Nightlife :D

Saturday 05.02.11

This morning we headed into Nyali as we had received news from Bec that she had transferred some money for us and it was waiting at Western Union.  As it turns out, both Tammi’s mum and Bec’s parents each donated $AUD250 so Tammi ended up in front rather than at a loss.  We were very lucky to have some money finally, but are very aware that it won’t last long so Tammi tried to open a Kenyan bank account.

Unfortunately, you need a working visa to open a bank account, and Tammi doesn’t have hers yet.  The plan was once the account was opened Tammi could transfer her money via internet banking, and withdraw it from the Kenyan account.  That is pretty much the only idea we could come up with so it looks like we are going to have to do some more thinking.

We managed to get some essentials at Nakumatt, and I also bought some kikoi shorts as they are about the cheapest i could find and I am in desperate need as clothes get so dirty and sweaty, plus my old shorts are falling apart anyway.  I look like a definite tourist now with my new shorts, which is an odd feeling as I have never considered myself as a tourist on this trip for some reason.  Perhaps it’s that I have been to Kenya before and I feel like I know my way around the matatu and tuk tuk system, not to mention all the other idiosyncrasies of Kenya.

On the way home we got a motorbike and I sat behind the driver.  At one stage we stopped for fuel and the driver reached towards his back pocket for his wallet.  Unfortunately for me, I was wearing a skirt and the man enjoyed putting his hands right up my skirt and going for the upper thigh feel!  When returning his wallet, he did exactly the same thing even after admonishment!  Ewww!!

Earlier in the week we had seen signs and posters advertising a Kenyan band playing just up the road at Mamba Village (Crocodile Village) and as it was walking distance we ahd decided to go.  I was also keen to experience a bit of Kenyan nightlife finally!  Tammi invited Josh, a friend made on her last visit to Mombasa.  Josh runs a volunteer program at the local hospitals for medical students from around the world, including Monash University in Melbourne!  So Josh and his friend Omosh joined us for the night.

We also had dinner at Arturo’s, the restaurant on site and Josh insisted on paying for us all which was very generous.  He also insisted that we must match him round for round on drinks so by the end of dinner I was feeling my 3 wines!  And poor old Tammi was looking a bit worse for wear after 3 vodka and Red Bulls!  Josh decided the band was too loud to talk properly so wanted to take us elsewhere and show us a ‘real’ night out in Mombasa.  We headed to Casablanca up the road further past White Sands a bit.

It was a nice enough club and it was packed full of mzungus - either old men with very young Kenyan wives, or old mzungu women with young Kenyan husbands.  We felt odd just being there it was so weird!  The young Kenyan girls look under 20 and their husband al look over 60, some as old a 80!  The girls dress very scarcely and some of them were clearly stoned, most probably just to put up with the situation they are in!  They were all asking me in the bathroom if I had a husband or did I want them to find me one!

After Josh ordered us another few rounds of drinks, we headed to the dance floor which was strangely sickening.  Dancing beside sleazy 70 year old men and women and clearly uncomfortable younger Kenyan girls was a bit weird for me!  A young Masai man approached me and starting dancing with me.  He then asked if I was American and was a bit disappointed to hear I was Australian.  He seemed to overcome his disappointment quickly as he then asked if I was married.  I told him I was, as it doesn’t take long to learn that in Kenya if you want to be left alone, then you are married!

This didn’t deter my new Masai friend though, and he said that surely I was interested in a bit of fun and ‘messing around’ with him.  When I laughed and said no, he still kept pushing so it was fortunate that at that moment the guys decided it was time to head home.  Tammi by this stage was pretty drunk and Josh was just as bad.  Fortunately I had held up okay, and Omosh was driving so he was fine!

The guys dropped us home and we gave them a tour of the house as they hadn’t been yet.  Omosh said he would pick us up form the bus stop in Mombasa when we returned from Nairobi on Tuesday night and we also organised to go out again on Friday night.  I am looking forward to it as it’s nice to see the Mombasa night life and Josh and Omosh assured us they will show us some popular places!

By the time we were in bed it was 3am and we got straight to sleep ready for our early morning bus trip to Nairobi tomorrow morning.