Nyali
Thurs 14th. I didn’t need to get going early as I was only going as far as Nyali. I paid my 250bob and we departed at about 09:30. There was 35 minutes of very smooth new road south of Kilifi, then road under construction approaching Mtwapa. Between Mtwapa and Nyali the road was practically non existent…so, very rough going. Good going overall..an hour and 15 to Nyali.
Decided to try something different. But I still wanted to be able to cook a steak. No cooking facilities at Duniya, and a room was a bit pricey at 3,500. No cooking next door at Tulia Backpackers either, and no private rooms were available either, but I decided to go with the dorm room at only 1,300bob…about 7Gbp. I had a snack at Mama Siti, coffee at Java, checked out the beach briefly, and went to see my friend Afnan at the Reef hotel. Had one beer and a good long chat; she wasn’t too busy as it was still midweek ish.
From there to Rubis, where I also ate in their restaurant for the first time, my dinner consisting of maharage na chapati. A cheap dinner for 80bob. Then back to Backpackers where I had a swim in the pool followed by some blog writing up. A couple of beers then up to the dorm and hope for a good nights sleep.
Fri 15th. Well, I didn’t have a good nights sleep…maybe 3 hours. Only 3 of us out of 8 available bunk beds, but one guy came in after midnight and the other after 01:00. They were actually very quiet, but a light was left on until the second guy returned, and I was trying to get used to being in a dormitory again for the first time since boarding school !!!
I had breakfast at mama siti, then tried to understand at Tulia’s reception what had happened to Mark’s reservation of 2 rooms through booking.com; there was nothing on the system. About 12:30 I went to meet Mark off the matatu at the shopping centre. In fact the police had stopped his matatu at Mtwapa an he made the the rest of the way in tuk tuk, which meant he picked me up and we went all the way to Backpackers in the tuk tuk.
To cut the long story short….Mark was annoyed that his booking hadn’t been received; he shouted and demanded to speak to the owner; he was put through to the owner eventually; but the upshot of the whole thing was that he had booked with another Tulia..Homestay..and he ended up having to apologise. The owner was cool about it and said an easy mistake to make. We left and caught a tuk tuk down Links Road to Homestay behind Premier Hospital.
So that’s where the Special and the Economy rooms were !! We checked into the very comfortable house. After that we went back to Nyali shopping centre. We bought steak from a very nice butchers to cook at Homestay, some vegetables, a bottle of vodka and mango juice from Naivas, and walked over to Rubis to relax.
After that it was back to the house where I cooked the steak, vegs and noodles. A tasty dinner, although the steak was a bit chewy. Then just chatted before going to bed. I’d given Joseph 2,000 of my room cost for 2 nights of 4,845, with the balance to follow.
Sat 16th. A comfortable nights sleep. I found a kibanda10 minutes walk away for breakfast. I had the worst mandazis ever…no exaggeration…really horrible. Mark went to the city to meet a friend and be involved in a radio interview. I went to check out a supermarket nearby, then back to the house. I washed 2 shirts and a pair of underpants.
I then walked passed Bustani to the beach near Voyager. Partly it was a test to see how far Tulia was from Nyali centre; only about 15 minutes from Bustani. I wasn’t at the beach very long when Mark phoned to say he was heading back from the City centre. I walked over to Nyali. As I walked out of the Mpesa shop, Mark was right outside.
We headed to Rubis, but in the street we had to cross, there was a car on fire. Apparently there had been an accident and this car drove off. In the ultimate case of road rage, the chasing car caught up and poured some fuel into the other car and lit it. The car which was just the other side of the wall from where we were sitting was a burnt out wreck. It did draw a large crowd !! Our main concern was that the makuti roofs around us might catch fire from a burning ember; we were only 20 yards away, but quite safe !!
After a drink and a bit of lunch we bought some more steak and vegs for dinner then caught a tuk tuk back to the house. I wondered if I could find somewhere to watch UK football. I turned right at the junction to Links Road and realised I wasn’t too far from Dow House. It was a 15 minute walk to what is now called Maasai Barracks. Dow has been taken over by the Maasai Beach people; in fact I recognised a few of them who normally sat at Maasai Beach. Anyway, I enjoyed watching some football and 6 Nations Rugby.
A visit to the supermarket to buy mango juice before going back to the house. I cooked dinner again. The steak was even tougher than the previous day despite it seemingly being of very good quality. I think next time I’ll simmer it for a bit first before frying it. So, we finished the bottle of vodka and chatted, watched some UK football, then went to sleep. Next day to Mombasa city.
Mombasa
Sun 17th. There was nothing to do but head straight to the City. A tuk tuk from the end of the road all the way to Jundan only cost 300 for the two of us.
We got the price reduced for Mark’s AC room from 2,500 to 2,300 (but without b’fast), which he was happy with. I couldn’t get the price for a fan room reduced to 2,000, so I went over to Duncort where the room for 2,000 included b’fast as well.
I returned to Jundan to see that Mark had settled in. Being a Sunday and Ramadan, it took us a while to find somewhere for lunch. Before Mark wilted totally, we came across Kitchen Queen where we had a snack. I went over to Love and Joy for a tea. I then went walkabout…taking a pic of the large Fort Jesus coffee pot, like I always do. Bought water and returned to my room.
There was a message from Zoe…Jennie’s niece, suggesting we meet at Kilindini Pub at around 2:30. I showered and rushed off, forgetting that it’s only just over 20 minutes walk.
We had a nice chat and then Mark joined us after 3:00. Clarence and Maura kindly gave me a small piece of steak and one of his special chilli sauces. Zoe left us and after a while Mark and I went to Kitchen Queen for dinner. From there it was over to Fantasy. After Mark left I stayed on to watch an exciting FA quarter final match. Then back to Duncort to bed.
Mon 18th. After a nice breakfast…the usual breakfast…I went walkabout. My challenge was to find the café that did the best samosas. After going around the block in the vicinity of Fantasy a few times, I managed to find it and now know it is called Stavrose. I discovered the next day that it did have Greek origins from over 50 years ago; I had wondered if there was a Greek history about the place. And I had to test taste the samosas and they were indeed delicious.
I must’ve gone for a walk to the area around Fort Jesus. I went to Love and Joy by myself. Later I took Mark to Stavrose. Then we went to Mombasa Village and then Fantasy. I can’t remember where I had dinner or maybe I snacked on chevda in my room.
Tues 19th. After breakfast it was a busy day. I walked in the direction of the Old Market. I went inside and wasn’t hassled for taking photos of the interesting spices and jars of condiments. There’s a lovely aroma about the place. From there I walked down the narrow backstreets of Old Town. And I stumbled across the Tulia Backpackers in Old Town that faces the harbour. From there to my usual relaxing spot. I took a couple of different pics, in particular in front of the huge anchor leaning against the Fort wall.
After going back to my room I went to African Dishes for maharage na chapati. Then I bought a snack of 2 samosas and a kebab from Stavrose for later in the evening. It was nice to find somewhere with a small menu selection so they could focus on quality. I went to meet Mark at Mombasa Village where Simba joined us.
The purpose of the evening was to go to the Little Theatre to watch a public interest play about care/health in Kenya put on by Zoe and her Jukwaa arts production company.
I walked to the Little Theatre; it only took just over 10 minute to walk. The theatre was bigger than I expected. Saw Zoe briefly. I sat next to Simba and Mark and we all enjoyed the play thoroughly. There was a Q & A session afterwards to discuss the issues raised. We got a tuk tuk back as far as Jundan. I went to Fantasy to have one beer and eat my Stavrose snack. There was a little bit of spirit leftover in my room to finish off, before leaving for Diani the next day. An action packed 3 days in Msa City.