Sad to hear from one reader that Lamu is 'a tip'. It was a long time ago, but I spent ten weeks there (out of five months in Africa) in the winter of '88-'89 and it was incredible.

I rented a house called Daramani in the old town - located down a maze of alleys, with an incredible carved wooden door and steps up to a roof terrace with views of the town and the ocean. One of those places that you wouldn't know was there.

Daily walks to the beach at Shela and the terrace of the Peponi hotel were wonderful, evenings spent at Petley's bar in town, or one of the many restaurants. You got there by bus on a dirt road from Malindi - I hear they have paved it since - followed by a dhow trip across the channel, although there were very expensive flights to a nearby island which only weekend visitors really used. Getting there, which took most of a day from Mombasa, was half the fun.

I also spent an evening at another rented house called Dareni, which was one of the most beautiful places I saw there. Definitely check to see if either of these places are still available for rent - it's worth it if you are staying a while. However, if the town has become an eyesore that is very sad indeed.

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