Day 24: Dar Es Salaam (January 31, 2011)

The daytime today wasn't very exciting. Although Dar has a few sights and nice parts, it's just not that interesting. Abdul and I hired a cab to drive us around for a bit -- something that can be worthwhile in other cities, but it was dull here. We did go out to a beach so I had my first wade in the Indian Ocean (very warm and very clear) but it was hardly worth the ride, which was mostly traffic. Then they dropped me off at the hotel and Abdul went to the airport. (Abdul, if you're reading this, I hope you're back home safe and thanks again for being a good traveling companion!)

This evening, though, turned out to be unexpectedly fun. One of the guys staying at my hotel, Swair, grew up in Tanzania but has lived in the States for the past several years and he invited me to this... thing. He's part of this, I don't know what to call it, club I guess called the Hash House Harriers, which apparently has meetings all over the world where the members go for a walk or a run then drink. They're mostly western ex-patriats (spelling?). It was kind of like a sorority party, with all the singing and drinking and mild hazing.

I was a little unsure about going; after all, I just met the guy today and we had to drive there. But he seemed OK and I thought I shouldn't let an opportunity to meet people pass me by. When I first arrived I was my usual quiet self among strangers, but everyone was pretty friendly and by the time we finished the walk (maybe an hour after we arrived) I felt more at home. Then they started in on the pre-dinner drinking and singing, which eventually included everyone there, including the "virgins" like me. That loosened everyone up, including me, and I had several laughs. This trip has mostly been good, but there hasn't been a lot of laughter because it's just too solitary.

So here's me, sandwiched between a couple regulars, about to chug a beer -- a rare feat for me, but faced with the threat of having to dump the remains on my own head, I managed:

And here's me again, alongside the other new person, sitting on a huge block of ice (which felt really good in the 100 degree heat) while answering the four questions asked of all virgins to the club (name, origin, who brought us, and favorite sexual position -- feel free to guess my answer to that one!  Except you, mom and dad, that will be creepy.):

Later one of the guys played his bagpipes and another played the piano. I haven't heard live music at a party in ages, and both were a treat. So in the end, my last night in Dar turned out to be pretty good. Although, since it was spent in the outskirts of town (the nicest part in fact) and didn't really involve Dar at all, it doesn't really count in Dar's favor. I bet the club gets a good turnout because none of its members like Dar either.

The city really isn't as bad as I first thought, since I found a couple of nice places to eat and I got used to the neighborhood. And I learned if I lived here, there's a nice community I might join. But guidebooks led me to believe it would be a really interesting city with a large mix of cultures and architecture, but it's just really blah. Well, the fish market was interesting, but I wouldn't want to hang out there much. /holds nose/
I'm kicking myself a little bit for not hustling to get to Stone Town, but I was too paranoid about missing the ferry back from Zanzibar and in turn, missing my flight to Sri Lanka. Not to mention it's $70 round trip! Or so the hotel staff tells me. For a ferry? Really? I wonder if it's one of those things where east africans pay one (low) price and everyone else pays another (high) price. There's a lot of that on this continent, which annoyed me at first, but then I thought about in-state tuition and stuff like that in the States and it annoyed me less.

Obviously, It's my fault I missed Stone Town; if I'd hurried from Arusha to Dar, or if I'd booked my safari on my first day in Tanzania, I would have had an extra day or two here so I could go and not be afraid I'd miss the boat back. I wish I weren't so paranoid about stuff like missing flights; I might squeeze in more stuff. But I sure would hate to stuck in the Dar airport for who knows how long... So I play it safe. Then I tell myself just being here at all, especially alone, is adventure enough, even if I have a few lame days here and there. I've mostly convinced myself that's true. ;-)

This will be my last post from Tanzania [later: and, due to a power outage this morning, I'm actually posting from the Doha, Qatar airport at 8:30pm local time]. I have about 18 hours of traveling ahead of me (ugh!) but once I reach my next stop, Colombo, Sri Lanka, I should be taken care of in some fashion. I booked a driver to take me around the country; someone I found on the internet who comes well recommended (or has done a really good job of faking it). As with many steps of this trip, I'm not 100% confident things will work out because the process of booking him was so casual -- just a couple of emails back and forth. But driving tours are really common in Sri Lanka , so I have no big reason to be concerned.

You know the drill: if you don't hear from me for a while it's because I don't have access to the internet in my next stop. But I'll write each day and post when I can. Including my thoughts on Tanzania.
　
Blah, I just read my last few posts, including this one, and I sound like more of a downer than I want to be. And by that I mean, I feel less than thrilled about being in Dar Es Salaam, and it shows in my writing. I hope (and expect) that I feel this way because the place I'm in right now is less than ideal, and that this isn't the start of three months of regret and depression. I'm chuckling as I write this, so if you're reading and you're worried about me, don't be. Yet. ;-)