Travels of The Introverted Explorer

My advice while on a journey: be a traveler, not a tourist. The difference? Well, tourists already know what they want to see and may overlook the inherent beauty in sights unplanned for. Travelers however, have no fixed plan on what to see; their eyes remain peeled to the unfolding world, seeing more than a tourist would, leaving themselves open to new experiences beyond the confines of mental boundaries. This trip to Mombasa came in the wake of fatal terror attacks on my intended destination, but my anticipation clouded the fear. It was my first journey to the coast by train!
I recall leaving the bland confines of my compartment and proceeding to the window; curious as to whether it would open. It did. A cool draught washed my face of dreariness. I was excited. The train’s lights pierced through the shroud of darkness, casting menacing shadows of tall trees as we coasted through Emali forest. To me, the train must have resembled a forlorn millipede that traveled the same path all its life.
Life in Nairobi had limited and drowned my mind in monotonous complacency that deluded me into a fear of the unknown. Some passengers on the train, it seemed, suffered the same disease. Adults stayed inside their compartments, engulfed in animated talk about life in Nairobi and cars left behind. Children, however, ran defiantly about the train, often craning their necks to catch a glimpse of the mystery beyond my open window, their innocent and impressionable minds prodding at the threshold of the unknown.
Hours passed. I was still staring outside the window, occasionally checking for network bars on my Nokia as the train chugged into the coral-pink horizon. Nairobi was long forgotten. The air thickened and the sun became oppressive. The fashion sense of the locals was more conservative and the haze of rural life hovered, evidenced by the sporadically-spaced hamlets of mud-huts. Beads of sweat patterned my forehead; humidity.
“Stop hogging the window,” came a firm but joking tone from behind. I scooted over, smiling. The spirit of exploration was seemingly taking over. I sighed contentedly as I read the message on a billboard we were approaching, “Karibu Mombasa Raha .” A thought invaded my mind; the allure of traveling is not entirely in reaching the destination, rather, in the journey of getting there.

*Mombasa(Kenyan Coastal City)
*Emali(Town on the way to the Kenyan Coast)
*Nairobi(Kenyan capital city)
*Karibu Mombasa Raha(Welcome to Mombasa, city of happiness)