Karibu Zanzibar, the island of spices

MEMORABLOG: 29.11.1998

Let's go to Zanzibar... All I ever knew before is, that is an island faaaaar away with sexy name... Oh, and beside that, Freddie Mercury (Queen) was born there...

So, the our boat was already waiting for us... At first, I was thinking to go with a dhow, but as this is supposedly illegal and as it takes too long (just a few weeks before i saw Michael Palin travelling from Dubai to Mumbai on a dhow), we kinda agreed on something a bit faster... actually, we bought tickets a fast boat, Flying Horse, for 30US$... (two ways). Actually, this was quite expensive, especially compared to what the locals pay... but ok, i will earn (someday in the future - hopefully) much more money than them... 2 and a half hour trip is quite uneventful. Ok, you can feel when we hit deeper waters, as the waves became bigger and bigger, but that was it... To keep us awake and not bored, a movie "Jungle Book" was on... but it didn't do the trick :)

Funny, but when you arrive on Zanzibar, you have to do again border formalities... (at first we just walked through, and only after 5 minutes of walking, we were turned back). Actually, Tanzania is almost artifical form. Its an union of Tanganyika (mainland) and of Zanzibar (though don't ask me whether Pemba or Mafia Island fall under Zanzibar or Tanganyka). But the border is straightforward, they just check whether you have a valid Tanzania visa and give you a stamp (and they check yellow fewer certificate). Unofficially i heard, that this border control is to restrict poor from the mainland massively going to the relatively reach island...

Remember our friend John from Arusha? Yep, he was there with us.. and he immediately offered us a hotel... Narrow street hotel. We checked it, it was great, almost luxurious after spending last 10 days in holes or tents... Two rooms and nice cold aircon device, though it was a bit on a pricy side - 20US$. Quickly i opened the Lonely planet and picked another recommended guesthouse... and guess what? Yes, it was cheaper with 15US$, but luxury devices, as fridge, TV made us splunge into the narrow street for extra 5 US$... (actually, it was not a bad decision to go with that John - he really bargained us a good price - a tout from the street quoted the price 30US$, while in the hotel said 25US$).

And we really liked the atmosphere of Stone town, so we decided to stay here for a few days... Yep, Foradhani Gardens was our open-air restaurant with cooked seafood right in centre of Stone town on the waterfront. Though gardens are not much during the day, but in early evening they just sprawl with activity...

A few next days will be busy... :)