Nostalgia for Kenya's Lunatic Express

It's bittersweet news hearing that the 472-kilometer rail line connecting Nairobi and Mombasa in Kenya has been modernized, reducing the travel time to four hours, which seems impossible.

When I used to ride the smaller gauge line back in the late '70s, it was still an overnight affair. It would depart Nairobi right at 7, equatorial dusk, and emerge out onto the savannah just in time to see the light show of sunset, when the red clay earth and blue sky would trade colors.

If you got a window seat on the south-facing side of the dining car - where white tablecloths, sterling silverware and seven-course meals were still served - you could also watch the daily routine of the clouds that clustered around and hid Mount Kilimanjaro through the daybreak and race off to the west, unveiling Africa's tallest mountain, Ngai's (God's) magnificent throne, which back then still had its thick glacier crown.