Tanzania: Dar es Salam & Zanzibar

Tanzania – Dar es Salam

Flying into Dar es Salam from Blantyre (Malawi), we were curious to find out more about this new country. We did not know what to expect; it was Eid al-Fitr (end of Ramadan), which we hoped might add to the experience – and we weren’t disappointed.  Despite its initial ramshackle appearance and urban sprawl, the sights, sounds, flavours, smells and rich cultural tapestry of this city are spell-binding.

One thing to know when coming through immigration, is to make sure you have USD for your visa (if you need one); they only take cash. Don’t waste any time trying to arrange an UBER from the airport, it is very unreliable.  Cash is king, which means that some of the drivers don’t have any money for fuel, therefore if you are requesting a longer trip they will accept the fare (to keep their rating up) and then rely on you to cancel when they don’t turn up, as they can’t fulfil it. We had a couple of no shows before a taxi driver who had been watching us approached, he offered to take us into the city for the equivalent of 20 AUD. As we had been waiting for around 40 minutes and were not dealing with the humidity particularly well, we took him up on his offer.

Walking around Dar the following day, we headed to the markets to find some lunch; and were delighted by what we found. After walking the aisles of the main market, taking in the colours, smells and sounds of the traders going about their business, we headed to the part of the market where the fishermen auction their catches. There we were approached by a man who offered to show us around and explain how it all worked. He took us to meet some of the traders; obviously for a small tip at the end, but it was easily worth it, as we learned a lot more about it than we would’ve done had we just wandered around aimlessly. Our lunch was courtesy of one of the cooking momma’s who serve up fresh market produce, and it was delicious; we had a barbequed chicken dish with chips, rice, and salad; and a whole barbequed fish with the same sides, all with a deliciously spicy salsa on the side.

Our bellies full, we walked back along the waters edge towards the ferry office to buy our tickets to get over to Zanzibar where we bumped into two friends we had met at a hostel in Malawi.  As a side anecdote, meeting fellow travellers along the way and bumping into them again and again, has been one of our favourite parts of long-term travel.  It is so nice to be thrown together with people who you would never meet under normal circumstances, but who you have your travel destination in common with.  This happened to us often. We had already travelled through Malawi with a lovely couple we met along the way, and then in Cape Maclear we’d befriended a couple of bubbly, friendly and slightly crazy Norwegian girls.  At the time we’d said our goodbyes and headed our separate ways but had then randomly bumped into each other on the flight to Tanzania, weeks later.  When we saw each other once again at the ferry office, we had to laugh that fate kept bringing us together, and it wasn’t to be the last time!

Walking around the city aimlessly for the afternoon we enjoyed watching people go about their business, the women in their beautiful colourful garments.  There are also lots of architecturally interesting buildings and it is a very pleasant place to spend an afternoon wandering.

That evening we ate at a Dar institution, Mamboz Corner BBQ; you will not be disappointed by the food on offer. It was a short, dark, sometimes sketchy walk from our hotel. This place is full of locals, with the odd traveller dotted around here and there, they cook meats, fish, and bread over hot coals and you can pretty much smell it from over a block away. Don’t rush your choices, the menu is extensive, and it helps to look at what is around the grill, and to watch other peoples’ food being delivered. The staff are great so if you have any questions they will be only too happy to help.

Zanzibar

The following morning, we left to catch the ferry across to Zanzibar, again we had an UBER failure but a local taxi was on hand to assist. Be warned – when you arrive at the ferry port you will be seized upon by porters, who will insist that they take your luggage to ‘help’ you; say NO. They will likely try to trick you into thinking they are an official by showing you an ID badge and asking to see your passports and tickets; again say NO. If you let them, they will carry your bags, push you into queues (how very un-British), stow your luggage in the VIP trolleys and get your tags; BUT, at the end they will demand around 80 TZS from you, with a very convoluted explanation as to what you are being charged for; e.g. 40 for the port (lies), and 40 to share between the porters (there were 3 for us).  This is more than the ferry ticket itself and is just a con. So, politely and firmly send them away at the beginning and queue up with the rest of the people, if you pay for VIP tickets or business class it may be an included service anyway; just don’t let yourself be hustled – we did, but in the end only gave them 10TZS as that as all we had. The ferry ride itself is smooth sailing, pleasant and uneventful, try and find yourself a spot in the shade (there was a reason those seats at the front on the top deck weren’t taken!); they sell drinks and snacks onboard in case you get peckish.

Landing at Stone Town port, there are taxi drivers everywhere touting for business, as well as people selling various tours; take your time with the tours piece before committing to anything, as the market in Stone Town is saturated so you will be able to find out the going rates and maybe negotiate yourself a great deal. We stayed in a tiny AirBnB in the old town area, which is sort-of pedestrianised so think about that if you have awkward luggage. You may be able to negotiate with one of the port porters to take your bags on a large handcart, as most places are more than a ten-minute walk from the port.

Stone Town itself is beautiful, if a little tattered and crumbling around the edges. A UNESCO heritage site, it is evocative, exotic and seductive with a twist of Arabian nights – it doesn’t take much to imagine yourself there in its heyday surrounded by Omani sultans and princesses. There are a lot of things you can see by yourself even before you pay for a tour; something which will be touted a lot!! You can visit Jamituri Gardens the Peace Memorial (not worth paying to visit inside, IMO but beautiful from the outside) The Palace Museum (was closed while we were there for refurbishment ,which it sorely needed, but again a beautiful building), the Princess Salme museum was fantastic, it tells the story of when the Sultans ruled the Spice Islands; there is also the Old Fort, and the Old Slave Markets. We found it nice to just get lost in the narrow streets and to see the daily life that happens there, peaking into the old houses and seeing the majesty that sits behind the sturdy front doors; seeing children playing football in a small square, and hearing their protests as you dribble their ball around them. There is a night food market where you must try the local delicacy of Zanzibar pizza, you will be approached by many of the food stall holders who want to talk you through everything they sell, as well as to assure you that their seafood is fresh unlike many of the other stall holders at the market. Whilst you can listen to each and every sales pitch, this can get tiring, so it might be best to just thank them and perhaps a little white lie that you live in Stone Town wouldn’t hurt.

Did you know Freddy Mercury was born in Stone Town? Neither did we until we visited and there is even a Queen themed bar in tribute to this, which we visited a couple of times – sipping cocktails, watching England play in the World Cup with great sunset views over the harbour.

We moved from our AirBnB halfway through our stay (as we had a few issues with the utilities), over to the Princess Salme Inn , which is a very short walk from the port and would have been a much better option to begin with; my fault, I booked a dud!! The rooms at this simple but charming hotel were quaint and spacious, the hot water was plentiful, the breakfast delicious and the staff delightful – we left feeling we had made new friends.

Speaking of friends, on our second morning at the Salme Inn we were sat having breakfast on the roof terrace as two new guests were being showed around; you can imagine the shrieks of delight and the laughter as we realised that once again, without planning, we had bumped into our Norwegian friends.

Paje

We had our guest house organise us (and our new friends) a transfer to Paje for the next part of our Zanzibar stay; whilst convenient it was probably more expensive than it needed to be (90TZS), you could always negotiate a price with a taxi driver near to the port. The reason I call this out is because when we reached our lodge in Paje, our driver gave us his details and offered the reverse of the trip for only 40TZS.

Our first lodge in Paje was Demani Lodge, a nice collection of huts in a hostel set-up with a nice pool, bar, big tv (the world cup was on so this was to prove most useful in conjunction with the bar!), and good food; just a short walk to the beach. Be warned when staying here though, they like to PARTY, and when they do you can expect a large sound system, attendees from other hostels plus locals; and for it to go on until the sun comes up. Now, I don’t mind a late night, but when your hut has mosquito net windows, it can prevent a night’s beauty sleep; and I need all I can get these days.

The main beach in Paje is mainly a kite surfing beach and you will find endless tour operators offering lessons. There are also a smattering of beachside restaurants, bars and clubs – which we sampled on our last night with our Norwegian friends. It started out as a goodbye dinner at a great little French owned restaurant, but somehow at 1am we were lying on a beach outside a techno beach club surrounded by new stray dog friends.  That’s Zanzibar nights for you!

After Paje, we decided to move along the coast a little to Jambiani; which is a bit more low-key but has beautiful beaches. We stayed in a beach front guest house; Mango Beach House which was so picturesque and serene, with views across the turquoise waters of the Indian Ocean, and the sound of the waves to soothe your soul. Kiddo (the owner), creates an atmosphere of pure relaxation, with great food and a menu that is decided daily based on what is fresh. Similar to our time by Lake Malawi, we did very little here, there were tours available, kite-surfing lessons, fishing excursions, etc. But we were so relaxed that we just ate, drank, slept, and swam; with the odd walk up and down the beach just to get some exercise.  Walking on the beach in Zanzibar does mean dealing with an onslaught of touts of all descriptions. We met “Captain Cook” who wanted to take us to his restaurant. A young boy wanting to sell us shells and many other children who wanted money.

It was during one of these beach walks that we had our most memorable exchange with a young child with money demands. Small child: “give me money!”, Kezia: “I don’t have any money”, SC: “give me water”, KZ: “I don’t have any water”, SC (shouting and pointing toward the main road): “Supermarket!”.  Needless to say, the young lad walked away with empty hands; and a flea in his ear, whereas others who were more polite received the odd treat.  It is hard to know the right thing to do.  We were told not to give money, as it discourages children from attending school as they (and their parents) know they can earn more begging.  Sweets and chocolate are also discouraged as dental care is non-existent.  I tried handing out pens and felt tips but then saw that the children were just using them to draw all over themselves, so I’m not sure that was the best option. Anyway, some of them are just happy to chat – and can be very sweet.

Not too sure how it happened but we ended up staying in Zanzibar far longer than we had planned and then one day as we were lounging in the sun, we decided that while we could stay here for the rest of our days; it was probably time to move on. We had talked of finishing our African trip with one last safari in the Serengeti; we found a website called Mojhi.com who facilitated a 3 day, 3 night tour with African Traits. So, we arranged a flight from Zanzibar to Arusha to begin our (sniff) final safari in Africa. But what a safari it was to be…