The Engineer and I are going home tomorrow! Woo hoo! KL here we come.
I'd be a lot happier if we could avoid the packing bit of the trip though. This time, I have to pack my own bag AND The Engineer's bag. Sigh!
He has to give a presentation at the office tomorrow morning before going to the airport and has to do some last minute work tonight - no time to do any packing.
He's sitting in the dining room now frowning and staring at his computer screen wearing an oversize pair of headphones. I can hear the music blasting through the phones from where I'm sitting - must be really stressed!
Actually I shouldn't be here blogging when I haven't even finished packing. I'm SO going to pay a fundi to pack for me next time....
Oh no! I sound like one of those awful Diva Expatriate Wives. I'd better get a grip, stop whining and start packing!
Monday, June 25, 2007
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Zamani Zanzibar Kempinski
Last weekend, The Engineer and I were sitting at this bar......
......drinking Capirinhias and Mojitos. Bliss!
The atrociously expensive but wonderfully luxurious Zamani Zanzibar Kempinski cut their prices almost in half every May and June. We decided to make the most of it and book ourselves in for one night.
It was totally worth it! The bathrooms are so beautiful that you could be locked in there all day and still feel that you had a wonderful holiday
They even had an outdoor shower but being the forgetful photographer that I am, I didn't take a picture of it!
What I did manage to capture was the sign for the ladies' room at the beach bar. Apparently, despite the eye-brow-raising prices at the hotel, the luxury of correct spelling is not included:
Funny!
We went to a weekend beach party organised by the hotel that night and there was only one word for it - lame! The DJ (who is supposedly some kind of award winner) was spinning some weird music we've never heard of and I believe the people who were bopping to the beat were either drunk or high or both. Everyone else stood around waiting for something exciting to happen but nothing did.
Frankly, I'd rather have spent the night in the bathroom of our hotel room - it would have been far more pleasant!
We're definitely going back there but at an average of USD250 per room per night, looks like we'll be waiting till next June.
Although the service was excellence itself, I had to be true to myself and hold them to Diva standards. Two things we didn't like (which I later noted in their comment card in true Diva fashion):
1. We ordered a plate of calamari at their beach bar. Seven sad looking rings of calamari arrived on the plate and it cost us TSH10,000. Call me calculative but I think having to pay more than TSH1000 per calamari ring is plain wrong!
2. The turn-down service people arrived at our door at 10 0'clock at night. I think that that's a ridiculously late hour to knock on a hotel room door unless you've been expressly invited. After all, the guests could be asleep or busy dancing the 'horizontal tango' (wink, wink) in which case the turn down service would double as a turn off service!
Still, I agree with Pinkie (who also stayed there a while back) when it comes to rating the overall experience. She pointed out the one real drawback when you stay at the Kempinski - it makes any other hotel in Zanzibar (or in Dar for that matter) feel like a dump!
......drinking Capirinhias and Mojitos. Bliss!
The atrociously expensive but wonderfully luxurious Zamani Zanzibar Kempinski cut their prices almost in half every May and June. We decided to make the most of it and book ourselves in for one night.
It was totally worth it! The bathrooms are so beautiful that you could be locked in there all day and still feel that you had a wonderful holiday
They even had an outdoor shower but being the forgetful photographer that I am, I didn't take a picture of it!
What I did manage to capture was the sign for the ladies' room at the beach bar. Apparently, despite the eye-brow-raising prices at the hotel, the luxury of correct spelling is not included:
Funny!
We went to a weekend beach party organised by the hotel that night and there was only one word for it - lame! The DJ (who is supposedly some kind of award winner) was spinning some weird music we've never heard of and I believe the people who were bopping to the beat were either drunk or high or both. Everyone else stood around waiting for something exciting to happen but nothing did.
Frankly, I'd rather have spent the night in the bathroom of our hotel room - it would have been far more pleasant!
We're definitely going back there but at an average of USD250 per room per night, looks like we'll be waiting till next June.
Although the service was excellence itself, I had to be true to myself and hold them to Diva standards. Two things we didn't like (which I later noted in their comment card in true Diva fashion):
1. We ordered a plate of calamari at their beach bar. Seven sad looking rings of calamari arrived on the plate and it cost us TSH10,000. Call me calculative but I think having to pay more than TSH1000 per calamari ring is plain wrong!
2. The turn-down service people arrived at our door at 10 0'clock at night. I think that that's a ridiculously late hour to knock on a hotel room door unless you've been expressly invited. After all, the guests could be asleep or busy dancing the 'horizontal tango' (wink, wink) in which case the turn down service would double as a turn off service!
Still, I agree with Pinkie (who also stayed there a while back) when it comes to rating the overall experience. She pointed out the one real drawback when you stay at the Kempinski - it makes any other hotel in Zanzibar (or in Dar for that matter) feel like a dump!
Monday, June 18, 2007
Designers in Dar
Chances are good that when you think Dar Es Salaam, high fashion and designer labels won't come to mind.
Here's photographic proof of Dar's version of a designer 'boutiq'
Who says designers and Dar don't go together? Ralph Lauren would be so proud!
Here's photographic proof of Dar's version of a designer 'boutiq'
Who says designers and Dar don't go together? Ralph Lauren would be so proud!
Monday, June 11, 2007
Daylight Robbers Store
I just got back from our local grocery store, Shrijee's and I've decided that they should rename the place the Daylight Robbers Store. They sell dried chinese mushrooms at TSH5,000 (RM 13.70). I felt terrible when I purchased it but I had no choice because I couldn't find it anywhere else.
Another grotesquely overpriced supermarket is the Seacliff Village which should be renamed Cuthroat-Prices-R-Us Ltd.
How does one purchase coffee for close to US15 (about RM40) without gagging? Granted it's Alta Rica and apparently it's really, really good coffee but hellooowwww - unless it has real gold flakes in it, I can't imagine spending that much money on coffee.
If you think that's bad, don't get me started on the foreign magazines. Oprah sells for around TSH 30,000 (that's close to RM 90). I love Oprah but even I have to admit that her magazine isn't worth that much money!
Unfortunately, Cuthroat and Daylight Robbers are well aware that customers (namely the expat crowd) will eventually give in to their craving for coffee, dark chocolate or some other hard-to-come-by item that cannot be found within the borders of Tanzania and end up forking out ridiculous amounts of cash.
If I were to be fair, I'll admit that it must be expensive to import the stuff into the country in the first place - but I don't want to be fair! All I know is, thanks to the prices of groceries around here, I find myself wanting to lick the bottom of the coffee cup every morning just so that nothing goes to waste.
Disgustingly unladylike behaviour, true but that's what overly expensive ordinary items can do to an otherwise well-behaved diva!
Friday, June 08, 2007
I hate goodbyes!
How does one ever get over it when a friend leaves you behind and moves to another country?
To be fair, Girlfriend technically didn't 'move' to another country. She just went back to where she's from (i.e South Africa) but it still feels like I've been left behind. *Sob*
I hate goodbyes of any sort but long goodbyes are the worst and this is the longest goodbye I have ever had to endure - 2 whole weeks of counting down to the last day. We saw each other every, single day for two weeks, holidayed in Zanzibar for two days and both Girlfriend and Boss stayed over with The Engineer and me for the last few days since their own apartment was all packed up. So it was a sudden jolt of not having her around when she finally left.
The worst part of all was the ride to the airport and the few minutes at the depature gate. I promised myself that I wouldn't cry in front of Girlfriend and make her feel worse but it was really, really hard not to especially when we hugged goodbye.
The moment they went through the departure gates, I couldn't hold on any longer. Cried all the way home (people were staring and I didn't care but I think they assumed that the Engineer had done something to me!), cried at home and cried the next day too . The poor Engineer didn't know what to do with me and he was really, really sad too. We both miss Girlfriend and Boss so much.
I'm especially miserable because, unlike Trixie and all my other friends back in Malaysia, I know I can't see Girlfriend everytime I go home.
Some of the other ladies who have been through this before told me that this is the very unfortunate downside of living as an expatriate. I asked one of them how long it takes to get over it after a friend leaves. Her answer was just one word - never! Pretty sombre information and not really what I wanted to hear but it's the truth.
I know there'll never be another Girlfriend. I'm going to have to be brave so I've been distracting myself by writing more and trying to keep busy. Anyway, if all else fails I can always return to my tried and tested method. A Girlie Movie Marathon and all the chocolate I can consume...just wish Girlfriend was here to share it with me!
To be fair, Girlfriend technically didn't 'move' to another country. She just went back to where she's from (i.e South Africa) but it still feels like I've been left behind. *Sob*
I hate goodbyes of any sort but long goodbyes are the worst and this is the longest goodbye I have ever had to endure - 2 whole weeks of counting down to the last day. We saw each other every, single day for two weeks, holidayed in Zanzibar for two days and both Girlfriend and Boss stayed over with The Engineer and me for the last few days since their own apartment was all packed up. So it was a sudden jolt of not having her around when she finally left.
The worst part of all was the ride to the airport and the few minutes at the depature gate. I promised myself that I wouldn't cry in front of Girlfriend and make her feel worse but it was really, really hard not to especially when we hugged goodbye.
The moment they went through the departure gates, I couldn't hold on any longer. Cried all the way home (people were staring and I didn't care but I think they assumed that the Engineer had done something to me!), cried at home and cried the next day too . The poor Engineer didn't know what to do with me and he was really, really sad too. We both miss Girlfriend and Boss so much.
I'm especially miserable because, unlike Trixie and all my other friends back in Malaysia, I know I can't see Girlfriend everytime I go home.
Some of the other ladies who have been through this before told me that this is the very unfortunate downside of living as an expatriate. I asked one of them how long it takes to get over it after a friend leaves. Her answer was just one word - never! Pretty sombre information and not really what I wanted to hear but it's the truth.
I know there'll never be another Girlfriend. I'm going to have to be brave so I've been distracting myself by writing more and trying to keep busy. Anyway, if all else fails I can always return to my tried and tested method. A Girlie Movie Marathon and all the chocolate I can consume...just wish Girlfriend was here to share it with me!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)