11-09-02 TNA - Mombasa

8/4/2019 11-09-02 TNA - Mombasa

1/1

PAGE 23Friday, 2 September 2011

www.thenewage.co.za

GOthe

DID YOU KNOW?The Swahili name or Mombasa is Kisiwa ChaMvita (Mvita or short) which means Island o

War, due to many changes in its ownership

DID YOU KNOW?Kenya is named ater Mount Kenya, a sig-nifcant landmark and second to Kilimanjaro

among Aricas highest mountain peaks

AS LAURA BAnkS stepsaboard the Premier Classeluxury train, she fnds itstrue: the more things change,the more they stay the same.

Give it back! my olderbrother demands from acrossthe train compartment.

No!Im warning you. This is your

last chance, he snarls, knuckleswhite with anger.

Oh boy, hes not kidding either his eyes are erce. I dont wantto square o against him apartfrom being a boy, hes a whole

year-and-a-bit older than me.Like a cornered creature I pum-mel my puny six-year-old stsagainst the wall that separatesour train compartment frommom and dads. Maaaaaaaa!I bellow, scared witless.

Just then he lurches for me.Tufts of hair. Squeals. Tears.

The compartment doorcrashes open. Whats goingon in here? barks mom. Henry

On the Go is edited by Jeremy Shepherd SmithEmail: [email protected]

Phone: 011 542 1263\082 673 3690 www.thenewage.co.za

Train travails with my boet

CLASSY: Train travel evokes yesteryear memories of sibling squabbles andsoggy padkos. No more asks of lukewarm tea. Now its good, hot coffee.

TICKETY-TICK: Welcomeaboard, madam.

nThe Durban StylishWeekend costs R3 250a person sharing, andchildren aged 2-9,R1 999). Included is anights stay at the four-star Balmoral Hotel,and all meals aboardthe train.n JB Train Tours runtrips to all over thecountry, including PE,CT and Namibia, amongother places.More info: 011 913 2442or www.jbtours.co.za

scoots away from me, like ascalded cat.

A withering stare. Behaveyourselves now, or Ill wallop theboth of you. Theres still another20 hours to Cape Town. Oh boy, Iexhale, this is going be a loong trip.

Flash forward 24 years and my

brother Henry and I are back onthe train.

Now we settle our dierenceslike the adults we are.

Hes on his side of the com-partment and Im on mine. Its

just like old times. But instead ofpassing a plastic ask of sweet,lukewarm Five Roses between us,

were cradling dainty porcelain

cups of good coee.And, in contrast to soggy egg

mayo sarmies sealed in tinfoil,tonight we feast like royalty ona ve-course dinner on real por-celain crockery and real silvercutlery. Here we are, nally, allgrown-up.

Another distinct dierence iswere not on that asthmatic old

cage that used to rattle and joltthrough the combustible Karooon our annual pilgrimage to thecoast.

Thats right, Shosholoza Meylhas shaken o its rust and slippedinto its royal purple livery ladiesand gents, I introduce the upmar-ket Premier Classe.

We chug out of Joburgs Park

Station on a Friday after work,with the knowledge that well beback again at sparrows on Mon-day.

Most of all though, Im thrilledabout being on board the Premier

Classe. Sure, I adore sticky-aired Durban, which is alsopregnant with childhood holi-day memories, but theres nomore satisfying mode of tr avelthan a rail safari.

Outside, the stars slide past,low and bright, while you arelulled to sleep by the soporictickety-tick of the wheels skirt-ing the undulating hills.

Suppertime. We tuck intocream of wild s pinach (morogo)and potato soup, followed bygrilled Kingklip with herb andbutter sauce, and are instantlynudged deeper into our reverie.

Next, its roasted sirloin with horseradish sauce andlyonnaise potatoes, malva pud-ding, and nally an excellentcheese board with sticky greeng preserve.

Henry grins at me.

Mombasa the magnifcentScott Smith

MOMBASA has always been abeacon for leisure seekers, with

its white, sandy beaches, warmsoupy sea and constant steamysunshine. Its the largest port inEast Africa, serving as it doesKenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundiand the eastern DemocraticRepublic of Congo.

It has an ancient but sparselyrecorded history. Arab merchantshave been trading in and populat-ing these shores for two millenniaand you can see the clear traces ofthis inuence on the architectureand in the nely hewn features ofthe friendly locals.

Kenya is today even more cos-mopolitan. Enterprise and thelure of adventure brought and stillbeckon people from all over theregion; a keen ear on any streetcorner will detect familiar snip-pets of Swahili, Arabic and Eng-lish and will be beguiled by theeclectic chatter of many unknowntongues.

The dominance and inuenceof Arab traders began to wanewhen the Portuguese settled enmasse after the arrival of VascoDe Gama in 1498 and the muez-zin made way for the mantilla.Portugal would rule Mombasafor 200 years before the OmaniArabs reclaimed the prize, untilthey were in turn dislodged by thecitys nal foreign rulers, the Brit-ish, in 1895. There has now beenalmost half a century of independ-ent rule and the n ation that JomoKenyatta formed has been goodto this Indian Ocean jewel. Thecity has thrived and is now utterlyAfrican and uniquely variegated.

The Ethiopian, the colonial,the Arab and the ethnic all con-verge in the styling of the manymodern and blissfully air-condi-

tioned hotels that populate mod-ern Mombasa and border the oldtown.

Mombasas Old City is inhab-ited by richly diverse contem-porary communities, including

Africans, Arabs, Portuguese,Asians and British all of whomhave co-existed, for the most partpeacefully, for several hundredyears. This mix of cultures, ideas,politics and religions has createdan atmosphere that just cannot befound anywhere else.

A must-see assortment ofmoderately well-maintainedhistorical buildings dating from

the 18th century combines all ofthese inuences in a splendidlyMombasan manner. The fas-cinating and skilfully executedwooden carvings found on doorsand awnings are, alone, worthy of

close inspection. Despite the longhistory of the town, the majorityof the homes in the quarter aremodelled on Swahili designs and

are in fact no older than 100 years,which together conspire to makethe sense of continuity and time-lessness all the more intriguing.

It is considered safe to ambleo the beaten tourist track to seewhat the locals have to oer theirown. Bargains are to be found,for sure, but more precious is theexperience of this part of Mom-

basa itself. Short and windingalleys are the norm and typicalof the days before grid town plan-ning it is around corners like

these that one nds spice and fab-ric shops tucked away, frequentedmainly by locals and stued withexotic delights.

When you take a turn downanother alley the scene canswitch altogether the businesseschange, the architecture swaps

centuries and idioms, the garbreworks itself and its religion andthe vitality of the street notchesup or down.

As you venture on the out-skirts of the old city and walkon the paths next to the sea you

will undoubtedly be drawn tothe brown clay walls of the his-toric Fort Jesus towering abovethe town in a defensive gesture.The fort was declared a nationalmonument in 1958 and is built inthe shape of a man when viewedfrom the sky. It is probably Mom-basas biggest tourist attraction

and houses a museum not to bemissed.

A Portuguese stronghold, it wasbuilt in 1593 to fend o the Turksand local rebels and was, ironi-

cally for Christians, only rechris-tened Fort Jesus after ShaikhIsa Bin Tarif Al Bin Ali Al Utbiconquered it in 1837. Between 1631

and 1875, the fort changed handsa total of nine times, such wasthe colonial competition to wrestcontrol.

The fort is one of the worldsnest surviving examples of Por-tuguese military architectureand its generously proportionedbuttresses and old world solidityhas been made magical by themerciless decay that the coastalclimate has wrought. If you nd aquiet corner and lean against itsstone walls it is easy to imaginethe milling throngs that made upthe booming slave trade, or thevibrant souks (market stalls) thatused to surround it; or you mayhear the ghostly wail of an a ncientmuezzin calling the faithful out forlong gone noontime prayers.

It is on drives like this that yousee that Kenya is not as under-

The port city is inhabited by richly diverse communities

developed as one imagines.Kenya is the richest country

in the region, and Mombasa isits second-richest city, and thepeople are hopeful. There areopportunities here, as can bewitnessed from the glimpses of

luxury spied behind high wallsand from ashes of manicuredlawns and cool opulent caverns

that wink at you through yourcar window as you trundle downincongruously pot-holed streets.

Leaving the city, you drive

between the historic MombasaTusks, which were built to com-memorate the visit of QueenElizabeth II in 1952. They markthe entrance to the heart of thetown and, although obviously notmade of ivory, they represent the

precious commodity that onceloomed so large over the economy.

These tusks are, for betteror for worse, Mombasas den-ing symbol; it is its own scale-appropriate African Eiel Toweror Statue of Liberty and oers

a photographic icon in the sameleague.

There are many resorts justoutside the city and ours is the

Sarova Whitesands Beach Resort.It is 15ha of perfectly landscapedpalm tree-shaded postcard para-dise and lounges on one of East

Africas most stunning whitesand beaches. The resort hasall amenities necessary and justalong the boardwalk and down thewooden steps from our room is abeach bordered with what at lowtide oers a kilometre of ankle-splashing walking straight out tosea. As we ambled along we cameacross sandy shoals and amaz-

ing sea creatures darting hereand there like quick silver at ourfeet. Where the water becomes

deeper the sailing boats aremoored, waiting to wing anyoneto a prime snorkelling spot. For usthis was not strictly necessary asSarova butts right up against theprotected Mombasa Marine Park,but we climbed in anyway and thesailors familiarised us with the

lay of the land. A cooling trip in adhow (boat) is a relaxing adven-ture to be embarked on in its ownright and one to be repeated.

Snorkelling in Mombasa MarinePark is a free and unforgettableexperience, not least because thecolourful tropical sh are una-fraid of humans to the point oftameness and will actively cometo you in the hope of being fed. Asimple slice of bread will make

you extremely popular and thesh will nibble on all parts of yourbody.

Established in 1986, the parkcomprises 10km of unspoiltlagoon, back reef and reef crestcoral habitats. The water tem-perature hovers at about 28Cmaking for hours of uninter-rupted swimming pleasure. The

visibility in the lagoon is excellentand the depth is perfect in manyplaces for the novice.

Surprised by the ease and thequiet condence we found eve-rywhere, we were lulled into apleasant African stupor and fellin with the pace of the least activecreatures basking on Mombasasancient walls and baking rocks.Whether drifting through theunspoilt glittering turquoise of theIndian Ocean or rubbing shoul-ders with Kenyas bright people intheir kangas and kikois, Mombasadelivers time out of mind withoutthe fuss.

An upbeat but far from franticlocale with which you can expectto fall in love, as we did.nThe writer few with Kenya Air-ways and was accommodated bySarova Hotels

COLONIAL PAST:Portuguese Fort Jesus.

RELAXING: A trip in adhow cant be missed.

DESTRESSING: Locals and tourists can relax with a splendid view of the Mombasaharbour.

HISTORIC: The Mombasa tusks. BUSY: Locals on a Mombasa street.

LUXURYSTAY:TheSarov

a

Whitesandsbeachresort.

AIRY:Touristswalkaroun

dinside

thehotelfoyer.

LIFE:Thepeoplearewarm

andfriendly.