Arusha to Dar Es Salaam, Nairobi, Khartoum and Egypt

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Well my time in Arusha has come to a sad and final close (or not). Although something deep inside me says that an uncontrollable force will draw me back to the unpleasant whistle stop in the future. While I still won't discount the distinct possibility that my next flight will likely find its way to Arusha (whether by an honest mistake, crash or hijack) I do sincerely hope that my time there is now complete.

What is there to say about my third trip to Dar Es Salaam though? Not much really besides my adventures with the various Consulates, Embassy's and High Commissions downtown and a big day trip to Tanzania's National Museum. Saturday afternoon I stepped off the bus from Arusha to find an overwhelming stench of garbage, raw sewage and dead animals envelope my senses in the 35 degree heat. Trudging onward to my hotel I manged to check into a closet of a room and then 5 minutes later after realizing that it was too small to even get dressed in I checked right back out. I then tried for a double room and actually took that (which was where Ry and I stayed before). For $1.50 more -the fan, balcony, electrical socket and extra square footage made it well worth the additional cost. Knowing that I would be there for quite awhile also helped sway my decision.

Saturday night and Sunday were uneventful. There were fortunately a few people passing through the Holiday Hotel and I managed to have some limited company, but come Monday morning I forgot about them all because I was heading to the Canadian High Commission!

Monday morning as said I headed over to the High Commission without getting too lost. The guidebook said it was an "Australian/Canadian" High Commission, which wasn't quite true. It was actually a Canadian High commission that permits Australians some services based on an agreement with Australia (filthy Australians). After passing through the gate, seeing our lovely flag fluttering in the sky, getting X-rayed and chatted up with the armed guards I went up the stairs to the main building. Automatic doors, this is good! I'm not sure when the last time was I walked through a door that automatically opens for me but we're immediately off to a good start (it's funny the things you take notice of). Stepping into the polished lobby, a cool breeze took me by immediate surprise, which I could only assume was designed to acclimatize me back to the more modest temperatures in Canada. I hesitantly ventured forward to the main desk. I see signs in French and English. I'm certain now that I've come to the right place, all my worries seem to vanish. I ask meekly for my passport and the receptionist gets on the phone. I glance around to see a disturbing portrait of Stephen Harper smile at me oddly from the wall. I wonder what he's thinking...

The woman slams down the phone and says "no passport, come back tomorrow". Damn you Harper, damn you.

So with no passport in hand, I walk north outside of town to where the Indian High Commission is. I get there and immediately find dozens of Indian people in a cramped room with peeling paint yelling and shouting at this 350 year old man behind a desk with white hair down to his ankles trying to maintain some kind of law and order. I find a VISA application form. I fill it out all while pretending the sections like "passport number", "date of issue", "issued at" didn't exist. I fight my way to the old man. He looks at me and says its incomplete. I explain my situation. I realize how stupid I probably sound trying to get a VISA with with no passport and quickly leave. Thankfully India closes for two days because of some outrageous holidays they think they have the right to celebrate and so I can't come back until Thursday. This means my 4 day processing time doesn't finish until Next Tuesday at 4pm. That means I can't leave until next Wednesday. Great, 9 more days.

So I went back to the hotel, made some friends and decided to maybe make plans to visit the beach with them while I wait even longer. Then Tuesday comes and I go back to the Canadian High Commission and quickly realize something is different. I could feel it vibrating through the cracked and littered roads. The passport is here and I knew it. They make me wait however, where I had the opportunity to glance at an absolutely mesmerising coffee table book of Canada. I saw dignitaries and Ambasadors appear from around the building, then I saw Asha come down the elevator with an envelope. She came close and passed over the contents like they were some kind of newborn baby, which it kind of was -Mr. JX058518. As you can imagine I was pretty excited. I was in such a state of euphoria that upon leaving I almost got hit straight on by a wayward bus. Had I been struck, I would have died a happy man.

First thing was first, I had to regain my VISA for Tanzania. I'm not sure how this was going to work. Asha said to make sure when I went I brought the police report. So I walked across town yet again, and found the dilapidated and filthy building right where I expected that read "Tanzanian Immigration". I went in, I waited in line, I got to a clerk and explained my passport was stolen, he asked for the police report, he asked my name and my phone number and then said "no problem, I get you a visa if you get me a visa for Canada" -I laughed awkwardly. He then left with the police report and stapled it to my application I just filled out. I told him I'd need that report again and was there any way he could photocopy it? He said no problem. He took my other papers and claimed he needed those as well. I was pretty confused since they were other photocopies from my original passport application and didn't see why he would need those. I said he could have them as long as he photocopied them so I had copies. He said no problem and left. 10 Minutes later he comes back with no copies. He says there is a fee of $50 US for making the copies. I pretended not to hear him (I find that the best reaction to something absurd instead of throwing a fit). He insisted on the money but this time it changed to a "fee" and after that he just said: "it would help it go faster" -I certainly hope so. So I said "fine I'll photocopy them myself" and left to make copies. I came back and even though I was really pissed off and knew this was going to be a huge hassle I tried to be friendly. I said I could seriously help get him a VISA for Canada and we exchanged personal details. This guy looked like an evil Eddie Murphy. Not an angry Eddie Murphy but a downright evil one. I could have sharpened kitchen knives on his sneer. He told me to wait then came back 15 minutes later, plus he insisted I bring proof of my flight departing Dar. I came back after photocopying and lied to him about missing my flight because my passport was stolen and I'd buy a new one as soon as I got the VISA. This little duel of wits continued for sometime before he just made me wait for a couple hours in the stench infested lobby. Finally though, whereby an act of sheer luck or something else he brought me the VISA, which was rather suspect since it was entirely hand written in my new passport.

So with the legalities sorted out and my new passport in hand it was pretty hard not to just get on the first bus out of Tanzania. I thought since I'd have to wait for my India VISA, and that their Commission won't be open for two more days I should just wait elsewhere. I looked at flights to Addis Abba, Dubai etc. hoping for a stopover long enough to get an Indian VISA so I could at least wait someplace new. Of course being high season here there were no flights on such short notice. Except to Cairo. Cairo wants an onward ticket, which I don't want to buy yet but I managed to talk the Egyptian embassy into a multiple entry VISA all done up ahead of time to avoid any problems when I get to Cairo. If the Egyptians in Dar Es Salaam are any indication of the Egyptians in Egypt I'm certainly looking forward to going there. This embassy is basically a big mansion conveniently right next door to the Canadian High Commission. I sat around chatting with the guys there (not sure what they do) while the lady in charge made my VISA on the spot after only one comment about looking nothing like my passport photo (I got a haircut). So I'm finally all sorted now and spent my last day in Dar visiting the National Museum of Tanzania (I think that's what it was called) which was actually way better than I thought. Because the museum was so budget, they didn't have any glass cases or protection from any of the exhibits so I was able to handle pretty much everything. Still not sure if I was supposed to or not but I did anyways. Favourite parts were all the odds and ends collected from WWI including riffles, uniforms (I tried on Col. Von Lettow Vovberk's? chapeau) and even pieces of some of the old German cruisers as well.

The next day it was off to the Airport where I managed to visit (albeit only briefly) many of the stops I had thought to encounter in my previous plan of heading to Cairo overland. My flight stopped in Nairobi for half the day and then Khartoum for the other half of the day before finally arriving in Cairo late last night. The funny thing was when I checked-in before leaving Dar Es Salaam, they gave me a boarding pass for Zanzibar and it wasn't until I finally noticed a minute later (in my early morning haze) that I yelled at the guy to get my bag before it went on the wrong plane to the wrong city. Apparently my initial suspicion of something keeping me in Tanzania was correct. The immigration officials in Dar also didn't want me to leave, they eyed my one way ticket to Cairo suspiciously and after confirming that I wasn't in fact Egyptian refused to let me leave. Apparently they have problems with people on one way tickets getting refused and then sent back. Thankfully I had my Egypt VISA already sorted out and after explaining all this to the officer in charge and embarrassing the drone in the booth they let me go. In any case, Both Nairobi and Khartoum were uneventful as I did not venture out of their respective airports due to a lack of VISA's and time. Furthermore, in the case of Nairobi I was cautioned not to bother exploring the city anyways.

In the end I'm sure glad to leave Tanzania, I was there far longer than planned but thanks to the flexibility of the trip I made the best of it by volunteering. I was happy enough to rebuild my dream of going from Cape Town to Cairo and even though the second leg was much easier than the first (thanks to the airplane) I still felt great about it all and look forward to an adventure in Egypt.

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Photos

Filth
Stuff like this explains my lengthy foot scrubbing sessions in the shower.

Harper & Friends
I tried to get more photos of the glorious Canadian High Commission, but they didn't welcome my camera there much so this was all I could get away with.

Some Mountain in Kenya
All I know is that it's not Kilimanjaro, sorry for getting your hopes up.

Dar Cabby
He actually asked me for a photo and I'm still unclear why. Some nearbye touts got really angry about it afterwards though, maybe they thought I was mocking him. Regardless I managed to escape back into my nearbye Hotel

View from my room
The bars conveniently prevent unwanted suicides and potential burglaries. They bars work great for both.

City Streets
This is the street where my favourite restaurant "Chef's Pride" is located. I do say though I got really sick of his menu by the end.

Comments

[Maurice]

So glad you finally back on the road again.
All the while you were stuck in Tanzania my thoughts were with you. Glad to hear it finally worked out for you. Hang on to your purse!!!

[nolan]

Hang on to your purse!!!!
What Nunsense...lol....It's a Fanny pack on steriod's... Jay I have to say your travel's leave me laughing.. Good to know your safe.

[Aunt Pat & Uncle Jim]

Wow Jason! What an ordeal!!!!! So glad you are otta there and on the way! We will certainly be holding good thoughts for you as you continue your journey. Loved the pictures re: waiting for the passport. What a sense of humour! LOL! Take care !