What a change a few days make. After the weekends adventure on the Tazara Railway I find myself a matter of meters from the gentle waves of the Indian Ocean which lap the pristine white sandy beaches of Tanzania.
After our night at the YMCA, Laura, Will depart for Zanzibar and I get the short Kigaboni ferry across the harbour then a 5minute ride on the back of a motorbike to Mikadi Beach Camp. The only sign that the big port of Dar es Salaam is just round the corner are the large cargo vessels on the horizon, the only noise I hear is the gentle crashing of the waves. A definite improvement from the weekend.
The camp is pretty small, there's about 12 bands (huts) and a camping area which surround a stunning pool and bar with a thatched roof. Toilets are European style rather than an ever moving hole in the floor and the showers are open and clean. The biggest decision I've got to make here is just what time to have breakfast and when to eventually leave. My Kilimanjaro trek starts on Saturday so I have to leave here Thursday or Friday. We shall see.
My day here starts with a morning swim at high tide before hitting the beach front bar for some breakfast. After some tanning, more swimming and reading, dinner eventually pops round accompanied by a local beer watching the sun set and waves lap the shore. The following day simply repeats.
On a change from the taxing schedule I take a morning trip into Dar to get some more money for my Kili trip. Getting on the ferry I see a lady with a large screen TV balanced on her head (no box or protection) and a bicycle with 2 (yes 2!) three piece suites balanced on the back. Then there's a tuc tuc with a 6ft house door hanging out the side and then the usual gaggle and overloading of people trying to cram on. In downtime Dar I can't resist another milkshake (make that 2 more) at the Holiday Inn. There just so good, I think this trip has given me cravings for milkshakes and ice cream. Whilst walking towards the bus station to get a ticket to Moshi I decide actually I'm going to fly there. I don't want to lose this relaxed feeling on a sweaty 10hr bus ride across Tanzania so will book the short 1 1/2 hr flight later back at the camp. Ciao for now folks
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Sunday, December 2, 2012
Train to Dar Day 3
That was infinitely better than last night, it was cooler and the shouting only started at 6am so now feel pretty refreshed. As breakfast time comes we're passing through lush tree lines hills and regular tunnels as the train continues its crawl to the Indian Ocean. It's literally a crawl now, especially as we go through the mountains. Stops seem to take forever with an impossible number of people appearing in the middle of nowhere to board the train, I haven the foggiest where these people are coming from. We're now about 6hrs late which would have us into Dar in the very late evening, still not entirely sure what I'm going to do accommodation wise Sunday night. May see if I can stick in the train til dawn then go on to my beach camp.
I spend the morning sat with 3 Belgians travelling to Dar and on to Zanzibar. The mountains start to drop away into the afternoon and we enter the plains which should eventually lead us to the coast although that's clearly still a long way off, my reckoning is we're now about 6-7hours behind and will get into Dar sometime in the night. The heat cranks up another few notches and the landscape, whilst still fairly green from the start of the rainy season, it's more scrub and bush than before. For a few hours were crossing through one of Tanzania's many game reserves but I don't spot anything too exciting. Actually that's a lie, it's not everyday you see hundreds of impala as well as wildebeest, warthogs, zebra and giraffe. I find myself joining everyone else hanging half out of the train getting photos, more of the incredible sky and setting sun.
The journey goes into the night, I'm chilling in a cabin with the Belgians and English playing silly amusing games. A few of them are afraid of using the on board toilets, which I can't blame them so predictably there's a lot of toilet humour going around. We're all sat here smelling of sweat and somehow covered in dirt, my previously white shorts are now various shades of grey having picked up dust from god knows where.
So ill finish off this post now I'm at the YMCA hostel in Dar. I'm here with Will and Laura since we arrived so late in Dar on the train, about 1010pm. Our other friends had a taxi booked so we managed to hitch with them and get the driver to divert here. About half way to the hostel we pulled up at some lights and a decidedly shifty and probably drunk guy of medium build was scanning the vehicles in the line, obviously looking for trouble. He approached our car, had a look through the windows and probably saw us 5 white guys and moved to the car in front. In a flash he grabbed a bag off the front seat and made off down the road. The driver and passenger ran after him but that then left the vehicle vulnerable to be stolen. Fortunately the passenger came back before that happened but I doubt the guy got his bag back. I didn't really know much about Dar but had heard one or two stories, clearly it's not the safest place at night but having a window open and bag visible wasn't exactly a shining beacon of common sense. Welcome to Dar folks. On a plus the youth hostel is ok and had room, it's somewhere dry and safe until the morning when we'll go our own ways.
I spend the morning sat with 3 Belgians travelling to Dar and on to Zanzibar. The mountains start to drop away into the afternoon and we enter the plains which should eventually lead us to the coast although that's clearly still a long way off, my reckoning is we're now about 6-7hours behind and will get into Dar sometime in the night. The heat cranks up another few notches and the landscape, whilst still fairly green from the start of the rainy season, it's more scrub and bush than before. For a few hours were crossing through one of Tanzania's many game reserves but I don't spot anything too exciting. Actually that's a lie, it's not everyday you see hundreds of impala as well as wildebeest, warthogs, zebra and giraffe. I find myself joining everyone else hanging half out of the train getting photos, more of the incredible sky and setting sun.
The journey goes into the night, I'm chilling in a cabin with the Belgians and English playing silly amusing games. A few of them are afraid of using the on board toilets, which I can't blame them so predictably there's a lot of toilet humour going around. We're all sat here smelling of sweat and somehow covered in dirt, my previously white shorts are now various shades of grey having picked up dust from god knows where.
So ill finish off this post now I'm at the YMCA hostel in Dar. I'm here with Will and Laura since we arrived so late in Dar on the train, about 1010pm. Our other friends had a taxi booked so we managed to hitch with them and get the driver to divert here. About half way to the hostel we pulled up at some lights and a decidedly shifty and probably drunk guy of medium build was scanning the vehicles in the line, obviously looking for trouble. He approached our car, had a look through the windows and probably saw us 5 white guys and moved to the car in front. In a flash he grabbed a bag off the front seat and made off down the road. The driver and passenger ran after him but that then left the vehicle vulnerable to be stolen. Fortunately the passenger came back before that happened but I doubt the guy got his bag back. I didn't really know much about Dar but had heard one or two stories, clearly it's not the safest place at night but having a window open and bag visible wasn't exactly a shining beacon of common sense. Welcome to Dar folks. On a plus the youth hostel is ok and had room, it's somewhere dry and safe until the morning when we'll go our own ways.
Train to Dar Day 2
My people in my cabin are not the quietist. They have no concern for intrusive noise or disrupting others or frankly any sort of respect. I'm woken at 430am with the usual cacophony of noise, one of my cabin mates is shouting "Paul, Paul are you awake?" "Humph" "Good Morning!"
I spend the next couple of hours slowly waking up and take up station watching the world go by at a train door. We stop pretty regularly and hoards of people just appear out of nowhere, literally nowhere, no houses around with just a few little dirt tracks going from nowhere to nowhere. The time comes to take a wild dump, well it's wild enough in this shaking thing with just a hole in the floor to aim for.
When the time becomes more sociable I meet Will and head to their cabin to set up camp for a while. At the next stop we grab some fruit for breakfast from the sellers at the station. We get a whole bowl (read washing up bowl) worth of mango's for 500ksh (about 6p). It's enough to feed the whole carriage and I suggest selling it on making a profit.
The train breakfast is a bit rubbish and the day drags a bit to start. It's pretty crowded with people in the aisles and rammed around the lounge and bar area. A lot of people here are just getting drunk and being noisy. Should reach the border soon.
We reach the border at about midday, about time too. Parts of Zambia are nice but I've had my fill and ready to move on. As if confirming this, a drunk local starts to try to pickpocket me. I'm sure it works on a lot of unsuspecting tourists but I'm not taking any crap. He keeps giving it a go, trying to put his hand into my shorts pocket to get my wallet whilst I grab his arm and give a few stern words. I don't keep much money in that wallet at all but it's the principle that annoys me so I head to my friends cabin and sit in there. He along with most of the train depart at the border and we're left in peace. I suspect it'll fill up again as we get into Tanzania. The border formalities are pretty easy esp since I had my visa but turns out you can get them on the train too.
Mid afternoon we stop in Mbeya and are stationary for some time, apparently it's a routine inspection of the brakes and adding a second engine for the mountainous bit coming up. Setting off just after 6pm, the sun is dropping on the second day of our train ride, sure hope tonight is quieter and cooler than the last, really wouldn't mind a decent amount of sleep.
I spend the next couple of hours slowly waking up and take up station watching the world go by at a train door. We stop pretty regularly and hoards of people just appear out of nowhere, literally nowhere, no houses around with just a few little dirt tracks going from nowhere to nowhere. The time comes to take a wild dump, well it's wild enough in this shaking thing with just a hole in the floor to aim for.
When the time becomes more sociable I meet Will and head to their cabin to set up camp for a while. At the next stop we grab some fruit for breakfast from the sellers at the station. We get a whole bowl (read washing up bowl) worth of mango's for 500ksh (about 6p). It's enough to feed the whole carriage and I suggest selling it on making a profit.
The train breakfast is a bit rubbish and the day drags a bit to start. It's pretty crowded with people in the aisles and rammed around the lounge and bar area. A lot of people here are just getting drunk and being noisy. Should reach the border soon.
We reach the border at about midday, about time too. Parts of Zambia are nice but I've had my fill and ready to move on. As if confirming this, a drunk local starts to try to pickpocket me. I'm sure it works on a lot of unsuspecting tourists but I'm not taking any crap. He keeps giving it a go, trying to put his hand into my shorts pocket to get my wallet whilst I grab his arm and give a few stern words. I don't keep much money in that wallet at all but it's the principle that annoys me so I head to my friends cabin and sit in there. He along with most of the train depart at the border and we're left in peace. I suspect it'll fill up again as we get into Tanzania. The border formalities are pretty easy esp since I had my visa but turns out you can get them on the train too.
Mid afternoon we stop in Mbeya and are stationary for some time, apparently it's a routine inspection of the brakes and adding a second engine for the mountainous bit coming up. Setting off just after 6pm, the sun is dropping on the second day of our train ride, sure hope tonight is quieter and cooler than the last, really wouldn't mind a decent amount of sleep.
Train to Dar Day 1
So it's an early start today to get a bus up to Kapiri Moshi to join the train bound for Dar es Salaam. I'm booked to leave Lusaka at 6am, the only other option being 10am which would of been mighty tight for catching my train. As it happens I arrive at the bus station early enough to get the 530am bus which in fact leaves at 615 despite the company slogan stating "always on time". Maybe it's just late whenever I'm travelling. That aside this is an infinitely better service than my bus from Livingstone, I don't feel like I'm going to terminate at every bend and the conductor is doing a grand job making tannoy announcements but without the tannoy bit. Instead he just stands in the middle of the bus and says "announcement please, announcement please. We are arriving in...". He also nags people to be quick at rest stops which is part of the reason public transport is so late here, people dally around in there own little worlds with no consideration for the bigger picture.
Lusaka bus depot at that time in the morning was chaotic, literally hundreds of people nag you for taxis or to get you tickets, people push in front of you to board the bus and load their bags, clearly needing a chill pill and to accept it isn't going to leave til I'm on it whether you push in front of me or not. It's quite rude really but water off a ducks back and that.
The bus stop in Kapiri is about 2km from the railway station, I get off the bus and I'm immediately surrounded by sellers and taxi drivers, people with all sorts of goods balanced on their heads to sell. I run to keep up with the conductor who scurries around trying to find my bag in the hold (which thankfully he does; that could of been a disaster). When I'm ready I find a taxi, it annoys me in general when people try to pressure you into buying goods or services. That's not just the hawking we have here in Africa but advertising and marketing in general. If I want a taxi ill get one when I need it, if I want a tray of half rotten fruit balanced on the head of a tall woman then ill find it, by nagging your even less likely to get a sale.
Tazara New Kapiri Moshi Train Station (to use its full name) sticks out like a sore thumb in an otherwise impoverished surrounding of dirt roads and mud/straw shacks. Built by the Chinese in the early days of when they wanted to exploit African resources, it's essentially a warehouse with one side full of dirty glass windows which makes it stifling hot and airless. The Chinese have invested a lot in Zambia and parts of sub-Saharan Africa and frankly it's not making a particularly big difference to local Zambians. It's blatant exploitation so they can facilitate the mining of natural resources to support China's immense growth. China built this railway which sees little passenger use, a football stadium in Lusaka as well as office blocks and other facilities.
At the station the booking clerk invites me to move into the "1st and 2nd class" lounge rather than my current seat which is apparently 3rd class. The only difference being is a tired cushion and slightly less air circulating around.
In time a few other people arrive including maybe half a dozen tourists. This is pretty off the beaten track so I didn't expect to see too many non-local folk. I get chatting to Laura and her friends from Ireland, shes moaning about the $100 visa fee she has to pay, double what mine was. She is finishing her trip in a very similar way to mine but is going to Mombasa and the Kenyan coast having already climbed Kili. We decide to walk back into town and get some lunch before the train departs, it's getting pretty warm here. Kapiri is surrounded by bush as far as you can see, there's very little to provide shade or cool from the hot summer temperatures.
The train actually leaves on time, yes on time! I chat to Laura and her friends a lot, they've got a first class cabin and when I ask to upgrade I'm told there is no more room. Laura and Will let me hang out in their cabin so were currently enjoying a cold beer watching the African world go by. The draft through the window is nice but it is ridiculously hot. I've claimed a top bunk bed in my cabin which gives me abit of private space at the expense of being very hot. This is shaping out to be one hell of an adventure. The train is bouncing along all over the place, the toilets are literally just a hole in the floor down to the tracks below (literally a shit hole). There's a lounge car and a restaurant car where you can buy beer and food. The beer is on ice which needless to say is melting fast so obviously needs to be drunk soon :) looks like my first day on this train will be a success.
I take my empty beer bottle and a card the bar man gave me back and got a 6000kwh refund, so I only paid 3000kwh for the beer. That's insane, it's only 40p for a large beer. I'm sure he made a mistake since Will didn't get that but I'm not complaining.
So as the evening starts to draw in, what a change from a dull few days in Lusaka. I'm sat on the wobbly bouncy train having a beer with some new mates watching the sunset over the African bush. Children run along side the train shouting hello and playing football. I have absolutely no idea where we are, somewhere in North Zambia and frankly I don't care. Absolutely one of the highlights of the trip. Happy days. We finish the day with dinner and exceptional service in the dining car, all for just under £2. Will, who's from Hong Kong actually, brought a bottle of wine to finish off a great day of travelling. Not sure how sleep will come tonight, the train isn't exactly a smooth rider but at least we have beds. Lets just hope I don't fall out of my lofty perch. :)
Lusaka bus depot at that time in the morning was chaotic, literally hundreds of people nag you for taxis or to get you tickets, people push in front of you to board the bus and load their bags, clearly needing a chill pill and to accept it isn't going to leave til I'm on it whether you push in front of me or not. It's quite rude really but water off a ducks back and that.
The bus stop in Kapiri is about 2km from the railway station, I get off the bus and I'm immediately surrounded by sellers and taxi drivers, people with all sorts of goods balanced on their heads to sell. I run to keep up with the conductor who scurries around trying to find my bag in the hold (which thankfully he does; that could of been a disaster). When I'm ready I find a taxi, it annoys me in general when people try to pressure you into buying goods or services. That's not just the hawking we have here in Africa but advertising and marketing in general. If I want a taxi ill get one when I need it, if I want a tray of half rotten fruit balanced on the head of a tall woman then ill find it, by nagging your even less likely to get a sale.
Tazara New Kapiri Moshi Train Station (to use its full name) sticks out like a sore thumb in an otherwise impoverished surrounding of dirt roads and mud/straw shacks. Built by the Chinese in the early days of when they wanted to exploit African resources, it's essentially a warehouse with one side full of dirty glass windows which makes it stifling hot and airless. The Chinese have invested a lot in Zambia and parts of sub-Saharan Africa and frankly it's not making a particularly big difference to local Zambians. It's blatant exploitation so they can facilitate the mining of natural resources to support China's immense growth. China built this railway which sees little passenger use, a football stadium in Lusaka as well as office blocks and other facilities.
At the station the booking clerk invites me to move into the "1st and 2nd class" lounge rather than my current seat which is apparently 3rd class. The only difference being is a tired cushion and slightly less air circulating around.
In time a few other people arrive including maybe half a dozen tourists. This is pretty off the beaten track so I didn't expect to see too many non-local folk. I get chatting to Laura and her friends from Ireland, shes moaning about the $100 visa fee she has to pay, double what mine was. She is finishing her trip in a very similar way to mine but is going to Mombasa and the Kenyan coast having already climbed Kili. We decide to walk back into town and get some lunch before the train departs, it's getting pretty warm here. Kapiri is surrounded by bush as far as you can see, there's very little to provide shade or cool from the hot summer temperatures.
The train actually leaves on time, yes on time! I chat to Laura and her friends a lot, they've got a first class cabin and when I ask to upgrade I'm told there is no more room. Laura and Will let me hang out in their cabin so were currently enjoying a cold beer watching the African world go by. The draft through the window is nice but it is ridiculously hot. I've claimed a top bunk bed in my cabin which gives me abit of private space at the expense of being very hot. This is shaping out to be one hell of an adventure. The train is bouncing along all over the place, the toilets are literally just a hole in the floor down to the tracks below (literally a shit hole). There's a lounge car and a restaurant car where you can buy beer and food. The beer is on ice which needless to say is melting fast so obviously needs to be drunk soon :) looks like my first day on this train will be a success.
I take my empty beer bottle and a card the bar man gave me back and got a 6000kwh refund, so I only paid 3000kwh for the beer. That's insane, it's only 40p for a large beer. I'm sure he made a mistake since Will didn't get that but I'm not complaining.
So as the evening starts to draw in, what a change from a dull few days in Lusaka. I'm sat on the wobbly bouncy train having a beer with some new mates watching the sunset over the African bush. Children run along side the train shouting hello and playing football. I have absolutely no idea where we are, somewhere in North Zambia and frankly I don't care. Absolutely one of the highlights of the trip. Happy days. We finish the day with dinner and exceptional service in the dining car, all for just under £2. Will, who's from Hong Kong actually, brought a bottle of wine to finish off a great day of travelling. Not sure how sleep will come tonight, the train isn't exactly a smooth rider but at least we have beds. Lets just hope I don't fall out of my lofty perch. :)
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