Safari (finished the day before) was probably the main reason for travelling and so the rest of the trip really was the rest of the trip. Our previous night in Arusha [link] was short and not particularly exploratory so we decided that it would make more sense to look around a little. And a little is all that was really possible as it is not a large town so we got a cab and drove to the central area until something was found - a something that made my TC quite excited[1] and was a sushi place. Unsurprisingly, the food was not the highest quality or that authentic, but it was still very nice and a nice change. The dinner did not last long into the night as we had plans to take a much earlier coach so that we could get the ferry to Zanzibar on the same day - Dar Es Salaam did not hold much interest for either of us[2].
An early start was a 6am coach (for an 8 hour ride) that was pre-booked by the lovely people at the safari company. Compared to our last bus ride [link], this meant that it was more comfortable, cheaper and left on time - and travelling in daylight. Strong, strong daylight for which I was quite glad and also pleased to be on a more modern coach. We made a couple of stops at service stations (simple buildings with food and toilets by the side of the road) and chatted about this and that until we realised it was already 2pm and we were not near Dar Es Salaam. This was going to make the ferry a bit of a squeeze - again there is no boat once it gets dark so the last one was at 4:30pm. We were never going to make it. All we could do was discuss what we could do - and the options were not exactly many and varied. It boiled down to:
Taxi to port to see if there were any boats - and then book tickets for next day.
Hotel and food in Dar
Early boat to Zanzibar.
We reached the bus station and, like fatted calves, we were calm in the knowledge of failure. With no need to rush about, we decided to find a cheaper taxi rather than just take the first option - so we walked out of the bus station to find a cab. This was not well-received.
As I did not explain earlier, the airport and the bus station have badge holding taxi drivers that you can supposedly trust. You will get a fairly standardised (and expensive) fare as they have all apparently agreed to keep prices high for the captive market (which, do be fair, is a very common feature of travel economics). As we walked out, we had a bunch of drivers try and block our path, physically, through the small pedestrian entrance and then once we got out and into a cab, we had a little more drama. Suddenly, we were surrounded by people and wondering what was going on. The taxi could not move and we were kind of stuck in the cab. Then a policeman came up to us and asked what the commotion was. Or, at least, I thought that was what he was asking, my friend, however, was a little bit more wary. "Do not give him your passport. Whatever you do, do not give him your passport".
A lot of shouting and raised voices ensued and I am not sure how we got away but after a few minutes we were eventually away with all our limbs and possessions. TC said that they wanted a bribe which, had they taken our passports would have become a necessity - by just telling the policeman that he could not take our passports and the driver to drive off, we were eventually OK.
It wasn't much but I was a bit shaken as I am not used to those kinds of situations. We found a hotel in the Kariakoo area which seemed pretty live with hostels and then made our way to the nearby port to see what times the boats were and when we should go. TC, wisely, wanted to see what the boats looked like before we booked. I appreciated that and we also met a man that tried to get us to buy tickets for his boat company by appealing to our innate racism - his company was run by Asians.
A spot of local dinner and a drink at a local 5 star hotel and then to our hotel (cheap, and cheerful due to the painted beaches on the wall. Cheerful? I meant tacky) to be ready for Zanzibar.
1. Later on, when his housemates asked about Arusha, the first thing he said was that there was a sushi place and their eyes truly lit up.↩
2. Come on, you know how narrative works - this is the red-shirted guy that beams down on Star Trek every week.↩
1. Later on, when his housemates asked about Arusha, the first thing he said was that there was a sushi place and their eyes truly lit up.↩
2. Come on, you know how narrative works - this is the red-shirted guy that beams down on Star Trek every week.↩
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