Tales From Tanganyika

AWOL

2008-09-04T09:50:00.004+03:00

I just checked and discovered that my last entry was on the 11th of last month! I've been AWOL for nearly a month now!

I actually have some good reasons (at least I think so!):

1. My sister in law, with whom I get on famously, came to town. We seemed to spend the entire time talking and doing not much else. During one marathon session which lasted from 7pm to 4 am, I lost my voice and ended up croaking for two days!
2. After she left, I suddenly came down with one of these inexplicable, unexplainable African bugs that seem to float around and attack when you're not looking

I'm currently still in the recovery phase although I'm well enough to make short excursions to Seacliff and Slipway. I spend most of my time at home attempting to keep my food down and endeavoring to ignore a mild but persistent headache.

The good news is, I've had a lot of time on my hands. I wish I could say that I spent it reading the significant works of Hemingway and Steinbeck but I can't say that. Instead I am forced to admit that I spent the time watching the insignificant works of Grant (as in Hugh) and Swayze (as in Patrick).

While doing that, I arrived at a couple of 'life-altering' conclusions:

1. 'Ghost' still provides great entertainment even though the people who did the special effects must feel defeated when they watch the movie now and realize that bad cartoons have better effects these days.
2. Hugh Grant looks like a total idiot in 'Sense and Sensibility' with that scarf-thing around his neck.

I suppose the movie people were forced to have him wear it since all men presumably dressed that way in that era.

I thought I'd feel guilty about spending almost two whole days watching anything and everything on TV but surprisingly, I don't! I just hope I don't get totally hooked and turn into a gigantic couch potato!

Tanzania's Finest?

2008-08-11T12:00:00.001+03:00

I was stopped by a policeman at the corner of Haile Sellasie Road last week.

I was hot and bothered because the air-conditioning in my car is behaving badly and refuses to drop below a certain temperature. Heat always puts me in an bad mood and I was dying to get home and cool off when I spied a policeman standing right in the centre of the road, waving at me to pull over.

I don't really want to admit it but I seriously considered slamming my foot down on the accelerator so he'd get scared and jump out of my way. In Dar, there's no real fear of being hunted down on a high speed chase because policemen rarely have vehicles at their disposal. They all get dropped off at their various corners during the day and presumably picked up at the end of the day.

(Some of them have a horrifying habit of just opening the passenger door and jumping into your car when you slow down at a corner. Then they'll make you drop them off at the police station - this is especially true when it rains as the poor Engineer can testify!)

Anyway, at the last moment, I decided to do the sensible thing and stop. The guy greeted me and then proceeded to rattle off in Swahili but of course I didn't understand a word he was saying. When he discovered this, he began a long lecture on why I should know the national language of Tanzania since I've been here for quite a while (he made it a point to ask how long I've been here the moment he established that I'm Malaysian) .

At this point, I was really beginning to regret not having run him over earlier but it was too late.

He eventually got to the point and asked for my license. When he couldn't find anything wrong with that, he asked if I had a reflector and fire extinguisher in my car (these are a must for every vehicle according to local law). I felt a mild wave of panic because I couldn't remember if I had them in the boot. So I did the only thing women do when they're caught in a situation like this - I pretended to have a 'blonde' moment.

Instead of opening the boot, I opened the door of the fuel tank and then the bonnet and then I told him I didn't know how to get the boot open. The policeman, who had been patiently waiting, decided that I really was a bimbo and went round to the back of the car to try and pry open the boot himself. Fortunately, he failed ( the Engineer later informed me that all the necessary items were in the boot so I pulled the blonde act for nothing!).

The policeman finally managed to catch me out when he asked for the vehicle registration card. Of course I didn't have it because I drive a rented car and told him so (only the owner has the registration card). Nevertheless, claimed my annoying policeman in a authoritative tone, I should have it in the car at all times. He went on to inform me that it would cost TSH20,000 for this 'offence' but he would benevolently forgo this if I offered him another amount.

I had reached the end of my patience long ago and was in no mood to play ball with the guy so I pulled out TSH5,000 and gave it to him just to shut him up.

The guy took it, said thank you and - this is the best part - asked me to take down his private phone number. Apparently he wanted to teach me Swahili! Thinking that it would be easiest if I just did what he said, I keyed his number into my phone (under Corrupt Policeman).

I thought he'd finally let me go but no...he had one last trick up his sleeve. He wanted me to give him my phone number as well! I was ready to slap him so I gave him my best "don't mess with me" look . It didn't work because then he asked, "do you have a husband?".

This was the final straw so I replied "yes and I can give you his number if you like. Maybe you can call him instead". He mumbled an apology but I was already rolling up my screen and shifting gear. This time, I really would have driven over his foot if he hadn't jumped out of the way.

Can you imagine the cheek of this Corrupt Policeman? First he asks me for money when I had done nothing wrong and then he asks me for my number. I suppose he was planning to take me out to lunch with the TSH5,000 I had given him. What an idiot!!!!

The Dar Three

2008-08-04T10:00:00.001+03:00

I grew up in Malaysia and back then ( I sound like a grandma!) people were far more reticent about showing affection in public.

Translation: you shook hands when you met your friends or you just waved and said hi....nobody and I mean nobody ever did the kiss on the cheek thing.

That was something we watched in the movies or witnessed with glee as Malaysian students returning on holiday from the US, UK or Australia tried in vain to incorporate into local society. They usually ended up making a fool of themselves because the recipient would do either or all of these:

1. Totally freeze and look horrifically uncomfortable as they barely tolerated the kiss
2. Pull away as the kiss-er tried to approach with pursed lips
3. Inadvertently poke the kisser in the stomach as they would have extended their hand for a shake at the same moment the kiss-er leaned forward
4. Rudely and angrily ask "what are you doing?" much to the embarrassment of the unfortunate kiss-er

Things have changed now and almost everyone does the kiss-on-the-cheek when they meet. In fact, it is now bordering on the ridiculous since people who barely know each other are cheek- kissing on the street!

I was initially not very happy about this type of greeting (response no.1 was my usual reaction) especially if some drunken male acquaintance I hardly knew decided to slobber all over my cheek. Yuck!

Initial reluctance aside, these days it's become 2nd nature for me to plant kisses upon various cheeks (in case you're wondering, I do practice some level of quality control... ... for instance, I don't kiss the plumber when he turns up to fix a leaky tap although I know him quite well, thanks to the stupid tap!)

While I may be relaxed about this sort of greeting these days, I still take issue with one thing...the number of kisses you're supposed to plant on someone's cheek.

Back home in KL, one kiss on just one cheek or one on each cheek seems to be the norm. I've casually observed that younger people tend to kiss on both cheeks while the more mature portion of the population go in for only one (incidentally, many Muslim people do not do the cheek kiss greeting - lucky things!)

I'm one of those who thinks one kiss on each cheek (i.e two total) is already too many. I was NOT prepared for what I have to deal with here in Dar.

Over here, it's not one, not two but THREE kisses. One on each cheek and then you go back to the first cheek for the third kiss. I mean, I know the pace of life here is rather pole-pole but who the heck has time to go kissing everyone 3 times!

The Dar 3 seems especially popular among the local Mohindi (Indian) crowd. I wonder if some smarty pants is going to try and add another kiss and make it the Dar 4. Maybe if I stay here till 2010, it'll be the Dar 23.

I sincerely hope not!

The Web

2008-07-28T08:56:00.003+03:00

I'm afraid of many things and among these are dirty public toilets, camping and appearing at a dinner party in the same dress as someone else. In the natural world, I have to say snakes in particular and reptiles in general give me the creeps. Strangely enough, spiders have never really been the stuff of my nightmares - until now that is!

Even people who keep spiders as pets would find the following photo, if not disturbing, at least a little creepy:

Doesn't it look like something straight out of Stephen King's imagination? Here is the picture again in horror movie mode:

I actually felt a chill run down my spine when I saw them. I'm not even scared of spiders ( I actually used to play with them as a kid!) but the sight of so many large ones crawling about was a little too much for me!

I heard about this giant web from a newfound friend, L, whom I met at a birthday lunch a few weeks ago. She'd spied it while jogging through a residential area and her enthusiastic description of it ("its the BIGGEST spider web I've EVER SEEN and there were at least TWENTY SPIDERS there) propelled me to go and check it out.

After getting over my initial shock, I decided that I would take some pictures. I felt that it was the only way anyone would believe me when I told them about The Web ( I have to admit that I initially thought L was exaggerating!)

I got out of the car and stood as close as I dared (which was still a good distance away!) A few local people happened to walk past and saw me fiddling about with my camera, aiming at the spiders and they all looked at me like I was nuts. Maybe they're used to 1 meter-wide spider webs complete with 20 large spiders attached and were wondering what all the fuss was about!

In the end, my nerves got the best of me and I couldn't get close enough to get a good shot with my tiny camera. I related the whole thing to The Engineer who was immediately gripped by an urge to go and have a look for himself.

He bravely got a lot closer than I did and the photos are the result of his courage. I think this particular picture he took is exceptionally good:

It looks like the thing has managed to defy gravity and is hanging, mid-air. Eeeewww!!!! Despite the horror captured in the photos, I think it was a lot worse looking at the spiders live because they would all suddenly start crawling around on the web! Ghastly!

I would have imagined that an amazingly horrible web of this size would be hanging sinisterly in the recesses of some dark Amazonian jungle and not in the middle of a residential area in the biggest city in Tanzania.

This sort of thing always reminds that, in the end, we shouldn't be surprised because TIA - This Is Africa!

Zanzibar Secrets

2008-07-24T16:19:00.003+03:00

To me, one of the most dangerous places in Dar is not the area in town called Kariakoo (where pickpockets apparently wait to pounce on the unsuspecting) or the deep waters around the little islands off the coast (where sharks apparently wait to do the same).
No...one of the most dangerous places in Dar sits innocently enough along Haile Selassie road and looks really innocuous.

Zanzibar Secrets is a little place which sells beautiful things at not-so-low prices. In fact, if you enter, without thinking, you're likely going to leave at least USD50 poorer.

This is a bad thing for innocent foreigners (mainly expat wives) who might find themselves driving past quite frequently. It's especially bad because women here are starved of any good boutiques and the allure of Zanzibar Secrets on an idle afternoon is particularly difficult to resist.

You'll be lured by the pretty, picturesque window dressing and the gorgeously tall, proud Zanzibar doors.

Once inside, there's no turning back....

There are lovely Zanzibarian tops, loose-fitting but stylish pants, beaded necklaces and bags and intricately-made lamps, all priced above what you would pay if you weren't dying for a good place to shop! The worst part is, all these lovely items seem to know your name and have no qualms calling it repeatedly until you find yourself delving into your purse to pay for them!

I've fallen prey, many a time and have now learned to keep my eyes on the road (where they should be in the first place!) when I drive past.

Despite this resolve, I've succumbed (most recently, about a week ago) and found myself coming out of the place in a daze holding somethingI never intended to buy in the first place.

Evidently, one of the secrets referred to in Zanzibar Secrets is getting their customers into a trance-like during which said customers make purchases that they never planned to in the first place!

Ras Kutani

2008-07-16T13:42:00.010+03:00

Oooh! I had the best weekend ever!

Last Friday afternoon, The Engineer and I decided to go for a weekend getaway at Ras Kutani at South Beach. We'd heard wonderful things about it but our previous attempts at going were thwarted for one reason or another. So, this time, when the opportunity arose to spend a night, we decided to go for it.

This trip was possibly the most unplanned, last minute thing I have ever done in my life! I'm one of those boring people who have to have 5 contingency plans and a list of things to take on the trip even before I know the exact date of departure.

So, deciding on a Friday afternoon to go somewhere on Saturday morning is definitely a craaaazzzzzy thing for me to do. I felt so proud of myself for 'hanging loose' and being all laid-back but this feeling lasted all of two hours - between 2pm (when we made the decision) and 4pm (when I realized I hadn't packed yet). My momentary pride of being 'cool' went out the window as I reverted to my old anal-retentive self again.

Even though it was an overnight trip, a girl's got to have her essentials:

1. Moisturizer, toner, cleanser and other toiletries
2. A good stack of undies (you can never pack too many of those)
3.Makeup kit i.e perfume, base, liner, lipsticks (in about 5 shades. One never knows when one will be in the mood to go Purple Passion or Raspberry Pink)
4. Medicine kit i.e panadol, plasters, pills for going to the loo, pills to prevent you going to the loo etc
5. Swimsuit and related paraphernalia such as large, floppy hat, sarongs, flip-flops and the beach bag to carry it all in style
6. Sunscreen, mosquito repellent
7. Books to read
8. Clothes ( a couple of evening dresses just in case you get invited to a party - hey you never know!)
9. Earrings, bracelets and other accessories (to match said evening dresses)

I was running up and down getting all this stuff together when The Engineer sauntered in at 5:30pm. He took one look at his empty bag, randomly grabbed some shorts, t-shirts and underwear, threw them into the bag and was done packing. Grrrrr....sometimes men are so infuriating even when they don't mean to be!

Anyway, it was all worth it because Ras Kutani is every bit as beautiful as everyone says it is.

I'll let the pictures do the talking:

We'd been lucky enough to get one of only four suites and it had a little private swimming pool:

We sat around and lazed all day, had food served to us and just read and read and read. I actually finished Khaled Hosseini's A Thousand Splendid Suns and almost finished reading Anita Desai's Fasting, Feasting in just 2 days!

If only we could live at Ras Kutani for 5 days a week and come to Dar to work on Saturday and Sunday.....

Where's your Fairy Godmother when you need her? I'll even make do with this evil one!

fairy godmother image from virginmedia.com

Green tea and spinach juice

2008-07-10T10:33:00.004+03:00

Today is my writing day.

This is the day that I sit down and write in a disciplined manner i.e I'm at the computer for hours at a time.... no phone calls, no tv, no nothing. I know it sounds dangerously like some kind of prison sentence but believe it or not, I find uninterrupted writing time quite therapeutic.

In fact, I often get so involved that I don't think about lunch This happened to me today but instead of stuffing myself with cream-filled pastries and chocolates, I've decided to go for the saintly route:

That green thing in a glass is a spinach drink (I saw Dr. Oz and Oprah drink it and found the recipe on the web). The other two are water and a mug of green tea. I caught sight of all 3 sitting on my living room table and could hardly believe my healthy, healthy lunch break. How goody-goody am I?!

It doesn't last long, unfortunately. I'm going to go into starvation mode in a while and I'll grab the first high-calorie, low-nutrition thing I see. There's a packet of chocolate biscuits at the back of the shelf with my name on it!

I suppose it's easy to be goody-goody when you know you can be bad again soon!

The ATM Hop

2008-07-02T13:28:00.001+03:00

I was patiently (okay, I'm lying - impatiently!) waiting in the queue at Seacliff to withdraw some much-needed cash from the ATM yesterday. For some reason, the person at the booth was taking an age and a day to complete the transaction. I was about to go into 'silent curse mode' when he came out and announced that the machine was out of service.

The guy standing behind me rolled his eyes and said "now we have to do the ATM hop". A non Dar-ian would have gone 'huh?' but I knew exactly what he was talking about.

We would all have to go to the next ATM to get our money. If our luck was bad, it wouldn't be working either and if our luck was really bad, neither would the next and the next.....
Hence the ATM Hop.

Inexplicably, the ATMs in Dar (around the Peninsular anyway) seem to go AWOL at the same time. Go figure!

Out of tofu!

2008-06-30T11:38:00.007+03:00

This is the first time the word holiday has struck fear in my heart!

Okay, that's not clear so here it is again zoomed in for full effect:

A closed deli may not mean much in the ordinary world but here in Dar, that's like a lifeline shutting down! There are no mega supermarkets from which you can get everything you could ever want under one roof. In Dar, certain shops sell certain items and if one of them is closed you can only dream about getting it from another store.

For me, that translates to my precious slabs of irreplaceable fresh tofu!The worst part is, the Deli isn't closing for just a day or two but from June 26 to Aug 4 - horrors!

Eating tofu always makes me feel so healthy and virtuous even if I follow it by stuffing myself with a whole bar of chocolate.

Maybe I should take this as a sign and just eat junk for the next two months?

Hapana Swahili

2008-06-26T15:24:00.004+03:00

Despite two years in Tanzania, I have a shameful lack of vocabulary when it comes to the country’s national language, Swahili. This probably also points to a shameful lack of interaction with the Tanzanians but that’s a whole other story.
At the moment, I believe I am proudly on par with the Swahili spoken by a 12-month old Tanzanian baby. The only words I seem to know are:

Asante – Thank you
Karibu – Welcome
Hapana santi – no thank you
Umeme -electricity
Mchicha – spinach
Duka – shop
Badai – later
Sasa - now

I also know some ‘cheat’ words which have the same meaning and pronunciation as Bahasa Malaysia/Malay (Malaysia’s national language) such as 'dunia' which means world.

I’ve been quite lazy about learning Swahili because the majority of Tanzanians speak at least a little English and I have met a number who are impressively articulate.

So, I’m left with no real reason to learn Swahili because I get along fairly well in English. The only person whom I actually feel the need to speak in Swahili with is my housekeeper and even though her grasp of English is pretty bad, it’s still worlds better than my Swahili!

I realized just how bad my Swahili is when I thought of translating “I Don’t Speak Swahili” for the title of this entry and could only manage hapana Swahili which literally means “no Swahili”

This is akin to someone saying “No English!” when they don’t speak the language. To think that I used to believe people like that were pathetic – now I’m one of them!

The slowest Cats ever!

2008-06-23T18:52:00.003+03:00

If it’s possible to kill an Internet Service Provider I’d squeeze the life out of mine in a minute! I use Cats Net and it’s seriously slow. To give you an idea, it’s slower than say.... the Girls of the Playboy Mansion attempting to add 25 and 19 without the aid of a calculator.

I happen to love cats and I thought that a provider called Cats would be quick and have 9 lives (i.e be quite stable).

Instead I’m stuck with something that’s the exact opposite – it’s slow and dies often.

This is what happens when you sign up with a service provider because it’s called Cats and not because it’s known to be reliable. I’m trying not to but I think I have to blame myself!

The Heart of Dar-kness

2008-06-20T12:38:00.008+03:00

I just survived a trip into the heart of Dar. It wasn't unlike Marlow in Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness (that's the Heart of Dar with 5 extra alphabets!).

In Conrad's novel, Marlow had to brave a harrowing journey up the Congo river complete with attacks from the natives. While I may not have had to grapple with the Congo river, I certainly had my share of harrowing experiences this morning and like Marlow - some of them involved the locals!

I drove into town today because The Engineer needed my help to collect something from a printer. Firstly, I had to deal with what must be the world's worst Giver of Directions. The lady at the printing shop was very polite and very sweet on the phone but she wouldn't have been able to tell me how to get from her elbow to her fingersnails leave alone give directions from the Movenpick Hotel to her shop!

She kept telling me to "go behind the Azam ice-cream store" when she meant 'go past the Azam ice-cream store' and when I asked her if I was supposed to take the 3 o'clock or the 12 o'clock at the roundabout, she thought I was asking her what time it was! Fortunately, I managed to get there despite her help. I shouldn't have been surprised by her bad directions though - this has happened to me before.

Unfortunately, my woes didn't end when I finally found her shop. On my way out of town I swear I encountered at least 2 dozen local people who must've been suicidal. They kept throwing themselves in front of my car just as I was driving by. The good people of Dar may possess many fine qualities but looking left and right before crossing the street isn't one of them!!!

As it were, I narrowly missed killing a number of people. I ended up driving around at 10kms an hour, my fingers clutching the steering and my nose practically touching the windshield just so I wouldn't run over anybody's toes!

Because I was so obsessed with not hitting anyone, it was really hard to keep track of exactly where I was going. I eventually realized that I had been going round and round the same area. I'm not exactly familiar with Dar town which features plenty of narrow two-way roads and inexplicable 'no-entry' signs so it was a real headache trying to figure a way out.

At one point, I felt like I was trapped in an episode of "The Twilight Zone"......forever doomed to be imprisoned in the hideous maze of Dar. The part of town near the coastline is really beautiful but I'd be lying if I claimed that the city center is pretty!

To prove my point, here is one road that skirts the coastline, leading into the city.....

....and another.....

Now, here's the city.....

...not exactly a vision of beauty!

I finally found my way out after battling for a good half hour and stepped on the accelerator because I was determined to get away as quickly as possible!

The next time The Engineer needs me to go to the printers, I'm going to drag him with me. You won't catch me going in there all by myself again!

Looking beyond the obvious

2008-06-18T08:08:00.007+03:00

The Engineer had a birthday a couple of weeks back and we had a great time with a small group of our closest friends. Everyone was actually very sweet to turn up even though I planned the get-together at the last minute. We had a little sundowner thing at the Coral Beach Hotel right near the water - lovely!

The Engineer didn't really want a cake (he isn't much of a cake man but will make exceptions for cheesecake!) but how can a birthday be a birthday without a birthday cake, right?

Seeing as I was still suffering from homesickness at the time, I was in 'no shape to bake' (hey! that rhymes!) so I thought I'd order one from this little place that the Bead Queen had told Pinkie about years ago.

This bakery is actually fabulous but it doesn't really have a name (not that I know of anyway!) much less a signboard announcing its whereabouts along United Nations Road. In fact, it's so much a part of the scenery that blink.... and you'll miss it!

The place may be nameless and faceless but boy can they bake! You name it and they can bake a cake of it! They have cakes in the shape of dolls, baskets of flowers, bicycles and even the map of Africa. Pinkie and I got the map for Girlfriend and the Boss when they were leaving Tanzania. The cakes taste as good as they look too!

I wanted a Spiderman cake for The Engineer who is a HUGE Spiderman fan but the ones they had were waaayyy too big for the number of people who were coming so I settled for a Batman cake instead:

See! Lovely and complete with black icing. They don't give you any of that awful, fluffy type of light icing that the commercial bakeries force on you these days. It's good old fattening absolutely delicious, butter-cream icing. They remind me of the homemade birthday cakes my mum used bake when I was small.

Now that you're properly impressed with the cakes, let me show you where they come from:

Told you it was nameless and faceless. It doesn't look like it's capable of producing a muffin leave alone delicious, gorgeous cakes. If there's anything Tanzania has taught me, it's to look beyond the obvious. The most beautiful things can emerge from the ugliest of places!

Only in Dar

2008-06-05T13:46:00.005+03:00

I turned down a corner on the way home this evening and this was what greeted me:

It was as if the waters of some Great Flood had swept this boat inland and then receded, leaving the boat all by itself.

There it was, in front of me, right in the middle of the street. There wasn't a soul in sight to account for how the heck it got there and what on earth it was doing there.

Only in Dar.....

I want to go home!

2008-06-02T09:09:00.005+03:00

Oooh....I'm battling with a horrible bout of homesickness. I still experience these spells despite having been in Dar for more than 2 years.

For me, extreme homesickness usually wears out within a couple of days before it levels off to a dull throb. This throb never really goes away but it's very much in the background and definitely tolerable. This time though, I'm back for a full week and I can't get KL out of my mind!

Time to come up with a I-must-keep-from-going-insane-because-of-this-dusty-town strategy.

No plans at the moment except to eat chocolate and sleep it off. This is probably a bad idea because it's only going to lead to me being overweight and lazy... then I won't just be a homesick person, I'll be an obese homesick person!

Perhaps I should force myself to work out? The endorphins might help me get out of this funk that I'm in but the very thought of waving my arms about and sashaying to one of my workout DVDs is annoying me right now.

Nevermind - I shall try to meditate (as The Engineer suggested) and see if I can revert to my usual, manageable level of homesickness instead of the I-want-to-chew-my-arm-off level that I'm at right now. If you don't hear from me in a couple of weeks, you'll know that that's exactly what happened!

The Baggage Police

2008-05-27T10:29:00.005+03:00

I'm back in Dar again! The trip to KL seems like a dream.....a very good dream but still a dream!

It's back to dusty roads, generator power and slow internet connections. There's also the sun, the sea and my friends of course- mustn't just focus on the bad side! The best part is, I'm reunited with The Engineer - 3 weeks was a long time to be away.

I had a safe trip flying on Emirates but seriously, those people need to step-up on their customer satisfaction abilities. Here's the story:

I got to the KL International Airport at 9:00 pm; my flight was due to depart at 2:00am. Now, some might think that I was ridiculously early but I've always been a firm believer of being a geek, arriving too early and then having a leisurely time rather than trying to be cool, arriving at the last possible minute and then missing the flight if something unexpected happens!

Emirates had evidently turned into the Baggage Police between the time I arrived in KL and took off again because they were checking every-single-piece-of-luggage with what can only be described as religious zeal!

Surprise, surprise both my hand luggage and my main luggage were pronounced too heavy and they insisted that I repack them in the middle of the darn airport! I was horrified!
My poor sister and I had to squat down like a couple of farmers planting crops, take out half my stuff and put them in boxes. It was SO un-Diva like!

Apparently, a single piece of luggage should not weigh above 32kgs and we're allocated up to 40kg per passenger. I've been flying with Emirates for like 2 years and there's never been a problem. Trust me, my luggage has ALWAYS weighed more than 40 kgs.

I was charged a ridiculous amount for just a few kilograms of excess luggage...I don't even want to think about how much. Let's just say that I could have comfortably purchased not 1, not 2 but 3 pairs of Aldo shoes and been strutting around stylishly instead of making Emirates richer. Darn that airline!

From now on, it's Qatar Airways all the way for me. I heard their passengers are allowed 50kgs each on international routes. I've had enough of the Luggage Nazis aka Emirates!

PS: Unfortunately, I remained a bad blogger and didn't really use my camera well in KL (too busy stuffing my face and meeting everyone). I'll try to post whatever I do have (mostly of my cat, Charley). Meanwhile, I'm off to the couch again - need to sleep off that jet-lag and hopefully some of that homesickness too!

Fried Noodles and Cats Whiskers

2008-05-15T11:05:00.008+03:00

I have been a bad, bad blogger! I'm here in Kuala Lumpur and I haven't so much as logged into this blog since I touched down here!

It was strange being back home at first (especially since I miss The Engineer who's stuck at work)

I've never been away from Malaysia for more than 6 months. This time I was in Dar for nearly a year and for the first few days it felt weird to be back. Don't get me wrong, it was all I could do not to get down on my knees and kiss the (tar-ed!) roads the minute I set foot in KL but I also felt strangely disconnected - like I was more an observer than a participant.

I think it was due to the fact that I was away for so long because the feeling has since dissipated. I'm now back to my old fantastic-at-weaving-through-traffic-jams, fabulous-at-sniffing-out-clothes-on-sale, fried-noodle-eating, soya-bean-milk-drinking Malaysian self!

The first day I got here, I rushed straight to the hawker centre and got myself a packet of fried noodles(after greeting The Engineer's and my family first of course!). Boy, was it good to get delicious food that didn't cost the earth and since everything here kind of stays open half the night, I didn't have to kill myself to get there before 8pm either!

The very next day, I happened to be passing by my fave boutique called Cats Whiskers (cute name, huh?!) and nearly screamed with joy when I spied the SALE sign! Woo hoo!!! I ended up buying a pair of jeans that fit perfectly for just RM20 - that's right RM20 which is approximately USD6. Can you believe it?

Anyways, I shall be back in good 'ol/bad 'ol Dar shortly. I have been bad with the camera too so no nice shots to post but promise to step it up during my last week here.

Cheerio for now : )

Kuala Lumpur , here I come!

2008-04-30T16:13:00.007+03:00

I've been a bit silent of late because I've been running around like a headless chicken trying to get everything done before I go home to KL on Sunday. I still can't believe I'm actually going home for nearly 3 weeks! The last time I was back was in June 2007 - a trip back is long overdue.

The only downer is that The Engineer will be unable to come along because of work.

I've been cooking up a storm so he doesn't end up having to perpetually eat out or live on just coffee and cigarettes (!). The pork vindaloo, pasta sauce and all the rest is going in the freezer so he'll always have food on hand.

I'm afraid that I've been overzealous though - it looks like there's enough food now to last till the end of time! Well,at least if there's ever an emergency and we end up housebound, we don't have to worry about food (I always thought Tom Cruise should have shut up, stayed indoors and waited for disaster to pass in the War of the Worlds. He'd have had much less trouble but I suppose it would have been totally boring to watch!)

I've also been running around stocking up the house with groceries and stuff, buying gifts for everyone at home and meeting dear friends before I leave.

This might seem like a pretty straightforward exercise except that this is Dar and nothing is really straightforward. For eg: I noticed that the floor-cleaning liquid had run out so I thought I'd stock that up.

I tried first at Seacliff Village Supermarket but discovered that the brand I use is out of stock. Then I tried Shoprite and then Shrijee's to no avail. I was on the verge of pulling my hair out in clumps when it suddenly dawned on me that I should give up on my 'control freak' attitude and just buy a different brand.

Since there was only one other kind at Shrijee's ( which was where I was at when the lightbulb moment occurred) I went ahead and purchased the thing.

It looks a bit dodgy and smells like what I imagine toxic waste must smell like but hey - beggars can't be choosers now can they? I'm just hoping that the skin at the bottom of our feet doesn't start peeling away because of this toxic-smelling thing!

I can't wait to go back to a land where not only will I be able to buy what I want but I'll probably be spoiled for choice because of the sheer variety of brands on the shelves. KL - here I come!

The flower shop under the tree

2008-04-25T12:37:00.004+03:00

As I've mentioned before in this blog.... ever so often, Tanzania will redeem herself. It usually happens just as I'm ready to write her off.

I bought one and a half dozen roses yesterday for something like TSh7500 - RM19 and USD6.

They are so beautiful that they're literally breathtaking and I just had to get out the camera:

I've taken a similar photo as the one below and I don't think I'll ever get tired of snapping these shots:

One and a half dozen roses back in KL would have cost me an arm and a leg. If I were crazy enough to attempt buying them during Valentine season, I'd have to throw in a kidney too.

Even if I was willing to part with my arm, leg and kidney, I'd still have to drive a bit of a distance to get the roses and I'd most likely be stuck in traffic if I didn't time the trip exactly right.

Over here, the guys who sell me these perfect petals are just a 3-minute, traffic-free drive away.I don't even have to get out of the car because they come right up to my window with their flowers. It may be a 'down home' establishment made up of a some buckets plus a few rickety wooden crates under a tree but their flowers are unparalleled.

Of course, I have to contend with the bumpy, muddy, unsightly 'road' leading out of my apartment to the tree but it seems like a small price to pay for the sheer beauty of these roses.

As I said, once in a while , if you give her a chance, Tanzania redeems herself.

Bad Earthling, Bad!

2008-04-22T17:03:00.005+03:00

Happy Earth Day, Mother Earth!

Today is Earth Day and I think days like this should be celebrated by us Earthlings on a much grander scale. What could be more important than preserving our home?

But before I go around judging everybody, I have to confess that I wasn't exactly a Good Earthling today.

Even though my mum told me on the phone this morning about today, I promptly forgot about it 5 minutes later.

In my 'unaware' state of mind, I actually contributed to the demise of the planet at - of all places - Shoprite in Slipway.

In my defense, it was probably brought on by the long, tediously slow, queue at the one checkout counter that was in operation. The darn luku (power) was out again! I was just there to buy 3 miserable lemons but ended up standing there for a good long while.

Since I knew I was stuck, I tried to distract myself from going loony by focusing on something other than the wait. I ended up fixated on the inordinately large swarm of flies that were mysteriously lounging about inside the store.

Shoprite isn't usually covered in flies so I suppose it must have been the smell of meat going bad although I couldn't detect anything rotten in the air. I'm presuming that flies have a more acute sense for spoiled food (I think I'll look this up) so maybe they caught some kind of low-level scent that I didn't pick up. Either way, if anything goes rotten/sour at Shoprite, it's all Tanesco's fault. I mean, how hard can it be for a power company to maintain 24-hour electricity? That's their job function. It's not like they've got to plan weddings and keep the luku going for goodness sake!

Anyway, by the time I finished with this ridiculous train of thought, I found myself at the front of the queue. Unfortunately - I don't know if it was from the heat or plain lack of enthusiasm- the cashier took longer to ring up three lemons than it would take Britney Spears to get a degree in Nuclear Physics.

I stood there trying not to say anything but then she had to go and stuff the lemons in an eensy-weensy plastic bag that was clearly too small and had no handles ( how did she think I was going to carry it...with my teeth?).

Without thinking, I asked for a different bag and it was one that was much too large. It was only when I got into my car that it dawned upon me: I shouldn't have exchanged a little plastic bag for a big one - I shouldn't have taken a bag at all especially since there were only 3 lemons to carry! I felt really bad about that.

Sigh! This is what happens when I focus on long queues, slow cashiers and flies instead of something more important like Planet Earth. To make up for my behaviour, I'll watch less TV for the next couple of days and save some electricity (although knowing Tanesco, the luku will be out and I'll end up doing that anyway!)

The End of the Rainbow

2008-04-15T13:19:00.002+03:00

The Benevolent Beings of Blogosphere are being kind today so, as promised, here are the photos I was talking about......

I was driving to pick up The Engineer from work last Thursday when I saw the end of this rainbow curving into a world of everyday-ness:

It was amazing to witness this sort of beauty amidst the traffic and ugly billboards.

I was pleased to have captured the shot although I nearly crashed into the car in front of me!I should actually stop snapping pictures whilst driving and this isn't the first time . My only (lame) excuse is that it's extraordinary how often a good photo opportunity arrives when one is alone, behind the wheel!

I managed to capture another gorgeous scene on Saturday evening (I'm pleased to report that this time, it was from the relative safety of our apartment balcony) As if on cue, a dhow lazily floated by. It looks like someone painted this (and I think Someone up there did!) :

The Engineer and I have been missing these spectacular sunsets since the rains arrived. However, I must say that despite it looking exceptional in the photo, it was even more exceptional when we saw it 'live'. Sometimes,despite best efforts, a mere camera just cannot convey the majesty of Mother Nature!

The Not So Benevolent Beings of Blogosphere

2008-04-14T17:39:00.007+03:00

I was all set to be a good little blogger today and had not one but two entries ready to be published. Unfortunately the Benevolent Beings who rule Blogosphere were having none of it.

I needed to download photos for both my entries and despite my non-stop clicking on the "add image" button, nothing happened. I think my poor housekeeper got a little scared and thought I was going cuckoo with the constant clicking and gnashing of teeth (I can't blame her... the definition of insanity is : doing the same thing and expecting a different result!)

Hopefully the Beings will be in a more benevolent mood tomorrow!

Karume Day

2008-04-07T09:06:00.005+03:00

I've been sniffling and feeling quite sorry for myself this past couple of days. The rainy weather finally got to me despite my best efforts to avoid the Evil Grip of the Dar Flu.

I've been very careful since the rains have been blowing into Dar because I've come down with the flu before and let me tell you it ain't no party when that happens! You can refer to my pathetic ramblings here and here.

Fortunately, today is Karume Day and it's a holiday here in Dar so I managed to sleep in late. I don't work but The Engineer does and which means that the alarm rings early and wakes me up too. Holidays mean that The Engineer sleeps in and everything is peaceful until about 10 in the morning.

Just out of curiosity, I've been trying to find out what the heck Karume Day is in Dar and discovered something on Wikipedia (how did we survive before Google and Wikipedia?)

The only Karume listed is Sheikh Abeid Amani Karume who was the first President of Zanzibar and the first Vice President of Tanganyika alongside much-loved President Julius Nyerere.

Apparently, Karume had something to do with a rebellion in Zanzibar that overthrew the last Sultan in 1963 although it is now believed that John Okello was the instigator. I presume Karume Day is in his honour.

However, if it was Okello who was the real force behind the rebellion in Zanzibar, today might need to be re-named Okello Day but frankly...who cares! Karume Day - Okello Day, as long as it remains a Holi-Day it doesn't really matter to me!

April Fool? Whatever

2008-04-01T13:35:00.003+03:00

I must be getting old....
I just realized that it's April Fool's Day today and it incites no excitement in me whatsoever.I remember a time when I used to anticipate it for weeks and plan every, single trick/joke that I would play on my unsuspecting family and suspicious friends.

I'd also watch out for any strange behaviour from anyone I knew because I was determined to be the Fool-er and never the Fool. I was so set on not being caught out by anyone that people found it hard to convince me when something not-so-good was actually true.

If I received a C on a Maths test, I always hoped that it was the teacher playing an April Fool trick on me but unfortunately it was never the case!

That was back when I was in school. Nowadays, I'm more concerned about the weather and if the sun is ever going to make up its mind (it's been driving me crazy today - raining/shining/raining/shining all day!).

Jeez... I just realized that I sound so tedious!

I'd better play a trick on someone just to stay young....Getting older is bad enough as it is, I don't have to get duller too!

Flowers, Birds and Butterflies Weekend

2008-03-27T09:46:00.008+03:00

Okay, I think I've exhausted my "just got back from a holiday" excuse and it's time to tell the holiday story....

Although I didn't plan it, the theme of the weekend turned out to be flowers, birds and butterflies - TOTALLY up my street!

We went to a little resort near Lake Duluti in Arusha called the Serena Mountain Village. You can apparently see Mt.Kilimanjaro on a clear day (Arusha is near the foot of the mountain) but the Kili was having none of it. It was cloudy most of the time so we didn't see a thing at the resort.

The only time the Kili decided to grace us with its presence was when we were going back to the airport (it was a lot clearer in real-life but this was the best we could get out of our good camera with the crappy zoom lens). If you squint your eyes and really focus, you'll see the snow-covered peak, peeking out among the clouds, right in the center of the picture.

The Engineer captured a better shot from the airport but the street lights are spoiling it and I don't know squat about cropping. Here it is anyway:

The Engineer says that Mt.Kili is one of the few tropical mountains in the world that can boast a snow-covered peak.

We initially had vague plans to hire a driver and go to Lake Tarangire from our resort. We've been told that you can see loads of elephants at the lake (apparently it's the equivalent of the local George and Dragon for elephants because it's like a neighbourhood watering hole).

When we discovered that we would have to drive for like 6 hours (one way!) we gave up the plan immediately (you can drive the length of Malaysia - Singapore to Thailand - in about 10 hours. Malaysians aren't into looong drives!).

Instead, we opted to do nothing and I realized just how boring The Engineer and I really are when I mentioned this to a friend today and she said:"but you guys do nothing ALL the time!". Well, my only defense is that this time, we were doing nothing in Arusha as opposed to Dar!

The weather there wasn't cold but lovely and mild (in Dar you feel like you're at the mouth of hell at 9 am and roasting in hell-fire by noon)

The entire resort was set along a coffee plantation. The main house, where the reception and dining area were located, was apparently an old farmhouse and still seemed to retain an English farmhouse ambiance with wood floors, cosy armchairs and even a fireplace (although they didn't light it).

I kept expecting someone to come up to us and say something like:"I say old' chaps, would you like a spot of tea?It's frightfully cold out"

The rooms were circular affairs with a lovely little bathroom, glass doors that opened out into a lawn with a view of the lake and even a TV. Shockingly enough, neither one of us was inclined to watch anything so we spent the time reading and listening to the birds (or in the case of The Engineer, sleeping!).

That last shot (above) is the view from out little cottage - lovely, isn't it? The bathroom had real roses in it. The Engineer and I had to touch the petals to confirm this because they were so beautiful they looked fake!

I must say, it was very restful to get away from the hell-fires of the city but we've realized since we got back that the rainy season seems to have begun and it's all dark and cloudy and rainy in Dar. The rainy season is usually not for another month or so but with this unpredictable weather, I think we can safely assume that Al Gore wasn't kidding around on An Inconvenient Truth!

At least, I get to read and drink coffee while the rain falls outside. I was getting fed-up of Dar before I went on this holiday (and so was The Engineer although he's not as vocal about it as I am!) but we're both feeling far more forgiving right now.

Despite all its drawbacks, I'm often surprised at how the place manages to redeem itself. Tanzania is like Angelina Jolie, each time you think you've had enough, she does something that makes you re-think your opinion!

Lazy T vs Diligent T

2008-03-24T09:43:00.004+03:00

The Engineer and I have just got back from a lovely long Easter weekend holiday in Arusha and I thought I'd be a good little Blogger Bunny and post about it first thing Monday morning.

Well, it's 10 o'clock on Monday morning now and I think I was prematurely enthusiastic. An easy-peasy task like downloading photos feels like an attempt up Mt. Kilimanjaro right now!

I can hardly think straight, let alone write coherently, because I'm still woozy from doing nothing but eating and sleeping for three days.

Meanwhile, the Engineer is haunted by no such indecision because he's still fast asleep!

I think I shall sneak back to bed for a teeny-tiny snooze (sadly, in the ongoing battle between Lazy Trish and Diligent Trish, Lazy Trish has won out yet again!)

If you can't give good directions.....

2008-03-19T15:34:00.005+03:00

The thing is many Dar Es Salaam-ians do not know the FIRST thing about giving good directions.I suppose I should attribute this to language skills (it could be their lack of English skills or maybe I should blame myself for not knowing more than 12 words of Swahili after two years in Tanz!)

Let me elaborate....

A friend is planning to throw a fairly large party and since she's only been in Dar for about a month, I offered to help her. She had already been recommended a good caterer but had no idea exactly where the restaurant was located. So, in the great tradition of the blind leading the blind, I leapt into action and offered to try and find it with her.

My knowledge of the roads in town is very close to zero but I was willing to give it a shot. What I had not compensated for was the UTTER INABILITY of some people to give directions...

We ended up spending an inordinate amount of time driving around in an area that was not remotely close to the location of the restaurant.

When we were finally in the correct vicinity of our destination, we ended up sitting in traffic for what felt like 10 hours.

Despite our spectacularly talentless direction-givers (there were not one but two people who were leading us down the garden path) and the bumper to bumper traffic we did manage to arrive in a fairly reasonable amount of time.

However, my patience (already being on the thin side) was now thinner than Nicole Richie's right thigh. When I caught sight of the restaurant manager (this was one of the talentless direction-givers) I was ready to strangle the man.

Luckily I remembered my newly-gleaned skills in tolerance. I took a deep breath and ignored him (I'm still in the practice stage- I'm supposed to take a deep breath and let it go!).

This isn't the first time I've run around like a headless chicken because somebody said turn right at the traffic lights instead of left but I certainly hope it's the last (somehow I doubt it!) After today's episode, though, I would like this down on record: "if you can't give good directions, don't give any directions at all!"

Hedonism

2008-03-18T16:19:00.008+03:00

I came back from the Kilimanjaro Kempinski Anantara Spa a few hours ago and I STILL haven't recovered - recovered from total bliss that is!

I feel all woozy, sleepy and not in the mood to do a thing which is such a fabulous feeling! What more can a self-proclaimed diva ask for?!

This all goes back to Christmas....I received a number of gifts from my very sweet and thoughtful Engineer. Among them was this diet-busting, totally tempting tin of chocolate-covered treats which I practically finished single-handedly:

One of his other gifts was a voucher for the 'Kempinski Retreat' spa package which translates to a 2.5 hour long festival of self-indulgence comprising a foot bath, steam bath, full body scrub and massage (my skin feels softer than the bottoms on those babies in Johnson & Johnson ads). Woo hoo!

I didn't dare check the price on the spa menu when I got there in case I went into cardiac arrest and ruined the entire experience for myself.

I must say that I don't understand people who shun spas. What is wrong with sitting and doing nothing while someone else expends time and energy to get you looking and feeling good? I say nothing at all!

I do realize that there are a number of, shall we say, less than comfortable circumstances when one is at the spa. The removal of clothing is high on the list (although the good spas do provide paper underwear) and I know some people dislike being touched by strangers. My advice is: close your eyes and revel!

I'm of course referring to legitimate spas and not one of those that also offer 'extra special' massages! That's an altogether different kind of experience and no diva worth her salt would go within a 10 kilometer radius of one of those spas! Just think about what must be all over the massage table and on the towels..... eeeewwwwwww! Fortunately, the Kempsinski is a totally legal spa that deals only with 'proper' treatments so I didn't have to worry.

The whole experience put me into a "pamper me" mood and I finally did what I've been meaning to do for a long time - bought some take-away sushi from the Kempinski's excellent Oriental restaurant.

To show my appreciation to the man behind my Happy Day, I dropped off a serving of California Maki at his office, complete with wasabi, soy and pickled ginger. My only complaint was the take-away package. The gorgeous sushi was dumped unceremoniously into one of those horribly ugly foil take-away things that are so popular here in Dar. One would think that the Kempinski would attempt to be a little classier than that!

Well, now that I've had my sushi and watched an episode of Sex and the City on DVD (okay, more than one episode but don't tell anyone), I'm going to go and lie on the couch and read.

I must say, even though I've discovered that selflessness and non-attachment are the way to lasting peace....it's so hard to remember that when hedonism just feels so darn good!

images from steppestravel.co.uk and kempinski-daressalaam.com. Pic of "Temptation" cookie tin by Trish

The Art of Living

2008-03-16T09:23:00.004+03:00

I have been attending a workshop called "The Art of Living" for the past week. It was held at the Coral Beach Hotel which just happens to be down the road from where I live (right next to the Indian Ocean - lovely!)

I must say that it was a transformative experience. Although I dread being seen as a goody-goody it would be nice to know that, at my funeral, people won't be heaving a collective sigh of relief! Besides, I constantly deal with loads of inner chatter and thought that it wouldn't hurt to explore ways to have some silence and peace in my head!

The course was designed around yoga, breathing exercises and a number of key points.

My favourite was "what you resist persists". This means that the more you close up and hold tightly onto yourself, your beliefs /your viewpoint and reject everything else, the more you'll find yourself in situations that challenge you and your frozen thinking. The more open you are the lighter your life becomes and the easier it will be to deal with what you view as wrong or bad. Judgment is never a good idea and nothing is carved in stone!

This really struck me because I tend to be much like a statue when it comes to what I think is right and wrong and who I think is good and bad. In my world it's almost all black and white and there's hardly any grey (besides, grey is SUCH a dull colour but let's not go there!)

The other major thing I learned is that, at our very core, we are all the same. We all want love and happiness. This might sound pretty obvious but I tend to forget all about it when the cashier at Shrijee's is taking 100 years to ring up the bill or when the askari is busy chatting and ignores me when I'm waiting at the gate!

It wasn't all angel's wings and clouds, though. There were times when I thought the processes we were going through, like dancing with our eyes closed and laughing for no reason at all, was an exercise in silliness. But I noticed that once I stopped thinking, it was actually very liberating to laugh for no reason and dance blindly. The constant worry about what other people might think eventually stopped and it felt like I was suddenly free of a nagging headache.....

I think the best advertisement for this course is my teacher - she's close to 40 but looks about 20 (who needs Dr.90210 when you can laugh and breathe your way to unlined skin and a brighter smile!). The attendees were from vastly different cultures/backgrounds/ages but by the end of it, we all felt a strange sense of one-ness. It was refreshing.

I'm not saying that I'm going to be an angel after this (I had a little tiff with The Engineer in the past week but I didn't tell the teacher!). I don't think I can stop being a Judgey Judgerson anytime soon or stop having concrete opinions (I'll have to shut down this blog if I ever run out of those!) but at least I'm more aware of my own thoughts, why I have them and the effect of these thoughts out in the world.

Alright, if you've read this far and been rolling your eyes, I get it -it's time to stop! I hate a goody-goody as much as the next guy so no more preaching but before I go back to my regular complain-ey entries, allow me this last bit of goody-goodyness. This is a little prayer we learned which I just have to share:

"Lead us from untruth to truth,
From darkness into light,
From mortality to immortality,
Peace, peace, peace"

Houskeeper Saga - Part Mbili

2008-03-12T16:05:00.002+03:00

Now, I just don't believe in lending anybody any money (unless it's an ABSOLUTE emergency and we're blood relatives or it's a friend who has donated me a kidney or something). I have witnessed far too many relationships go down the drain to feel comfortable about borrowing or lending money and I'd really rather not jeopardize any of my relationships/friendships - they matter too much to me. Besides, my granny always told me "never a borrower or a lender be!" Anyway, in line with this motto, I told Sofia no dice. That didn't stop her, unfortunately.

She tried asking me again about 6 weeks later and 4 weeks after that. Persistence does pay because I finally caved, against my better judgment, and lent her some cash. I just couldn't hold out anymore when she explained the reason in a letter written in English by a friend - Sofia's England is not so the good! She needed the money to pay the rent or she was going to lose her home.

Despite abandoning my cherished principles on money, I felt very benevolent and helpful when the I finally did lend it to her (with The Engineer's consent, of course). Little did I know that I would scarcely have time to feel pleased about helping someone because she came back to me the following week and INSISTED that I take her on 5 times a week instead of the usual 3. I had to give it to her - she always had reasons for everything. This time, it was because of the new minimum wage introduced by the Tanzanian President and the only way to justify her increase in salary was to increase the number of days she worked.

Something told me not to do it but I agreed to a 5-day schedule and of course the corresponding increase in wages. I had to literally scrape around for things to fill her time with (it's only The Engineer and me, no dirty kiddie clothes and toys strewn about).

I was already feeling a bit manipulated at this stage but what she did next really pushed me over the edge. After everything - the increase in wages, the lending of the money - she stopped turning up regularly!

I felt like I was being taken for a ride - which I undoubtedly was. Her excuses were lame ; a stomach ache here, a headache there and the last one was that her doctor had advised her to stay home - goodness knows what for! She seemed perfectly fine to me.

The last excuse she pulled was rather dramatic. She came in in the morning, ate her breakfast and went about her work. After about an hour, I suddenly realized that I hadn't seen her fand looked around only to find her on the floor, clutching her stomach. The minute I said she could go home, she stood right up and marched right out the door! That was the moment it dawned upon me that she must think that I am a teeny bit of an idiot!

Much as I hated it, I decided to let her go. An employee who is bad at what they do is one thing but I didn't want to deal with someone who was good at their job but whose attitude was not.

So, that's how I ended up having to train a new girl, Imelda (she's really young). Her England is even MORE not the good compared to Sofia. Imelda is eager enough but not as good at her job as Sofia was. The good news is that she hasn't asked me for money or rolled about on the floor clutching her tummy - not yet anyway. So wish me luck!

Housekeeper Saga : Part Moja

2008-03-10T12:27:00.002+03:00

When I first arrived here a couple of years ago, I was anti-housekeeper. By this I don't mean that I wanted to annihilate all housekeepers in Tanzania but rather that personally, I did not feel I needed one.

The reasoning behind my thinking was that I was freshly free from my office job ( I had resigned about 2 weeks prior to arriving in Dar),I didn't know a soul except for The Engineer and I was miserable, miserable, miserable! This was largely due to my gut-wrenching homesickness but the other reason was because I'm a diva (and proud of it!).

All Dar had to offer (two years ago anyway but not much has changed!) is unstable electrical power, head-splitting hot sunshine, the beach and un-tarred roads - hardly NY Fifth Avenue. The only shoes that are readily available here are leather thongs (albeit pretty ones) and weird platforms (which look like they're targeted at the hooker portion of the population!) But I digress....

I truly believed at that time that housework would keep me sane. I was mostly housebound with nothing but time on my hands to sink deeper and deeper into my homesickness so I didn't see housework as the drudgery it is!

Fortunately for me, Girlfriend (the person who became my best friend in Africa) and I hit it off soon after and the more people I met the less time I was inclined to spend with a broom and duster.

It was Girlfriend who finally made me employ domestic help ( I think she got tired of listening to me say that I couldn't accompany her somewhere because I hadn't mopped the floor yet that week!). Anyway, that was how I ended up with help at home.

Initially, I freaked out at the idea of someone 'lurking' about in my home. Anyone who knows me knows that I positively treasure my privacy and the idea of a housekeeper in the background did not appeal. However, much to my own surprise, I changed my mind fairly quickly. The dishes seemed to 'miraculously' get clean, the floor was swept and mopped and best of all - the clothes were ironed!

As time wore on, I found myself relying more and more on my housekeeper but just as I thought we'd established a good relationship, she began to hassle me for money.....(to be continued)

Training Day

2008-03-06T18:27:00.004+03:00

The new domestic 'reported for duty' today. This is probably going to sound so spoiled but I feel terribly exhausted after her 'training day'....too exhausted to go into the details right now....

Promise to elaborate in my next entry....

Ice Cream Anguish

2008-02-25T12:22:00.003+03:00

A few nights ago, the Engineer and I had just finished dinner, when I was inexplicably gripped by an urge to eat ice-cream.

The tricky bit is that it wasn't just any 'ol ice-cream but a particular kind that can only be found at Steers. Steers is the one and only 'fast-food' joint in Dar although there's nothing remotely fast about it but that's another story.

The ice-cream that I had my heart set on is that ridiculously creamy, softy, swirly kind of with the chocolate coating that starts off drippy but miraculously turns into a hard shell after a few seconds.

The Engineer heroically jumped into the car and drove me all the way into town just so I could stuff my face with ice-cream.

Anyway, we arrived there and waited patiently for about 10 minutes. I would have thrown a fit if we had been in any other part of the world but since this is Dar and everything is pole f-ing pole, I decided that I might as well grin and bear it (told you that it wasn't fast but "fast" food).

We finally get to the front of the line and I place my order for my solitary ice-cream (The Engineer isn't much of an ice-cream fan). The lady behind the counter started smiling so I smiled back but after nearly two years in Dar, I should have known that big smiles from sales/service people here is never a good sign.

Anyway, she smiles and tells me that they've run out of freaking ice-cream - this after that long wait! The Engineer, eager to diffuse my rage and save the Steers woman from obliteration, quickly stepped in at this point and suggested that we drive over to Movenpick and have a Movenpick sundae instead.

Lured by the image of a large bowl filled with lovely (albeit overly-priced) scoops of Switzerland's best, I allowed myself to be led away from the fortunate Steers lady.

The story doesn't end there, though. We arrive at Movenpick five minutes later and are courteously led to a table. When I asked for the ice-cream menu, the waiter gave me a smile. I consider myself a fairly quick study so I instantly prepared for bad news which was a good thing because the he proceeded to tell us that they had run out of Swiss ice-cream that night.

It was all I could do to refrain from physically assaulting the grinning waiter (in my opinion, I do suffer from low blood sugar) Instead, I opted to walk off in a huff (well, at least I didn't open my mouth and tell him what I thought of Dar and of Tanzania in general!)

Being the old hand that he is, The Engineer calmly allowed me my requisite 2 minutes to cool off and suggested that we try the BP station at the corner of Ali Hassan Mwinyi. At this point I was ready to call it quits, go home, wake up the next morning and catch a flight out of freaking Dar because I was so FED UP.

The Engineer wisely ignored my ranting and drove straight to the BP station instead and lo and behold - there was ice-cream available! Granted it wasn't Swiss or the swirly creamy Steers variety but it was ice-cream and we'd found it at 10 at night which is a minor miracle (everything here shuts at like 8 pm)

I was thrilled and all ready to allow Dar to redeem itself until we went to pay for the thing and discovered that it cost TSH4,000 (RM 11). For that price, there'd better be a gold nugget inside but of course there wasn't!

If you can get hold of it, it's too expensive and if it's not expensive you can't get hold of it....I suppose you can't have your ice-cream and eat it too!

Karibu "Your Excellency"

2008-02-19T12:16:00.006+03:00

George W. Bush, accompanied by Laura Bush, arrived in Dar last Saturday. Apparently Air Force One landed in the old airport and according to an American friend who understands Swahili (and listens to local radio) the Tanzanian announcer described the plane as "magical"! The local English paper, The Guardian, stopped just short of that very Tanzanian description and opted instead to call it a "mammoth aircraft"

Frankly, I was more interested in checking out Air Force One (I used to be a big Harrison Ford fan) than checking out the VIP within. To put it politely, I think Mr. Bush could have done a MUCH better job dealing with the ugly debacle in Iraq and due to his, shall we say, poor decision-making skills, I'm not going to lose any sleep if I never laid eyes on him - ever.

Not everyone shares my blase attitude though. The Tanzanian government and press seemed quite pleased with having Bush as a guest in their country. According to The Guardian, this is the first time a US President has paid a state visit to Tanzania. His arrival here is in response to Tanzanian President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete's invitation when the latter was in Washington.

I didn't notice much beautification or cleaning up going on in the city prior to the "big day" but about two days before he arrived, there was a sudden appearance of various signs and posters around town (to be honest, I find these far more absorbing than Mr. Bush himself).

However, I feel obligated to point out that the poor people who can be seen begging at the traffic lights in front of the Movenpick Hotel (where the Commander-in-Chief was scheduled to hold a few meetings) miraculously vanished the day before he arrived.

As for the signs, well...here's one:

In this one , it looks like they're trying to reassure Mr. Bush about how much they love democracy:

..... and this is my personal favourite:

I like the way he seems so happy to be standing in front of Mt. Kilimanjaro (I'll bet you anything he doesn't know where the Kilimanjaro is or possibly even WHAT Kilimanjaro is although when I consider his past, he probably does know that Kilimanjaro is the name of a local brand of beer).

I'm also very tickled with the way the banners refer to him as "Your Excellency". The Tanzanians seem to have muddled up Mr. Bush with the Queen of England. Unless I'm terrible wrong, I do believe "your excellency" is a form of address for royalty.

The following are pictures that turned up in The Guardian. In this one "Your Excellency" is looking quite pleased next to President Kikwete:

..... and here he is looking not so pleased

I think that's more a grimace than a smile. Clearly Bush is not a hugger and it really looks like he would rather be in Iraq than in the arms of this very enthusiastic Tanzanian woman (btw, I'm shocked that there are still people left in this world who would willingly hug George.W)

Well, that's the low down on President George W. Bush's visit to little 'ol Dar. I don't know if he's still here but, judging from the sudden absence of the legion of foreign press that was milling about, I believe he's left. Honestly, I don't really care...

I'm just disappointed I didn't manage to catch a glimpse of Air Force One. Darn!

AVP 2

2008-02-09T12:30:00.001+03:00

The Engineer and I went to watch Alien Vs Predator 2 (AVP 2) at Milimani City last night.
Century Cinemax boasts the widest screen in East Africa but - regrettably for The Engineer - not the strongest seats.

We were sitting peacefully waiting for the house lights to dim when there was a loud crack. The next thing I knew, The Engineer, still attached to his seat, was now on the floor! The seat had inexplicably come loose from its hinges and crashed to the ground.

It was all I could do not to laugh out loud! Thankfully there weren't many people in the theater at that point and the destruction of Century Cinemax property went largely unnoticed.

The Engineer picked himself up after a few seconds and pronounced that he was very surprised because he'd thought he was losing and not gaining weight!

After finding new seats, the rest of the evening proceeded uneventfully .

I must say that about 10 minutes into the movie, I found myself wishing my seat would break too - just so I would have an excuse to distract myself from, what must be, one of the worst movies in film history. AVP 2 is Utterly Dreadful.

PS: The things we do for love....when I was single, I wouldn't have gone within a 10-kilometer radius of a movie like this!

image from iwatchstuff.com

Umeme-less again!

2008-02-05T13:43:00.000+03:00

Okay this no-electricity thing has GOT to stop!

I just got back from a looooong round trip from every grocery store in the Peninsular (think Shrijee's, Slipway, the fruit/veg duka and Seacliff) only to get back and realize that there is no umeme at home (grrrr!).

This means I've come in from the heat outside into an oven-like temperature at home with no immediate way of cooling down because the Powers That Be (namely the apartment manager) hasn't decided to switch on Jenny yet (that's what I call my apartment generator - you start having a close personal relationship with generators when normal electricity is as unstable as it is here)

The reason I've been running around like a headless chicken is because grocery shopping in Dar is a headless chicken kind of endeavor. As any person who has attempted it knows, there is no such concept as "under one roof" in this place. If you're trying to get the best stuff at reasonable prices, you have to go to at least 3 different stores.

Let's say you're set on getting some Australian honey, you've better drive to Shopper's Plaza for a bottle that won't cost you your right arm (and leg!). If a french baguette is on your list, then you'd better stop off at Seacliff....

....and as for low-fat Azam yoghurt (the creamiest low fat yoghurt ever!), it's either Shoprite in Slipway or perhaps Shrijee's. If you happen to be unlucky enough to have run out of fresh fruit and vegetables, don't even dream that you'll get it in any air-conditioned establishment because everyone knows that the best place for fresh fruits and veg is at those sweltering-hot dukas:

After I've been on one of these Columbus-like expeditions, all I want to do is to get a glass of iced water and stand in front of my air-conditioner the minute I get home.

Today is clearly not my lucky day because I arrived home to find that I have to carry bags of groceries and climb 7 flights of stairs to get to my apartment with no hope of getting cool anytime in the near future.

So, here I am, ranting on this blog just so my hands have something else to do other than pull my hair out in frustration! If nothing else living in Dar Es Salaam will teach you to practice patience.......in really, really high temperature!

Darning that Darned Dress

2008-02-04T13:28:00.000+03:00

I was so excited when I bought this fabulous new dress:

I hardly ever see a dress that I really, really want to buy here in Dar and this dress was just perfect.
I just love the silky material, the swirly colours and patterns and best of all - the empire waist. At least when I'm in this thing I don't have to be in a constant state of inhalation just so my tummy doesn't stick out!

As it turns out, my euphoria was short-lived. I had my housekeeper iron the dress with careful instructions on keeping the heat low but maybe I should have learned to say it in Swahili because when I took it out to wear it, there was a tiny little hole right in the front (clearly from a too hot iron) ! I was practically on the verge of tears but pulled myself together long enough to think of a solution. I decided I'd try to fix it by doing some darning - something I hadn't done in, like, forever!

Here's my handiwork:

Thank goodness for the swirly pattern coz it's really not noticeable from afar. Unfortunately, I'm always going to know that when it comes to this dress - it's good from far , far from good!

My first facial

2008-01-29T13:36:00.000+03:00

I just got back from my very first facial in Tanzania, after living here for two years. Unlike my very first elevator ride (which I shall save for another day) my first facial was, thankfully, far from horrifying.

In fact, it was absolutely relaxing! This is a huge compliment from me because I'm decidedly NOT one of those people who can fall into calm slumber while I get a facial.

In fact, I tend to tense up. I worry that the therapist is going to use the srub for my skin too energetically. I worry that the therapist has just finished taking the trash out and hasn't washed her hands before touching my face. I worry that the therapist isn't even a real therapist but a dog-groomer who's been brought in to fill in for the real therapist. I worry, worry, worry!

So it was a welcome respite when I discovered that Annette at the spa at Movenpick Hotel isn't a dog-groomer in disguise but an experienced, qualified therapist who really knows what she's doing.

I had only signed up for a basic facial because I wanted to be cautious (see list of worries above). I was instantly put at ease when Annette came in and went straight to the sink to wash her hands thoroughly before beginning. Big brownie points for Annette!

She also happens to be a wonderful masseuse and I was wonderfully surprised when she proceeded to massage my hands an arms after the moisture mask was applied (other facials I've been to kind of left me to twiddle my thumbs during the 10 or 15 minutes the mask was left on my face)

The only downside to the whole experience was an overly bright fluorescent light on the ceiling directly over my face. It was so bright that the light pierced through my closed eyelids and went straight to my brain. I felt like a UFO was hovering above, waiting to beam me up and perform unspeakable experiments on me!

Oh yes - another possible drawback was the price -TSH49,000 (USD 42 /RM 136). However, I must say that considering the inflated prices of everything here, it isn't so bad plus you get a neck and upper chest treatment thrown in.

Tip: I was asked to remove my top and wear a towel since the facial included a scrub and mask for the neck and upper chest. If, like me, you're not too comfortable about removing your bra it would be wise to turn up wearing a strapless one.

Verdict: Will definitely return - especially after I realized that my skin feels a lot softer now!

Wine....errr.... tasting?

2008-01-22T10:21:00.000+03:00

The Engineer and I attended a wine tasting at the Dar Es Salaam Holiday Inn.

Wikepedia defines wine tasting as:

The sensory evaluation of wine. The colour, aroma, flavour and feel of the wine in the mouth are all assessed. The main aim of wine tasting is to assess the wine's quality.

If that's what it's actually supposed to be then I really don't know what I should call the event we went to last Saturday!

If I want to be technical about it, there was some tasting involved but only because I'm being technical. Overall, there was a whole lot more drinking,swallowing, guzzling , and in some cases, downing than mere prissy sipping and tasting!

Before you can say Carbenet Sauvignon, the wine tasting last Saturday turned into an all out wine guzzling parrrrrtaaay!

I made the rooky mistake of assuming that it would be one of those serious affairs at which the wine masters (who had traveled from South Africa) would conduct a series of talks with us wine novices (well, at least I'm a novice). We would all listen intently, absorbing every word while cautiously sipping from our glasses.

I soon realized that this scenario existed only in my head. Let's just say the absorption that was going on had nothing to do with talks....!

Since the expat community in Dar is relatively small, practically all of them were there and The Engineer and I were pleased to see almost all our friends in one place.

It was interesting to note that the normally quiet, calm people (when I say normally I mean when they haven't ingested copious amounts of wine!) turned lively and chatty while the normally excitable, talkative ones turned into Energizer Bunnies!

I must say it made for a tremendously jolly atmosphere (it was like Christmas and New Year rolled into one) and made me want to clap my hands and shout out stuff like "woo hoo" and "party on" for no reason whatsoever (come to think of it, I think I did shout that out!).

I, unfortunately, have no photographs to go with this entry but it may be for the best. Frankly, I don't think any of the pictures would have been in focus and also people might have thought that I was taking pictures to blackmail them later!

The last thing I remember thinking in relation to photography was : "I should really get my camera out"... but that was before they broke out the free flow champagne.

Let's face it, no diva worth her Prada is going to pass up on bubbly and the rest of my time there passed in a pleasant haze of champagne. I must conclude that Dar's version of wine tasting sure beats Wikipedia's any day!

Titanic Time-Waster

2008-01-16T15:49:00.000+03:00

Is it wrong that I'm crazy about Titanic? After all these years, I still can't resist watching it when I see it on TV. I know tons of people think it's cheesy and predictable but I just LOVE it! What's not to like - there's romance, intrigue, real-life drama and adventure all rolled into one!

I watched it like 5 times in the cinema when it was first released in 1997 (was that really 11 years ago - darn I feel old!).

I just finished watching it again and I realized it was time to stop tuning in when I found myself saying the lines before Jack and Rose did!

The only thing I've never liked (or understood) about it is the fact that old lady Rose threw that gorgeous, gigantic diamond into the ocean. If she kept it all those years, she should have either sold it and kept the money or passed it on to someone in her family.

Perhaps the old thing was losing her marbles?

I suppose that doesn't matter - what matters is that I don't end up the same way by contemplating this movie a minute longer!

image courtesy of poster.net

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

2008-01-09T09:25:00.001+03:00

A few weeks back, I bought a cookbook by Marcus Wareing called How to make the perfect.....
(I'm amazed that I buy cookbooks these days. I'd opened about 3 cookbooks in my life before I came to Dar!)

In it, I came upon a recipe that took me back to my childhood - Pineapple Upside Down Cake! This was a cake that was all the rage in the 70s.

It was my sister's favourite and one of mine too so my mum made it often.

Time travel hasn't been invented yet so the next best thing is to experience the sights and sounds of childhood and what better way than to bake a cake, mum used to bake, when I was growing up?

Much to my surprise, The Engineer was also interested in the project especially since he'd never even heard of a Pineapple Upside Down Cake. So, we set about it one Saturday afternoon.

I must say it turned out rather nicely. The Engineer patiently laid out the pineapple rings and cherries in the baking tin so it would look beautiful when we turned it upside down (or is it right side up?)

Here it is....

....to Pineapple Upside Down Cakes and happy childhood memories!

Dar Flu II

2008-01-07T14:11:00.000+03:00

I spoke too soon...the Dar Flu has now developed it's attack strategy and now I'm having a sore throat!

I'm going to go and lie down...

The Dar Flu

2008-01-04T14:15:00.001+03:00

I'm currently fighting off that strange strain of flu that seems to pervade the air in Dar.

It makes you feel just tired enough to want to stay in, just achy enough to want to sleep more, just irritable enough to snap at your husband and just miserable enough to feel homesick.

There doesn't seem to be any other serious symptom, aside from mild sniffles and an on again, off again fever. No sore throat or raging, high temperature that signals other types of flus and earns you sympathy from friends and family.

The Dar Flu just makes most people want to stay away from your grumpy self and might even lead some of them to think that it's some kind of psychosomatic fantasy that you cooked up to get some attention.

This, of course, might possibly be true, in which case, I take it as a sign that Dar is finally getting to me and it's time to take a trip home!

Buck Rogers and the 25th Century

2008-01-02T10:04:00.000+03:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE!!!!!

I can't believe it's 2008 already!!!

I thought about the number two thousand and eight. I said it slowly and heard it aloud. I've concluded that it sounds like some futuristic year in a science fiction novel not the year I'm actually living in now.

When I was a kid in the 80s, my imagination only took me as far as 2000 which, back then, sounded like something out of Buck Rogers and the 25th Century (anyone below 30 won't know this TV show. Anyone below 30 should stop reading because you're only reminding me that I'm NOT below 30!!!)

Anyway, here we are in 2008. I've reached the age (sigh!) when I have a Whole Lot of life to look back on and a whole lot of mistakes to ponder about. I've reached the age when I really, truly understand when people say life is short. I can't believe how short it actually seems to be!

On the other hand, I'm also at the age when I am beginning to appreciate how very lucky we all are to even exist! Life = opportunity. It's a chance to try, a chance to succeed and to fail and to learn from those failures. Life is, after all, a roller coaster ride and I intend to relish every minute of it!

So, here's to a fabulous year that's fun, full-of-laughter and far-less-tears, brimming with blessings and good health. Happy 2008 - cheers!

Merry Christmas

2007-12-24T09:57:00.000+03:00

It's Christmas Eve in Tanzania!

I have mixed feelings about this.

On the one hand, I miss, miss, miss family and friends back home. The Christmas Spirit doesn't seem to be as feisty and festive as it normally is for me.

On the other hand - there are no traffic jams anywhere and I know there definitely is a God because this year, I've been spared the endless Search for a Parking Lot in the mall and the

Hmmm.....I suppose it all evens out in the end.

The important thing is to be glad that friends and family are healthy, safe and happy. If that's true, it really doesn't matter which part of the world you're at!

So here's to a Merry one :

Housekeepers - friends or foes?

2007-12-14T11:19:00.000+03:00

I can't believe how much I have come to depend on my maid (wait - maid sounds very politically incorrect so maybe I should use the far more respectable-sounding housekeeper).

Anyway, my housekeeper, hasn't turned up for the past couple of days. Apparently she's down with malaria.

I say 'apparently' because I happen to know that she's not particularly of the "tell the truth or die" way of thinking. So I've learned to take whatever she says with a grain of salt.

I caught her the other week when she tried to get me to pay her twice in the same month. When I went to South Africa at the end of November I decided to pay her early knowing that I wouldn't be back by the 1st of Dec (which is usually her pay day). So, with only good intentions at heart, I paid her December salary at the end of Nov before I left.

I get back here and she tries to pull the 'ol "wool over the eyes" routine by pretending that I hadn't paid her yet. I might have fallen for that one but I'm the sort of person who can get pretty obsessive about keeping records (especially financial records). So I'd actually written the date that I'd paid her in my little money book. She didn't get away with that one although it's not because she didn't try!

That's why, when she mentioned she had malaria, I'm more likely to think that she's been bitten by "lazy mosquito" instead and wants to stay home. Either way, its not like I have a choice - I HAVE to believe her.

Actually, I'm okay with her not turning up when she's ill of course but what really bothered me was the fact that when I called her yesterday to see if she was okay, she assured me repeatedly that she'd be well enough to come to work today.

So, I went ahead and bravely used every pan that I had in the kitchen to cook dinner last night (I suddenly felt like cooking up a Thai meal and it required a fair bit of preparation). In anticipation of her arrival today, I did absolutely nothing about the cleaning.

The bits of food are still stuck to the pans and the plates are all dirty and dry - yuck!. I normally abhor dry, dirty dishes greeting me in the mornings and generally clean as I go but didn't this time assuming that the housekeeper would take care of it.

So, imagine my horror when I realized today that she isn't coming. I tried to call and she had infuriatingly turned her phone off. Sigh!

Sometimes I think I should have just stuck to doing everything myself without any help. At least then I'd be aware that any mess I made would be a mess I'd have to clean up myself!

Back again.

2007-12-04T14:44:00.000+03:00

I'm back.....and I wish I was still in South Africa. After all that access to wining, dining and mall walking I am at a loss as to what I'm supposed to do with myself now. I know I should try to download all my SA pics but I'm slightly afraid that I'm going to feel bad that civilization is far away right now!

So, currently, I'm sitting around feeling a teensy bit sorry for myself. Thankfully the sun's out so I don't feel too blue but this morning, I wanted to book a ticket out of here and go home to KL!

No matter how long I stay here and how much I've come to love it, sometimes a Land With No Malls just isn't good enough!

South Africa...here I come!

2007-11-21T17:34:00.000+03:00

The Engineer and I are off to South Africa - woo hooooooo!

I am SO excited. We'll be visiting Cape Town and Johannesburg and the best part is, we're hooking up with The Boss and Girlfriend! We haven't seen them in MONTHS and I'm so happy we get to hang out again after so long!!

I have only one problem - I'm a Diva and I'm having a HUGE problem with the packing.

I'm going to be there for 11 days which means a whole lot of outfit changes (don't even get me started on the shoes!). So what does a girl, who wants to appear fashionable after living in the boondocks, do? Get over enthusiastic and overload the suitcase, of course!

The Engineer, who hasn't packed and is planning to share the suitcase with me, is in for a rude shock when he gets home later.....

I hope he takes pity on me and lets me have the whole suitcase to myself....keeping my fingers crossed.

I'd better get back to packing.....

Will write with news from South Africa when I get back *blows kisses*

Udzung- what?

2007-11-14T11:17:00.000+03:00

So, we went to the Udzungwa Waterfalls last weekend. Our little posse comprised The Engineer, The Sales Guru, Peacekeeper and Chef (Peacekeeper and Chef are two really nice girls we met recently who are American and Canadian respectively)

It was a 2 hour trek uphill to get to the falls.... 2 hours which means 120 frightful minutes which means 7,200 awful seconds.....and did I mention that every single one of those seconds were spent walking uphill????

I don't know what possessed me to agree to a weekend spent outdoors hiking, for crying out loud! Hiking is a fancy outdoorsy word for walking. I avoid walking from my car to the entrance of a mall that's why I park as close as I can to the doors. Why would I want to walk about for hours in the sun?

It's just that I've been thinking that I should try new things and seeing as I'm an indoor (nail-polishing, eyebrow-tweezing, fashion-magazine-reading) kind of gal, I thought the great (?) outdoors would be a good place to start.

I don't know why I keep doing this to myself because the outdoors, much like a woman, can be great to the ones who know how to love her but can be significantly nasty to the ones who don't! That's why they call her Mother and not Father Nature!

To be honest, I was admirably patient for the first half of the trip. I didn't say a word when we had to get out of bed before 6am to start the 6 hour journey. The road never seemed to end although the scenery was really gorgeous at times:

I didn't complain when I had to use one of those holes in the ground that pretend to be a toilet (boy, did I want to run out of there fast...phew!!!) I didn't even grumble when the car developed tire problems and we ended up in the middle of Goodness Knows Where trying to procure a valve for a tubeless tire.

Thank goodness, Peacekeeper speaks Swahili and easily conveyed what we needed to the tire guys.

Unfortunately, she found out more than I bargained for when the tire guy enquired in Swahili if I was attached...apparently he 'liked' me. Not to sound like a total b**ch but did he really think he had a shot? I suppose he deserves kudos for trying. I'm sure self-improvement gurus like Dr.Phil and Stephen Covey would congratulate him on his ability to think positive! Here he is, fixing the tire:

We eventually arrived at our 'resort' at Udzungwa after being delayed for two hours because of the tires. Now, about that resort - there should be an international governing body that monitors the use of the word resort. If I were lying I'd tell you it had a certain rustic charm but I'm telling the truth and charm isn't a word I'd use to describe the place. On the upside, it was clean, quiet and served a limited but delicious selection of food. This was my dinner:

On the downside, it featured a feeble fan that did nothing to stave off the raging heat of the afternoon and the pillows and mattresses felt like they were filled with small pebbles. Plus when we got back from our climb all hot and bothered (well, at least I was bothered) we discovered that there was no electricity and they didn't have a generator!!!!!

We couldn't attempt the climb on the same day we arrived since we only had a couple of hours of daylight left so we did what all good holiday makers do and drank ourselves silly.

Despite the booze, we didn't stay up too late and managed to start up the hill fairly early the next morning. I was initially enthusiastic but my patience ran out in about 5 minutes. That was the instant it dawned upon me that all I had ahead was an upward winding path that didn't seem to have an end and my only reward at the top was some waterfall.

An hour into the climb and I was ready to slap myself for agreeing to come on the trip in the first place. No one else in the group shared my lack of enthusiasm. Peacekeeper and Chef, both very fit girls, are the sort of people who relish pushing themselves to a physical limit (I'm SO not like that!). The Engineer and the Sales Guru had their machismo to fall back on. After all, no man is going to give up halfway through a physical task when girls seem to be able to do it with minimal fuss! So there I was, among all these outdoorsy and macho types, thinking that it would be so easy for anyone to pick me out of the group because I really looked like I didn't belong.

For instance I saw this tree with a vine wrapped around its trunk

At first glance, I thought that the vine was a wire that led up to a lightbulb up in the branches and that the Udzungwa people lit up the path for night climbers or something! I suppose you can take the girl out of the city....

Anyway, after huffing and puffing, I arrived at the top of the hill in one piece and was rewarded with this view (everyone else also arrived at the top of course but didn't huff and puff as much) :

Gorgeous as it was, I still didn't think that the climb was worth it. Why couldn't we just get air-lifted to the top? For a two hour uphill trek, I expect the Niagara Falls not the Udzungwa Trickle:

Still, it was a challenge and I must say that eventually the adrenalin kicked in and I began to feel good about myself. Here I am trying not to kill myself on the sharp rocks leading to the falls....

Here are my fellow climbers who, unlike me, navigated the rocks at lightning speed and got into the pool long before I did:

Finally in the pool (didn't bring my bathing suit so I look like a super freak!)

Unfortunately, the thrill of the clean, cold water after the long, hot climb eventually faded. Don't get me wrong....I was still feeling fairly pleased as we descended the hill and was all ready to dance for joy when we FINALLY reached the bottom. That's why I was totally unprepared for the proverbial last straw that was thrown in my face.

It turned out that the starting and ending point of the stupid climb were not the same. Translation: we had to walk another 1km in the BLISTERING heat to get to the car!!!!! Just as I thought I was going to be surrounded by blessed air-conditioning, I had to walk in the sun AGAIN! My blood boils even when I think about it now...grrrrr!!! Everyone else escaped my mumbled grumbles but the poor Engineer, who was stuck walking with me, had to listen to me going on and on about how I wish I was getting a manicure at the Kilimanjaro Kempinski instead of dying a slow death in the heat at Udzungwa.

Well, after that, I was determined to get the hell out of there asap and even volunteered to drive (just so I could make sure that we could leave fast!).

Pros and Cons:

The Positive: 1.The fun crowd I hung out with
2. The dip in the super cold pool after an arduous journey in the heat
3. The tightening of my buns after having to walk uphill for 2 hours.

The Negative: Everything else.

Verdict:

From what I've heard from mothers, childbirth is something you'll attempt again only because you eventually forget the pain.
I'm going to say that hiking is like childbirth. I'm going to attempt it again only when I forget the misery which is to say I''ll probably go on another hike like..... never!

Reading by the Sea

2007-10-29T10:19:00.001+03:00

A couple of Saturdays ago, The Engineer and I decided to head down to South Beach. There are two ways to get to there:

1. The ferry
2.The road

The ferry is technically the shorter route. The ride lasts all of 15 minutes (at the most) but the problem is, you have to wait an additional 2 hours to get on the thing which hardly seems worth it.

After having suffered through other ferry waits during our previous 2 visits, The Engineer and I decided to risk the road even though we weren't certain of the route. Roads are not clearly marked in Tanzania and our appalling Swahili speaking skills would prove no help at all if we ever had to ask for directions.

Despite these risks, we felt that driving down the wrong road would still be 'driving' as opposed to sitting like a pair of losers in the never-ending queue to the ferry - so off we went.

It turned out to be a fortunate choice because we arrived in just one hour, without making even one wrong turn! I credit this to The Engineer's impressive 'inner compass' that has been honed over his years of working in the field, optimizing mobile networks all over the world (goodness knows it's no thanks to me! I sometimes can't find my car at mall parking lots back home!)

Despite its extremely boring and grammatically incorrect name (there's more than one beach) , South Beach has a lot to offer the visitor who wishes to unwind by the sea. The Indian Ocean twinkles in the sun and seems to stretch to eternity. If you know where to go and you're really lucky, you can get an entire powdery white beach to yourself.

With this in mind, we gave the more popular (read: disturbingly crowded) beaches a miss and drove to a place called Kim's Kamp (apparently not just grammar but spelling is also somewhat of a challenge at South Beach *grins*) We knew of this place from our previous visit to South Beach with The Boss on Easter Sunday.

There was just one other family occupying one banda (hut in Swahili) in the short row bandas that faced the beach.

A Tanzanian man collected the entry fee of TSH3,000 each and brought us a little waste basket so we wouldn't litter the beach. After that, we were left to our own devices.

We chose our banda and spread out our Maasai cloth in front of it before placing the only two pieces of camping gear we own in all the world - a pink chair that doubles as a backpack and a picnic set. Both of these are fabulous presents from Pinky and I took a picture just so she'll know that her gifts are being put to good use! Thank you, Pinky *blows kisses*

The water was right in front of us - no obstacle to the view. It was so perfect that it looked like it had been painted just for us:

We spent all that afternoon reading (even The Engineer, who generally prefers the TV, was engrossed in The Kite Runner)

It was absolutely lovely to sit by the sea and read with no sound but that of ocean waves breaking softly on the shoreline.

Tanzania may lack Body Shop, Aldo and OPI nails but I must admit that every once in a while, it doesn't matter.

Hari Raya in Tanzania

2007-10-22T09:40:00.001+03:00

Muslims the world over recently celebrated Eid. In Malaysia we call it Hari Raya which, when translated literally from Malay, means Celebration Day. The Engineer noticed that Eid is celebrated in a more sombre manner by the Muslims in Tanzania compared to those in Malaysia and I must say that I agree.

Back home, there'll be "lagu raya" or raya music blaring in every shopping mall in the weeks leading up to the big day and this never fails to evoke the raya spirit (I suppose this is an unfair comparison between Kuala Lumpur and Dar Es Salaam since there are no malls here from which to blare anything!).

Certain streets, even in the middle of KL, will be lined with little stalls selling Malay cakes, cookies, curries and other goodies every single evening throughout the fasting month. This is to cater to busy Muslims who don't cook at home when they break their fast every day.

However, an observer would notice that Malaysians (and even expatriates) from every race, religion and walk of life will throng these little stalls for a taste of excellent Malay cooking at very affordable prices.Thinking about all this left the Engineer and I a little homesick so we decided that we couldn't go home to Malaysia then we'd have to find a way to bring a little bit of Malaysia to us.

So, I downloaded some of our favourite Raya songs online and played it full blast while we both cooked up a very Malaysian meal - nasi lemak. It's a very simple and delicious dish of coconut rice and boiled eggs eaten with a spicy, sweet anchovy sambal (sauce). This is what we came up with:

Considering that we were both previously good only at eating nasi lemak and had never tried making it (we usually wait for our mums to cook it up for us), we thought it turned out pretty good.

Silver lining: We didn't capture the true feel of the Malaysian Raya spirit but now, at least, we know how to make a pretty good nasi lemak!

The Shopping Ogre

2007-10-15T13:47:00.000+03:00

I had a sudden and strong urge to shop last week - it was an attack of the Shopping Ogre, a creature that lurks just beneath the surface of my psyche and rears its monstrous head when I least expect it.

Just to be clear, The Shopping Ogre doesn't goad me into the goody-goody sort of grocery shopping which I normally do but the other kind of shopping - the guilt-inducing kind. It has previously been responsible for a host of unnecessary (but oh so lovely!) purchases such as Aldo shoes, Zara outfits and yet another book that will soon sit on the "I'm meaning to read it sometime soon" shelf at home.

Fortunately (or unfortunately depending on how you look at it) I'm in a place where malls are a distant dream. The reality consists of dukas* lining dusty, orange roads with, what often looks like, second-hand clothes within.

That didn't stop me though. There's this little duka that I pass by every day because it's right near my apartment. I've noticed that, of late, the clothes hanging on its glass doors look rather attractive. Last Wednesday, I finally caved and paid a visit.

Just so, I wouldn't forget that I'm in Tanzania (as if I could!) I stepped in to find that the air-conditioner had broken down and the inside of the little duka was approximately the same temperature as the centre of a furnace. This very Tanzanian picture was made complete with the presence of a fundi*, trying in vain, to resuscitate the dead air-cond.

Determined not to let this bother me, I browsed through the goods the young lady, whose shop it was, had hanging neatly on the walls. I thought it was truly ironic when she said that she gets her stock from Thailand. Here I am, a Malaysian, who can easily get clothes from Thailand at bargain basement prices back home, shopping for the very same sort of stuff halfway across the world and paying ridiculously high prices for it. I blame the Ogre!

I left 20 minutes later with two new blouses in my bag - my own blouse sticking to my back because of the oven-like heat that I'd barely survived.

I thought I had quenched the thirst of the Shopping Ogre but I was wrong. I was attacked once again on Friday while driving by yet another duka ( I told you there are only dukas here and no malls). There I was , minding my own business, when I caught sight of this, from the corner of my eye:

It was pretty, it was orange, it was a halter neck and I swear it was calling-my-name (maybe it was actually the Ogre again, whispering in my ear!)

Not one to ignore the call of Pretty Clothes I made a sudden U-turn, kicking up a cloud of orange dust in the dirt road and frightening the heck out of the taxi man behind me! I even endured this makeshift, flimsy changing 'room' (it's that thing hanging on the right - two rugs hanging from the ceiling!) to get my hands on the dress.

I ended up buying it and drove home quickly to try it on. I loved it so much, I went back and got the last one the duka guy, Eddie, had in stock. I have a bad feeling that Eddie and I are going to be good friends from now on especially since he explained that he gets his stuff from Zanzibar and that they are brand new (the labels on the clothes confirmed this)

The things Divas do to assuage the Shopping Ogre that lives within us...not even the looming threat of heatstroke, the risk of purchasing 2nd hand clothes (yech!) or the perils of dangerous U-turning will keep us away!

*Note to the blissfully unaware:
1. duka means shop in Swahili
2. fundi means skilled worker although the 'skilled' part can sometimes be a bit of a stretch!

The Little Potjie That Could

2007-10-13T09:35:00.001+03:00

Before last Sunday, I wouldn't have been able to tell you what a potjie is even if you threatened to throw all my Aldo shoes into Lake Tanganyika (that would have been a true tragedy but there you have it).

A potjie (no, it is not, as I thought, pronounced pot-jee but poyt-kee) is an Afrikaans word describing a stout little three-legged cast-iron pot. It's not very large but do not be fooled by its size and seemingly innocuous appearance. It is a highly effective cooking tool and is extremely heavy (lift a potjie in each hand, 5 times a day, and you'd have Madonna envious of your defined arms).

The big deal is not the potjie itself but what South Africans put in the potjie - namely a delicious mix of meat and vegetables. Mysterious spices are thrown in and before long you have a lovely aroma floating in the air around the pot. Actually the spices themselves aren't particularly mysterious. The real mystery is the recipe. People are very proud of their potjie recipes and tend to guard them with their lives.

The reason I may appear wise to the ways of the South African potjie is because The Engineer and I were involved in a Potjie Kos Competition. Kos apparently means food in Afrikaans - so it was a Pot Food Competition (I'll stick to Afrikaans, it sounds imbecilic when you translate it to English!)

Anyway, quite a large crowd from the different departments at The Engineer's office turned up and some of them when to all sorts of trouble with the presentation. There was a team with a red carpet spread on the grass leading up to their table. The judges must've been impressed because the Red Carpet People people took home the prize for the Best Potjie even though I thought our potjie kos tasted better (talk about being a sore loser!) Some people arrived really early and already had the pot on the coals before anyone even had a chance to set up their tables.

Our team, on the other hand, turned up late and fumbled about for a long time. Here we are, finally getting our act together:

I was surprised things went as well as they did because there were people in our team who didn't know the difference between white onions and leeks! The guy proudly turned up with a bunch of leeks and announced that he'd brought the white onions. He later tried to redeem himself by saying that he'd confused white onions with spring onions. That doesn't explain anything at all because even if he thought he was buying spring onions, he still got it wrong - by no stretch, are spring onions leeks!

Overall, I thought we did really well as a team considering there were only two true-blue South Africans and everyone else was either Malaysian or Indian (with one Egyptian and one Ghananian thrown in for good measure). In fact our team was more varied than the ingredients that went into the pot!

The thing about cooking with a potjie is that it takes hours and hours and hours. After you've thrown everything into it, you've got to let it stew in its juices for ages so the meat really comes out all infused in the ingredients and very, very tender. Only problem is, there's not much to do while you wait. This is where the South African ingenuity really comes into its own...what does everyone do? Well, they drink of course! Drink themselves silly!

I must say it's fun. It's a day in the sun, spent with drunken friends. What could be more fun?

After a number of beers, some of the men (including The Engineer) began to (predictably) misbehave.

The hostess of the competition, the always gracious Lannie, had thought ahead and rented one of those bouncy castle slide thingees for the kids. Before long, the poor kids had to stand aside as the real kids took over. With all the jumping and extra weight, I expected the thing to burst but it, fortunately, didn't.

Some of the guys began to compete to see who would get to the end of the slide first (as if the potjie competition wasn't enough already). The Engineer and The Sales Guru dove in twice and The Engineer won both times.

No doubt, buoyed by his recent wins, The Engineer took on another friend, The Egyptian who gave him a good run for his money and won by a hair. The two of them then ran the risk of twisting their limbs and ending up in a sling by competing a bit too seriously. The Engineer, who went without a shirt in the slide, proudly showed me his 'war wounds', a couple of long scratches on his chest, the next day....boys*rolls eyes*

All in all it was a great day even though we didn't win but winning was never the point! That's the thing about South African events, win or loose, you are guaranteed three things: the outdoors, good food and a great happy heap of booze!

The Sporadic Blogger

2007-10-12T13:33:00.000+03:00

This is my punishment for being a sporadic blogger. Now that I'm brimming with tales to tell, the Internet is not cooperating with me!

I just can't seem to download the pictures....it takes ages and then dies out on me!

Sigh! I may be a sporadic blogger but I sure ain't a quittin' blogger, so I'm a gonna keep on tryin' (dunno why I've suddenly adopted a Mid Western accent!!)

Dar Day

2007-10-02T16:57:00.000+03:00

I'm having one of those 'Dar Days' as Pinkie calls them. It's a day when you wish you were anywhere but here. What made it worse was the lousy, gloomy, dark-clouds-in-the-sky weather this morning. Awful.

A Clearer Picture

2007-09-26T16:24:00.000+03:00

I just looked at my previous entry and realized that the "after" picture of Seacliff doesn't look burned at all (not that I'm glad that it is!)

So here it is again, much larger this time. Notice the burned charred window shades on the top floor, right side:

I happened to run into the guy who runs Top Knots (arguably the best and most expensive hair salon in Dar) at the Seacliff Village supermarket today and he says his salon is currently closed. It's not burned, fortunately, but investigation as to what caused the fire is in progress.

Perhaps it was arson (cue dramatic music...jeng, jeng jeng!)

Seacliff on Fire!

2007-09-22T20:02:00.000+03:00

Seacliff was on fire!

There's a long story behind how I found out about this (goodness knows it wasn't through the local paper; I know I should read it but I don't).

I was baking cupcakes for the Bead Queen on Saturday afternoon because she just LOVES cupcakes and because I like her and I want her to eat them. Besides, she's going to have a baby soon and I think expectant mummys should get what they want:

I began baking at about 5pm and I made a HUGE MISTAKE by setting the oven temp at 220C instead of 200C. The cupcakes came out slightly burned and because I'm a perfectionist and because I don't want Bead Queen to eat burned stuff, I decided to make another batch. Unfortunately, I'd run out of vanilla essence. So....because I'm a perfectionist and because I didn't want Bead Queen to eat essence-less cupcakes I decided to go get some.

Anyway, long story short, The Engineer and I made a quick run to Seacliff Village Supermarket to get the stuff. On the way, we were overtaken by a rather slow, silent fire truck with flashing lights. The truck didn't really look like it was in a hurry to get anywhere as the driver unhurriedly negotiated past the few cars on the road. I initially thought that it was heading for some sort of Fireman Family Day or something until The Engineer spotted smoke billowing up in the sky, straight ahead of us..... turns out The Seacliff Hotel was on fire!

I had never seen a real fire before and like every other person there, was morbidly curious about it ( I turn away from road accidents and the like but couldn't stop myself from staring at this). At the time we got there, the fire was pretty much confined to the back of the hotel but because of the hotel's thatched roofs, it was blazing angrily and looked like it might leap onto the neigbouring Seacliff Village building as well:

In view of this imminent danger, I noticed that they had closed and evacuated Seacliff Village so the vanilla essence was a no go. I had to go to Shrijee's and get the cheap kind which I disliked doing but powers greater than myself had thwarted my attempt at procuring good quality vanilla essence...what's a girl to do?

The Engineer, being far more morbid than I am and far less bothered by the lack of quality vanilla essence,rushed to the roof of our apartment building, the moment we got home, to see if he could spot the flames at Seacliff from there (which he could). He was eventually joined by Bead Queen's husband, Bead King and their little boy.

The Engineer and I went back to Seacliff the next morning and discovered the damage:

As far as I know no one was hurt (thankfully!) and I'm seriously glad that Seacliff Village Supermarket (which I can't live without) and the Java Lounge (which I also cannot live without because of their fabulous cafe latte) has been spared.

I just feel bad for the hotel guests and staff who must have had a terrible fright on Saturday night.

Hummus Calamity

2007-09-21T11:04:00.000+03:00

Results from yesterday's attempt at hummus - it was terrible!

I'm tempted to be a bad workman and blame my tools i.e in this case, blame the recipe but I must be honest and say that it was my own fault - I was impatient.

According to the recipe, I'm supposed to soak the chickpeas overnight (hummus is actually a cool foreign way of saying chickpea paste) , then boil them until they are soft. I waited for about 15 minutes and decided that they were soft enough which they were not!

That's where all my problems began because I had to blend them until they turned into a paste and they simply REFUSED to turn into a paste!!

I ended up with hard, lumpy hummus which I tried to rescue by adding olive oil and lemon juice but to no avail. It remained lumpy and tasted like mud. Awful!

The only thing I managed to achieve was to totally waste about 200ml of Extra Virgin Olive Oil which is like saying I threw away a bar of gold because that's what Extra Virgin Olive Oil is worth in Dar if you consider what it costs!

I'm not going to attempt hummus again....besides, The Engineer told me that during Ramadhan, Al Basha is open at lunch time on weekdays. Woo hoo!

Al Basha Groupie

2007-09-20T11:56:00.000+03:00

I skipped breakfast this morning (stupid thing to do but I had immersed myself online and lost track of the time).

I am so RAVENOUS right now! I just can't stop thinking about the Lebanese food at my current favourite restaurant in the whole world - Al Basha. The best part is, a lot of the stuff there is really healthy and there's plenty of vegetables in almost every dish. It's almost too good to be true!

If you're wondering what's the fuss all about it, just look at it, isn't it beautiful?

I've already mentioned Al Basha in another post which only proves how much I love it there!

Unfortunately, their business hours are a bit erratic right now because it's Ramadhan (fasting month) so I might have to go without their hot pita bread, hummus and spicy lamb sandwiches for a while.

I don't think I can last the whole month though so I'm going to attempt to make my own hummus this afternoon.

If it turns out, I'll post the recipe in this blog but if it doesn't, I'm just going to beg the Al Basha people to start a delivery service!

New Look

2007-09-17T16:13:00.000+03:00

Ooooh! I like the new look of my blog! I chose it mainly because of the girl. She's so cool...down to her stark, white hair and bright red nails! I'm inspired to work out and get that bikini bod of hers!

It was fun but I had to pay the price for updating the look of this blog....it took me AGES to get this up because I had to contend with the temperamental Internet that kept going on and off.

I've also not been posting for the past week because the people in charge of renewing my Internet subscription failed to do so and then took about a week to get it done once they had been informed...That's pole sana for you!

Still, I'm glad the net is back (temperamental or otherwise!). I know I sound like a junkie but I really don't know what I'd do without it!

A Moment's Notice

2007-09-10T16:50:00.000+03:00

It's official. I haven't got a single spontaneous bone in my body.
Pinky sms-ed this morning with one line: want to go to SA?

I already knew what she was talking about. She'd mentioned to a few of us that she'd been offered free trips to South Africa.

The story behind it is that this other friend of ours has a company here in Dar. I don't know the exact nature of the business but I believe it has something to do with oil.

Anyway, this friend needs to transport oil samples back to South Africa almost every week presumably to have lab analysis done on them. Tanzania simply does not have the right facilities to support what she wants done.

Long story short, this friend often contacts Pinky and asks her if she'd like to take the samples down to SA (oh and did I mention that it's a Business Class return ticket?) Apparently, it's cheaper to send someone down to South Africa on a return Business Class ticket than to send the samples via DHL (all the wrong things are expensive here in Tanzania).

The samples will be collected at the Jo'berg airport so once that's done, the 'transporter' is free to do as she pleases for as long as she likes (I believe international air tickets are 'open' for at least a month, possibly more for Business Class).

There's only one drawback in this entire scenario. They never know when they'll need someone to go down to SA with the samples. In other words, the 'transporter' has to drop everything and jump on a plane at a moment's notice

Pinky says she finds this really hard to do since her two little boys need her around. I think mothers will tell you that you just don't do 'a moment's notice' when you have a child. The only 'a moment's notice' you do would be to catch valuable and breakable items at 'a moment's notice' when your child knocks them down from the mantel or perhaps rush to the clinic at 'a moment's notice' when he swallows a large coin. Going on holiday and the like is NEVER going to happen at a moment's notice so Pinky is largely not going to make it for the free trip (much to her disappointment).

I have no kids and even Charley (my kitty cat) isn't with me here in Tanzania. The Engineer is a big boy and can take care of himself so what's my excuse? Well, I can only say that anything done at a 'moment's notice' makes me nervous. Throwing caution to the winds makes me feel cautious!

I'm one of those 'what if?" people. What if I don't manage to pack everything on time (Pinky suggests that I should have a bag packed and ready and I didn't listen!) What if the person collecting the samples in SA doesn't turn up? What if I get stuck at immigration and they think I've stolen the samples? What if I run out of money? What if, what if , what if.

My biggest problem is that I have only one place I'd like to stay while I'm in South Africa and that's at Girlfriend and Boss' place. I hadn't informed her and what if I suddenly turned up and she's not there or she gets upset coz she had other plans? What if….here I go again!

Anyway, I don't think Pinky is going to inform me about this again since I'm such a chicken at doing things impulsively. I think I should decide to actually go through with it the next time she calls (if she gives me a second chance!). I'll warn Girlfriend about it beforehand and plan it nicely but if I do all that, then it won't be spur-of-the-moment thing now would it?

I think I'm going to give up and just be happy with my non-adventurous, non-impulsive self! Besides, all those travel-at-a-drop-of-a-hat people would end up starving or worse if there weren't any 'what-if' people like me to plan for eventualities. After all, it takes all kinds to make a go around the world!

Thirty-something Juicers

2007-09-08T08:11:00.000+03:00

I've decided that I'm at the point where whatever I choose to do, health-wise, is going to have a lasting effect on the rest of my life.

The 20s are all about excesses and extremes - too much booze, too much food, too little food, too much smoking, too little sleep.

Yep, people in their 20s can get away with pretty much anything and wake up the next day looking like they've just spent a week at a health spa.

Anyone who's 20s are behind them will agree that this life of excess ends on your 30th birthday. Well, you can still choose to party all night, wake up at dawn and go to work but you're not going to look like you've just gone to a spa...you're going to look like you slept outside with a family of raccoons and woke up looking like one (complete with dark circles under the eye area and disheveled hair) :

In line with a new philosophy on improving our health (and a concerted effort to not look like raccoons), the Engineer and I have become smoothie and juice drinkers. We blend everything - celery, cucumber, strawberries, carrots, tomatoes and even spinach. If it's vegetable juice, we usually add a dash of lime/ginger for a bit of zing . If it's a fruit smoothie, we use yogurt and soya milk.

Before you conclude that we're a pretty hard-working pair, allow me to clarify that our sudden affinity for vegetable and fruit juices has less to do with diligence and more to do with laziness. We think it's a lot easier to take in our daily fruit/vegetable portions in juice form; that way we don't have to chew anything.... told you we're lazy goons *grins*!

I can't say that all the concoctions we've come up with are Food Channel material (the spinach is horribly bitter!) but some actually taste like creamy milkshakes (the strawberry, yogurt and soya milk mixture is exceptional!)

The one in the picture is a cucumber, celery and mint juice. I felt so healthy drinking it in the middle of the afternoon. I enjoyed it all the more knowing that I didn't have to deal with this mess....

Despite some of her rather alarming habits, I must say Sophia is heaven sent!

I used to wish I could return to my 20s but I've come to realize that my 30s are great....I know myself better, I understand what's really important in life and best of all....I don't have to clean up after I've made myself a smoothie! Life's pretty sweet!

raccoon pic courtesy of pikespeakphoto.com

The Land of Nat Geo Specials

2007-09-07T09:17:00.000+03:00

Everytime I get used to the idea that I'm here in Africa ( I never dreamed that I would even set foot on the continent, leave alone live here for a year!) something happens to remind me that I'm in The Land of National Geographic Specials.

Girlfriend took this picture a few days before she left (sob! I still miss her lots):

If you look closely, you'll see that that leaf has legs and a head. It's not a leaf at all but an insect! Girlfriend and I weren't even in some exotic spot in the middle of an African jungle when she captured this. You might notice that the background is a marble wall....this was taken in the ground floor of Girlfriend's apartment building here in Dar!

I've never seen anything like it in my life... well not out in the open anyway, only on TV (maybe I should spend more time outdoors but that's another issue!). In Africa, you just have to step outside and a busy, crowded, remarkable world of nature awaits to greet you.

Sometimes, you don't even have to go outside. This is the view from our balcony...

I'm beginning to understand the world's fascination with Mother Africa. She has all the allure of a particularly exceptional woman....she's lush, she's mysterious and she's always surprising.

Fashion Police, Tanzanian Style

2007-09-03T11:26:00.000+03:00

I was a rather busy bee last week. I went to the lovely baby shower for K on Tuesday and on Wednesday morning, I attended the South African Women's Group inaugural meeting.

I know, I know...I'm Malaysian, not South African so it might seem like I was crashing the party. In my defense, the organizers (one of whom I'd met through Pinky) were kind enough to let me attend because they feel that their meetings will be helpful to any expat.

I must admit, that despite their reassurance, I did consider running away at the last moment. Luckily I spotted the Bead Queen and K before making an escape so I stayed.

Michelle and Tania, the organizers, were really calm and everything ran smoothly. There were lovely snacks and even lucky draws! Looking at them, you'd never have guessed that they'd never held a SAWG meeting before (I'd have been a bundle of nerves - I'm not very good with crowds)

The speaker of the day was Helen, an Australian lady who has been living in Tanzania for 14 years. She had plenty of advice and a lot of the information was news to me.

For instance, I'd never known that Tanzanian people are largely conservative, even here in the middle of the biggest city. This means that 'revealing' spaghetti straps and low cut blouses are frowned upon. You're also in trouble if you're seen in army/combat pants/tops because only the real military is allowed to wear that (personally, I've never had the inclination to wear combat/military stuff because I think those designs are really unattractive. In fact, I think the military shouldn't have to wear them either!). She told us quite a horrifying tale about how intolerant the Tanzanians are when they believe someone or something is disrespectful of their culture.

A couple of years ago, a South African lady had taken her 11-year-old daughter for a quick shopping session in the middle of town. From what I gathered, the little girl was wearing a sleeveless top and short shorts and because she was an 'early-developer', the locals mistook her for someone a lot older. I believe she wasn't wearing anything under her top and when they saw her they immediately surrounded her and began shouting in Swahili.

This must have truly terrified the mother and the little girl as they did not understand what the crowd was yelling about. Fortunately, a shopkeeper came to their rescue by quickly throwing some cloth over the girl.

Tanzanians are not an aggressive lot so the mom and daughter weren't physically attacked but verbal disapproval, especially from a large crowd, must have been almost as frightening.

I thought back to the times I've been into town and there has been more than one occasion when I've strolled through the streets in a halter dress. I remember people giving me looks but I assumed that it was because they liked my dress (hey, its always good to think positive) plus I'm not 'endowed' enough to be 'spilling' out of the halter and didn't think it would be a problem.

Little did I know that they were probably contemplating telling me of for being a hussy!

From now on - only long pants and tops with sleeves for me since the Fashion Police in Tanzania seem to take their jobs more seriously than the real police!

Baby Showers

2007-08-28T13:06:00.000+03:00

People who know me well, know that I'm not that into babies or kids. That's why I'm at my age and don't have a dirty diaper in sight (no, I'm not about to reveal what age that is!). At the moment, diapers and such aren't even on the horizon of my future and I'm perfectly content with that.

Considering my indifference when it comes to kids, I do enjoy baby showers. There's such a lovely, joyful atmosphere at these things. All the other ladies present seem to be so happy just to be around a pregnant belly. I can't imagine myself with one but I've always thought pregnant bellies look so lovely and cute and comfortable (although I'm sure they're really uncomfortable!)

The other ladies, who already have babies of their own, are full of advice and support for the mother-to-be. I'm often the odd one out (if you're reading this, Girlfriend, you know exactly what I mean and I'm all alone on this now that you're not here *sob*). I'm usually just standing around but I'm never bored because it feels like I'm watching some kind of addictive reality series.

I had another opportunity for some observation today when I attended a wonderful little baby shower at the Bead Queen's apartment. I might have mentioned before that the Bead Queen really knows how to throw a soirée. Everything is well thought out and even the tiny details are executed with style.

I arrived a little past ten this morning and the Bead Queen was in top form as usual. She'd even decorated her front door with little baby-themed print outs.

The food was fabulous.....

....the ladies looked lovely....

.....the presents were beautiful, all wrapped up...

.....and the babies were absolutely, cheek-pinchingly, adorable

When the mum-to-be arrived, she was asked to wear a sign on her tummy that proclaimed "Baby On Board/Mother To Be". I thought she looked so cute:

Despite me not being able to join in much,due to severe lack of knowledge about anything that has anything to do with babies, I managed to win a prize and I love it! Its incense, candles and bath salts...

Bead Queen had organised a game where we were all supposed to guess the girth of K's belly by cutting a length of string and my piece of string fit round her tummy perfectly! I guess I'm not good with babies but I'm clearly good with judging the size of waistlines (I suppose this expertise has developed from years of obsessing about my own!)

Its all so much fun and games with baby showers, if only babies are the same way..... I might actually consider having one!

Boat....er I mean Goat Races!

2007-08-21T12:34:00.000+03:00

Goats are clumsy creatures. If you needed proof of this (unlikely but just in case you're involved in some sort of experiment regarding the agility of four-legged creatures or something), you'd just have to attend the annual Goat Races here in Dar to see that it's true.

There were only 2 reasons why The Engineer and I attended this event:
1. The races are for charity and you can't go wrong when you give money for charity
2. We thought it would be a hoot to watch goats go round and round a racetrack (this is evidence that weekend activities in Dar are severely limited)

We arrived at the Leader's Club where the organizers had created a makeshift oblong track in the middle of the field for the goats to go crazy in.

From what I gather about this event, groups of friends or families own the racing goats and on the big day, they get to dress up like clowns (literally) or in other really loud costumes and cheer their respective goats on.

The goats, unaware of all the hulaballoo, run around the track mainly because they have a group of young local handlers, chasing them with what looks like a thick, cylindrical contraption with handles.

They (the goats not the handlers) tend to stick together all through the first run around the track (they need to go around twice to complete the race). By the start of the second circuit it usually dawns upon one or two of the goats that this is in fact a race and that they're supposed to get ahead of their fellow goats.

At the last second one of them generally breaks away from the rest and is declared the winner.

It's quite entertaining to watch and there's something unexpectedly endearing about a bunch of goats running chaotically and comically toward the finish line.

Aside from the main event, there were tents selling the usual bric-a-brac (carvings, etc). The organizers were also going to award prizes to the most unusually dressed and the best hats. Hats off to those ladies with the hats on:

It was too hot to even think and some of these people were really courageous to turn up all turned out under that unforgiving sun!

I would have enjoyed myself more except that I'm a puteri lilin and the heat of the afternoon very quickly diminished my already dangerously low levels of patience. The Bead Queen was lucky enough to get tickets for the VIP tent but I later heard from her that the atmosphere was no cooler in the tent (which must have trapped the heat and created an oven-like feel - yikes!)

I won't lie - I was really glad to get away from the races and get home to the air-conditioners. Still, I'm glad we went. After all, boat races are a dime a dozen but goat races are priceless!

Limbo

2007-08-17T10:45:00.000+03:00

I am currently neither here nor there. I'm not feeling ill enough to stay in bed all day but I'm not well enough to be prancing about outside either. This makes me feel restless and tired at the same time.

I blame this weird African flu virus thing that makes my bones ache and my nerve-endings feel like they're on fire. I also blame The Engineer. I think he passed it to me!!!

I got online this morning hoping to write something thought provoking and intelligent. Instead I can't provoke my thoughts into one intelligent sentence so I shall give up for now.

Going to crawl under the blanket and do something mindless like watch TV....

What you don't know won't hurt you

2007-08-06T14:24:00.000+03:00

Quick question - what does a rubbish bin have to do with a dish sponge? Nothing, right? Well, much to my horror, my cleaning lady doesn't seem to think so.

I walked into the kitchen this morning and I saw her using the dish sponge to wipe out the waste basket- yes the BIN - where rubbish and various other refuse reside!!!! She'd removed the rubbish (thankfully) but hellow! It's the basket that holds waste product for crying out loud!

I thought of the bacteria, I thought of the filth and I admit I thought of throwing Sophia into the very bin she was cleaning.

With supreme effort, I managed to quell my initial reaction and told her (in what I hoped was a calm voice) that the dish sponge was to go nowhere near the rubbish bin. It was strictly for the dishes only.

Call me a freak but I've spent the most of my morning trying to stop myself from thinking about all the other mistakes that Sophia might be making when I'm not around.

She might be using the tootbrushes to clean the toilets, the floor rag to clean the refrigerator and the shoe brush to clean the sink. Who knows what other horrors are going to come to light but frankly, I'd rather remain in the dark!

What you don't know won't hurt you - at least I hope so!

pics courtesy of nittygrittymop.com and plantstuff.com

The Gods of Umeme

2007-08-02T14:46:00.000+03:00

As I've mentioned before in this blog, power cuts are to Dar Es Salaam as traffic jams are to Kuala Lumpur - frequent, unavoidable and Highly Annoying.

I thought we'd all seen the last of the power outages but the Gods of Umeme must have thought otherwise . The umeme (electricity in Swahili) decided to take a hike this morning and stayed away for nearly 5 hours. The Jenny (generator) came on at 8am but was turned off by my apartment supervisor at 10am (it needs frequent rests otherwise it'll go into R.I.P mode according to my building supervisor)

I sat doing some research on the net hoping the battery wouldn't run out on my laptop. I had to switch to "long life" mode which I hate because the screen goes all dark n gloomy and I feel like a geriatric peering at the screen.

My laptop finally did die on me but I took it as a sign that it was time to take a break. What the heck, right? Maybe the Gods of Umeme wanted me to relax a little so who am I to say no?!

Manolo Blahniks and Parking Lots

2007-08-01T13:04:00.000+03:00

In my book thisand this have a lot more similarities than meets the eye.....

I went to have breakfast with friends at Seacliff this morning and found myself looking for a place to park. This might be an unremarkable (and decidedly annoying) experience for city kids but here in Dar, where the sun shines all year and the breeze blows extra lazily, parking places are a shilling a dozen.

Especially in the middle of the day, in the middle of the week but for some reason, there were no parking lots available this morning.

I didn't know this at that time but I was in for a rude shock. In Dar, life might be slow but I found out today that laid-back Tanzanians can sometimes give, rude, aggressive big city drivers a run for their money.

I had just driven past the front entrance of Seacliff Village when I decided to double back, quite sure that I'd spot a parking lot right near the entrance (I wasn't about to park farther away and walk - I AM a diva after all *grins*).

Just as I had predicted, I spotted someone reversing out of a spot right in front of the entrance. I quickly used my indicator to signal that I'd be turning in. Just then, someone else ( a young, local man) appeared out of nowhere in his car and tried his best to cut into the lot from the opposite direction.

Not about to be outdone, I pressed my 2-inch heel down on the accelarator and also headed into the lot. I think the guy must have noticed the look of crazed determination on my face because he stopped at the very last second and allowed me to park.

I swear there was less than an inch between the front bumpers of both cars.

What suprised me was my contender's attitude which I felt was suprisingly aggresive and competitive for a Tanzanian. I was definitely at the parking lot first and I couldn't understand why he'd want to push for the space. Maybe he thought I'd back down coz I was a woman?

He had no idea that he'd taken on the wrong person. How could he have known? Years of literally fighting for space in hot, overcrowded, carbon monoxide filled parking lots in Malaysian malls have trained me. I treat a good place to park like I would a new pair of Manolos - they're both incredibly valuable, highly treasured, remarkably rare and sometimes, even life-changing.

I'm not proud of my mad behaviour behind the wheel but maybe the bully will think twice the next time he tries to terrorize someone to give up their precious parking space : )

pics courtesy of coyoteblog.com and net-a-porter.com

The Maasai, The Blogger and The Wardrobe

2007-07-27T14:56:00.000+03:00

Notice the guy on the right? I thought it was interesting to capture a Maasai man dressed in his native costume doing something mundane, namely transporting furniture (that cupboard has got to be one of the ugliest ones I've ever laid eyes on!). I'd never, ever see something like this in KL so I grabbed my camera but you've got to forgive the blurriness and crookedness of the picture.

I was driving behind the van when I took this and yes, I nearly slammed into the back of it as the driver braked to go over a road bump.

Yes, it was stupid of me to try and take a photograph while driving but hey, what kind of a writer would I be if I didn't do someting ridiculous now and again? Rudyard Kipling, Ernest Hemingway and Paulo Coehlo certainly didn't reach literary genius by sitting at home watching the E! channel!

Cappuccino For One

2007-07-25T12:26:00.001+03:00

Am I really writing again after having posted just yesterday? I must be dreaming! I can't believe I'm being so regular (hmmm, that came off sounding like I'm talking about my toilet habits - yikes!)

I drove down to town today to stock up on my miserably empty freezers ( the one that comes with a fridge and an industrial size one that the good people who own this apartment have installed).

Salim (my friendly, neighbourhood butcher who's very likely the richest Tanzanian person I know) was in his shop and we had a friendly little chat whilst I collected my 2 deboned chickens, 1 cut n skinned chicken, pork fillet and lamb.

On the way home, I decided to hop over to the best Lebanese place I've ever eaten at for a take away sandwich. The restaurant is called Ali Basha. Granted, I've only ever eaten Lebanese food one other time in my life so I may not be qualified to judge but this place is SO GOOD that The Engineer and I catch ourselves thinking of what we're going to have for lunch at the place during dinner the night before!

I realized that I was in a bit of a dilemma when I arrived at the restaurant and placed my order. I hadn't brought anything to read while waiting!!! Now, this might not sound like much of an emergency to most but I have never EVER sat down at a restaurant by myself without some sort of reading material. Even at home, I'm always in front of the TV when I eat (this sounds a bit sad, I know but it's nevertheless true).

I'm always under the impression that people who see me eating by myself would think that I'm some sort of sorry person who doesn't have any friends and has no choice but to eat by herself.

Well, today, I just HAD to sit there while I waited for the food and I was suddenly overcome by a courageous thought. What if I ordered a cappuccino (really, really fattening creamy stuff absolutely WONDERFUL stuff that you can only get at this restaurant) and just sat there drinking it? No book, no magazine, no nothing.

I was suprised to discover that:
1) people didn't notice me sitting there by myself much less judge me and
2) I genuinely enjoyed just people-watching

No one batted an eye, even when I surreptitiously took my camera out of my bag to snap this picture of my fabulous cappuccino:

In other words, I've been worrying about what people were thinking of me when I should have been enjoying countless cappuccinos for one over the years. You learn something new everyday.

Only in Dar

2007-07-23T11:16:00.000+03:00

We're back in Dar and boy was it difficult to get back here! You wouldn't believe how TOUGH it was to get an air ticket from Malaysia back to Dar. The Engineer managed to arrange his travel details through work but I had to stay back in KL an extra week due to the scarcity of tickets.

Who would've thunk it? Dar is a destination that people actually have on their itinerary! I never really knew much about Tanzania before I arrived here. Let's just put it this way, if naming the capitol of Tanzania was the final question for me on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, I'd have been out a million bucks.

After being here for a year, I must say that Dar has a personality all it's own and despite the unsightly rubbish and life-threatening traffic in town, I'm glad to be back.

The Engineer and I wanted to do something relaxing last weekend but shelved our idea of hitting Kunduchi beach when we woke up on Saturday morning and realized that it was close to 10am. I can almost hear our South African friends groaning at this - Phil especially, if he's reading this. Many a time have his plans been thwarted because of our inability to drag ourselves out of bed at the ungodly hour of 9am on a Saturday! Never a patient man, it was a testament of our friendship that he didn't beat us into a pulp for keeping him waiting (although there was that one time that I thought we were dead for sure!)

Outdoorsy South Africans just can't understand why we Mall-Walking Malaysians stay in bed so late on weekends and we can't fathom why anyone would want to hop out of bed anytime before 10 on a Sunday! A cultural dilemma indeed.

Anyway, seeing as the beach was out of the question, The Engineer and I fell back on our usual fall back plan - the movies. We had not watched a number of the summer hits and decided to take in Shrek 3. There was only one show on at 2pm.

We set off for Milimani City, a good 45 minutes away from where we live if you factor in the traffic jam on Old Bagamoyo Road. Since this is Dar, we know that the movie starts a good half an hour to 40 minutes after the time it is supposed to. So like good Dar-ians, we left the peninsula (where we live) at 1:43 and arrived at about 2:15 only to be told that the movie was scheduled to start at 2:30.

"But it says 2pm on your website," we say, not really expecting an explantion. "It starts at 2:30pm," states the lady behind the ticket counter unequivocally, unapolegetically, completely unperturbed. After a year of Pole Pole (slowly slowly), we too were well trained and unperturbed by the turn of events.

The movie started at about ten minutes past 3pm. All was well right up till the very end when the entire cinema went dark. We're also rather used to this because when the country had major power problems before, there used to be a lot more of these blackouts to contend with.

There were about five other people in the cinema that afternoon and every on of us let out a gasp as we noticed that whoever was operating the projector had managed to get the picture back on screen but had failed to notice that the picture was ON FIRE! No kidding.

There was poor Shrek frozen in the midst of saving the day from the evil Prince Charming and his entire face was being licked by flames! The poor kids in the audience must have been stunned into silence because there wasn't a sound in the cinema for a couple of seconds as we all watched Shrek burn. It was a cartoon and a horror movie rolled into one!

Anyway, The Tanzanian Projector Guys, eventually got their act together and the film continued, uninterrupted.

Still, how often do you get to say that you witnessed Shrek being burned alive? Only in Dar!

Back to KL

2007-06-25T21:25:00.000+03:00

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!

Zamani Zanzibar Kempinski

2007-06-24T10:54:00.000+03:00

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!

Designers in Dar

2007-06-18T10:58:00.000+03:00

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!

Daylight Robbers Store

2007-06-11T16:30:00.000+03:00

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!

I hate goodbyes!

2007-06-08T11:20:00.000+03:00

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!

Girlfriend is Leaving!

2007-05-16T15:07:00.000+03:00

I am freaking out. Girlfriend is leaving Tanzania to go home to South Africa which means she's leaving for good *sob*! She's leaving at the end of this month.

Pinkie, Girlfriend and I haven't had time to really think about it yet because we've been running around too much (probably to avoid thinking too much about Girlfriend's departure). Every single day is filled with last minute shopping for things that Girlfriend wants to take home to SA and the nights are filled with restaurant hopping coz Girlfriend and Boss want to try everything before they go.

I still can't believe that she's going to be gone. Friends are important anywhere but they're absolutely vital when you're away from home so it's going to be tough getting used to life here without one of my best friends.

The stupid rainy season isn't helping either because everything is so dark and bleak and wet and miserable. I think it's kill-yourself weather!

Tales From Kuala Lumpur

2007-04-29T16:52:00.000+03:00

I've come home to Kuala Lumpur and have had no time to write at all! Okay, I'll be honest - I've been stuffing my face with food and thus have had no time to write at all!

For some reason, time seems to move about 100x faster in Malaysia compared to Dar. I looked at the clock at what seemed like 10 minutes ago and it was 8:30pm. I'm looking at the clock now and it's 9:53pm! What's up with that!

The good thing is, I'm having a blast here. A dear, dear friend of mine took The Engineer and me out to this cool new place in town called Palate Palette and they make the meanest and most fabulous Lychee Martinis. I had one to many (I only had two but the second one was a mistake!) and spent the whole of Saturday regretting it : )

It's good to be back and KL seems cleaner and cooler than it did in December which was the last time I came home.

Still, I miss Girlfriend and everyone else back in Dar. Maybe I'm lucky to have so many good friends to miss!

The Bead Queen Meets Mean Queens

2007-04-19T01:05:00.000+03:00

The Bead Queen (she's the Bead Queen coz she loves beads and can make really lovely bead necklaces, bracelets etc) came over the other day for a mid-afternoon coffee and chat. She's always wanted to see my apartment

She arrived at my door with a bunch of red roses cause she's a real sweetheart that way. She absolutely loved the view (even though I've been living here for 7 months, I still can't get over it) and we both had a really nice time together.

Now Bead Queen is one of those girls whom you will instantly like because she's just so cheerful and friendly. She's always got some party to go to or to plan and people just love warmth, sincerity and wicked sense of humour.
So it came as a total surprise when she told me that she had an awful time when she first arrived in Dar a couple of years ago.

Apparently, there are certain ladies here in Dar who consider themselves the 'in crowd'. They pick and choose who they're friends with and make everyone else wish they'd never been born. They're really good at pointedly ignoring any lady they don't 'approve of' and make a real effort to make her feel unwanted and small. This may not be a big deal when you're surrounded by family and friends but in foreign land, it can really get to you!
I have no idea what the criteria is to be part of this so called 'in crowd' but it seems to me that bitchiness has definitely got to be one of them!

Besides, these ladies should wake up and smell the coffee. Look around - this is hardly LA or New York, it's Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania for crying out loud! There's no such thing as an 'in crowd' in a place like this. There's hardly even a crowd!

Looks like Mean Girls aren't just confined to the movies and to high schools.
Quick riddle: What's worse than a Mean Girl? A Mean Old Crone!

South Beach on Easter

2007-04-10T14:23:00.000+03:00

The Engineer, Boss and I found ourselves with little to do on Easter Sunday. (pssst...none of us even talked about going to church!)

So Boss and Engineer came up with the idea of going to South Beach. I suppose it's called South Beach because it's at the south end of Dar.

The Engineer and I went there with a group of friends last year but we were totally unimpressed. The water wasn't very clear and the beach was very crowded - much like the clips you see on tv of California beaches. The only problem is the South Beach crowd is hardly the 6-pack-displaying, bikini-wearing types at all.

Instead, sprawled across the sand were old Aunties and Uncles, their kids and screaming grandkids all running helter-skelter. There were people in long-sleeved blouses and what looked like formal wear. Yech!

Anyway, this time it was thankfully different. We gave the crowded beaches a miss and just drove around from one campsite to another. The places we chose were fairly deserted and absolutely gorgeous.

Boss made some fabulous lamb mince and ham sandwiches. I should've taken a picture of them but we ate them all before I thought of the camera! They certainly looked like they were made by a man because there was nothing delicate about them at all. I call them 'man sandwiches' - huge cuts of bread, really generous meat filling and a slice of cheese.

The Engineer bit into one and discovered that the plastic wrapper was still on the cheese and said, "these sandwiches are defintely made by Boss," with a sly grin. I think he meant that while Boss is nice enough to actually go to the trouble of making the sandwiches, he probably ran out of patience long before he'd finished making them : )

I managed to buy something even though South Beach is hardly a shopper's paradise. Here's The Engineer picking out a rasta coloured hat for me at a stall by the beach:

The caps were cute but I suspect the bikinis in the background were not new. I don't think second-hand tops are that bad but a bikini top is a whole other story - and don't even get me started on second-hand bikini bottoms. Yikes!

We eventually stopped to use the restroom and I actually found myself in a ladies' room which was basically a hole in the ground. Don't be fooled by it's castle-like exterior:

It was astonishingly dry, looked and even smelled clean! I think some of the toilets in Mid Valley Megamall is a lot worse!

We eventually made our way to a horse farm (is that what they're called?) where you can learn to ride. It was literally in the middle of nowhere and this road just seemed to go on and on:

It was worth the trip though because it was a really, sweet, quaint little place with dogs, cats, chickens and horses all living together in harmony. They had this lovely bougainvillea tunnel leading toward the stables:

Here's The Engineer giving Steffie some love - the only girl I would actually approve of him caressing!

We thought about walking to the beach which is about 20 minutes away from the stables but decided we were too lazy. Besides, we could catch a glimpse of the ocean right from the stables:

The Engineer and I have decided that South Beach isn't so bad after all and we're definitely going back. There's talk of doing a camping trip but I'm hoping everyone will decide to rent a bungalow instead. I can never understand why people like to do the outdoor thing when the indoor-with-a-bathroom-and-fewer-mosquitoes thing is so much better!

The only part of our trip that wasn't good was Girlfriend's absence. She's was away in South Africa and I can't wait for her to come back.

Pina Coladas, Zanzibar and a Fabulous Houseguest

2007-04-07T09:56:00.000+03:00

Definition of a fabulous houseguest:

1. Someone who's presence you hardly notice because he/she fits in so perfectly into your household and lifestyle
2.Someone who makes the best cocktails - ever!

That's exactly why Fabulous Houseguest got his name.

There were two highlights of Fabulous Houseguest's visit. One was a cocktail party and the other was our trip to Zanzibar.

We almost didn't make it to Zanzibar because of our very Malaysian disrespect for time. Fortunately for us, we had a very South African person driving us to the jetty.

Boss and Girlfriend had kindly offered to take us to the jetty but I think Boss regretted his generosity when he saw us strolling towards his car at 7.15am when the ferry was due to leave at 7.30am. He had arrived at our apartment at exactly 7.00 am.

Some fifteen adrenaline-charged, jaw-clenching minutes later (and with a string of curses from other drivers in our trail), we caught the ferry by the skin of our teeth. Boss didn't say a word but I thought I saw the corner of his eye twitching in what must have been unadulterated annoyance for 'Malaysian time'!

After a very hair-raising start to our little holiday in Zanzibar, the rest of the trip was highly relaxing and restful. I've been in Tanz for almost a year and I've never been to Zanzibar. Some say that's practically sacrilegious so I was really looking forward to the trip. Despite it's rather unimaginative name, Stone Town, Zanzibar's capitol, is classified as a World Heritage Site.

Personally, I loved it and so did Fabulous Houseguest but The Engineer was not too keen about it. If you're not into cobbled paths, narrow winding streets and if you hated History in school (like The Engineer), you're probably not going to enjoy it much.

I, on the other hand, have always loved history and Stone Town is nothing if not historical.

Here's a peek at a quaint Zanzibarian street....

....and I thought this was a fascinating and possibly rare shot of a church steeple with the minaret of a mosque in the background:

After a tour round Stone Town we headed for Nungwi on the north of the island. Apparently, this area is home to the best beaches on Zanzibar.

It turned out that the sunsets impressed me far more than the beaches. This has to be one of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen in my life. I still can't believe it:

We just had to get a shot of ourselves as well and only managed to capture our silhouettes but I think it's kinda cool:

The unbelievable beauty that was all around made me feel rather contemplative but in a good way. It made me think about the really important things in life.

We spent most of our time on the beach, watching the sunsets and drinking Pina Coladas (for me) and beer (for the two boys) but we did veer off from our beach bumming ways when we spotted this intriguing sign:

We wanted to know if it would actually take 27 minutes to get there and I think it did. Our efforts were rewarded when we got to spend some time at the aquarium which turned out to be a lovely natural pool:

Then we came upon this sign:

This other aquarium really was 15 seconds away from the sign and it was then that we realized that Zanzibarians may be laid back but they sure take accuracy on sign boards seriously!

When we got back to Dar, we thought we'd have ourselves a little cocktail party and this is were Fabulous Houseguest really outdid himself. He mixed the best and possibly most dangerous Pina Coladas I have ever had.

Everyone was thrilled with their drinks (Boss, Girlfriend and another friend were also there) and I swear every subsequent batch of cocktails grew steadily more potent. I don't know if this was because Fabulous Houseguest/Bartender was getting drunker and didn't know how much alcohol was going in the drinks or because he believes that a good bartender always adds a little more alcohol in each subsequent drink. Either way, we didn't complain!

We all felt sorry for him slaving away in the kitchen while the rest of us kept inhaling the fruits of his labour but he seemed to enjoy himself. Girlfriend and I were so pleased with our cocktails that we just had to get some pictures of him creating his magic so we took some shots of him, paparazzi style.

In my opinion, anyone who can whip up Pina Coladas and who is such a Fabulous Houseguest should be treated like a celebrity!

Blue

2007-03-28T16:14:00.000+03:00

Okay, so much has happened since the last post. We went to Zanzibar and had the most wonderful and highly intoxicating cocktail party ever!

But right now I feel really, really blue because:

1) The weather is crappy. The rainy season has begun in earnest and it's so dark and dreary that if you were contemplating suicide, you might actually be tempted to follow through
2) Even worse is the fact that we had the most Fabulous House Guest ever and he just left yesterday. Today my dear, dear, sweet Girlfriend and also Pinky have left for South Africa and Girlfriend will be away for a long time. I am feeling so sorry for myself right now!

The Engineer and I, who are recovering from a week of hard partying with the Fabulous House Guest are deeply entrenched in the 'woe is me' type of mood.
I'm going to try my never-fail technique of cheering up - tons of chocolate and girly movies.

Girls With Attitude

2007-03-14T09:41:00.000+03:00

Pinky, Girlfriend and I organised a ladies get-together yesterday morning. Actually, Pinky and Girlfriend organised it and I helped here and there but being the sweeties that they are, they generously share the credit.

It was such a success! Nearly 50 ladies came to our little gathering. I don't know if this means that the three of us are well connected in Dar or the fact that the entrance was free had something to do with it ; ) I think it's the free entrance!

You might wonder what's the purpose of this event and that's the beauty of it - nothing in particular! I think Pinky and Girlfriend thought of doing it because they wanted to get to know more people and create a way for the ladies in Dar to mingle. We call it the Girls With Attitude get-together. This is our unofficial logo:

Isn't she cute?

Pinky found a local lady to come and do manicures/pedicures for TSH10,000. This might sound like an exorbitant amount but it's like RM 28 for a mani and pedi. Isn't that an incredible bargain?

There were also people selling educational toys (not my thing) and Girlfriend who was there with her jewellery (really my thing). Here she is standing pretty and proud behind her counter:

I attempted the shopgirl thing myself and tried selling some little purses from Malaysia. Suprisingly, nobody ran away shrieking and some people actually bought my stuff!! I never knew I'd have So-Much-Fun SELLING bags instead of buying 'em!!! I am now officially The Bag Lady. This is what my table looked like when the event started....

...and this is what it looked like near the end....

I was SO excited that I'd managed to sell something until Ms Paranoia took over. I'm now terrified people are going to ring me and shout at me that my bags are no good and they've changed their minds...I'll have to wait and see if that happens!

The whole thing only lasted a few hours and Pinky, being the organiser extraordinaire, even manged to get a 3G pack as a raffle prize. Girfriend donated a discount voucher for her jewellery as one of the prizes. The person who won was SO excited, you'd think she won the lottery but that's because Girlfriend's stuff is really gorgeous.

We celebrated at the end with one too many glasses of wine (which I'm now feeling the effects of) . I just can't wait to organise the next one - not because of the wine (although I can't complain!) but because it gives us all such a wonderful feeling of accomplishment!

Hey, I just thought of a rhyme:

Girls with attitude get things done
Girls with attitude just wanna have fun.

Alright, I'd better not attempt poetry. That was a silly, silly rhyme! I think I'll spare the world and just stick to writing!

Folders are Fabulous!

2007-03-11T07:59:00.000+03:00

I am in the midst of booking a safari holiday for The Engineer's and my friends who are Malaysians but reside in London. They'll be coming to Dar at the end of March so I'm a bit short of time. This is usually my worst nightmare. Holidays are very personal and everyone has specific ideas on how to spend them since they're usually highly expensive and come round like once or twice a year.

I envisioned calling London a hundred times and calling the travel agent even more times but the friends have been totally fabulous. In order to give me as little trouble as possible, they have sent all their requests in an Excel spreadsheet - with their ideas highlighted in blue! Now, that's what I call organisational skills!

Some people I have dealt with in the past (this includes colleagues and bosses who are PAID to be organised but fail miserably) usually keep calling you, keep changing their minds and then finally blame you when everything falls apart and nobody gets anything done.
If this is how they plan holidays in the UK, I wonder how fabulously organised they must be at work?! If you're wondering why I'd this impressed with planning and orderliness, there is a story behind it....

In the old days, I used to spend half my life scratching about for birth certificates, academic certificates, school exercise books etc. While I feverishly hunted for the mysteriously absent item, I would undoubtedly receive a ticking off from my mum who is the Queen of Organisation and did not tolerate chaotic behaviour from her scatter-brained daughter.
I finally realized that it was much easier to get my arse into gear and get organised than to go through the stress of looking for stu all the time. So I'm now organised to the point of being a freak.

These days, I own folders for almost everything and make lists for absolutely everything. Grocery lists, to do lists, birthday and christmas lists. There are also corresponding folders for each list for receipts etc. I have a folder for my cat too with all his vet bills etc (I know you guys think I'm nuts but the vet was impressed when he saw my folder!)

My sister in law, CL, is one of the coolest people I know and in line with her cool persona, would rather be referred to as 'chaotic' than 'organised'. She laughed at all my lists but the laughter came to a halt when she found herself depending on my Plan B list for Christmas gifts( Plan B is the backup gift list for Christmas in case I can't get the presents on Plan A). Like most cool, chaotic people, she'd left Christmas shopping till two days before the 25th and couldn't think straight about what gift to give whom. So organised, geeky me came to the rescue. Alright, I'm a freak but at least I'm an organised freak!

I'm telling you, organisational skills are totally underrated!

A Girl's Best Friend

2007-03-05T18:34:00.000+03:00

This is my first French Manicure in Africa. Whaddya think?

I finally visited Top Knots salon in Seacliff after almost one year here in Tanzania. Here's their nail polish colour collection:

It felt wonderful going to a salon after such a long time. I know everyone says how you look doesn't really count it's what's inside that matters but let's face it people - that's only half true.

How can anyone feel good about themselves if they've got stringy hair, are overweight or have skin that makes the craters of the moon look smooth? I'm not being mean. I'm just pointing out a fact of life. Even Oprah, whom I think is always talking about the importance of who you are and not what you look like, didn't feel good about herself until she got a grip and lost some weight.

So since this is my blog and what I say goes, I'm going to put this piece of wisdom out there - how you look is probably going to reflect how you feel.

In other words, manicures, facials, blow dries and all the hundreds of other beauty treatments women subject themselves to are NOT luxuries but necessities. When a man feels bad about something he goes out and buys a ridiculously expensive gadget/vehicle. When woman feels bad about something she goes out and buys ridiculously expensive shoes and has ridiculously expensive beauty treatments.

After being suitably horrified by the movie Blood Diamonds I'm going to advocate expensive beauty treatments and not diamonds as a girl's best friend. At least nobody has to die just so we girls can get a fabulous manicure (at least I hope not!)

The Upside and the Downside

2007-02-27T12:40:00.000+03:00

Ahhh! I can breathe a sigh of relief because the detox is over! Unfortunately, I think my stomach has shrunk to the size of a pea and I can't eat any of the stuff I want to eat like brownies and the pasta at Movenpick without feeling slightly ill.

Still, I'm going to try and have some tomorrow when Pinky, Girlfriend and I meet for lunch.

The good news is that we're now 'cheap dates' as Girlfriend puts it. The Engineer, Boss, Girlfriend and I just need a dot of alcohol in us and we all start getting happy!

Conclusion
The upside of going on a detox diet is:
You get high on alcohol really quickly and therefore cheaply

The downside of going on a detox diet is:
The detox diet

The Big D

2007-02-19T10:41:00.000+03:00

Today is the first day of my Big Detox. The Big Detox is highly unpleasant. It consists of subsisting on fruits, raw vege, Provita and water for a week - yuck! Just like most things that are good for you, detoxifying is something that yields excellent results, health and weight wise, but also has the unfortunate side effect of making you wish you had never been born. I'm only doing it so I can jump start my failed diet and because Pinky, who started on it first, has lost weight and says she feels excellent.

There are others who are partaking in this madness namely The Engineer, Boss and Girlfriend. As a last hurrah before our self-induced 7 day torture all of us plus our friend Ed (who isn't detoxing but wanted some Sunday afternoon fun) trouped down to The George And Dragon for drinks.

The food was lovely at the pub. The Engineer and I had eaten at home but Boss, Girlfriend and Ed tucked into some lovely English stuff - spaghetti bolognaise (that's Italian actually but what the heck), baked potatoe and Chilly Corn Carne.

I had to have a dessert seeing as I won't even get sniff of sweet for the next 7 days. So I had a vanilla ice-cream with mars bar sauce - heaven! We also tanked up on beers and vodka lemon + sprite for me since the silly detox doesn't allow alcohol. That's unfortunate because I think only a hard drink will have the power of restoring my spirits when I've been deprived of sweets for more than 2 days!

Right now am feeling a bit sick coz I think I overdid it but boy am I going to be dreaming of this later today when I've eaten nothing but horrible carrots and celery for lunch!

Valentine in Dar

2007-02-16T13:12:00.001+03:00

Valentine's Day in Dar is suprisingly popular.The Engineer and I aren't the type to buy into the commercialism of Valentine. We believe the only people who actually benefit from Valentine's Day are the restaurant owners and florists. These people have no qualms charging appalingly high prices just so that some poor sod can impress his girlfriend!

Despite our anti-Valentine attitude we found ourselves in the Calabash at Sea Cliff Hotel (pic) on the 14th. The Engineer's superiors from South Africa were in town and had decided to take us all out for dinner. Boss, his wife Girlfriend, Captain and his wife Pinky were all there. Despite the sparkling company I must say the dinner had it's ups and downs.

I arrived feeling tired (it's that annoying time of the month) but just as I was loosening up bthe electricity went out halfway through dinner. I had begun to forget we were in Africa but reality came screaming back. You'd think that no electricity and just candlelight would make the atmosphere all the more romantic but it doesn't work when the weather is as hot as it is here and the air conds are all out.

I ended up dripping sweat into my king prawns and which explained why it tasted a little too salty - yech!

I was dying to get out of there and so was The Engineer but just as we were about to make a swift exit, the entire party decided to go outside where the seabreeze made everything decidedly cooler.

I was still determined to leave but the owner of the restaurant, probably after noticing my sour puss face, decided to offer two bottles of wine and tequilas on the house.

Admittedly, the red wine tasted like the cork had fallen into the bottle (you can't expect the best when it's 'on the house' now, can you) but the tequila did it's job alright! It even had a spicy/sweet after taste which I thought was very pleasant.

Even Boss who has bad memories related to tequila (those who've gotten sick on tequila will know what I'm saying) bravely downed his shot but later looked like he wanted to scrape his tongue with something abrasive just to get rid of the taste.

A strange but nevertheless fascinating Valentine, I must say!

Tingatinga

2007-02-09T10:40:00.000+03:00

Tingatinga art is big, big, big in Tanzania. The founder, Edward Tingatinga, was sadly killed in a police shootout in the 60s. It's not what you think - he wasn't trying to rob a bank or anything, the Tanzanian police just happened to put a bullet through him when they were aiming at actual bank robbers! Poor Edward!

This makes me think that the police here should spend more time doing target practice at the local precinct and not stand about at street corners doing a bad job at directing traffic - making it worse than it was before they got there.

But I digress.

The piece that you see in the picture is the first piece of art I have ever owned. The colours and whimsical animals on it really appeal to me ( I tend to have childish taste).

I'm planning to carry some tingatinga art back home and perhaps present them to some friends - I happen to know more people with childish taste.

Although it does look a little like a kindergarten painting, even The Engineer, who has very grownup taste, has begun to like it.

Perhaps it's the innocence of the picture that appeals....

Resuscitation

2007-02-08T17:28:00.000+03:00

I have decided to resuscitate this blog - yesI have! Possibly an irrelevant and useless exercise but I shall try!

I'm planning to add more pictures (now that I've gotten cleverer at the technical portion of blogging).

I've done many, many things since the last entry so I shall endevour to upadate the goings on in my life - stay tuned!

Sundowners at the Yacht Club

2006-08-16T14:47:00.000+03:00

The Yacht Club in Dar Es Salaam is a fabulous place to spend a Friday evening with a drink in your hand. Okay, being a Borderline Alkie's wife, I shall re-phrase that. Anyplace is a good place to spend a Friday evening with a drink in your hand!

Seriously though….its great at the club. Not because the building itself is anything to go nuts over. No - it’s the view that's unbelievable.

The clean, graceful lines of the yachts, the blazing Tanzanian sun setting on the horizon and the sound of a local band belting out such hits as Lionel Ritchie's All Night Long (hey, I never said they were current hits!) combine to make it a memorable experience.

The sunset lasts less than 10 minutes though. Encouraged by Girlfriend I tried to capture the last few moments before the sun said good bye that night and this is what I came up with:

To be honest, I'm really surprised that the picture turned out so well. It looks almost like a painting. Just goes to show that if you take your camera eveywhere, keep clicking and keep annoying everyone around you, chances are you'll eventually produce a decent picture!

Engineers Can Cook

2006-08-14T09:14:00.000+03:00

The Engineer was a real sweetheart the other day and decided to cook something in the kitchen. He was on holiday here on 8 August. I looked it up in the Dar Es Salaam guide and discovered that its Nane Nane (Peasant's Day).

Anyways, he decided to be hardworking and made a mean mutton curry from scratch. I was so impressed! He was slaving over the stove for ages though coz he wanted to make sure that the meat would be nice and tender Here's a pic....

Now you tell me, doesn't that look good? I'm the lucky one who's going to have the leftovers for lunch today. Can taste it already.... : )

Bongoyo

2006-07-29T16:28:00.000+03:00

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

2006-07-26T10:27:00.000+03:00

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

2006-07-24T14:56:00.000+03:00

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

2006-07-21T22:04:00.001+03:00

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

2006-07-18T13:10:00.000+03:00

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.