Karibuni Kenya

Having finsihed my trip in Mafia, I got back to dar es salam and tried to book into a cheaper hotel than jambo.  The only other place I knew had no singles left, so I ended up in Jambo again.  Its not a bad place, but there are cheaper places that although not en suite are still perfectly adequate.  They didn’t have any singles either, but becuase I planned to stay two nights they gave me a double for the price of a single.  This seemed a good deal until I found the room was exactly the same as the one I had had before – two single beds rather than a nice big double as I was hoping for, but heyho.  I had decided not to go to bagamoyo as planned, and instead have a day in dar looking around before going to the isambara.  I was a little ill as well, so thought on balance dar was the best place to stay, and then the bus to the isambara would be easier to get as well.

I got in a bit late as the flight was delayed, so after putting all my kit in my room, I went for a walk around to try and find some dinner.  I had seen a few chinese and indian places I liked the look of, so set off to find them again and see their prices.  I found one, and had a look at the menu, but it was a bit pricey.  There was also a girl called Kelly from the US I met who was on a budget of 3,000 tshs (about $3) for dinner, which would have brought her egg fried rice.  The mama who was cooking on the street the first time I was in dar was only just around the corner, so we decided to go there for a cheaper option. 

Kelly also knew a really nice hotel which overlooked the sea, so after the food we went there and brougth a juice each (it was a very expensive place, so this was all we could afford) and mixed it with konyagi, a sort of vodka type spirit that can be brought in plastic sachets of three shots or so each.  In nthe hotel they seemed to know we were not guests, since we were escorted  out onto the balcony away from where everyone else was sitting.  After the drink, we headed back to our hotels, getting a bit lost along the way, although we were perfectly safe all the way back in spite of it being dark and between 9 and 10 at night. 

A lot of people say don’t walk at night, but as long as you stay on fairly well lit streets and go along streets where shops are open or where there are banks and hence security guards outside them all night, its fine.  Also, its a great chance to explore the city and means you can go more interesting places for dinner or some drinks without having to pay for a taxi.  If you are worried, don’t take too many valuables with you, and don’t walk alone, but really I think its quite safe.