The day after arriving in Dar Es Salaam [link], I checked out and heard from TC that he was allowed to board the plane this time and was on his way. One missed connection - this already felt like it would not be the last time.
It was decided that we needed to get to Arusha to start our safari (still unplanned at this moment in time) and so I made my way to the bus station to be met, as soon as he could make it, by TC. What a wonderful phrase "as soon as I can" is, it has such a broad meaning really.
Dar Es salaam is the biggest city in Tanzania and has quite decent international connections, the best rail connections and a pretty large selection of buses to other cities in the region. We had discussed some pretty spectacular train rides actually, in the planning, but it was not going to quite work with the timings so we had decided our route ignoring the option of the train (which was disappointing for both of us). The road network in Tanzania is not amazing but passable with one notable thing to consider for inter-city travel - the roads are not lit. Bearing that in mind, this means that there is a de facto deadline for the departures to Arusha from the coach stop, and so we checked the last departure to be at about 10am (8 hour journey, reaching Arusha at about dusk).
I got to the bus station in Ubungo (by cab) a little earlier as I thought I would check the times and prices before meeting TC so that we would be armed with information and be ready to go but I was not really sure what to expect and I don't think I could have expected it – my imagination has always been a little lacking...
The bus station itself is massive and the cabs have a bit of a cartel so once you are inside, you will only be approached by licensed cabs (as at the airport in fact) with an attached premium but there are plenty of people there – passengers and touts. There were lots and lots of touts approaching me as I entered, but the cab driver took me to the very end and I then waited. The touts came up to me and told me their prices so I got a rough idea but I was more worried when they told me the last coach had gone or that there were not many left. This information was simultaneously worrying and probably a lie. But how probably?
TC called me when he landed and so I knew he was still some way away, he might be able to get there for 10am which was when the last bus was but it was looking increasingly unlikely. As I waited, with two massive bags, and looking very much the international tourist, I was approached and then two touts just waited near me and constantly kept talking about how I needed to buy tickets. It was actually pretty intimidating but there was not a lot I could do except wait. And wait.
At about 11am, a gleaming white taxi drove right to the back of the station where I was and out jumped TC, with a broad smile and an air of nonchalance. Bloody nonchalance. I was pleased to see him but he had appeared to leave the cab with nary a care in the world as I had been a little worried, but this was his way and I think I'd have been the same. And what it meant was that he was ruthlessly efficient.
It was decided that we needed to get to Arusha to start our safari (still unplanned at this moment in time) and so I made my way to the bus station to be met, as soon as he could make it, by TC. What a wonderful phrase "as soon as I can" is, it has such a broad meaning really.
Dar Es salaam is the biggest city in Tanzania and has quite decent international connections, the best rail connections and a pretty large selection of buses to other cities in the region. We had discussed some pretty spectacular train rides actually, in the planning, but it was not going to quite work with the timings so we had decided our route ignoring the option of the train (which was disappointing for both of us). The road network in Tanzania is not amazing but passable with one notable thing to consider for inter-city travel - the roads are not lit. Bearing that in mind, this means that there is a de facto deadline for the departures to Arusha from the coach stop, and so we checked the last departure to be at about 10am (8 hour journey, reaching Arusha at about dusk).
The bus station itself is massive and the cabs have a bit of a cartel so once you are inside, you will only be approached by licensed cabs (as at the airport in fact) with an attached premium but there are plenty of people there – passengers and touts. There were lots and lots of touts approaching me as I entered, but the cab driver took me to the very end and I then waited. The touts came up to me and told me their prices so I got a rough idea but I was more worried when they told me the last coach had gone or that there were not many left. This information was simultaneously worrying and probably a lie. But how probably?
TC called me when he landed and so I knew he was still some way away, he might be able to get there for 10am which was when the last bus was but it was looking increasingly unlikely. As I waited, with two massive bags, and looking very much the international tourist, I was approached and then two touts just waited near me and constantly kept talking about how I needed to buy tickets. It was actually pretty intimidating but there was not a lot I could do except wait. And wait.
At about 11am, a gleaming white taxi drove right to the back of the station where I was and out jumped TC, with a broad smile and an air of nonchalance. Bloody nonchalance. I was pleased to see him but he had appeared to leave the cab with nary a care in the world as I had been a little worried, but this was his way and I think I'd have been the same. And what it meant was that he was ruthlessly efficient.
“So, this is your friend? Tell him he must buy a ticket.”
And we did as he said, what option did we have? We bought the ticket and bundled into the coach for Arusha – the last one and it was about to leave. It wasn't the greatest coach in the world, seats were a little cramped but it would get us there and it was relatively empty. Our bags were put in the hold and we were ready to go. I'd not seen TC in a while and so we had a lot to talk about - logistics aside, I did want to know what had caused the delay and where we were going[1]. An hour and a half later, we were still just as ready to go as we had moved within the bus terminal only. Slightly nearer the entrance but not quite out. This was gong to be a long trip – we eventually left the bus station at about 12:30 and out onto the open road [next].
1. The delay on that day was caused by normal airport stuff. The previous day's cancellation was due to overbooking and, even though TC had turned up 2 hours in advance of the flight (and Lilongwe has a fairly small airport), it was already full at that point so he was offered a hotel room (which happened to be next door to his flat anyway) and a flight the next day. And we were going to Arusha – further details to be sorted on the bus. ↩
1. The delay on that day was caused by normal airport stuff. The previous day's cancellation was due to overbooking and, even though TC had turned up 2 hours in advance of the flight (and Lilongwe has a fairly small airport), it was already full at that point so he was offered a hotel room (which happened to be next door to his flat anyway) and a flight the next day. And we were going to Arusha – further details to be sorted on the bus. ↩
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