I was still undecided even when the plane landed--whether to get off the plane to start my trip in the north of Tanzania, or to continue to my official destination. I was a little concerned that if I didn't stay on the plane that the flight attendants might notice, and report this to the airline, and maybe cancel my return flight home. But at the the last minute, I decided to take a chance and get off at Kilimanjaro Int'l Airport in Tanzania instead of continue through to Dar Es Salaam. I'm glad I did because it was already 8pm, which would have meant I would have arrived in the large city of Dar later than 10pm, with no place to stay yet.
Then I had to make another decision: which town to go to, Arusha or Moshi (the airport is between the two). Fortunately, I found myself chatting with this American lady who works in Tanzania part of the year. As we got off the plane and walked across the tarmac in the dark she recommended Moshi because she heard Arusha was completely booked due to some conference.
I paid the required $100 for a 1 year visa and wandered into lobby of the small airport to be greeted by a wall of people holding signs with names of hotels and safari companies greeting their clients. It seemed I was the only one without a pre-arranged ride, so I had to settle for an overpriced taxi to the quiet town of Moshi, a half-hour away.
After a bit of a wander, I found a nice clean single room in a modest hotel and made myself go to sleep, though my body was very much awake, especially after the cold shower!
Nothing too crazy happening yet, though I still have to get used to looking right to cross the street, as they drive on the other side of the road.
Looking back, the roughly 24 hours in transit went surprisingly well, with minimal wait time (In fact, I had to run across the Atlanta airport, catch the train to another terminal and have them open the doors to plane as I was the last one to board). In the Amsterdam airport I had enough time to spend $5.00 on a cup of coffee and $8.00 on a small juice-smoothie (the devalued dollar makes Euro prices quite expensive!). News that Obama clinched the Democratic nomination was already on the headlines in Europe and is news here and Kenya (My little radio picked up a Nairobi station in English).
From the air I could see Germany, Venice, the coast of Italy and some snow-capped mountains, the Mediterranean, the vastness of the Sahara in Lybia and Sudan, the Nile, lush land in Kenya, then it got dark so I couldn't see Kilimanjaro as we arrived. It's cloudy to day, but I'm told that Mount Kilimanjaro is just over there, in the backdrop of Moshi.
After a walk around town, I find Moshi to be a pleasant place, but nothing spectacular. The buildings are all a rather stoic, modern masonry construction with equally dull color. But the people seem lively and friendly, smiling at me and saying something like "mambo" I just smile back in give a thumbs-up. It's quite a humbling position to be in, without language, though I'm picking up the essentials: "asante" is "thank you" and "see-a-ta-gee" seems to work for "no" (I can't believe the stupid Lonely Plantet phrase book I bought doesn't have those three essential words, "no" and "thank you" - but I could book a safari if I needed. !)
I checked out the local open-air market as it was opening. A familiar scene: bags of grains and legumes, piles of fruits and vegetables, squawking chickens, the smell of spices and meat lingering in the air. There are a lot of vehicles passing through town, as it looks like this is one of the main routes from Tanzania towards Kenya. I'm told that this is one of the launching points for treks up Kilimanjaro, but I haven't seen many tourists. I've ruled out the hike as being way out of my price range (at least $1200 for permits and guides, not including the burden of getting all the gear here). So I'm resolved to being more of a traveler and less of a tourist, but not either exclusively.
I just met a Peace Corps volunteer while eating breakfast at at cafe. I picked his brain about the Swahili language and places to see. He, Ethan from California/Oregon, later invited me to check out his village a few hours away. Since I don't have any plans, I think I'll take him up on it instead of paying $700 to safari the Serengeti. But that also cancels out the possibility of Kenya. Strangely, the prospect of no running water and sporadic electricity actually appeals to me. Then again, this is just Day 1.
Then I had to make another decision: which town to go to, Arusha or Moshi (the airport is between the two). Fortunately, I found myself chatting with this American lady who works in Tanzania part of the year. As we got off the plane and walked across the tarmac in the dark she recommended Moshi because she heard Arusha was completely booked due to some conference.
I paid the required $100 for a 1 year visa and wandered into lobby of the small airport to be greeted by a wall of people holding signs with names of hotels and safari companies greeting their clients. It seemed I was the only one without a pre-arranged ride, so I had to settle for an overpriced taxi to the quiet town of Moshi, a half-hour away.
After a bit of a wander, I found a nice clean single room in a modest hotel and made myself go to sleep, though my body was very much awake, especially after the cold shower!
Nothing too crazy happening yet, though I still have to get used to looking right to cross the street, as they drive on the other side of the road.
Looking back, the roughly 24 hours in transit went surprisingly well, with minimal wait time (In fact, I had to run across the Atlanta airport, catch the train to another terminal and have them open the doors to plane as I was the last one to board). In the Amsterdam airport I had enough time to spend $5.00 on a cup of coffee and $8.00 on a small juice-smoothie (the devalued dollar makes Euro prices quite expensive!). News that Obama clinched the Democratic nomination was already on the headlines in Europe and is news here and Kenya (My little radio picked up a Nairobi station in English).
From the air I could see Germany, Venice, the coast of Italy and some snow-capped mountains, the Mediterranean, the vastness of the Sahara in Lybia and Sudan, the Nile, lush land in Kenya, then it got dark so I couldn't see Kilimanjaro as we arrived. It's cloudy to day, but I'm told that Mount Kilimanjaro is just over there, in the backdrop of Moshi.
After a walk around town, I find Moshi to be a pleasant place, but nothing spectacular. The buildings are all a rather stoic, modern masonry construction with equally dull color. But the people seem lively and friendly, smiling at me and saying something like "mambo" I just smile back in give a thumbs-up. It's quite a humbling position to be in, without language, though I'm picking up the essentials: "asante" is "thank you" and "see-a-ta-gee" seems to work for "no" (I can't believe the stupid Lonely Plantet phrase book I bought doesn't have those three essential words, "no" and "thank you" - but I could book a safari if I needed. !)
I checked out the local open-air market as it was opening. A familiar scene: bags of grains and legumes, piles of fruits and vegetables, squawking chickens, the smell of spices and meat lingering in the air. There are a lot of vehicles passing through town, as it looks like this is one of the main routes from Tanzania towards Kenya. I'm told that this is one of the launching points for treks up Kilimanjaro, but I haven't seen many tourists. I've ruled out the hike as being way out of my price range (at least $1200 for permits and guides, not including the burden of getting all the gear here). So I'm resolved to being more of a traveler and less of a tourist, but not either exclusively.
I just met a Peace Corps volunteer while eating breakfast at at cafe. I picked his brain about the Swahili language and places to see. He, Ethan from California/Oregon, later invited me to check out his village a few hours away. Since I don't have any plans, I think I'll take him up on it instead of paying $700 to safari the Serengeti. But that also cancels out the possibility of Kenya. Strangely, the prospect of no running water and sporadic electricity actually appeals to me. Then again, this is just Day 1.
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