My 1st time Taking the Train from Mombasa to Nairobi

THis past week of my job leave I was totally seduced by the thought of
taking the night train from Mombasa to
Nairobi. A journey that many have
written about and survived. This train is from a by gone era when
the white man ruled supreme in Kenya
and was the only link between the
coast and Nairobi city. Needless to say the train is full of
Britishness and is unique in every way.
The dining car is resplendent in 60's
decor, red leather seats, old pictures of
white hunters with their kills, pristine
white tablecloths, silver cutlery and some what chipped china plates. The
mustard pot was shining a midst the
myriad of condiments on the table. ASHLEY MWANGI my fiance was totally amazed for
so many reasons. On her First time on a plane
down to Mombasa, first time seeing the
oceans waves, first time finding sea
shells, first time on a train. The joy of
giving her such experiences was incredible, things that we take for
granted each day. How could anyone question the
decadence of another generation when
it comes to breakfast in the middle of
the African heartland. So how did this journey start? It was
quite simple, a booking, a ticket, turn up at the appointed time. Much like a
journey anywhere else in the world.

You would have thought that this
would be simple but of course you have to realise that you are in Africa
and nothing is simple, in fact you have
to make sure you have some extra
money in your back pocket to make
things move. That is the norm, its
expected by both parties, its acceptable and understood. Mombasa is a cosmopolitan city, full of
history that goes back to invaders from
Portugal, Arabia, Britain.....back to
Portugal and so on. There are the modern districts, but
there is the old town with narrow
streets 'lamu' my shagz, bazaars and coffee houses, all of
them clamouring for your attention. We
had the joy of being beaten into a
coffee house by the torrential rain and an experience to share with
you.....shoes off....ushered into a
darkened room....mattresses on the floor....for a moment I wondered what
the mattresses were for..... However my fears were al layed when
the menu arrived and it did not contain
pictures of available women. Just many
different varieties of coffee, I was lost
but eventually went for the local blend
which was full of ginger and the warm glow made me think of eastern
promise....I am convinced it was full of

something else. However the rain went
off and we managed to splash through
the flooded streets. As time rolled on it was the moment to
visit Fort Jesus which used to be the
protection for the area when it came to
invaders. A very stout castle as we
would call it in Scotland with
many rooms and escape routes for those that could not bear the
cannon balls. I had a smile on my face as the guide
showed me the rows and rows of black
painted cannons which had the seal of a
Scottish company... near Glasgow. So
many hundreds of years ago and
Scotland keeps coming up with all its influence in the world. I smiled a lot! So I digress, one of the most enchanting
moments was to turn up at the main
railway station for our journey back to
Nairobi. Make sure our tickets were
good, booking was confirmed and it
was ok to get the pink slip to show the train manager - more of him later. Once
again it was stand in line and wait...this
can normally take an hour or so,
patience is good. Oh yes, there are heartaches and tears
when the person in front does not have
the correct papers, but in this
environment its everyone for
themselves. You cannot be diverted by
other peoples problems. It can be disturbing but you have to remain
focused. The train was awesome, climb up the
steps into another world, far removed
from Mombasa old town. Three classes
of tickets... 1st class gets you a sleeper,
dinner, breakfast, 2nd gets you a
sleeper but you share, 3rd gets you a hard seat and you take your chances...
but make sure you have water. Knowing the African way I knew that
the departure would be delayed and so

it happened. We walked the plat form
and it was my thought to show ASHLEY the engine up front. However, it wasn't
there, and her words to me ring in my ears, 'There is no head to this train, how
can it move?' A simple question which
portrays a Kenyan woman's life. Due to leave at 7pm the train finally left
at 10pm and in the interim, dinner was
served. Soup or Sorbet?? Fish or Chicken??
Mmmmm, rice or Potatoes???
Vegetables??? Wine or Beer??? It was
so bizarre sitting at Mombasa station
eating an elegant meal and the train
still parked. During the meal a Dutch papa shouted to all, "My camera has
been stolen, check your cabins".....we all
wondered if our own valuables were
safe. I went back to the cabin and the
laptop was still there. Then we decided to go down to the
platform for a break and met up with
this crazy man with a guitar......he was
making his living going up and down
singing gospel songs. I have to tell you
that his guitar was out of tune and I just wanted to grab it and retune
it 4 Him bt...however he had the most wonderful
voice and when it came to Jim Reeves
old favorites he was very very good.
'This world is my home, I'm just
passing thru, the angels beckon me, Oh Lord what can I do' will remain on my
heart forever. So this Kenyan man, un-
tuned guitar, Ashley and myself ended up
dancing and singing with him... It was a
magical moment. The other passengers
clapped and laughed at our fun.
Now that week was a wonderful vacation for me and my girlfriend who recently left me for stupid assumptions that i shaggd 4 of her best close pals while stil dating her nKt! WOMEN I TELL drama..