Lunga lunga

Bus journey to Mombasa 

In Lunga Lunga, I started by looking for the Public works camp, because the beacon in which I had to start my job on  was located within the camp. It was easy to find and shortly afterwards I was set for work. But first needed to refresh. 

Lunga Lunga is a border town, bordering Tanzania at Horo Horo on  Tanzanian side.  Notice something about the names??? might have been a combined decision by the two countries to have the towns named !!!! Or maybe the two border languages have alot of similarities. Just guessing. 

After a shower I started working,  I did not expect to do much but I was pretty much proud of myself. Wasn’t that fortunate on  the second day though.  My collegues who were in Kwale were to come on  the following day to help. 

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It’s evening and am bored to death. There is a power blackout,  I had hoped to write and read on  wordpress, too bad.  Bored in the hotel room,  I decided to look for a salon  have my hair done. The power blackout had affected the whole town-no power no hairdo. 

As I walk slowly towards the restaurant, I feel like the odd one out.  Am in grey sweat pants and a t-shirt,  women around me are in  long dresses or have lessos tied around their waists.  I buy one and cover myself at least so that I can blend in. 

At the restaurant I sit at the corner table next to the entrance, it belongs to a Somali. The Somalis have restaurants all over Kenya that serve the same foods cooked in the same style and have the same names mostly Tawakal or Al Jazeera or Al Hamida. 

The customer next to me is having muthokoi (mixture of peeled maize and beans), so I order the same and a cup of  tea. 

“Do you know where I can find an airtel money agent ” comes  a voice from  the stranger on the table next to mine. “No, am new here please ask the waiter” I don’t  like the interruption from my thoughts. And I have a really bad cough and just want to keep to myself. 

I turn my attention back to my muthokoi,  I do not want more from him just in case he is unable to find the money agent( phone banking services)  and asks me to pay his bill, no way on  earth.

I did not notice when  he walked out. A few minutes later a man joined me on my table. 

“Is power back out there ” I ask him. “No, if it had,  you’d notice in here too because the whole town is supplied by one connection  line” Really, so when there is a power blackout it affects the whole place, can not imagine what would happen in case of an emergency. 

We converse for a short while,  I gather that he’s in  the construction industry and comes from  Lamu. I ask for his number for the two reasons,  need to expand my network for surveying is needed in the construction world too. And since I would later go to Lamu for work,  why not have a friend to show me around. 

 I pay my bill (he had paid his already- not that I would have paid for him) and leave before it is dark.  I wish we could have a drink but not in  the darkness, we both were new  in town and for my self I wasn’t sure of my way around. 

“We will have the drink tomorrow ” I tell him as I stand from my chair to leave. 

It’s a promise that wasn’t sure I would fulfill……  

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