'Go for it Skz!' my mind says to me.
I do travel a bit, but when i do, i don't get the 'stomach' to chronicle my trips. Pity indeed-for my mind says "Skz, you are letting yourself down quite some'
But you know when the lid is blown off, when you are feeling liberated enough, liberated from your paranoia, your fear, you blow the lid off!
Wanted to do an East-Africa, and from this, i wanted to observe, from a critical perspective, what makes East Africa tick.
Nairobi: The beautiful hotels in Nairobi. The witty yet terrifyingly carnal shop maid on Thika road, hands over the tube of Colgate with a knowing smile, a shameless look that says it all. The beautiful hotel called Safari park, old, full of character, (there used to be animals milling with the people back then, when it was built) with a buffet so full of high protein it would make Dr. Atkins proud.
The night life, bustling, liberated, incredible. The people, full of vim! The city, a huge construction site, it screams DEVELOPING, and the new constitution weeding out corrupt ministers, making life for every one better, together we move forward, and the entire city nods in tandem.
Dar-es-salaam: sweltering HOT, the city.
The people, extremely polite. (We no speaka English) but it's ok, because they say mambo with so much meaning, it's not just perfunctory.
The beaches! Bars are to Kampala as beaches are to dar. Everyone takes out their briefest swimsuit and bolts to the salty water of the Indian Ocean. They run, fleeing from the dizzying heat of the city. finding relief in the gentle waters.
Boats and ships waiting to dock off the coast. (Most beautiful view off 'coco beach' where i fondly remember drinking so much 'konyagi' an equivalent to Uganda waragi.)
The live bands, the congolese invasion leaves a foot print in dar with their jiggy sounds. (I swear if i had a gun....)
Trip to Zanzibar: A look at the ferry. Oh my LORD, Can someone say First class?? These folks know how to run a tight, neat operation here. Clean, freakishly on time.
The most terrifyingly beautiful view as you head to the Zanzibar island. (God, do you hear me GOD? thank you for beauty)
The old, charismatic, island of Zanzibar! Stone town: the narrow streets, charmingly narrow streets (Alice in wonderland, following the yellow brick road)
The food market is amazing.
Merlin, kingfish, SHARK, octopus, shrimp, barracuda e.t.c. One enjoys the enthusiasm of the fish vendor as he displays his smoked delicacies. It's rural, it's simple, it's caught in time, safely tucked away from the bustle of civilization. it's picturesque, it's simply divine!
Mercury Bar (if they'd allowed, i would have chalked on one of their walls 'SKZ was here' I mean Freddie Mercury anyone?? The guy with the amazing voice from the quirky yet avant-garde rock group Queen from way back when?
The clubs: Interesting! This guy was told 'please, stack all your speakers together, all fifteen of them, on either side, making them thirty, and was he right or what?! I couldn't hear a thing the day after, because the music was so loud!
Off to the North: On either side of this medieval road are fruit trees. The entire island is full of fruit trees. Palms, jack fruit, mango, guava.
It's a quiet island road, and as island roads leading out of the town go, you won't feel like you are heading 'out of town' i mean, no huge expanses of dried out grass, nothing like that, only fruit trees on either side of the road, and quaint little houses with moslem women in their burkas off to the well.
The North of the island: Oh Lord! Beauty at her most show-offish
The beach called Kendwa - such a beauty to behold! Terrifyingly white beach, the whiteness of which will blind you, will make you want to run for it. The heat and the breeze. The shimmer. Let's take a dip in the cool waters of the coast, shall we?
Had so much fun in the water, almost threw my back out, had to cut my evening short.
Back to Uganda. The pot-holes are such a burner-downer, but the weather, the weather, the state of kampala! i have hope...
It's a fixer-upper!
Aye Africa!
