Page 52 - Msingi Afrika Magazine Issue 31

Tourism
so the Arabs were willing to
take part in the local wage-
based Africans. The Sultan
of Zanzibar subsequently
rented its territories, which
included the Malindi region,
to the British East Africa
Association (see Republican
Council of Mombasa).
(Source)
Italian Influence
In early August of 2024, my
family and I moved from
Kaya Kinondo Sacred Forest
in Kwale County to Malindi.
At first impression, the town
looked just like every normal
coastal town you will find in
Africa; windy, hot, humid,
dry, and quite noisy because
it’s a tourist destination and
then you find reminiscence
of ancient times in the relics
scattered across the area. I
cannot tell when this became
a thing in this coastal
Kenyan town, but one of
the very first things you also
notice is the heavy presence
of Europeans, especially
Italians. I know this is a
tourist destination, and
the presence of Europeans
should not be surprising,
but beyond that, it’s in the
public domain that Malindi
is a town largely influenced
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by the Italian culture, and in some quarters, some think the
international airport in Malindi, even though it’s small in
size compared to many international airports in Kenya, was
established because of the Italian mafia. How many of these
are real stories, I cannot tell you. But you can see the town
crawling with stores and businesses with Italian names and
Italians patronizing their own.
Just like in Diani, in Kwale county, you find scores of old
European men dating young African ladies or even girls,
and the same with old European women dating or hanging
out with young African men. And some, I guess, are actually
married. And there are lots of mixed-race children, I believe,
from such relationships.
Places to visit in Malindi
Malindi definitely has its own unique vibe and should be
explored for all the fun places. Here are a few places you can
consider visiting when you come here.
1. Goodbyte Restaurant:
For me, I think the best place to visit in any new environment
is where you get the best food for a reasonably good price.
On the day we arrived in Malindi, while still making our way
to the apartment that we were to rent, we decided to stop for
some food in town. We found a restaurant called Goodbyte
Restaurant just opposite the Malindi Airport. This restaurant
not only serves good food, but their attendants are also very
skillful in handling your order. Since moving to Malindi
(close to three months now), we have visited this restaurant
about three times and there are no disappointments. At each
visit, we were served by a gentleman named John. He has a
gentle demeanor for real. Even when my young son broke
a glass, John showed no unnecessary reaction, he remained
cool with his gentle smile. He quickly moved us to another
table to create room for the floor to be cleaned, brought our
son another glass, with a smile. I am not even sure if we were
charged for the broken glass.