara Road looking for somewhere for a light lunch, but discovering that a lot of places were closed for Ramadan, we ended up at Kenlees opposite our hotel. Nice maharagwe and chapatis…my usual. After a short rest we went a shortish walk around the corner from the Castle htl to a bar…Mombasa Village. Cheaper beers and I sat behind a set of drums trying to look super cool. !! I went on to Fantasy then met Mark back in his room ….which has a balcony…with a small bottle of vodka.
Fri. 14th. We awoke to an okay breakfast . We walked over to mwembe tayari to the Tahmeed booking office to buy our tickets from Ukunda to Dar for Tues morning. Back to the hotel where I met up with John and we chatted in reception for over an hour. He told me of an Ethiopian restaurant on Makadara Road, and although it was closed,somewhere to bear in mind for next time.
I walked down to the Fort Jesus area and relaxed for half an hour. Then walked the 25 mins up to Kilindini Pub. Managed to take a photo of the old railway station platform. What a difference to the new SGR terminus 25 minutes drive from mombasa itself. Knocked on the door of the pub quite a few times and was about to give up when it turned out that the barman was asleep across the road. He opened up and I had one beer. Was about to leave , when Clarence & Maura came back from a funeral. Glad I saw them. Although I was wearing my Dad shirt I still got no sign from the old man that he visited that Pub in the 50s..!!
Just before I reached Fantasy I stopped for maharagwe and chapatis at African Dishes. Only had one beer then picked up a small vodka to share with Mark on his balcony. I picked up some very tasty cashews to munch on in my room. 2 days in Msa City were relaxing and fun. Quite a lot of walking , but within a small area.