Jambo! Tanzania, despite being scammed, ripped-off and robbed here, is actually quite nice. I’ll explain what happened in the order they occurred. So we made it past the border (John, once again, had to pay for a visa, whereas the Malaysians get in for free – I can’t remember if I’ve already mentioned this on the blog – but Malaysian passports are the easiest to travel around Africa with! I haven’t had to pay for any visas, while the poor Kiwis and even more so the Brits, have had to pay through their noses.) and were first of all greeted by a minibus driver that totally ripped us off for a ride to Mbeya, where we had to catch a bus to Dar es Salaam. Then, during that bus trip – in which we had to sleep overnight at some random police check point – someone had stolen my cellphone!! The zip to my bag was opened and my cellphone was missing. I didn’t realise it till we actually got to Dar, so the next morning was spent at the police station filing a report.
At the police station, I met an Indian lady – a film director, according to her business card – who mentioned there was a Sikh temple really close by. So that night, I took John to his very first gurdwara (Sikh temple), we stayed for the kirtan (prayers) and then had langar (food). John was invited by one of the gurus to play the sitar afterwards. I think he really enjoyed the whole experience – and seems to want to know all things Punjabi/Sikh/”my people”.
Despite having to be on full alert for pick-pockets and thieves whenever we roamed the streets, I have to say I really liked Dar – it reminded me a lot of Malaysia. The East African coast is Muslim-dominated, and there has been a definite shift in religion, culture and clothing as we headed East.
The last of our misfortune occurred the next morning as we tried to get tickets to Zanzibar. We were shepherded to a ticket office, told the price of the ferry tickets, and paid unknowingly. It was only when we got on to the ferry that we realised that we had gone through a “ticket tout” that had scammed us on the exchange rate.
Random temple (not the Sikh temple) in Dar es Salaam
National Museum of Tanzania – we spotted some ‘Miss Tourism Tanzania’ models when we visited the musuem.
September 25, 2008 at 6:05 pm |
HAHAHAHA! Okay i’ve been keeping myself updated with your blog and its hillarious!!!
Okay..i tried not to laugh at the fact that your mobile was stolen..but it didnt work (hahaha i’m mean)
And hey….u managed to get in touch with our Punjabi roots at the far away land!! Way to go girlfriend!!!
start spreading the Punjabi-ness lol..some bhangra perhaps?? hahaha
Take care girlfriend!