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As I boarded the bus early in the morning in Nairobi I prepared myself for the scheduled 12 hour journey to Tanzania. Interesting sights along the way, but nothing to keep me awake for more than 20 minutes straight! Luckily I woke up in time for the border, for what should be a simple procedure of getting my visa. Should be! When I handed over the $50 U.S., the customs officer quickly smiled and stated he didn't have any change. I pointed out that I had seen the Kenyan in front of me receive his change. Amazing how the officer then said he'd ask his colleages if they might be able to scrape together the $20 owed back to me. 20 minutes later I boarded the bus with my transit visa and $20. No way is the only fight against corruption!! Bloody ironic that we then remained stuck at the border for a further 30 minutes with a flat tire!!

Aaaaaggggggggghhhhhhhhh, Zanzibar

Coffeecat
2005-12-24 22:46:05

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not, "I'll join you at the local pub!!" Hhhhhhhhmmmmm, always interesting to check out where people drink. We walked down a few steps out of the sunshine and cought the sight of beer on tap. As the boys salivated whilst
ordering their pints, I couldn't help but notice the other bar patrons-who more significantly couldn't help but notice the young lads!! As a female I'm not as clued in to picking out prostitutes in most areas, but it was pretty obvious here! The 'ladies at the bar' were sizing up and down and pruning themselves to be more appealing. I was so relieved that the lads just shrugged it off!! After a couple of beers I returned to the outside world. Walking the streets (NOT in THAT way!!) was an intriguing visual collage. I was back in a Muslim environment so the streets had many colourful dresses and spices to keep my senses alert. Despite the sights, I decided a few days spent here might bring my exploring nature to a boring standstill so I purchased a ferry ticket to Zanzibar. I've heard of this island before, but little did I know of the peace it would bring me.

I stepped off of the ferry in the early evening to be immediatly swamped by taxi touts. A couple is never really a problem, and I'll even stand my ground against a group of 10 or so. But I had not experienced
as many as 20-30 before. One would grab my arm to inform me that the white hair'd guy will rip me off, and the youngest driver would take me somewhere more private. I was lucky enough to catch a lift with a Swedish couple that I had met on the ferry.

After settling into my hotel room, I began my walk into town. I was joined for dinner by the chef who had cooked my curry. He informed me that some nights could be a bit slow at this end of town and he was the only way to spice things up a bit! A quick conversation and he realized that I really did find my ...