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A coastal vacation to shed stress of semester exams

Lying it was a school trip helped me get Dad's cash, but he knows better

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by TOM JALIO

Sasa16 July 2024 - 21:46

In Summary


  • • Holiday is what you need to unwind and relax the pangs of CATS and assignments
The SGR passenger train departs from Nairobi Terminus on July 5

After a long and hectic semester, sometimes a vacation with friends is what you need to unwind and relax the pangs of difficult CATs and assignments. But mostly for my case during this one semester, my business project. Coding has never been my strongest hold as a tech babe, but we still manoeuvre and conquer.

In my household, you just don’t wake up one day and tell your father that you’ll be going to Diani for one week. Instead, you plan and strategise. Okay, maybe tell a tiny little lie. The lie: a school trip. Detailing the amount of money and breaking down the expenditure. From the SGR and the transfers to Diani, all the way to the villa, the food and drinks.

Of course you don’t mention alcohol, though they kind of already know that they’ll be of gin and whiskey flowing around rather than water. Oh! Or maybe you think that parents think that a bunch of young adults would be going to the land of milk and honey. Well, think again. As mine always tell me, Hizi mambo unafanya sahi tulishafanya but anyway, it’s your time, utachoka tu!

Preparing for the trip was another cost. As I had to do shopping here and there for swimwear and light clothes that were suitable for the coastal weather. Not to forget, the girl maintenance, which is getting your nails and hair done.

We booked the 10pm SGR train but before we of course had to pregame kidogo tu. The journey took exactly 5 hours 15 min, announcing our arrival at the Mombasa terminus at 3am. Our transfers were right on time, too, and within an hour or two, we arrived at the Tafriji Villas, which would be our home for the next one week. Each one of us chose their rooms and set aside their bags. No wasting time, we went straight ahead to business, which was shopping for the food, drinks and other essentials we would need. Luckily we had a chef, so cooking wouldn’t be a bother for us.

After we finished, we all headed for the pool, that water was nice! And the weather was just perfect all through; not too hot, not too humid.

You see the thing with being on holiday, is also the personalities that are on holiday with you. They’re those who sleep all day, nursing their hangovers, and only come alive at night. Those who barely sleep because they believe,“Hatujakuja kulala, kitanda uliacha kwenu,” so they run on energy drinks (yeah, not a big fan of these ones). Those who want to go to the beach and do activities like camel riding, catch the sunrise, collect shells.

Then lastly my category: We wake up, go by the pool and eat breakfast, bask in the sun, take a swim, carry out debriefs, eat again, take shots and will probably head out just to try out a restaurant or visit friends in another villa.

All in all, it really was an exciting experience since it was the first time travelling to the Coast with a group of friends rather than family.


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