Arriving into Nairobbery (the pet name given to the capital of Kenya - Nairobi) was quite an ordeal indeed – I thought we might not make it at all, not after the bus almost left without us at the border because we didn’t get a visa in advance and the African way of dealing with the situation was to push and shove your way to the counter, wave documents in people faces and shout. The other reason was I was scared our bus would end up entangled with every other car on the road. Footpaths would be no obstacle for our bus driver – as long as it got him at least one car length ahead.
Seeing as they both house nearly 3million people, I thought Nairobi (Kenya Capital) would be much like Dar Es Salaam (Tanzania’s largest city), just closer to the equator, but I was surprised when the skyscrapers broke up the horizon. All the streets were paved and it wasn’t as dusty. It sits 1700m above sea level, so even though it’s closer to the equator, it’s got a much more agreeable climate. The coffee culture is alive and there are trendy café’s and restaurants dotted around the town. It looks more like a city as we know it. Despite it’s nickname of Nairobery, given for the amount of crime in the city, we weren’t hassled once (apart from touts) and felt most safe, most of the time.
We were initially never meant to travel so high up Africa, but we met a charming French girl on the TAZARA train who lives in Nairobi and her invitation to see the city was too good to refuse. We ended up spending a week there and filled out time with museums, parks, music and theatre. The railway museum was of particular interest as they contained stories and photos of the man eating lions that plagued the construction of the line. They were said to have eaten dozens of workers and ripped a British officer from a carriage as he sailed past. They ate their human prey so leisurely their friends could hear the sounds of the bones breaking and their flesh sucked dry. It did make us a little nervous as we had just booked our tickets on that very train, the “Jambo Kenya Delux” from Nairobi to the coastal city of Mombasa.
We didn’t get eaten by lions, we hardly saw any game except for a few bok from the windows, but the Jambo Kenya Delux, or The Lunatic Express as it's commonly known as, was a simply fantastic journey. Running overnight the service is more reminiscent of colonial elegance than the TAZARA train. The berths slept only two people and had a little wardrobe and sink. We ate in the dining car where we dined opposite two intriguing strangers on a delicious three course meal with our engraved silverware. Although our silverware was engraved with a different logo, UR, KUR, EAR, KR and RVR depending on who owned the railway when.
We arrived in Mombasa the following day and immediately felt the equatorial sun now we had dropped 1700m overnight. The old fort was top priority and its fascinating history and indeed the entire coasts history that was all linked in, was well worth the visit. A quick stroll through the old town with it’s superb Swahili culture and Arabic architecture reminded us of Zanzibar. I wish we had more time in Kenya, but I wish I had more time in every country I’ve been to so far.
Next Stop is back in Tanzania, so until then “Pole pole”
www.riftvalleyrailways.com
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