DAR ES SALAM, TANZANIA - When everything comes up together and seems to go against you, usually the old folks would refer to that as bad omen and in the event, one had to cancel whatever errands they had to run on the day.
Well, I didn't subscribe to that notion and almost failed to get to my final destination, which in this case was the hot and humid Dar es Salaam in the land of the international acclaimed Mwalimu Nyerere.
Right from the word go, it seemed the journey wouldn't take place, let alone the fact that the flight was scheduled for 2:00 pm, yet here I was by midday still holed up in our dusty Kampala, about 38 km from the Entebbe Airport.Though lady luck had smiled at me at the beginning of the journey and the traffic jam was fair, just 10 kms into the journey, we were pegged back by an accident that had earlier on occurred on the Entebbe highway creating a long queue of vehicles.
With time fast running out, I opted for the quickest means to maneuver around the accident and well, in this case the boda boda seemed the only logical option.Sensing that I was in a hurry, the young man also took advantage of me and charged me highly claiming that he was going to ride so fast to beat the time and his fuel would run out quickly. I still have to check this theory with a few friends to find out if this is true.
Anyhow, I bowed to his theory rather ignorantly and off we went, getting to the airport just 20 minutes to take-off. A few phone calls from the airline's offices seemed to suggest that I couldn't make the flight.
I rather sarcastically took my chances at the check in and the rest was history because I found myself self seated in the plane anyway.
An hour and about forty five minutes, Dar es Salaam stared us in the face. I didn't really put so much thought into the pilot's announced that the temperatures in Dar were 31 degrees (a thing that later on hit me), I just wanted to meet my friends who were already waiting for me at the airport.Stepping out of the plane and into the bus waiting to take us to the Arrivals terminal, the heat was too much that I had to stagger my way into a darker corner to try to let my eyes get used to the light and heat.
The Check In at Dar wasn't the simplest of things as the mean looking ladies asked for the yellow fever vaccination cards without the slightest smile. Anyone without these yellow cards was bounced (never mind that I didn't have one anyway). I got through anyway after a lot of talking and talking (In my rather weird Kiswahili)
To cut the long story short; having made several self examination tests and ascertained that I was ready to speak to the Tanzanian natives in their own language, Kiswahili, I got a rude awakening!I came to the realization that, what I actually spoke was something similar to Kiswahili. I mean back home, I was really respected when I spoke my Kiswahili. Here, my Kiswahili was nothing compared to what these fellows spoke.
It was then that I came to the realization that keeping quiet was actually better than blurting anything out. Even buying things that I would easily buy back home in my Kiswahili was difficult because, they either didn't know what I was talking about or I would be given the total opposite
(in some instances I was given
raw food, when I actually wanted the cooked one)But then there was also a silver lining to this dark cloud after all. I hit the beach, toured the Kariakoo market, Ubungo, Temeke and a host of other areas. I ate chips-mayaye (equivalent of chips and chicken near campuses), drunk Azam Cola, among others.Need I say more about the transport system in Dar es Salaam? Brace yourselves; Dar has the cheapest means of transport.Never mind the hustle of getting onto one of the Dala dalas (Mini buses). Ordinarily these vehicles are supposed to carry up to 29 passengers, at least back in Uganda.
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