mitchjet: dar dar dar es salaam

my first time to Africa! and where better to be introduced to Africa than in dar-es-salaam!

friendly people, beautiful scenery, and a lifestyle just completely different to anything i've ever experienced before, which i guess is the very basis of travelling...

no trips to safari parks unfortunately, i would've loved to have seen some big cats, but i'm sure there's plenty of time for me to get to Africa on holidays and check it all out properly

i was having such a hard time getting any of the locals to let me take a photo of them -- i couldn't work out if they were just painfully shy, or if they were sick and tired of tourists trying to take their photos! (but given the fact that i didn't see one single white person throughout my 3-hour exploration of the town, i'm tempted to believe they're just shy) -- so, being the nice, understanding fellow that i am, when someone politely refused my request to let me take their photo, i respected their wishes, then waited for them to walk off before taking a photo of the back of them without them even realising!

my adventures in dar-es-salaam:
visit the local fish market, and be vividly reminded that there's nothing wrong with your sense of smell . when invited to go out on an African fishing boat at 2am, politely decline out of fear that the local fisherman might not actually appreciate your uncontrollable urge to kiss each caught fish before throwing it back into the ocean, rex-hunt-style . have a lady try to teach you the skill of carrying a basket on your head, but just receive uproars of laughter when your basket of bananas ends up spilled all over the road . consider catching the "city bus" just to see where it takes you, before suddenly remembering that you have no desire to experience how a canned sardines feels . beachside, sit with a group of local men, whose grasp of the english language allows you to ask how each other are, over and over again: "my friend, how are you?" "very fine!" "welcome!" "how are you?" "very fine!" "mambo!" "very fine!" "welcome!" . challenge a guy to a game of snooker on a street-side table, and wonder how all his balls ended up in the pockets while all your balls still remain on the table -- more laughter at my expense . in the street, enquire about the location of the nearest public toilet, only to have the man laugh and turn away from you to demonstrate that one need not look for a toilet at all . dance with a couple of guys in the street to the sound of Eminem blaring from their car's audio system . buy some corn from a street vendor -- ahhh i simply cannot say no to street food! . purchase the obligatory fridge magnet for the collection . be placed "under arrest" by two tanzanian "police officers" who stank of alcohol -- they wanted to take me down to the station to make me "say sorry" and fine me US$100 for every photo i'd taken in a "restricted zone"! (after ten minutes of pleading with them to let me go back to my hotel, i finally shoved past them and ran probably faster than i've ever run before, my heart beating so fast that it was threatening to leap straight out of my chest -- for a few minutes there, i was simultaneously wondering if i was ever going to see my family again, at the same time as wondering as to how much i could sell the rights to my story to a hollywood producer for should i ever end up being imprisoned in an African jail!! (and which actor would i get to play the role of Mitch Fong?) -- it's pretty lucky that i ran away, cos the photos that i took in the restricted zone were really crap, and not worth going to jail for...

here are the photos:
(the restricted photos have not been included, they were an insult to whatever semblance of talent i tell myself that i have)