Dar Es Salaam - what do you mean it's not the capital of Tanzania?!

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So, Dar Es Salaam is not the capital city of Tanzania? Well, you learn something every day. It sure looks like a capital! It turns out that Dodoma is the actual capital but Dar is where everything happens. We opted for a bit of comfort for our stay in the city. The Tanzanite Executive Suiteswas certainly that. We had a MASSIVE suite complete with its own kitchen - not that we used it other than for washing our clothes and utilising the fridge! It was a very good choice ahead of some of the backpacking hardships we were anticipating in the weeks to come.

The hotel is located very close to the city's main mosque. Although the country is not specifically Muslim, this area is. Several other mosques were in close proximity but we were never bothered by the call to prayer. It's a beautiful sound and travellers should embrace the cultural differences rather than rile against them. Its location also meant that the hotel is completely alcohol free. There are big signs around emphasising this. A few days off the booze is never a bad thing though. We really enjoyed exploring the surrounding streets and found some amazing street food where chicken is barbecued on almost every corner. A few streets away we ate lunch at Chef's Pride which served cheap, delicious local food and was a superb place for people watching.

Exploring central Dar by foot is really easy, but it did get a bit hot and sticky at times. Our exploration began with a look at the Askari monument which pays homage to local soldiers lost in World War I fighting in the British Carrier Corps. Then we walked along the shaded avenue past the British Council and the Botanical Gardens to the Ocean Road hospital. The design of the hospital is beautiful with gleaming white domes adorning some of the buildings. The Ocean Road itself was nice to stroll along but we found access to the south was restricted because of government buildings. That meant we had to retrace our steps back to the other side of the hospital. As we reached the government buildings from that road, we spotted a beautiful peacock in the trees. Russ took some photos but was then accosted by a soldier who insisted that all photos taken along that road were deleted. Was the peacock a secret government agent???

We continued along to the fish market where the smell was indescribable! The sights were great though with sellers doing their best to earn a living and the kitchen staff chopping and scraping the fish. It was a bit messy. From there our walk continued past the Supreme Court and the Lutheran Church to St Joseph's Cathedral. The ferries to and from Zanzibar dock nearby and the waterfront was awash with people. We retreated into the Chaiwala Cafe after a brief visit to the tourist misinformation office! Air conditioned luxury and delicious coffee was our reward. Our walk finished with a look at the Uhuru Independence Monument through the bars of a fence. It is located in a lovely park which is closed off to the public! Considering it was New Year's Eve, we had a very quiet and early night!

The next morning we became the first visitors of 2019 in the National Museum of Tanzania! That didn't bestow any particular honour upon us other than being the first in the visitors' book though. It was an interesting look at the long history of the country from the dinosaurs to the present day. In the grounds of the museum stands the memorial to the bombing of the US Embassy in 1998. Reading the tributes and the memories from that awful day was very moving. Opposite the museum entrance was a big poster showing the dress codes for entry into a nearby ministry building. Russ got curious again and was told off for taking a photo!

A bus journey to the inland town of Morogoro was waiting for us the following day. We had managed to book tickets near the Zanzibar ferries and we were picked up from the hotel right on time. The road to the bus station was fine except for the final 2km. Surely they did not take us to the main entrance! The journey to Morogoro was then straight forward on what was to be our last proper bus journey for quite some time!

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