A city and its food

With the ongoing social contract for people to stay physically distanced, I took a trip to Mombasa, by road.

When I was younger, I would only get pins and needles for the eight hours of sitting.

I had to move my legs with my hands to alight from the bus once I was in Mombasa this time round.

That there is no night travel is something I am unable to completely fathom.

Travelling long distances during the light of day is hard, especially since you cannot sleep comfortably with the sun in your eyes.

Neither can you read your favourite boy-meets-girl saga as the ride is too bumpy. To make matters worse, passengers on the road where night travel is banned social distance, while those in the metal contraption in the sky do not.

I know, because last weekend on Friday night, Jambojet delayed a 6.30 flight from Kisumu by two hours.

That is two hours of sitting in the cramped Kisumu airport wishing I had travelled by road like I love doing and had done just but a week earlier.

While it takes only a few minutes to get home by air, it makes no economic sense to waste 240 minutes waiting for a 40 minutes flight.

Multiply that time by around 50 passengers and you will see just how many hours Jambojet steals from the Kenyan economy.

Time that we could be utilising to earn more money so we can pay more taxes and emancipate our country for the two seconds it takes for the government to get another loan. But this story is not about the hardships of travelling. It is about food.

That I had to spend two hours at the airport with little food is probably why I am still so angry with Jambojet.

It is probably why I chose the road as my preferred method of getting to Mombasa. In the heart of the city is Sherraton Regency Hotel.

It is ideal if you have errands in town. This is where I would lay my limbs to rest after my long and arduous journey.

The hotel has great meal options, with my favourite being their big buffet breakfast.

I really loved their bone broth and the numerous breakfast offerings they had.

One can go for swims in their rooftop swimming pool after meals, where they also have a rooftop bar.

The views up there are incredible, especially if you like people-watching and seeing how Mombasa motorists are just but a little bit less chaotic compared to their Nairobi counterparts.

The great thing about having meals in Mombasa is the large portions and their affordable pricing.

Every time I came back to the hotel after a day of gallivanting, I knew I would have a filling lunch or dinner.

Evenings at the rooftop swimming pool having a few cold ones with friends as we traded stories about how different yet similar Mombasa and Nairobi are were the highlight of my two days stay.