It’s safe to say that the Kenyan coast is the closest thing I’ve found to paradise. After my excursions around Nairobi and inland, I decided to head to the coast for something a little more tranquil. I took an overnight train from Nairobi to Mombasa, which was awesome…one of those old rickety sleeper cars…I felt like I was on the Orient Express. I found Mombasa a bit too crowded and commercial for my taste, so I headed south to Diani beach, an hour or so away from the Tanzanian border. Once I arrived, I knew within minutes that I had found what I was looking for.

I rented a 2-bedroom beach hut, just steps from the Indian Ocean, for under $50/night. I couldn’t believe it. Every morning, a fisherman named Ali would come to my door and sell me fresh fish, and I bought fruits and vegetables from a local farmer. I’d never had passion fruit before, and it instantly became my favorite fruit ever. It was the healthiest menu I had ever eaten. Around Diani were many wildlife sanctuaries. Among them was Shimba Hills, where I spotted the rare sable antelope, only found two places in the world. I reminded myself, however, that I came here to relax, so I made a point not to burn myself out sightseeing.

The beaches were perfect, white sand as far as the eye could see, and not a soul on them, save a few trinket peddlers. The ocean was unbelievably warm, so when I wasn’t vegging out on the beach, I made sure to get in lots of scuba diving. I made friends easily in Diani—people were incredibly welcoming and sincere. I even managed to find a crew eerily similar to my friends back home, which made me often forget I was on the other side of the world.

There are no words to describe the nights on the coast. Just take a look at the pictures and you’ll understand why. Barely any light pollution allowed for the brightest stars and the most incredible astral photography. Every night I would stumble blindly from my hut to the beach in the pitch black, where I set up my camera for night shots. I couldn’t believe the exposures I was getting, and it further cemented my love for Kenya. Tutaonana, inshallah.

INDEX:
1-4: Night train to Mombasa, that #2 shot is a 30-second exposure at 3am.
5-8: Shimba Hills, grasshopper, sable antelope, elephants
9: My beach hut in Diani
10: The view from my beach house
11-15: My shade sanctuary, white sand beaches
16: My friends in Diani: Didi, Gitz, Sidney, Ali Khan
17-21: Nightfall on the Kenyan Coast