Just so that my visit wouldn't consist entirely of
outhouses and concrete, I took a 10-day hiatus with
Chris Simpson to see some of the Indian Ocean coast.
To get there we had to go through Nairobi and this
time I really got to see the city at its best, a world
city and regional capitol and not just 'Nai-robbery'.
Mombasa was very different from all the other cities
and towns that I had been in. The city is mostly
Muslim, much older and has a substantial Indian
population. We visited two different Hindu temples,
tried to visit a Hare Krishna temple and sat down for
some Q&A with a local Imam.
Trade in Mombasa goes back to the middle ages. The
Portuguese occupied it several times only to have it
revert back to the Swahili once their back was turned.
Oman was the other colonizing force prior to that and
of course the British.
One day while we were in Mombasa we were just trying
to get a good view of the city from the tallest building
we could find. Chris was trapped in an elevator once so
now he avoids them in favor of climbing the stairs. When
we got the 12th floor we happened to spot the Tanzanian
consulate. They asked if we were there for our visas.
We weren't but since we planned to go we said "...yes we
are" The Trade Attache spent a whole hour helping us plan
our trip. What we didn't know at the time was that the
price of a visa had doubled and the Attache charged us the
old price. For the time being anyway we were very pleased
with our good fortune.
Probably the most welcome sights in Mombasa, apart from the
lovely old building and the various places of worship was
the ocean. I don't think of myself as much of a beach person
since I never tan. Butthere was something wonderful and
relaxing about the coast. Nairobi has all the stress of
being a major city. The countryside has all the stresses of
poverty. The ocean has a way of helping everyone relax
