Alex Kiprotich in Dar Es Salaam
As I waited for the lift to take me to the fifth floor of a guesthouse in Dar es Salaam, I was too excited to encounter Tanzanians known for their humility and honesty.
However, the first impression at the reception was a sense of insecurity. The TV remote was chained to the table probably to keep sticky fingers off. Still, I did not want to prejudge the situation. All sorts of people come to the guesthouse and not all could be trusted.
I decided it was time to have a feel of the city streets but had to start with sampling its food first.
At the restaurant, I check out the menu for something to eat but it reads like Greek. From ugali shamba, my eyes wandered to filigisi, frigisi and finally gave up at utumbo supu. I decided to ask for juice, which after a series of miscommunication I settled for pesheni mengo –– a mix of passion and mango juice.
I thought the waitress was done, but she stood there uttering incomprehensible things so I ignored because I thought she was speaking to another waiter. It is only after a few minutes I realised it was ‘pay before you are served policy’ and she wanted the money first.
After convincing her we could pay, we were served and gulped down quickly before walking back to the Dar es Salaam, with the sweltering heat.
The streets of Dar es Salaam are crowded – but have space compared to Nairobi’s. It is, however, hot and dusty, but we braved the hazy commotion to Kariokor, a crowded area of the city. Because of the sweltering heat, one of the women in our company was dressed to suit the weather and this did not amuse the Tanzanians.
Wherever we passed business came to a near standstill as they –– in their impeccable Kiswahili – cajoled and teased loudly. We soon learnt that public exposure however little of the flesh, is invasive and our colleague had to be sandwiched between two males as a safety precaution.
Apart from the rotten smell that is characteristic of the air in Dar es Salaam; the city is clean, orderly and largely sober. The municipal workers in orange vests and bare feet sweep the streets and cluster in small groups at roundabouts, picking up trash and maintaining the immaculate state of the streets.
The roads are full of personal vehicles and motorcycles but this cannot be compared to the endless streams of matatus in Nairobi.
Dar es Salaam has several nightclubs, casinos, bars and restaurants some of which have local bands performing. Most of these are East African Dance Bands playing bongo music and dancing to South African tunes.
Dar es Salaam is a hustling, bustling seaport on the coast of Tanzania accessing one of the most important sea routes on earth. To most travellers though, the city is just a convenient port of call on the way to the more exotic Zanzibar, Pemba or Mafia islands, Tanzania’s national parks, or as a business destination.
The basic question from a Tanzanian is if one is married or single and how many children they have. Rarely does the conversation get to what one does for a living.
