Eventually you will find yourself in one of those seminars or workshops in Mombasa. To be honest, they are never awfully fun by day two. By the end of the day, you are drained by PowerPoint, the bright lights of the conference rooms and the 10am teas and scones.
But you are in Mombasa where the ocean lives and we all know what happens near water bodies; nobody sleeps early.
You were in CharChoma Restaurant and Bar the last time and it was all the rave, so no point in blowing a horn twice. You ask around (a local, that is) and you are told that the best bar now is Tapas Cielo in Nyali Centre.
So you powder your nose and catch a cab to Nyali Centre. It’s coming to 9:30pm when the taxi pulls into the parking lot and you look up at Tapas with its gaudy purple light and think, is that an aquarium?
On the same floor, thudding music comes from another lounge called Anuba Lounge. So what would David do? Follow where the harp music is coming from, that’s what.
Anuba Lounge takes a corner of the wing; it’s got an air-conditioned inside bar area and outside seating. You take a seat on one of the long round tables near the edge of the bar overlooking the main road and order a drink. It’s a lovely, warm night and the music is terrific.
The voices of the facilitators start to fade in your head, like a nightmare you can barely remember. It's still early by Mombasa standards so the people only start streaming in at 11pm when you are solidly in your second double. It gets louder, of course, but it’s such good music and the pricing of the drinks isn’t too punitive.
You have another session the following day, so you tell yourself that you really have to go. It’s midnight. Of course you are sad to leave because it seems like it’s going to be a fantastic night.
So you stay for another 30 minutes and then another and when you realise that your day tomorrow will be ruined, it dawns on you that it is already tomorrow, so what the hell?
