Durban and Lamu

A couple of months ago I went to Durban for the first time. Though I was there for work and didn't see much of the city, the hotel was right on the beach promenade, and it is a fantastic beach promenade: along several kilometers there is a perfect beach, a theme park, aquarium, a few small water parks, lots of showers and cafes and a well-used cycling and walking path.

I attended a meeting at the conference center in the World Cup stadium there; a nice stadium but it doesn't seem like is used much. I was reminded though that South Africa is a strange place with some very typical African problems in terms of inequality and crime, some unique ones in terms of racial conflict, and then infrastructure as good as much of Europe which doesn't look like Africa at all. 

Last month I also went back to Lamu, a county, a town and an island on the Kenyan coast neighboring Somalia, where I've been a frequent visitor for a health project for a few years. The town itself is a UNESCO World Heritage site, one of the oldest towns in the region with a long trading heritage with the middle east. Most people in the town are muslim, and the town has no roads, just tiny streets, large, solid stone houses, and then some small villages with huts on the sand stretching across the mostly barren island.

It is hard to describe Lamu town really, because it is very local, with a bustling market and everyone involved in trade or fishing. There is a tourism industry, mostly in the neighboring village of Shela, a half an hour walk along the coast from Lamu town itself. There is a wide range of hotels from backpacker budget to luxury private beaches and everything in between. All the buildings are spectacular, the weather is always great, and the fish and swahili food is excellent. Time stands still and no-one is in a hurry. There are some things to see, like the fort, the museum, some villages, and various ruins, as well as explore the other islands on the picturesque Dows (a wooden boat).

Many wealthy Europeans have houses in Shela and its very quiet and clean compared to Lamu; there are even some small tourist boutiques in dramatic contrast to Lamu town with very local shops providing the fundamentals along with some craft workshops that still make traditional wooden doors and furniture in a unique style. 

Of course something else somewhat special in Lamu is the mode of transport (apart from boats), which is primarily on donkey, well at least for transporting goods, as donkeys are the only things that can squeeze in the narrow alleyways (apart from a few wider streets that you can push a handcart down). Though recently some motorbikes have appeared (controversially) to go up and down the promenade, and out to some villages.

I'm sure I'll be back there again, hopefully one day as a tourist!