At the age of 18 I set off alone to volunteer for two months at an orphanage in Mombasa, Kenya, which turned out to be the best experience of my life so far. Mombasa is an island and a beautiful coastal city with white, sandy beaches, transparent seas, narrow, winding streets and the imposing Fort Jesus – a 16th Century fort built by older of King Philip II of Spain to guard the town.

The rich and poor live amongst each other as the city is vastly contrasted with cinema complexes and top-of-the-range bowling alleys beside tiny, wooden shacks and the homeless. Streets are lined with stalls selling fresh mangoes and pineapples, and the slow pace of life seems to creep into your veins the longer you spend here – a welcome change from the hurried, rushed way of life in London, my home city.

At first, I felt a huge culture shock as I had never previously been out of Europe. I marvelled at the goats, donkeys and chickens walking along the pavement amongst people, and the penetrating heat was something I hadn’t quite felt before. However, I embraced the change, immersed myself in the Kenyan culture and was ultimately pleased that I had chosen Mombasa as a place to volunteer.

My trip to Mombasa was a challenging and emotional journey as I formed close bonds with the children at the orphanage, and it was hard leaving them.  As a lone female traveller who is extremely pale and therefore sticks out like a sore thumb amongst the locals, it was also very difficult to walk through the narrow dirt tracks that led to New Hope, the orphanage, without eyes peering and strangers running up to me either just wishing me a good day with a friendly smile, or wanting me to buy something from them.

I got used to the attention as the weeks went by, and noticed that almost all tourists got this kind of interest from the locals, yet it was often much harder when I was on my own and I found that avoiding eye contact with the ones who wanted me to follow them to their stalls or give them money was the best way of escaping being stuck in a tricky situation. I sometimes tried to blend in by wearing locals’ clothing such as Kanga’s – bright coloured, patterned wraps, but I often found that this brought even more attention to myself!

A couple of times I would be walking for about 5 minutes down the road with a man trying to get me to book a trip with his company, without him budging at all! I firmly told him “no” several times, but it was not until I was inside the internet café, which was my destination, that he would give up. I also got two marriage proposals as I jumped down off a matatu – a local minibus with notoriously wild drivers – which I obviously declined!

As I met other travellers in Mombasa, I became aware that this kind of attention was extremely common for Western women, especially if they are travelling on their own. I realized that walking fast and looking like I knew where I was going (which I did, most of the time!) were key ways to avoid unwanted hassling.

As well as unwanted attention, muggings and pickpockets were sometimes a problem in Mombasa, as they are in any part of the world. Wearing large backpacks made a fellow female traveller and I stick out, and unfortunately, her purse was stolen unawares out of her bag as we boarded a ferry to the mainland. My money was thankfully in my money belt that I wore around my waist, underneath my clothes, but the front pouch of my bag had been opened; the rest of my backpack was locked.

I found that the money belt was an excellent way of knowing where your money is and not having to check it every 2 minutes and would definitely recommend buying and taking one on your travels.

If you are a pale Westerner in Kenya, you will often hear yourself being referred to as a ‘mzungu’. The term simply means ‘white person’ and is not deemed to be offensive as many of the little children will innocently ask “Hello mzungu, how are you?!” in the streets. Yet whilst the term is not offensive, I did encounter a small problem one day whilst on the matatu with some other travellers. As the bus driver was taking the fare from each passenger, we gave him the usual 20 shillings, yet he demanded double. When we asked why, he said that he was doing a special ‘mzungu’ price. We ended up paying double and realising that in poorer countries, this sort of thing occurs, and it was all part of the experience.

My time in Kenya was the best of my life, and the country is beautiful with unmatched wildlife, pristine beaches, friendly people and historic buildings. If you are travelling alone however, especially as a woman, or even if you are travelling with friends, it is better to be aware of the bothers and troubles that can occur on your journeys and to go with an open mind, expecting a culture shock but embracing it. Although some of the people you will encounter may bring problems, the majority are a welcoming, curious and friendly bunch who will make you feel glad that you chose to visit this East African gem.

Author Bio
Alice Bzowska is a London-based writer who currently writes for London hotels. Read more about her volunteering in Kenya experiences at mytravelbug.co.uk.