Zanzibar

On Friday September 29th my flight, of course again from Munich, left at 10:35 p.m. with Emirates. I would have loved to fly with Oman Air again, but because I hadn't booked my flight far enough in advance, there were only flights with Emirates (good flight times with a short stopover). I usually avoid flying with Emirates🙈 It is a very good airline with good service but I find the airport in Dubai very complicated if you have to change and you should allow a little more time for the stopover.

And now we come to why I usually avoid this airport😄

I was actually supposed to land at Terminal 3 and take off from there. – But somehow it wasn’t like that! In any case, I really lost track, my onward flight wasn't shown on the flight boards yet, so I stood there for over an hour until I finally knew where I had to go. But it wasn't just me.

After half an hour I finally arrived at the gate and still had a bit of air until I finally left for Zanzibar at 10:30 a.m. with a flight time of 5.5 hours, of course again with a delay of almost an hour.

Finally landed at 3:40 p.m. (delayed) where I was a bit nervous because a friend of mine wanted to pick me up at the airport and he had probably been waiting for a while.

This time things went really quickly with the e-visa. I waited about 10 minutes and already saw my two suitcases moving around on the luggage carousel. Out of habit, I took my suitcase and was about to go through security until I remembered that I had forgotten my second suitcase! So back again. After such a long journey, I'm always a little off track.

Before the security check at the exit, I had a few euros changed into Tanzanian shillings. The exchange rate wasn't the best, which is normal at the airport, but with a little cash in your pocket you feel better. And of course I still had to pay for the taxi.

At the security check, my two suitcases and my backpack went through, while I saw my friend, who was picking me up, waiting at the exit.

And again I forgot the second suitcase out of sheer joy!

We then took a taxi to Kiwengwa.

Approx. 1 hour travel time.

During the journey I was treated to food and drink that my friend had brought me. It was very tasty, a kind of omelet with potato wedges and chicken.

I didn't know it from last time. I can't remember seeing anything like that last time either.

Around 5 p.m. I finally arrived at the Sipano Beach Lodge. A very nice bed and breakfast right on the beach, which is what I noticed the last time I was there.

In the evening I had dinner with a few friends and was already looking forward to the next day to finally see more friends again.

I got up very early, which is what I always do on vacation. Between 6:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m. is my time because I don't want to miss anything of the day.

My first day started with breakfast at the local restaurant.

How much I missed everything here...

I have traveled the world so much, have had experiences, even bad ones, and there is actually a country that I never want to travel to again

(Cuba)…

For me the worst feeling was arriving somewhere and feeling uncomfortable. Among other things, the locals who don't pay attention to you and make you feel like you're unwanted here every day.

💙WHY ZANZIBAR AGAIN?💙

I was in Kiwengwa for a few days to spend a lot of time with my friends there before heading over to the mainland for a few days.

I don't even know how many times I was there. So every day, sometimes twice a day😄

I was very fascinated by it last time🦷. Of course I tested it and found it quite pleasant :)

But it was empty within an hour🤣

After a few days we finally went over to Tanzania🇹🇿

Nothing was planned, nothing was booked, we just went for it.

At 4 a.m. we took a taxi to the harbor. The first Kilimanjaro ferry leaves at 7am. Personally, I think it's really great, the more you get out of the day 🙂

To book you need your passport and as a tourist 90,000 TZS or 35 USD in cash. The prices are different. A TZ resident pays 14 USD. An E/African pays 30 USD.

Arrived in Dar Es Salaam at around 8:45 a.m.🏢 It didn't take long until a taxi was found. First we went to have breakfast and find a hotel that was close to the big bus station (Magufuli Bus Terminal). The first bus in the morning at 6 a.m. should take us to Handeni.

The taxi driver cleaned his car one street away during breakfast and then came back about 1.5 hours later to continue his journey. A hotel nearby was found and booked straight away via Booking.com.

47 minutes drive to Hotel Amaranth.

After checking in, we went straight to the shower and then into the pool :)

The room was really nice for about 20 euros + breakfast was actually very cheap. Unfortunately, breakfast couldn't be used as it continued at 4 a.m. the next day😄

Afterwards we went for a bit of a walk and explored the place.

I actually have a photo of this "omelette" that my friend brought me when he picked me up from the airport.

The food was very tasty and I was really full afterwards. That was the only food that day. For 2 meals and 2 drinks we paid around 16000 TZS (around 6.50 USD). Really cheap and you're full :)

Got up at 3 a.m., packed up a few things, checked out and then simply asked the hotel reception at 4 a.m. if it would be possible to take a shuttle from the hotel to the bus station😄

It really worked and a few minutes later it started.

With ksk luxury coach we went to Handeni at 6 a.m. (255 km, travel time approx. 6 hours). Ticket 15000 TZS about 6 euros.

When we arrived in Handeni at lunchtime we bought a few fresh things to cook at the market for dinner later. Now the search begins again for a driver to get to the Maasai village, about 1 hour away.

With a whole suitcase full of donation items🙂 (I flew with two suitcases of donation luggage). All of my luggage was in the small backpack and I can now say again that it was totally sufficient!! You can't even imagine flying with just your own stuff as hand luggage.

Of course it had to be washed a few times in between 🙂

Finally arrived in Mabalanga in the afternoon. I was warmly welcomed by everyone there and even by the little kittens😁

And there it was again, that indescribably beautiful feeling when you are welcomed so warmly by people that I have only ever experienced on the African continent.

In the background you can see the small Maasai village (4 houses in total).

Of course, the area was explored first...

It slowly became dark and we made our way back to the Maasai village...

It was very interesting that I was allowed to watch it. Just crazy. Here in Germany you can't even imagine that people still cook like this anywhere in the world. (Of course it wasn't the first time I've seen something like this :)

This is how we eat here :)

After eating we went to bed relatively soon because everything was already dark there and the solar lamp slowly started to flicker. We shower in the morning -> there was no more light!

The next morning I got up around 5:30 and got my things ready to shower. It was slowly getting a little light and I took a canister of water and looked for a nice spot under a tree💧🪣 That wasn't anything new for me either and so I didn't have a problem with it🙂I was quite short on time, I was Shortly afterwards I saw the young Masai's taking the cows and goats out of the house.

Breakfast was a pot of chai and white bread. The milk for this was fresh from the cows, where I was able to watch again. After a few hours we unfortunately went back towards Handeni. Arrival and departure take a lot of time. It would have been a traditional Maasai festival from the afternoon until midnight.

The celebration after a young girl's circumcision...

If there had been more time, would I have gone there?

Yes.

But that doesn't mean that I like something just because I would go there.

I don't know enough about this old tradition and therefore don't want to go into this topic in more detail 🙂

Lucky you! We actually got two seats for the 12:30 bus. After there was still a bit of time, we ate mishkaki from the grill.

We arrived at the Magufuli Bus Terminal at around 6:30 p.m. The last Kilimanjaro ferry leaves for Zanzibar at 4 p.m.

Okay, now what?🤣

I quickly opened Booking.com and searched for a cheap hotel in the area and found it. 7 minutes walk from the port. Perfect!

We then took a taxi from the bus terminal and were driven to the “Hotel Rainbow”🏢.

It was very centrally located and there were lots of options to eat everywhere around it.

I checked out a few restaurants in the area in the taxi beforehand and found “Ten to Ten” quite appealing. A restaurant where people cook outside on the street and eat inside (it was more of a hall with tables and chairs).

And it was so delicious 😋 and of course cheap. The two of us ate 3 plates (Pilau, Chicken, Mishkaki) with two drinks for around 15 USD.

So actually there were 2 plates for me because I couldn't decide🤣

Afterwards we soon went to bed and the alarm went off again at 3:45 a.m. Since we couldn't have breakfast at the hotel again, we got a packed lunch from the hotel😊

We arrived at the harbor on foot very early and there was already a long queue for the ferry.

When we finally arrived back in Zanzibar, we took a taxi to Kiwengwa to enjoy the last few days.

The funny thing about the whole thing is that I don't eat any fruit in Germany and there I eat it almost every day🤣

On Friday, October 13th, 2023 we left for the airport at 4 a.m.

This time it was only a very short stopover of 1.45 hours in Dubai and at 4:30 p.m. we set off towards Munich.

I landed in Munich at 9:05 p.m....

I am so grateful for this great time that a friend took me to his home in Tanzania. And I was able to experience all of this without booking a guided mass tour to the Maasai village, since you don't get to see real life there anyway...

I can hardly wait to finally see these people again🥲, to gain new experiences again, to start the day happily, to have people around you who smile and accept you...