Bongoyo

There is nothing that a day at the beach won't fix. Blue, blue sky with a couple of puffy clouds floating lazily by, azure waters and little thatched huts are all it takes to remember that the world is really a beeeauuutifoooool place. I think the sun's gone to my head coz I'm feeling uncharacteristically mellow and content!

The Engineer and I decided to go to Bongoyo Island today. I know I should have asked but I didn't so I don't know what Bongoyo means, if anything.

Aside from the people that we arrived with on the boat from the mainland, the beach was quiet and secluded...



This portion of the beach had some coral on it hence the rocky look but the rest of the was all golden and sandy.

We had the freshest fish and prawns EVER! I swear - you can taste the salt from the sea (in a good way!). Its grilled and served with chips, onions and salt. Yumalicious!

Its a tiny beach on Bongoyo and just a couple of thatched huts here and there for people to shelter under. On weekdays the huts free but on weekends its TSH5,000 (apprx USD5) for as long as you want it.

I eventually fell into a slumber under one of the thatched huts, lulled by the ocean beach and the gentle waves lapping on the shoreline.

Most of the touristy, tan-crazy westerners baked themselves in the sun but I opted to give skin cancer a miss and stayed in the shade. I'd forgotten my sunscreen, lah!

The Engineer and I are definitely going back but this time we'll be armed with sunscreen...

Power cuts

The only problem with Dar Es Salaam - well, one of the main problems anyway - is the fact that there is no 24 hour electricity available anywhere. None!

You read right.

The first time I heard this sliver of information from The Engineer I was like "What!!?? Isn't this the 21st century?" I know it sounds bitchy but I was truly shocked that there were still cities (Dar is a city after all) that exists without what we take for granted.

Tanesco (Tanzania's power company) is the Devil Incarnate as far as I'm concerned. How are we supposed to live without electricity.

You can't do the laundry(not a big complaint actually but I'm trying to make a list here), can't watch TV (!!!), can't use the internet - and that's totally unacceptable.

But despite all this there is a silver lining. Tanesco cuts the power throughout the city from 7am to 7pm from what I know. Buildings with generators like office buildings don't notice the power cuts at all. Most apartment buildings have their own generators as well.

The only issue with apartments is that the gens are not switched on all the time. Like in my apartment building - Garden Apartments on Haile Selassie Road - the generator is thankfully on all day, every other day. On other days, its on about 5 hours during the day.

Not too bad considering some apartment buildings only turn on the gen about ONE hour a day EVERY single day! How very nail biting-ly frustrating!!!

Today's a good day. Its power day. On other days - looks like I'll just have to give the laundry a miss and go out. Come to think of it, power cuts may not be so bad after all!

Girls Day Out

I did go to the Kunduchi Beach Resort (about an hour out of Dar thanks to the darn traffic on Old Bagamoyo road) with my gal pals and we had a blast!

I introduced Girlfriend to Pina Coladas. She'd never tried one before coz she says she doesn't like the taste of coconut but after a taste of one Pina Colada beside a pool overlooking the Indian Ocean in hot, sunny Tanzania, I think she's hooked for life.

E, my other friend was the only one who got herself wet in the pool. Girlfriend was more into tanning herself and I did my typical sitting in the shade thing.

After lunch, we went for a walk beside the ocean. The sand has got to be softest I have ever felt in my life plus its blindingly white! So white sands next to a turqoise ocean is really beyond description. I am Totally Kicking myself for not taking my camera along with me even though I had promised to in my previous entry!

Around 4, we decided we'd better head back to town before we actually fell asleep after the lunch, pina colada and sun combination of the previous few hours. On the way home, we passed New Cinema (the only one in Dar) and decided to check out what was playing. Turned out that we were just in time for The Wild. Didn't expect it to be much but it was really kind of cute.

By the time we finished with the movie, it was already nearly 7 and dark (its July and winter time here. It begins to get dark around 6pm). Girlfriend wanted to go have coffee so we headed over to Hugo's grill which has a kinda country n western sorta of setup. The other two girls had Irish coffees but I decided to stick with bitter lemon since coffee can keep me awake sometimes

With all that excitement, I didn't even notice the time pass and it was around 10.30 by the time I got home. Wonderful day and it helped a lot coz I didn't feel so alone even though The Engineer wasn't around.

Plus we girls really bonded.E is from Turkey, Girlfriend is from South Africa and moi is from Malaysia of course. We realized that we all had the same awful fashion sense in the 80s. You know that spectacularly ugly Cyndi Lauper/Madonna getup (plastic earrings, tights, and big wide belts) going on. Horrible, horrible horrible!

No matter which part of the world you're from - girls will be girls!

Saturday in the Sun

Its the weekend tomorrow and The Engineer will be off on an island off the coast of Dar Es Salaam called Zanzibar. Its not for fun though - has to go fix some problem with the mobile network there. Its going to be real hard to turn his back on the white, sandy beaches and get any work done.

Meanwhile, me and two of my newfound girlfriends will be heading down to a beach ourselves but on the mainland. Its called the Kunduchi Beach Resort. Won't be staying overnight or anything but we're planning to hang out there. Both of them are minus their men too (one's husband is away on training and I don't know if the other has another half coz I haven't asked her yet).

Will try and get in some photos of of the place....

Tanganyika 2006

I've been in Tanganyika (or Tanzania as it is now known) since May25 2006. While the weather is about the same as it is from where I come from (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), the land is certainly different.

Not one of an adventure buff myself, I don't really understand the need some people seem to have with travel. Real life rarely mimics pretty pictures in postcards.

To be fair though, the country is beautiful with big green trees, bright blue sky and the purple Indian Ocean lapping peacefully at its shores.

I am currently here with my husband The Engineer, in Dar Es Salaam, the capitol of Tanzania. I've been spending the past couple of months trying to conquer an almost overwhelming feeling of homesickness.

My cat, Charley, is back home. So is my sister, mother, friends and everything else that I hold near and dear. But I suppose sometimes, you've got to get a little distance to really appreciate what you have.