Traveller's luck

Unexpectedly, I find myself doing one last trip for 2012 and returning to Mombasa, Kenya for the forth time this year. It is not the worst place to be visiting but it really is a bit of a mission to get here. Essentially Mombasa is about four and and half hour flight from Durban if there was a direct flight but yesterday it took me fourteen and a half hours to get here!

My day started with a flight from Durban to Johannesburg which was delayed due to an excess (!) of birds on the runway. The question begs to be asked: What is an acceptable number of birds? Anyway we sat in the plane (Airbus A320) at the end of the runway while the airport officials chased the birds off the runway with a small vehicle. Eventually we were underway and the flight to Johannesburg was unusually smooth and the time spent on the birds was made up during the flight so we arrived at the original scheduled time.

I had a two and a half hour wait between flights so I sauntered across from the domestic to the international terminal. It was a novel experience to have so much time and wonderful to not be stressing about whether or not I would get through the security check and immigration quick enough to make my connection. After partaking in a cappuccino I checked on which boarding gate I had to be at and continued my sauntering to get to it.

As I reached the gate the inbound Kenya Airways flight arrived - an hour late. The offloading of the passengers and the cleaning of the aircraft took time and then we were further delayed because the refueling took longer than expected. In the meantime an impressive highveld storm was brewing over OR Tambo airport with dark clouds and the occasional spear of lightening lighting up the horizon. Eventually we were ready to board and when I got to the front of the queue I was told my seat had changed and I should wait one side. I was a little unimpressed because I had checked in online to ensure that I got a window seat but I decided to just relax and see what came my way. I wasn't too unhappy when I was told I had been upgraded to Business Class but I was uncomfortable that my seat was in the middle of the plane - I really, really prefer to have a window seat. As I was walking down the bridge to the plane I saw, to my huge relief, that the plane we would be flying in was not the ancient old 767-300 that had been on the air ticket but rather a newer 777-200. I was directed to my plush business class seat and made myself comfortable and was given a glass of Bollinger champagne.

Not long after I was seated the heavens opened and the rain came pouring down accompanied with lightening and thunder. The entrance to the aircraft got completely flooded and the hosts and hostesses were trying to mop up all the water with towels. The captain told us there would be a delay until the rain eased a bit so I just sat back and relaxed. At one stage it seemed like the rain was stopping but it was just a little lull before it started again, this time accompanied by hail! The captain came back to tell us that we still could not leave because the workers' union refused to allow the engineers to push the aircraft back in heavy rain. I for one am very pleased about that considering that Kenya Airways' last aircraft accident was during a takeoff in a huge thunderstorm. After an hour and a half rain delay we were eventually pushed back and we taxied to the end of the runway. There we had a further delay while the aircraft in front of us (a little 737) had to wait for a break in the weather before they could take off. Eventually he got off the ground and it was our turn. What a bumpy ride up! I think for me it was worse because I couldn't see out the window so had no reference on how much we were bouncing up and down. Once we were out of South African airspace it got better and the wonderful lunch service started.

Lunch was served over two hours! I could get used to this for sure. It started with a fresh hot facecloth to wipe my hands and face, then some pre-lunch drinks (water and another glass of the Bollingers for me), followed by the starter. This was a potato salad served with feta cheese. I can't say that the potato salad wowed me much. The potatoes were a little under-cooked and in reality there was just one little piece of feta cheese. The main course made up for it though: Feta and spinach cannelloni which was really delicious. I rounded off my meal with a healthy helping of fruit. After dinner I reclined my seat back, put up the foot rest and had a really good nap.

Before I knew it the flight was over and I was having to think about how I was going to make my connection from Nairobi to Mombasa. The delay in the departure from Johannesburg meant that I was arriving in Nairobi at the exact same time that I should be boarding the flight to Mombasa. The airline let us know that everyone on the Mombasa flight need not collect their luggage as it would be transferred directly for them but we should get to immigration as soon as possible and make our way as quick as possible to the domestic terminal. Being in business class definitely had an advantage for me as I was the first off the plane and when I got to immigration there was no one in the queue. I also had no stresses about whether my luggage would arrive in Mombasa as I was only carrying hand luggage. When I arrived at the boarding gate the staff told me that they had delayed the flight for us so I could relax for a bit before we started boarding.

The flight to Mombasa was really uneventful, short (only 40 minutes) and on one of my favourite aircraft - the Embraeer 190. We landed in Mombasa just before 10pm and I went out to find my ride to the hotel. He was standing waiting for me so we got going quickly as it was quite a distance to travel.

The taxi driver seemed to have a bit of a death wish and was driving all over the place and up the bumpers of every vehicle in front of us. The North Coast Beach Hotel is situated on the Mombasa-Malindi Highway but I really wouldn't call the road anything other than a secondary road with great big speed bumps every few hundred metres. I also thought that the most scary part of the journey was over when we turned off onto a dirt road but the driver seemed to think that this was an opportunity to try out his rally skills. There were a few interesting sudden stops at tight corners! Finally, after 45 minutes, we arrived at the hotel and I was really very happy to be there.

The welcome at the hotel was wonderful! I was greeted with an ice-cold facecloth and a cold fruit drink. After completing the registration form I was led to my room. The hotel has a strange layout and I am not complaining at all because I have a suite all on my own on the top floor of one of the many buildings that make up the hotel. My suite has one bedroom, one lounge and two (!) bathrooms. I am sure I will be quite comfortable staying here for the week.

 My bed

My lounge