Blogs from Mombasa, Coast Province, Kenya, Africa - page 17

Hi and welcome to another edition of Kenya Kapers. Lots of stuff has happened since the special extended shiny gold wrapped safari edition, i didn't see anymore Lions but what ya gonna do?? So this week hath been very good indeed, pre empted by a wonderfully fulfilling weekend with some of my favourite nights in McMombasa so far. Firstly, it all began before my last blog ended, on friday in Il Covo once more. For which occassion i dont know or wish to recall quite frankly. But twas a cool enough night, hilariously intermitted by seeing england lose to New Zealand at t'Cricket. But anyway story goes as before, dance,beach,dance,talk,beach,dance drink home. Blah Anyway so saturday morning i finished thee blog and did round abouts of nothing until we meandered around town looking for somewhere to ... read more

Go past the alleyway filled with metalsmiths; their hand-tools clinking like a percussionist orchestra, wall-less bays of them sprawl out on either side. Follow deep into where the wooden shelters and workshops turn into mud huts and homes. Get into the dark part, where the ground is black from waste-water and the shadows of the taller buildings cover the street. You start to smell the aura of open-air latrines and unwashed drunks. I'm standing there, shouting about language with a drunken dwarf (we don't share one). The place is strange and textural and, as I look around, I think it's just the kind of place where I belong. Then Chelly's brother Ali finds his friends, I wave goodbye to the midget, and we're off back down the clanking-metal road. 3/7/2007 After sitting on the roof for ... read more

I'm back in Nairobi and i am developing a small hatred for this city. This place is one big traffic jam. It's polluted, it's busy and it's unsafe. I really wouldn't normally be worried about walking around but everyone i meet both Kenyans an travellers tell me a new story of how they were mugged. I had heard these stories before I left but took it with a pinch of salt until i arrived. Nevertheless most people are friendly. This morning I visited the Kenyatta Conference Centre as there is a viewing point where you can see all over Nairobi. I then went to sit in the restaurant to have a drink. I was joined shortly after by a Kenyan politician for the opposition party. I think he wanted to understand things from a Tourists point ... read more

Hi peeps, hows it hanging. I can't believe i am writing this 5 days after my last one, sorry to not be upto date but even more so i cant believe i arrived in Mombasa a full 6 weeks ago, meaning i am half way through now! Scary but also good how easy it has become. The last week has flown by in a haze of fun and frollics. And it is of these i shall inform you of now, like so. Since the last entry it has been a pretty chilled out yet still hectic packed and fun week. In temrs of going out after work, we have done a lot less the last fortnightbut we still managed to head out to Il Covo for Louisas birthday which was nice, i opted for the more ... read more

We have a friend here named Steve, who is a Rastafarian acrobat with a home-made gym in his backyard. Steve has been friends with Chelly for years and for a while they were both working at zoos in Thailand. I only met the guy a couple weeks ago, but we really have a lot of similar passions and beliefs, so I'm sure he'll be a friend for life. After working-out at his gym last night, I started thinking quite a bit about some other friends-for-life, about two of my best friends back home: Ole Johnson and Neil Devlin. I was riding home to Mshomoroni on the back of a little imitation-Vespa scooter being driven by Chelly's brother Stringer. He was wrapped up in the craziness of the road and I was wrapped up in the craziness ... read more