For some reason, I have always been fascinated with Dar Es Salaam – I can’t even recall how far back the fascination reaches! I’m not 100% clear on how it all began, but I do know that what has always stuck in my mind about the city is that the name, Dar Es Salaam, or simply, Dar, as many Africans call it, can be roughly translated into “The Residence of Peace.”

After two exhausting and tough days, I was really, REALLY hoping that Dar would pull through for me and break my streak.

I had an entire day to figure it out before heading to Zanzibar… so here we go!

I was staying at the Safari Inn in Dar, which has cheap, private rooms, but… well… they’re cheap private rooms. They’re pretty rundown and grungy, but the saving grace for the hotel is the manager. He’s amazing! I had checked in the night before and he was pretty pleasant about my rundown appearance, and when I came down in the morning for free breakfast and directions for the day, he couldn’t have been sweeter. I told him what I wanted to do, asked if it was safe for walking and what order to do the things in, and he whipped out a paper map, highlighted everything and drew me a route. Annnnnnnnnnnd he gave it to me for free. Who says nothing is free in Africa?!

The hotel breakfast was toast and tea, but you could order supplemental eggs for 2,000 shillings, which is under a dollar. I totally did that and it was perfect. Once fortified, I strapped on my backpack and headed out the door for stop 1…

The ATM

Now, ATM usage in Africa is kind of funny. There are *lots* of different ATMS, but people are *very* picky about which ones to use. Some don’t produce enough cash, some eat cards, and some are “safe” – so my guide had shown me on the map where a Barclays existed, so I wouldn’t befall one of the aforementioned tragedies. Perfect. As I was walking, I picked up an escort. Deep, internal sigh of frustration. I even had my headphones on, but it didn’t deter this guy! Luckily the Barclays was only 3 blocks away, so I pointed to it and said, “I’m going there!” and hustled off to get my cash. Obtaining the shillings was seamless, and then I exited Barclays only to find the escort hanging out and waiting for me. UGH. With another deep sigh but a smile on my face, I prepared to continue on to stop 2…

The Dar Es Salaam Ferry Terminal

My escort buddy chattered at me the ENTIRE way to the ferry terminal, which, by the way, was a straight shot down the street from the ATM so I didn’t need him to “show me the way” as he so adamantly protested. I smiled and nodded by my patience was growing thinner. When I arrived at the terminal, I walked in and was blasted with AIRCON! After a few moments of silent revelry, I approached the counter. I had reserved a ticket the night before via their website, but you have to come in person to pay… even though you can pay by credit card! No, I’m not really sure why… Regardless, it was actually a painless process! The girl working the counter quickly found my reservation, ran my credit card, and handed my printed ticket. I’d say the whole process took about 5 minutes. Then I was headed out again, this time of course expecting my buddy to be waiting to walk with me to stop 3 for the day. However, I was prepared this time.

Tanzanian National Museum

When I exited the ferry terminal, I was already determined to shake my tail. When he walked over to me, I stuck out my hand and looked him straight in the eye and said, “Thanks so much for walking with me but I know where I’m going now!” He looked at me, nodded, and said he’d see me around.

YES!

I happily popped my headphones back in, double checked my map, and headed towards the National Museum.

Surprisingly I had zero trouble finding the Museum, and I headed inside the big iron gates. When you walk through “security” you have to sign a daily guestbook, and then you continue in to registration to pay your entry fee of 7,000 shillings. This was a bit of a process since the guy at the counter didn’t seem to want to help me, but I just stared at him until he came over. #canttakethejerseyouttathegirl

Ticket obtained, I followed the arrows through the museum.

The first section was a temporary exhibit by a professional photographer on the maltreatment of Albinos in Tanzanian culture. I felt strange taking photos of her work, but the purpose behind her exhibit was to raise awareness and hopefully work to stop the maltreatment of this minority group. In some cases, Albinos are ostracized from their families, which can be extremely dangerous as some traditional medicine workers vie for their body parts for their “magical properties.”

After the temporary exhibit, I walked upstairs, to find one of the most interesting things about the museum. Apparently it’s SO POPULAR that they don’t even bother to turn the lights on. So I was walking around the museum by myself, in the dark. Definitely not an experience I can say I’ve ever had before, but there you go!

I perused the Tanzanian historical section for a while, which included all kinds of photographs from the colonial period, as well as some amazing artifacts like this carved door from Ufipa. The Waipa were apparently able to cut down and carve huge, solid trees because of their access to advanced iron smelting technology. Flippin’ awesome.

The other side of the upper level of the museum was completely dedicated to The Cradle of Humanity, which I had never heard of before, but became enthralled by. (It’s a world heritage site outside of Jo’Berg that held the oldest known human remains that have been found to date!)

After a full run-down on human history in Africa, the museum moves into actual artifacts found throughout the country. The items available to view were simply awe-inspiring. It’s hard to imagine how they’re sitting in this dusty, dark museum, with almost no one visiting or seeing them, but there they are.

 

The last item in the human history section, though, is the one that really blew me away… It was a close-to-complete ancestry tree, complete with human skulls, and it was just sitting out in the open. No security, no glass box, no alarms… nothing. It was completely spell-binding.

After I finished viewing the history of human evolution, the museum took me outside for a final exhibits, the first of which was a 100+ year old sacred fig tree. I snapped a photo of its description, since I think it does a better job of giving the details than I ever would…

Finally, the last exhibit for me at the National Museum was the memorial to the 1998 terror attacks on the American Embassies in Dar Es Salaam and Kenya. The Tanzanian museum relocated all of the destroyed vehicles and debris from outside of the Embassy to the National Museum, and turned a small outside area into a memorial for the lives tragically lost.

After a rather somber ending, I sat near the fig tree for a few moments to gather my thoughts and also decide what to do with the rest of my day. It took about fifteen minutes, but then I set out on my next adventure, armed with my own route through my city map…

Chapan Bhog

My final stop for the day, in true DokiDara form, was for food. Because I realized it was 4pm and I hadn’t eaten since breakfast around 9 and I was STARVING.

I had found a highly recommended Indian Restaurant via tripadvisor while sitting outside the fig tree, so my goal was to get there.

I won’t bore you with the details since this post is already hefty, but I DID get lost. I DID almost shriek with frustration and thirst. But I also DID collect myself, reorient myself with my map, and manage to direct myself to sustenance. EVEN THOUGH the restaurant had changed its name from what it said on tripadvisor (Thanks, random police-lady who asked why I was staring at the restaurant and if I needed help!).

Elated to have arrived at my destination, I headed inside, sat down, and immediatedly ordered water. I was dismayed, however, when I saw that the paneer tikka masala was ONLY served after 6:30pm.

*deep sigh*

Rallying, I decided to order some Samosa Chat and the ONLY curry they had for lunchtime. Yes, I was aware I was ordering 2 meals and NO I was not ashamed. I was HUNGRY!

The waitress didn’t even bat an eye when I ordered, and almost immediately my samosa dish came out.

Exactly. What. I. Needed.

I dug in ravenously, and my curry arrived soon as well, so I alternated between deliciousnesses until I’d finished everything except the toasted bread with butter that had come with the curry. It confused me and I don’t really eat much bread, so I just ignored it.

The waitress popped over to clear my plates, dropped off the bill, and seemed pleased that I hadn’t left a mountain of food to throw away. I happily paid her, and then as I finished my second water, I realized that I was only a few blocks from my hotel!

The End of the Day

Confidently at this point, I popped in my headphones and strode out of the restaurant, finding my way back to the hotel in mere minutes. I walked happily inside, booked a cab for the morning to the ferry terminal, headed to my room, took a nice cool shower and just relaxed for the last few hours of the evening.

I think it’s safe to say that the cruddy streak was broken by Dar Es Salaam.