Mooching in Mombasa
Greetings from Mombasa, Kenya! I come here so often that it almost feels like I should invest in some accommodation in Mombasa and by that I don't mean a hotel room.
So let me start with the journey to get here. While Mombasa is really only about four and a half hours flight as the proverbial crow flies, in reality it takes an entire day to get here. Travel to Mombasa is always rather unpredictable and this trip was no different. So I had to wake up at four thirty in the morning to make a flight from Durban to Johannesburg. The flight was very smooth which was a pleasant surprise as anyone who flies this route knows that it is usually a bit bumpy. It was freezing cold in Jo'burg - well for a Durbanite anyway - and I was glad that I took my fleece jacket along. The Johannesburg - Nairobi flight left slightly late but, as always, made up time on the way and we arrived in Nairobi 15 minutes early. I was a little concerned about making the connection to Mombasa but since we arrived early, I took the opportunity to buy a pre-paid data bundle from Safaricom so that I had a guaranteed Internet connection (yeah YouTube time) and then dashed across to the domestic terminal. Fortunately I did not have any checked-in luggage so managed to avoid the long wait at the carousel. But when I got to the domestic terminal, the flight I was booked on was already full. According to Kenya Airways, the aircraft that was scheduled to make the flight was downgraded to a smaller aircraft so there was not enough space for everyone and those early birds who had arrived early for check-in got the worms (or seats in this case). The airline were good enough to let us "late comers" book in for the six o'clock flight so only one hour later and really not that bad. So I settled down on a luminous green plastic chair and loaded my airtime and started reading a book but no sooner had I got comfortable when a ground crew member came over asking if I had checked in luggage on the six o'clock flight. When I said no he asked if I would mind catching my original flight. Of course I said no I didn't mind and was on that plane as quick as possible. The flight left early too so I got to Mombasa ahead of time and it all worked out well in the end.
This time I am staying at the Sai Rock Hotel. It is a new hotel that opened in October last year. My room is enormous and spotlessly clean so I can't complain too loudly. The plumbing is, however, slightly odd. The toilet flushes forever but rather that than not at all! The hot water is only present if you crack the cold water tap slightly but it is so hot that a cold shower is not that much of a hardship anyway!
The meeting today was endless and I have to admit that in the end I was not listening. The last presenter was giving a breakdown of his proposed budget and it went completely over my head - I was just over-saturated with information.
Tomorrow I give my presentation and will have to defend asking for funding but it should all be ok. Practically every component said that they wanted input from my project so they must give me the money to do the work.
Oh well that is all for today. I am hoping to get a good night's rest so that I will be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed in the morning.
So let me start with the journey to get here. While Mombasa is really only about four and a half hours flight as the proverbial crow flies, in reality it takes an entire day to get here. Travel to Mombasa is always rather unpredictable and this trip was no different. So I had to wake up at four thirty in the morning to make a flight from Durban to Johannesburg. The flight was very smooth which was a pleasant surprise as anyone who flies this route knows that it is usually a bit bumpy. It was freezing cold in Jo'burg - well for a Durbanite anyway - and I was glad that I took my fleece jacket along. The Johannesburg - Nairobi flight left slightly late but, as always, made up time on the way and we arrived in Nairobi 15 minutes early. I was a little concerned about making the connection to Mombasa but since we arrived early, I took the opportunity to buy a pre-paid data bundle from Safaricom so that I had a guaranteed Internet connection (yeah YouTube time) and then dashed across to the domestic terminal. Fortunately I did not have any checked-in luggage so managed to avoid the long wait at the carousel. But when I got to the domestic terminal, the flight I was booked on was already full. According to Kenya Airways, the aircraft that was scheduled to make the flight was downgraded to a smaller aircraft so there was not enough space for everyone and those early birds who had arrived early for check-in got the worms (or seats in this case). The airline were good enough to let us "late comers" book in for the six o'clock flight so only one hour later and really not that bad. So I settled down on a luminous green plastic chair and loaded my airtime and started reading a book but no sooner had I got comfortable when a ground crew member came over asking if I had checked in luggage on the six o'clock flight. When I said no he asked if I would mind catching my original flight. Of course I said no I didn't mind and was on that plane as quick as possible. The flight left early too so I got to Mombasa ahead of time and it all worked out well in the end.
This time I am staying at the Sai Rock Hotel. It is a new hotel that opened in October last year. My room is enormous and spotlessly clean so I can't complain too loudly. The plumbing is, however, slightly odd. The toilet flushes forever but rather that than not at all! The hot water is only present if you crack the cold water tap slightly but it is so hot that a cold shower is not that much of a hardship anyway!
The meeting today was endless and I have to admit that in the end I was not listening. The last presenter was giving a breakdown of his proposed budget and it went completely over my head - I was just over-saturated with information.
Tomorrow I give my presentation and will have to defend asking for funding but it should all be ok. Practically every component said that they wanted input from my project so they must give me the money to do the work.
Oh well that is all for today. I am hoping to get a good night's rest so that I will be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed in the morning.
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