Yellow Fevah
Yellow Fevah
I almost didn't get into Tanzania - twice. 1) Immigration in the Dar es Salaam airport and 2) the Zanzibar ferry terminal (yep, you have to go through immigration again even though you're still in the same country), both wanted to see my yellow fever inoculation card. They were very strict and wouldn't let you into the country without proof of the shot. After pleading with different agents, I finally convinced the last guy to sneak me into the country. Whew! As you can imagine, I was really nervous when I had to go through immigration again at the Zanzibar ferry terminal. Luckily, I had a little more wiggle room with my immigration card (longer story)....so I was able to sail through customs. Worse case, I would have been shipped to the health center at the airport for an expensive shot....I think...I saw other East Africans being shipped over off to a "special health" area, so this rule isn't just for muzungos (white/yellow folks).
Angry tout
On the way to the Dar es Salaam ferry, I was harassed by an angry and aggressive faux ferry ticketer. Lonely Planet explicitly warns you about these touts so I tried to ignore them. Since one was persistent, I said firmly, "No thanks." which set him off. He started shouting at me..."don't tell me to shut up, f*uck you....blah, blah, blah". I didn't look at him, just kept going. Suzzy said that he was about to touch me to shake me up from behind but he eventually thought better.
Beautiful old town
Other than these small hiccups, Zanzibar has been fantastic so far. We had an informative tour of old Stone Stone. I really enjoy the old architecture - mix of Arabic, English, Spanish, Portuguese, Indian styles. Details to follow in another post...maybe tomorrow.
Photos of Zanzibar (so far)
http://picasaweb.google.com/crondeau/Zanzibar#
I almost didn't get into Tanzania - twice. 1) Immigration in the Dar es Salaam airport and 2) the Zanzibar ferry terminal (yep, you have to go through immigration again even though you're still in the same country), both wanted to see my yellow fever inoculation card. They were very strict and wouldn't let you into the country without proof of the shot. After pleading with different agents, I finally convinced the last guy to sneak me into the country. Whew! As you can imagine, I was really nervous when I had to go through immigration again at the Zanzibar ferry terminal. Luckily, I had a little more wiggle room with my immigration card (longer story)....so I was able to sail through customs. Worse case, I would have been shipped to the health center at the airport for an expensive shot....I think...I saw other East Africans being shipped over off to a "special health" area, so this rule isn't just for muzungos (white/yellow folks).
Angry tout
On the way to the Dar es Salaam ferry, I was harassed by an angry and aggressive faux ferry ticketer. Lonely Planet explicitly warns you about these touts so I tried to ignore them. Since one was persistent, I said firmly, "No thanks." which set him off. He started shouting at me..."don't tell me to shut up, f*uck you....blah, blah, blah". I didn't look at him, just kept going. Suzzy said that he was about to touch me to shake me up from behind but he eventually thought better.
Beautiful old town
Other than these small hiccups, Zanzibar has been fantastic so far. We had an informative tour of old Stone Stone. I really enjoy the old architecture - mix of Arabic, English, Spanish, Portuguese, Indian styles. Details to follow in another post...maybe tomorrow.
Photos of Zanzibar (so far)
http://picasaweb.google.com/crondeau/Zanzibar#
