Kenya Part 3: Mombasa
When my driver picked me up to leave Distant Relatives, he seemed excited! He asked “you’re going to the festival too? At The Flamingo?” I was clueless that I would be staying at the most poppin’ resort in town, while I waited a few days for Lindsey's arrival while she soloed in Nairobi. He explained it was going to be packed full of DJs and dancing all weekend. Luckily for me, this sounded like a viiiiibe.
Moments after we left, my driver said “we have to make a stop to pick up my brother” to which I agreed and laughed. This was not an Uber, this was just a kind man, with a car, who agreed to drive me for a small fee. And as chance would have it, we were headed to the same place. Hey, turn up! His brother was this smooth dude who kept his sunglasses on the whole ride. He immediately asked me if I had ever tried Khat, the chewing ‘tobacco’ leaf, which is actually quite common and legal in Kenya. WHEN IN ROME!
He passed me a bag of leaves and a piece of gum - low key - it wasn’t terrible. We talked about house music, New York City nightlife and he asked if I had a chance to try the local wine while in Kilifi. When I told him I didn’t drink, he explained “no no, it’s natural”. I asked “is there alcohol?” He said “yes, natural wine”.
Those brothas were the coolest! We laughed the whole hour-long drive playing amazing music while the guys teased me about my very limited Swahili. I picked up the phrase “tulia-tulia” which is another “cool” way of saying “pole-pole” - the Kenyan philosophy of living life slowly. I told them I was thinking about getting “Tulia” as a tattoo, after a man joked with me while shopping in the markets. They cracked up and said “don’t get that - he was telling you to calm TF down, not “relax”. When we pulled up to the resort I was sad to see them go.
A first-timer to any kind of resort, I soon realized resorts are exactly like cruise ships. The “all inclusive wristband” gets you access to the dining room and free soda! 2 hours in, I was 3 orange Fantas deep, enjoying my villa balcony, truly living pole-pole to the sounds of the festival DJs in the distance. I spent many a afternoon chilling by the beach watching the camel rides while I read my book, The War of Art. I started the book in Kilifi and when I finished on the beach, I was damn near weeping in public, with inspiration to start this very blog- blame the camels and beauty of the Indian ocean.
The food was a sprawling buffet every night (cruise ship) but with the freshest, most delicious Kenyan fair. They even had a station where 2 ladies were frying samosas to order, and couldn’t make the roti fast enough.
I took full advantage of the spa and had several massages, a few facial treatments and one 45-minute steam bath which was so intense, one is all you need for several years. I spent all of my spa days with a delightful woman named Maureen. When she found out I wasn’t married, she gave the right kind of advice during our hours together, and during a pedicure, went on about how “self-love attracts love” and how I was “doing the right thing”. She got me.
When Lindsey arrived a few days later, I squealed with excitement from her knock on the door. My new porter friend Alex must have thought we were real blood sisters when he brought her bags to the room and saw use jumping up and down with glee.
Lindsey is the friend where we pick up where we left off, no matter how long it’s been. This wasn’t just a girls trip or a cool reunion. For me, this was 10 years of dreaming of a “next time”, now a reality. The magic of this trip was already 10x more than I could have ever imagined, with the best yet to come in Tanzania. We were about to take INK to our bucket lists, renewed in spirit and gratitude.
Lindsey’s driver from the Mombasa train station was an incredible man named Mike. So awesome, that he offered to be our driver for a tour of the city the next day, before heading to Tanzania. When I asked Lindsey “was he cool”? She simply replied “he’s like, dad-cool!” and boy was she right!
Mike took us to all the Mombasa-Must-Do’s including the Mombasa Tusks, that were built to commemorate the visit of King George in 1952. Same King George that, due to illness, sent his daughter Elizabeth on the trip instead. And if you watch The Crown, you’ll know this is also why the British family always travels with a backup-black-outfit, just in case.
Photo by Mike
Mike laughed and said “they built this for the royals, and they never even got to see it! [dad-laugh]”. He took us to Fort Jesus where we saw a whale skeleton AND learned about Portuguese colonization. We spent the latter part of the afternoon at Haller Park, which is less of a “zoo” and more like a reserve, where there are free-roaming giant tortoises, monkeys and other animals just living wild. Mike made sure to get us there before 3pm, so we could feed the giraffes that just wander over when the bell rings. He was excited for us!
Lindsey made reservations, months in advance, to Mombasa’s famous Cave Restaurant, but we didn’t even think to check the address until after the animal park late in the day. Mike knew the location all day and had every intention of driving us the full 2 hours, there and back. It wasn’t until we insisted we didn’t want to drive 2 hours, there and back, Mike had an idea.
Without hesitation, Mike said “do you like seafood? I know a place!” and called his buddy to let him know “he had 2 beautiful ladies coming for dinner”. He took us back to the hotel to change, drove us there, and when we arrived we had the best table in the house reserved for “Mike’s friends”. The deck of the restaurant was floating off the dock, so it was just vibes, the moon and a giant seafood platter to end the most perfect day.
Mike showed us a different kind of kindness that few people possess. He was a true angel who made us laugh like we were old friends and kept us safe, real dad-like. I can’t believe we didn't take a picture with him, but if he showed up to my family reunion, he would fit right in.
You’ll often hear people remark on the “kindness” of Kenyans, so this take is not particularly unique. But what a reputation; a true and worthy rep that I can confirm on every level, from even the smallest interactions. Every person I encountered from Kilifi to Mombasa had an genuine warmth that only comes with a deep culture in how to treat people. Mike was exceptional so he, in particular, gets high praise for simply being himself. I just couldn’t end the Kenya tales without a real and true shoutout to every person I met in Kenya, who blew my mind with their kind spirits, wishing me only continued blessings.
The next day we would be off for Tanzania to our chalet in Moshi, running-speed-close to Mount Kilimanjaro. And let me tell you, the adventure started WAY before we got to Africa’s tallest mountain!
Kilimanjaro and Tanzania post coming at ya Sunday, May 26th! Stay tuned!
Moshi, Tanzania - Here we come!