Bus ride from hell to the perfect beach - a great original beach story by Jaklien on a beach holiday.

Bus ride from hell to the perfect beach
You only appreciate the things at home till you are traveling abroad. This is for all the people out there that complain about public transport here in the UK. On my last trip to Kenya my travel buddy and I found ourselves stranded at the train station in Nairobi after the train had derailed on the only track that runs from Nairobi to Mombasa. And back.

Since the train to Mombasa only runs three times a week, we were looking at a three day delay. Not happy with the prospect of losing three whole days of precious tanning time in Diani Beach, we decided to try our luck at the bus station. After hours of trying to find two seats on a bus among the many different bus companies, we managed to get two on a luxury coach that was to leave that same night. However when we boarded the bus, that luxury part didn't seem to be entirely accurate. The pictures in the ticket office looked so much nicer than the real thing. Next to us there was a tiny baby lying in the seat. No mother or other apparent guardian to be seen other than her five year old brother. Children were sleeping on the floor between the legs of their parents. In front of us there was a woman with a box with chickens on her lap. The air was stuffy. There was no air conditioning other than the hole in the window that also let in the dust from the unpaved roads we were driving on. Where was the reclining seat from the picture? What happened to the ample leg room? Where was the seat back screen with the latest releases from Hollywood? On top of that the driver seemed adamant to recuperate the lost time from the delay in Nairobi and really stepped on it. He was overtaking cars, trucks, and other buses that seemed to drive as crazily as he was. It felt like we were going at least 200km/h on roads that seemed to be riddled with potholes and had no tarmac whatsoever. Good thing it was dark outside. I did manage to fall asleep which made this bus ride from hell seem like it went by reasonably quickly. How happy we were when we finally got off the bus.

With sore backs and stiff legs from sleeping in the 'luxury' seats we quickly hailed a taxi and made or way to Asha resort in Diani Beach where we were to stay a divine whole week. A whole week of lying in a hammock on the beach with a cocktail in our hand. The perfect way to forget the bus ride from hell. Next time we're flying.

Author : Jaklien