Home » Tanzania » Day 11. Tue 1st October Ujiji

Today we take a taxi to visit nearby Ujiji, one of the oldest towns in Tanzania, and the place where Dr. David Livingstone, his provisions stolen and deserted by most of his retinue, was found in the nick of time by the New York journalist Henry Morton Stanley, who uttered the immortal words "Dr. Livingstone I presume".

Day 11. Tue 1st October Ujiji

DaveMidgley
2005-10-22 12:26:24

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arrangements slightly so Ken shares with Nathan and Amanada with Chris. Each compartment contains two bunks and a little washbasin. We also have exclusive use of three loos, which are no more than a hole in the bottom of the train and a flusher (Ken informs us that the flusher is an added luxury since he last travelled) but they are clean.

Chris and Amanda discover that there are no safety straps on their top bunk, but the guy in F kindly offeres to swap for the night, which turns out to be just as well.
Dinner is the usual fish or chicken with rice. Andy and I have fish, which is served with just a spoon to eat it with, a little tricky but very tasty.

As usual Ken causes mayhem in the corridor by refusing to let passengers pass, and then complaining to the ticket inspector that his tickets are nice and new and he doesn't want them spoiled by having holes punched in them. His tendency to play these jokes on complete strangers bothered us at first, but it becomes obvious that the Africans are very laid back and have a great sense of humour, and these japes are invariably met with a huge toothy grin and a great belly laugh. We discuss amongst ourselves how he would get on if he ever visited England!

The train stops often, and every station is packed with the usual mix of passengers, traders, beggars and opportunistic thieves who will nip in through the window and pinch our valuables in a trice if we don't keep the windows closed. Unfortunately this does mean leaving them closed all night. Each station seems to have its own particular speciality tade good - the first is bananas, the second sugar cane, etc. Children clamour for cash or empty bottles. We do not give anything away, but Ken trades a plastic bottle for a piece of sugar cane, which we share out and chew.
A station along the way

We are due to arrive in Dodoma around 18:00 tomorrow evening, although Ken says the train has never arrived on time yet. This is the train that recently rolled backwards and crashed killing over a hundred passengers when the driver stopped on a hill and got out without putting the brakes on!

We do not expect to sleep much so Ken, Amanda, Nathan and I stay up and finish off the remains of the Kasama scotch.

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