Luxury, heritage and marine voyages will rouse your senses

Sights: For a feel of luxury and getting in touch with history, Diani Beach Hotel is the ideal place in Zanzibar. PHOTOS BY EDGAR R. BATTE

What you need to know:

  • FUN TIME: You could be tired of the city bustle and you step out for fresher and relaxing time. EDGAR R. BATTE shares his experience.

Luxury is the big reason many people go on holiday. Kenya’s hospitality should be the reason Ugandans top as its source market in Africa. The Swahili treats are a given when luxury is mentioned and this precedes boundaries.
Stone Town will forever be etched in my memory because Zanzibar’s town lets you enjoy its natural course from the historical times. Much of the slave trade chambers still relay what you read in your history books; the sculpture of slaves single file by chains with sadness and remorse read on their faces.

Architecture
The church besides the slave market is still standing strong with all memorabilia. Miles apart, on the Kenyan coast, the Swahili heritage stands tall in structures you will appreciate for the carved out artistry that tells of barrel vaulting.
The use of stone to reinforce walls, within and on the outside, is predominant. Swahili Beach, one of the hotels located on the Diani coastline, is a reminder of the history of Persia, China, Arabia and everyone that traded, intermarried and left marks in structure and marble.
The hotel and many more facilities that line the Indian Ocean in Stone Town and in Kenya, have architectural portrayal that stands in multi-coloured glass windows, high-rising ceilings, a special craft that marries artistry and precision.
But a tourist will look for much, from luxury, heritage, experiences and moments.
In Diani, which is a popular destination for honeymooners from Uganda, kicking the sands by the shorelines is one of the vacation simplicities.
To quote Titus Kangangi, the former CEO of Diani Reef Beach Resort & Spa, the resort hosted more than 300 Ugandans as a unit in 2015 for beach weddings on the spectacular sandy beaches, rare marine life and other attractions.

Other sites
On other side of the coast, regional and foreign visitors ply the stony and murram walkways of Zanzibar in the Spice Island that constitute farms and plantations of cloves, cinnamon, ornamental plants and a variety of tropical flowers and fruits.