COS Trip: Dar es Salaam Errands

Today I went in search of a bus ticket out of Dar. I wasn’t sure where I really wanted to go and thought maybe I’d take the less traveled route around the west side of Lake Victoria. I figured this would save me a long journey (including travel visa through Kenya) to get to Kampala. I also figured a safari in the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater would be nice but way too expensive, as would visiting Mt. Kilimanjaro. So I headed into town by foot. There was a taxi driver at the YMCA who was a travel expert and pointed me in the right direction…off my map of the city center. I wandered my way though the busy streets of Dar’s city center and off my map in search of the Sumry Bus Ticket office. I passed an amazing section where there were fabric shops. Tons and tons of fabric! I managed to make my way to the office right as it started to sprinkle a little. I found the price of the ticket and headed back out to find an ATM. Credit cards are not used in Eastern Africa and ATMs are the best way to get money if you don’t have cash to change at a bureau de change. I found one and headed back to the Sumry office. I got the last ticket on the bust to Mwanza. It would leave at 6:30 in the morning. On my way back to the Y, I stopped to buy some fabric, found a grocery store to get some bread and snacks for the long bus trip in the morning and checked prices for sending my things home via Fed Ex, UPS, DHL, and Post Office. I ended up not sending my things home. I wish I didn’t have to keep track of it, but decided it wasn’t worth sending. The post office was decent price, but would take 12 months and may or may not arrive in the states. So, with extra box in tow now, I got my bags together for the early morning wake up and headed out for dinner. I met a couple from Finland who would also be traveling in the morning, so we booked a taxi together to the bus at 5:30am. They joined me for dinner slightly after I had ordered already, so I ate while they were deciding on their choice. It was the same restaurant I ate at the other night on the rooftop and I enjoyed my dinner again. It was more than twice what I could eat and spicier than anything I’ve eaten in a long, long time but really good (besides the chili I added to my spice tour lunch). Time to head to bed early.