Joe decided to take John and me out in the car to drive around yet another Shanty Town. It was very large and it stretched back a long way from the road. There is no sanitation, no running water and yet the people look clean and well dressed. There is a tanker that provides the people with water which is removed from a source that other people have to pay for. We then drove around Nairobi city, Joe discovering all the landmarks that John could remember. The Stanley Hotel is now totally different and the Norfolk Hotel still recognisable. The headquarters of the Land Survey department John’s HQ still exist and looks out of place in a modern city.
Then we were off on our travels again. Joe took us by car to Nairobi Railway station as we were catching the overnight train to Mombasa, it hadn’t arrived yet so we sat and had a beer. When the train came in John went off to check where our berth was situated and found it was right next to the dining car. A porter took our suitcase and John gave him a dollar note. He came back and asked for Kenya shillings because he was broke. The train left punctually at 7.00pm. Having settled ourselves in we then went to have dinner. All the tables were for four people. John and I sat down on one side of the table and waited to see who would join us. Firstly one African diffidently sat down opposite and presently another joined him. The first arrival was in construction and loved travelling by train. He was married with three children and loved custard. The other used to be a train driver and now worked in railway administration, he was a bit shy but soon we were all asking and receiving information about each other and it was an enjoyable time. The food was passable but not memorable.
It was a very long train, when it went round bends you could see both ends of it. The interior of our berth could be best described as tatty with faded elegance of another time. The leather seats were cracked and worn with kapok poking out, the melamine wall covering missing in places, the fan doesn’t function and there used to be drinking water available once. The toilet at the end of the corridor used to have a soap dispenser and paper towels and no water comes out of the tap over the small sink. During the night the door was opened and a steward told me to lock it for my safety as I was on the bottom bunk. However the journey was an experience despite everything and breakfast was adequate. The next morning we were able to watch the landscape and villages with people along the track.