Skip to main content

Tanzania - The Country of The Serengeti, Zanzibar and Kilimanjaro


I first arrived in Tanzania in the Southern Town of Mbeya. When I got off the bus and the streets where crazy busy, this was the first time I thought to myself "What the hell on heavens green earth are you doing? Go home child."
The streets of Mbeya were busy, people everywhere selling something. Fish, Fruit, vegetable markets scattered all on the pavement of the busy road. On the roads were private cars, motor bikes, big trucks, small trucks and Tuktuks. We don't wait for anybody and you cross the road at your own discretion. At this point, serious culture shock hit. I haven't written about Tanzania as I had not dealt with the culture shock. This was serious enough to break me but I was not prepared to break this far in my Journey, I had come to far to back down and that warrior spirit would have to pull me through.

Tanzania's national language is Swahili. Everyone speaks Swahili with little or no English. You really just have to thank your lucky stars if someone sorts of knows English. Looking back at my pictures, I have no picture of Mbeya and a few of Dar es Salaam. I was just at the point of, "I want to get out of here as quick as possible".
In Dar es Salaam there is English, but again not everyone speaks English. Majority of the people don't. Life got really easy when I got to Zanzibar and found that because it is a tourist destination, almost everyone spoke English.

I thought perhaps I am being a spoiled child, things cant be this bad. But everyone I have spoken to about my stay and experience in Tanzania was not shocked. They all laughed it off because they did not expect it to be easy. They all had their struggles with traveling the country. 
What was more difficult for me was that because I am not Caucasian, the people did not understand how I cannot speak Swahili.

Overall, there is a nightlife to be discovered. You are not allowed big bags in the club. Only clutch handbags ladies. The first country where I ordered a beer and I was asked "Would you like it warm or cold"... My face was priceless when I was asked this as I thought it very weird because I would imagine everyone enjoys a cold beer. Only to find out that a warm beer gets you drunk faster.

I have every intention to visit Tanzania again, and I know this time my experience will be better. At least then I will be better equipped knowing what kind of country I am visiting.

x0x0
#TheSoloWanderer

Labels

Labels:
Location: Nairobi, Kenya

Popular posts from this blog

Finding Ugandan beer from the source - Nile Special Lager. A 6 day itinerary

November 2019 was the beginning of Africa through beer out of South Africa. Together with SAB World of Beer we ran a competition to encourage South Africans to visit Africas only beer museum in Newtown Johannesburg. The winners got a chance to travel to Uganda with me as their guide discovering the beers in Uganda from the source of the Nile.  I have a 6-day itinerary for your adventures in East Africas adventure capital. The itinerary applies for both affordable and luxury travel.  ***Please note that these amounts shared are merely an estimate and guidelines towards the cost of your travels. View this post on Instagram Country #35 I wont lie, on landing in #Uganda I cried. I just couldnt hold back the tears. Realizing that this dream is my life. My career. I am super grateful for having such an epic job. This week, I will be exploring the Pearl of Africa. There will be dance, food, beer, culture and a l...
Read more

Morocco - A country I am certain to never return to.

Morocco is a North African country characterized by mountain regions, desert, and a lengthy coastline from the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. Morocco is a monarchy where the royal family has full control over the government. Rabat is the capital city, but Casablanca is the largest city. Chances are your flights will fly into Casablanca as they have the larger airport and that is cheaper than flying into other airports. Like any other North African country, you will learn or you most probably know about the history of the Arabs in Morocco. Most people assume north Africans are Arabs. There are no Arabs in Africa. There are descendants of Arabs, but Moroccans are the Berber or Amazirgh people. Also, talking about the Amazirgh can offend some people the same way you cannot talk about Western Sahara. 93% of Moroccans are religious and the majority are practicing Sunni Muslims. I spent the last few days of Ramadan in Morocco in 2017, the interesting thing ab...
Read more

Leeuwenhof Lodge x Thesolowanderer Holiday Giveaway Competition Rules/ Terms & Conditions

This Holiday Giveaway (“Competition”) is run by  #Thesolowanderer  (“Promoter”) and is open to all persons of 18 years or older and resident in South Africa, except the employees and their immediate families of Promoter and Leeuwenhof Lodge, advertising and promotion agencies, associated companies, and staff.  These rules may be amended by notification at any time during the Competition and will be interpreted by Promoter only. Participation by all entrants (“Participants”) constitutes acceptance of these rules.  This Competition will be run on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. The Competition will run from 25 October 2020 to 31 October 2020 (“Competition Period”). The winners will be announced by 15 November 2020. Winners will be notified via their social media platform of choice used to enter the competition.  There is a two-night holiday getaway for a couple to be won to the value of R10 000 at the end of the Competition Period.  To enter, Participants m...
Read more