Our travels in Mombasa and Nairobi, Kenya

On our travels, we are touring for 11 weeks through several countries in east Africa, and after a short stop in Johannesburg, South Africa, we reached Kenya, the first of our east-African destinations. Kenya is a country of around 55.8 million people, sitting in the middle of Africa on its eastern coast. Our first stop in Kenya was on that coast, in Mombasa.

View from our apartment at Nyali beach, Mombasa, Kenya

We had booked a serviced apartment on Mombasa’s Nyali Beach. The apartment had a great view of the sea, provided access to the beach, was a short walk to the supermarket and street stalls, and was self-contained so we could do our own cooking using local produce.

Fishing boat off Nyali beach, Mombasa, Kenya

We were regularly entertained by life along Nyali beachfront, which fringes the Indian Ocean. We saw fishing boats and dhows, and people enjoying the beach and paddling in the shallows looking for shellfish. The last time we were beside the Indian Ocean was on the other side of it, in India. However, we found our little patch of Nyali beach much quieter than the busy Indian beaches.

Distant view of Mombasa city, Kenya

Nyali is about a 25-minute drive from the centre of Mombasa which is Kenya’s second largest city after Nairobi, and its oldest. We planned to visit the old city but the night before, Leigh had a severe allergic reaction to some tablets she was taking and we spent the night at the local Mombasa hospital getting it sorted, so didn't get there. The next day she was ok, so we we called for a taxi to take us into the city. However, there were riots there so no taxi would take us, and next minute, we were on the train to Nairobi.

The modern train station in Mombasa

We were really sad at not seeing Mombasa but we couldn’t change our train booking so carried on. Arriving at the Mombasa train station we found it to be very modern. It has a security system like an airport, and as we went through it, a female guard whispered to Marg that the Swiss-army knife in her suitcase was illegal, but if Marg paid her, it would be ok. Marg, affronted, told her in a loud voice that she could keep it, and walked away …. with her suitcase!

Village seen from the train to Nairobi, Kenya

We then calmly wheeled our luggage to the correct platform and boarded the train. Finding our seats, we thought the train was very comfortable and clean, and settled in for the 6-hour ride. The scenery along the route was interesting, as we passed through many rural villages, seeing animals and people working together, and various styles of housing.

Our street and apartment (on left) in Nairobi, Kenya

We arrived in Nairobi, grabbed a taxi to our hotel (getting a prayer from the taxi driver before we left his taxi!), and settled in for a few days. We had a small self-contained apartment so the first thing we did was find the local market to buy some food. The roads were tar-sealed and edged with red dust. There was rarely a footpath, and so we quickly learned to manage our way through the traffic.

The local bus stop and colourful buses in Nairobi, Kenya

There was a local shop on the corner that we frequented, that was next to an informal bus station holding several colourful buses. There were a lot of people about, and everyone we passed said Jambo (hello) or waved and smiled. We have found Kenyans so far, to be very helpful to visitors and really friendly.

Parliament buildings Nairobi, Kenya

Our hotel was on the city fringe and we were able to walk into the city centre from there. Nairobi is the capital of Kenya. It was founded by the British in 1899 as a rail depot and the town grew rapidly, replacing Mombasa as the capital in 1907. It is large city with a population of around 4.3 million, but compact, so easy to walk around.

Different architectural styles in Nairobi, Kenya

Our walk took us through some interesting areas, and we wandered around for ages admiring the different architecture. Although Nairobi was founded by the British, we didn’t see much traditional colonial architecture. Apart from typical shop-fronts with dwellings attached, the rest was unique high-rise commercial buildings and apartments.

The City Market in Nairobi, Kenya

Then we discovered the colourful City Market which is full of locally produced art and crafts. We were hassled to buy everything (as you are in markets), but all we bought was a couple of t-shirts. Happy with our purchases, we carried on with our walk. At lunch time, we managed to find one of Nairobi’s most famous hotels, and had a nice meal with great service.

The beautiful stained-glass window at the National Museum of Kenya in Nairobi

The next day, we visited the Kenya National Museum where we saw some amazing artifacts, and stunning art from Kenyan artists, including a beautiful stained-glass window. We also learned about the history of Kenya which has been traced back to 2000 BC when people from northern Africa settled in the area. Since that time, Kenya has been colonized by the Arabs, Portuguese and English, and is currently a Commonwealth country.

Marg at the National Museum of Kenya, Nairobi

One display that we found interesting consisted of hundreds of gourds collected from different communities all over Kenya, to represent unity in Kenya. The variety of shapes, sizes, and colours was amazing. Leaving the museum sometime later, we headed back to the hotel to pack our suitcases. Our travels take us next on our first safari, but you can read about that in the next blog.

This blog is part of a series on our travels in eastern Africa. The first in this series is called Johannesburg, South Africa.