Hooray! I made it!
This morning, I safely arrived in Zanzibar after a 14 hour flight from London, which in fairness really wasn’t too painful at all. At least not compared to Australia!
I’m currently perched on the rooftop of the Zanzibar Coffee House in Stone Town having a bit of down time, after a few hours exploring, and getting suitably lost as expected.
I can’t say I really knew much about Stone Town before I got here but it’s fair to say I’m glad I’ve got a few days here to explore it properly. Stone Town is the largest, living Swahili stone town in the world and unbeknownst to me until I got here, was designated a UNESCO “World Heritage Site” back in 2000. You could call it a crumbling city, but it’s still very much alive in the sense its narrow streets are bustling with all kinds of eclectic vendors – not an entirely dissimilar vibe to the back alleys of Marrakesh, although a damn sight less stressful. The Zanzibar archipelago consists of over 50 islands, the main inhabited islands being Unguja (Zanzibar), Pemba and Tumbatu (not Timon and Pumba from the Lion King if your brain heard those last two the same as mine did – I blame tiredness). It’s also only 6 degrees south of equator here so pretty tropical in climate, and it ended up being a solid 30 degrees for most of the day. Bliss. The two hour time difference also makes it a super easy destination to travel to.
Arriving and getting through the airport was a breeze – its tiny (as expected) and I was particularly impressed with the fact you aren’t allowed to bring plastic bags into Tanzania, therefore they advise you to dispose of them before entering the country or else you could be subject to a fine! Although the Foreign Office says you can obtain a visa on arrival, if you’re thinking of going, seriously do it in advance. It enables you to breeze past the hoards of tourists frantically looking for pens in which to complete their landing cards, and hot foot it to the front of the security queue (which based how long it took to check my documents, is well worthwhile). My bag was one of the first out, so I had the joyful task of running the gauntlet trying to locate my driver. I’m all for the truly local experience, but after a long flight, I find it stressful negotiating a price for a local taxi so on this occasion, booked ahead. It was a good job I did! I didn’t realise my hotel was buried in the backstreets of Stone Town, accessible only by scooter or foot, therefore Ali my driver kindly dragged me and my bag through the market (and fish market) navigating me there seamlessly. Well done Ali.
My first task was to try and find somewhere to exchange the copious amounts of USD I brought with me. Cue the wild goose chase around the backstreets of Stone Town which wasn’t remotely fruitful. The people seem lovely (including a chap in uniform with a rather intimidating weapon around his neck), and were more than happy to point me in the direction of the PBZ (People’s Republic of Zanzibar) Bureau, but what they sadly failed to mention, was that they are all closed on Sunday. Perhaps they saw my hopeful face and couldn’t bring themselves to tell me Sunday’s are a no go zone for changing money.
Solo Travel
I’ll start by saying that in the limited time I’ve been here, I haven’t felt in danger or intimidated once. What I will say (like many parts of the world), is that being a solo female traveller does attract a fair bit more attention than one would potentially like. Now I’m quite thick skinned so like to think I’ve mastered the art of being firm, and polite at the same time but I can see how others may get a little exasperated, resulting in frustration, erring on the side of bad manners.
Just even consulting a map in a public thoroughfare results in my automatically get asked if I’m lost, to which I politely reply “absolutely not”, despite knowing full well I haven’t the foggiest idea where I’m going.
The countless offers of tour guiding, and whatsapp numbers being thrust in my direction is utterly mind-blowing. In fact I’d go as far as saying I’ve never acquired so many telephone numbers so easily! There definitely seems to be a struggle to understand why a western, single solo travelling female in her 30’s wouldn’t want to be escorted around the backstreets of Stone Town with gentlemen she doesn’t know from adam….
It can be exhausting, and there is a need to dip into the odd restaurant or cafe now and again to get a bit of respite. Their intentions are good, they just aren’t that well executed. This isn’t unique to this part of the world, make no mistake, but for me its all part of the fun of it. Wouldn’t it be boring if culturally, the world was the same everywhere you went?
I’ve made a good start in sampling some of the local delicacies. I began the day with a delicious spiced coffee which contained cinnamon & cardamom (yum), then proceeded to devour a crepe filled with banana, coconut and even more cardamom! Spices are definitely not in short supply here so I’m looking forward to my visit to one of the spice farms later this week.
Right, as its only day one, I’m going to leave it there, plus there is some sun still to catch. I’m booking myself on a trip to go to Prison Island and Nakupenda Beach tomorrow, so I’ll be sure to report back as soon as I can.
In the meantime, I’m off to find somewhere authentic for dinner!
Luce x
Finding Freedom 