Dar es Salaam

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Early Thursday morning we left 7 degree Cape Town travelling through JoBurg (which was a cold 2 degrees) to Dar es Salaam (which was a hot 32 degrees when we landed). Getting through the immigration and customs was quite a process with the inefficiencies in the local systems especially not believeing in any sort of organized ques.

The drive from the airport to the hotel was quite different than South Africa. The roads were quite crowded (and not maintained as well) and many more people were walking along the street. Later on in the evening we drove along the ocean and had the locally made cassava chips and drank cocnut water (madaf) from the street vendors. After seeing a few oceanfront hotels, we had a dinner at a local Indian-Chinese restaurant. We noticed the many casinos in the city.

Friday we took a little tour in Dar es Salaam city and saw some of the resorts on the Indian Ocean. Traffic was quite congested in the small, but dense city center. Street vendors were selling their good very cheap again when compared to North American prices. For example, we had a sakili maki (corn), mogo (cassava) and a Coke for 900 Tanzanian shillings which is the equivalent to about 75 cent Canadian. The Tanzanian shilling is currently valued at about 1200 shillings to 1 CAD. It seems quite different when you go to a restaurant and order a coke for 1000 Shillings. We also visited the local fruit and vegetable market and a curio market where they make a lot of the African carvings and then even export some to Kenya and Uganda. The afternoon was spent visiting some family friends for lunch and tea.

Well, I (Suraj) headed back Friday night to London for a couple days before back to Calgary. My trip has quickly come to an end. Mom/Dad are continuing the adventure and heading to Zanibar Saturday morning...

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Photos

DAR airport
Dar Es Salaam airport

Aiport shuttle
Heading to the Hotel

Curio Factory
Where they make the local African curios

Curio Market
Where they sell the local African curios

City Center
A street in the city center

City Apartment
an apartment for a middle to upper class family..