Last Trip
Last weekend, my roommates and I went on one last trip of the summer. We went to Tiwi Beach, just south of Mombasa and had a really great time. We rented a little cottage that was practically right on the beach, it wasn't very crowded, the weather was beautiful, and the water was perfect.
On this trip, the excitement came from getting to the beach, not by actually being at the beach. We decided to take the night train from Nairobi to Mombasa -- a lot of people have said that it's a really fun experience -- you get a sleeping compartment for 2 or 4 people, there's a dining car for breakfast and dinner, it's a lot cheaper than flying, and it's a lot more enjoyable than taking the bus. The only problem is, the train is notorious for being late -- really late -- but we decided to take our chances, and we got lucky, we were only about 2 hours late getting into Mombasa (which is practically on time for the Nairobi-Mombasa train).
The excitement part actually didn't happen to me, but to my friends Isaac and Cookie. They both did Peace Corps here in Kenya a few years ago and came back for a quick vacation before school starts in a couple of weeks. They were also headed to Tiwi Beach, and had a compartment a couple of cars away from ours. Around 4:00 in the morning, I woke up and noticed that we had stopped, and it was about 1/2 an hour before we started moving again. I didn't really think much of it at the time, but when we saw Isaac and Cookie the next morning, Isaac told us that the reason the train had stopped was that he had caught a guy hanging off of the roof of the train with his head and arms inside their compartment, reaching for Isaac's bag! Isaac yelled at the guy, the guy ran away (luckily he didn't have a chance to take anything), and they stopped the train so that they could look for the guy and anyone else stowing away on the roof!!
Now Lonely Planet Kenya warned that this could happen if your window wasn't closed tightly. And Lonely Planet (a.k.a. "the bible"), is really almost never wrong, but it was still pretty nuts to actually have something like that happen on our train and to someone I know!
After that, it was a very chill weekend -- a great last trip of the summer. I guess there was a little excitement when some monkeys broke into our cottage and ate some of the mangoes we had bought from the guy who came to our door every morning to sell fresh fruit and vegtables. Why is it that monkeys seem like such cute, sweet animals until you spend any time at all around them, and then all you think is, "damn monkeys!!!"? Also, I managed to twist my ankle on an early morning jog down the beach one day. Luckily it wasn't very bad -- no need for doctors, crutches, or x-rays, thank goodness -- but just once, I would like to get through the month of August completely unscathed!!
We decided to take the bus back to Nairobi, so that we wouldn't have to worry about getting to work late the next day if the train was really delayed. The bus trip was uneventful but with the bad roads and the hyperactive children sitting in front of us, I have to say that 14 hours on the train was much more enjoyable than 9 hours on the bus. However, there was no one hanging off the roof to try and steal anything from us.
Chilling in our train compartment before dinner.
View from the train as we approached Mombasa.
Palm trees!
Our cottage. (Photo courtesy of Eleonora.)
One of the most beautiful sunrises I've seen in a long time. (Well, since Mt. Kenya, anyway) .
On this trip, the excitement came from getting to the beach, not by actually being at the beach. We decided to take the night train from Nairobi to Mombasa -- a lot of people have said that it's a really fun experience -- you get a sleeping compartment for 2 or 4 people, there's a dining car for breakfast and dinner, it's a lot cheaper than flying, and it's a lot more enjoyable than taking the bus. The only problem is, the train is notorious for being late -- really late -- but we decided to take our chances, and we got lucky, we were only about 2 hours late getting into Mombasa (which is practically on time for the Nairobi-Mombasa train).
The excitement part actually didn't happen to me, but to my friends Isaac and Cookie. They both did Peace Corps here in Kenya a few years ago and came back for a quick vacation before school starts in a couple of weeks. They were also headed to Tiwi Beach, and had a compartment a couple of cars away from ours. Around 4:00 in the morning, I woke up and noticed that we had stopped, and it was about 1/2 an hour before we started moving again. I didn't really think much of it at the time, but when we saw Isaac and Cookie the next morning, Isaac told us that the reason the train had stopped was that he had caught a guy hanging off of the roof of the train with his head and arms inside their compartment, reaching for Isaac's bag! Isaac yelled at the guy, the guy ran away (luckily he didn't have a chance to take anything), and they stopped the train so that they could look for the guy and anyone else stowing away on the roof!!
Now Lonely Planet Kenya warned that this could happen if your window wasn't closed tightly. And Lonely Planet (a.k.a. "the bible"), is really almost never wrong, but it was still pretty nuts to actually have something like that happen on our train and to someone I know!
After that, it was a very chill weekend -- a great last trip of the summer. I guess there was a little excitement when some monkeys broke into our cottage and ate some of the mangoes we had bought from the guy who came to our door every morning to sell fresh fruit and vegtables. Why is it that monkeys seem like such cute, sweet animals until you spend any time at all around them, and then all you think is, "damn monkeys!!!"? Also, I managed to twist my ankle on an early morning jog down the beach one day. Luckily it wasn't very bad -- no need for doctors, crutches, or x-rays, thank goodness -- but just once, I would like to get through the month of August completely unscathed!!
We decided to take the bus back to Nairobi, so that we wouldn't have to worry about getting to work late the next day if the train was really delayed. The bus trip was uneventful but with the bad roads and the hyperactive children sitting in front of us, I have to say that 14 hours on the train was much more enjoyable than 9 hours on the bus. However, there was no one hanging off the roof to try and steal anything from us.
Chilling in our train compartment before dinner.
View from the train as we approached Mombasa.
Palm trees!
Our cottage. (Photo courtesy of Eleonora.)
One of the most beautiful sunrises I've seen in a long time. (Well, since Mt. Kenya, anyway) .
posted by Erica at
2:46 PM
3 Comments:
What a wonderful trip Erica! I love travelling by compartment train around India too -- the bunk beds are surprisingly comfortable! Can't wait to see you!
By
Pritilata, at 5:35 PM
That sunrise looks amazing. I can't wait for your arrival! Jennie
By
Anonymous, at 5:41 PM
Yeah, I was actually surprised at how comfortable the bunk beds are -- and I especially like the little strappy things that keep you from falling out of the top bunk if the train stops suddenly. I probably couldn't have slept if I didn't have those.
Can't wait to see you both!!
By
Erica, at 8:33 AM
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