Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania
Monday, January 15, 2007
Arrival in Dar..7:00AM local time. First off the plane I proceed to immigration line since I already have my visa or so I think. I confidently go up to the counter and let them know I will be visiting with Water Aid and organization for business, I had to sweet talk the immigrations officer,apparently he was not happy with the visa I had and was telling me to pay more money and wait on a line of about 100 people..I guess the NYer in me came out and I refused to go wait on the line or pay more money on top of what I already paid in NY for the visa..I got through and thankfully all of my bags were waiting for me as well as my WaterAid driver Alan..I was so frazzled though thinking the immigration guys were going to run after me I forgot to get money at the exhange..and had to wait until late this afternoon when I could go to the bank with my Water Aid colleague. I am staying termporarily in a small hotel across the street from the office and proceeded to talk a nice long nap and had a good lunch which is prepared by the hotellit was rice and veggies and a piece of chicken..I hardly atethe chicken it scared me a little but the rice and veggies were good..at 3pm I was picked up by Mariam the Water Aid office manager and we went apartment searching..the first flat she showed me was where the previous Pfizer fellow stayed..it was very nice, safe, quiet, fully furnished with kitchen stuff and has internet in the apartment so I will move there on Sunday...oh and it is a block away from the beach and a few miles from some major Western style hotels
Some random things I saw today..many young boys riding bicycles and carrying large quantities of eggs on the back, lots of goats roaming town, a few cows, hoards of people waiting for taxis and busses just wandering the streets (we saw this in South Africa too it is such a luxury to have a car..and the best is the woman dressed in Islamic garb wearing hot pink sandals...
Comments
Find that shoe store!
Hot pink shoes with a Burka... I love it! Can't hold down a forward thinking woman.
Hahahahah.....interesting read. how sweeeet:) Did they say why they were not happy with your visa??Um visiting Dar in a few weeks. So how long was your stay?