I have arrived :)

The captain has announced our descent into Dar Es Salaam. As we make our way south, I try to look out through one of the windows from my aisle seat and I am seduced by the beauty of the crystal green waters surrounding Zanzibar, the lush plantations and the promise of heat. I think this is the starting of a love affair with Tanganyika. But like all courtships, this one too, is laced with minor frustrations and the overwhelming promise of tomorrow.

The first dramatic frustration: we are unable to leave the plane as the walkway system is running into “technical difficulties”-The worst thing to hear after multiple lay over’s and long flights. We are asked to exit through the rear of the plane and make our way to the arrivals section. It’s all very fun when you are seated at the very front of the plane, surrounded by 20 loudmouthed kids returning from a school trip in Moscow! (Nice school trip) There is a mad rush to try to disembark as quickly as you can. However, this is all soon forgotten as soon as i climb down the stairs and make my way to arrivals. I am energized by the sun beating down on me, and the cool ocean winds that attempt to de-humidify the air unsuccessfully. Oh! I feel like already belong here.

Tip to travelers especially Canadians traveling to Tanzania, you can get your tourist visa on arrival – only 50 USD! I think its one of the best kept secrets. The government of Canada does recommend that you procure the visa prior to arrival for a whopping 150 dollars, but honestly, the entire process of getting a visa on arrival, is no big deal. You fill the application out, hand the 50 dollars to the agent, they process the paperwork and boom you are out the door to pick up your luggage- entire process maybe 30 minutes long.


I am immediately greeted outside the airport by Tarek, my partner in crime for this three week trip to Tanzania and Michael our taxi driver. I already hear the clock start marking the end of the trip- Already i am wishing i could stay a bit longer and don’t have to depart so quickly. We both are still quite jet lagged from our respective journeys but overall in high spirits for actually making it this far. 2 years of planning, traveling arrangements, cancellation of arrangements and finally just biting the bullet and saying it’s now or never...well the now has finally arrived. As we make our way into Dar, we catch up about our travel highlights. But my eyes are glued outside the window. I am a kid in exploration mode.


Dar reminds me a lot of any equatorial, tropical city. I am reminded of Belize or even Nicaragua or even India. Sure the plantation and the people e are different but the vibe is the same. As we make our way into the city centre, i get my first whiff of local culture and i love it. Waiting at traffic signals can apparently be atrocious but its an opportunity to shop in drive thru mode for items ranging from water and fresh fruit to, rubber tires for your bicycles and freshly packed cashew nuts. I call that shopping on the go but i can understand you have to be very precise on what you want. I am not told that you never purchase items in a traffic gridlock. You might end up buying more than you originally bargained for.
As we make our way closer into the city, I am given a quick historical overview of the neighbourhoods. Even by looking at certain buildings, I can tell they were built by Indians. They remind me of the low storey apartment building s of Bombay. The city has been set up almost identically to match the various immigration patterns over the years, including the creation of specific areas to match the types of goods and services you are looking for. There is a money exchange street, a repairs street, the bazaar (which i am very excited about), electronic repairs shop and so on. However they are all united by the overwhelming presence of local corner markets, Indian restaurants and chai shops ( yay for CHAI!)

Tarek through the AKF has managed to find us accommodation while a young couple is away in India. We are basically apartment sitting for them for the time frame we are here and oh it is a luxury already. We are on the 10th floor in a gated building (bonus added security) and the first floor of the building has gold shops. Mom if you are reading this let me state it again – GOLD SHOPS. That's right, if i wanted to i could book an appointment with the shop and find the carat rating as well as price range just by walking downstairs ( Mom, don’t get any ideas)

After a quick stop to freshen up, we are out the door to do a little bit of exploration and run a couple errands but the first item on our list for any thirsty traveler, hammered down by the heat, is to make your way to the local chai shop to enjoy a diabetic inducing cup of chai and potentially overhear some idle local gossip. It’s fun overhearing the local talk if you are able to understand hindi, mixed with Gujarati and English. Wait, a second, I meet that criteria. A short wait later, we have our steaming cups of chai in hand and the bunny in me is on overdrive. Apparently, the chai is made with condensed milk and tons of sugar. Little cups of heaven on a hot day. Oh, happy days!

Our next stop- money exchange! One of the advantages of traveling with a person who has come multiple times to Dar, is the advantage of knowing where you can get the best rates for practically everything. The going rate for USD to shilling exchange is 1 USD= 15,000 shillings. You heard me right, I am a billionaire here haha! I am rich! Two hundred dollars worth of conversion never felt this heavy Another good tip for travellers, the best currency to get prior to arrival is either 50 or 100USD bills with a series number greater than 2003. Apparently, you will ripped off with a different rate if you carry any other form or series number. Something to do with the inability to detect counterfeit notes based on a specific series range. GOOD TO KNOW! Imagine all that could have gone wrong if you lost the value of your currency with the exchange.

One of my absolute pleasures is to walk through a city and explore by foot. Fortunately, tarek and I share this hobby. We are off to a great start and given the fate of the traffic, you are better off on foot anyways. Our destination is the Hospital, a twenty minute walk from our residence. Oh and what an amazing walk! I pass through the various hindu samaj’s , coconut water stands, fruit stands yum yum, on my way and make my way into the more touristy areas, land marked by the holiday inn, past the posh club where I am told the upscale Indians get married (funny joke on me) and make our way towards the end of the road leading to the corniche to where the hospital is situated.


The facility in itself is amazing, I would almost want to compare it to the Apollo institutes of India but I haven’t yet gone into any departments so time will tell. I had warned Tarek that every time i am introduced to a local, I am going to be interrogated about my family history, educational and professional background, my skill set and the types of languages i could speak or even understand. Well, I kid you not, within the first ten minutes, this is exactly how the conversation went. I think Tarek didn’t believe me until it actually happened. We are both given a quick overview of what is to be accomplished and we both have our mental game plan ready to go for the week. I am excited. I can also sense a great group dynamic at the hospital and its just a matter of understanding their current workflow and limitations and optimizing it. This is my territory!

We are offered a lift back to our accommodations by the ever hospitable doctor. Wow, such kind and friendly people! We of course are pulled by the lure of the cornice and a walk by the beach right next to the hospital. This is heaven on earth. The sun was beginning to set and the colors in the sky painted together for a breathtaking sunset. This walk alone is worth the half way trip across the world. I can taste the salt of the sea on my lips and smell the daily catch of the fishermen bringing in their final catch on their boats. Oh I have a feeling that I will enjoy the seafood fare in Zanzibar. YAY!

We slowly make our way back into town as the sun sets. Like any other urban city, its not the safest idea to be walking around in certain areas of town. We head back to the safe and comfort of our neighbourhood and in search of beer to quench Tarek’s thirst. Trust me, I have a feeling, this just might become a nightly routine to unwind after a long hot day of work.

Our destination is the badminton club, a throw back of the colonial era, where you paid for membership to get in and enjoy some food and drink- its your basic athletic club with all the amenities including cold beverage service and food. Sadly, the club was closed due to death of a fellow member. Never one to admit defeat, Tarek and I made our way to the “Patel Samaj” or the Patel Brotherhood. Oh boy! Enough said, all the jokes in the world are on my tongue. So, i choose to remain quiet.
We are the first to arrive at 7 pm. We order our Kilimanjaro local beer- which oddly tastes a lot like Kingfisher hmm and the heat of the day as well as the travel finally takes its claim on me. I am tired and unwinding. As the plates of food and drink descend on us, so do the people. Dinner time is anywhere between 8:30- 10:30 pm and the crowd is mixed with locals, foreigners and ex-pats. My kind of scene.
The next three hours pass by like a daze. I call it my perfect Monday night as we make our way back to the apartment. If the daytime walk around the city was entertaining, oh the night time is even better. We walk past a group of “local” hip hop wanna be stars who are listening to Tanzanian Rap and kicking some moves on the road. The entire act of course is recorded on a digital camera. I was trying not to laugh at it. It actually was quite amazing and very random.


Remember how i mentioned that most days are interlaced with the good and the bad. Well, we have some surprise visitors in our apartment. When i mean surprise, I realy mean I am in shock at the sheer number in cockroaches that have shown up out of nowhere in a matter of couple hours. (Insert, complete girl hysteria here). I mean they were everywhere!!! On the bags, around the couches on the bed. Needless to say, we spent the next two hours, squashing these nasty creatures and combined with heat, it really is a disgusting end to an amazing Monday. I refuse to sleep on my bed. The real topping on the ice cream was to find them under the pillow and in the mattresses itself. Uggh!!!! So gross!


Of course, our top priority in the morning is to find pest free accommodation!!! So nasty and we are definitely not eating anything cooked or served here. After killing 20-30 roaches, I think if reached my limit. Ew.