1st of December 2008

Our flat has been out of water now for 3 whole days, for me this is tough, for the locals it's life. I teach up to 3 periods of sport a day, combine my keen attitude with a constant mid to late, 30 degree, humid heat and I am always, I mean always working up a sweat, a lack of running water means a lack of a shower, a lack of a shower means... well you can imagine. Think of going bush but in the middle of a hot and dusty city with loads more people around, I am hanging out. Nina kindly took me under her wing, she now lives in an apartment space with a Zambian colleague of hers in Oyster Bay, they just so happen to have a pool and a hot shower, Haha wow, going for a swim and having a hot shower are heaven to the weary traveller in Dar, I emerged a new man with a renewed desire to see and experience more of the city and its people.

On our way to Nina's we took a 'Ba-ja-ji' or tuk-tuk, these are three wheeled motorcycles with an attached, encased area for passengers, they are like predatory flies circling especially foreigners at every given opportunity in the hope of work. I thought my bus driver was a mad man behind the wheel, geese these guys make more money the faster they complete the journey and the more passengers they transport so they wind in and out of traffic, sometimes I'm told they opt for the wrong side of the road or roundabout and there is no such thing as a traffic jam for a ba-ja-ji, they tend to venture off road... Portions of our ride were comparable to holding on to a raging bull during a rodeo, the driver hits pot holes and bumps at quite the speed. It is a long journey to Nina's and as we set out the rain or more like a monsoon sets on us, the roads are flooded, the infrastructure here is terrible, apparently the U.S gave Tanzania $US700 million to develop roads, from my judgement Id say that wasn't money well spent. The rain was worse than I've ever seen it, with water levels reaching troublesome heights. The transport here is so much more exciting than the organised public systems of New Zealand, driving from Lambton Quay to Cuba Street can get boring after a while, here there is never a dull moment, it's a free for all, some form of organised chaos, but with the excitement comes added risk. Thank the stars that Nina has a good understanding of Swahili and her directions are okay as she manages to bargain somewhat with the driver ensuring we don't get completely ripped off.

After my refreshing break, Nina proceeded to cook me a large authentic Chinese meal, so here I am getting 5 star treatment in the middle of Africa, Nina is my best friend right now! Full of food and nice and chilled, We decide to spend the afternoon exploring more of the city when the weather clears. Nina has an itinerary planned out in her head, she has taken it upon herself to be my guide for the day, since I'm really new to all this I don't complain, first stop the city centre. I get to experience once again the beauty that is the 'Dalla dalla' transport system, It never ceases to amaze me how many people they can pack into these vans, space equals money.

The city centre or 'posta' as it is called is close to the beach, the walk along the coast is nice as there is a breeze scarcely found anywhere else in Dar. It is unlike the large cities of other countries I have been to like Japan, the U.S, New Zealand or Australia, the shops look run down and some don't look like shops at all. People are persistent, they haggle and scramble for your attention, taxi drivers scavenge for your attention yelling 'taxi', 'taxi', I had many smooth talking Swahili men trying to persuade me with the little English they knew to buy stolen watches or cheap nik naks, unfortunately for them I'm implementing a no purchase policy until I have had a decent look right around Dar, so i can compare prices, goods and what is on offer. The mish mash of people in the city is something to see business men in suits, homeless with drugs and everything in between, blanket man would feel at home I'm sure. I study the malls, stalls and busy streets buying water all the time, I buy a paper written in English 'the guardian' sounds British, I buy it to get some sense of whats going on. Nina shows me the local park full of peacock roaming wild, with piercing screeches and beautiful displays we chill for a while.. As we are chilling i spotted the largest snail I've ever seen, its like the damn thing was on steroids, the bugs over here are like super bugs, cockroaches are three times as big as ours, snails and slugs are ginormous and lets not mention the spiders again. after a good look around we head to the waterfront and admire the dingey boats that float lifelessly in the water, to me every part of this cities daily life is of interest.

Nina's next planned stop is the largest market in Dar the infamous 'kariakoo', she gives me a foreboding warning to hold on to my wallet and camera tight and embrace for impact. I was not ready at all for these local markets, there is not an inch of space, people are jostling about the packed streets where all sorts of make shift stalls, heaps of clothes, piles of fruit, indistinguishable foods and smells where intent locals and ever present thieves reside. We just have to join the movement, hands in pockets protecting valuables and enjoying (or attempting to) what we see. There is literally no space, people everywhere and these people are the poorest of poor, thousands of them, ripped shirts, red eyes, wary stares, many shouts, so it goes on, these people live day to day on what they can muster from street sales, i gather it is not a lucrative business. I stick out like a sore thumb, the only white man in sight and I definitely feel uncomfortable about it, there is no way I could take a photo it may get stolen or start a fight, everyone hates getting their photo taken in Africa, especially the poor so you have to be surreptitious. This goes on forever, no end, street after street, left, right, up down. I made the mistake of asking for the toilet and felt it better to hold on. For me this place could be described in many vast pages, the artists imagination could run wild, I will settle for the brief description of my encounter with two cheeky, large Masai tribesmen. Nina attempted to buy bracelets from these two, first they tried to rip her off, then they tried to steal from her purse while distracting us, then somehow it escalated into an argument, we backed off as quick as anything, I was way out of my comfort zone and in no mood to stick around. I am grateful for the experience and will maybe venture there again sometime, it is unlike anything I have ever seen....