Tanzania
Tanga City Council

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    • Day 32

      Tanga

      February 6, 2020 in Tanzania ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

      Il est temps de filer en Tanzanie. Tuk-tuk, matatu, boda-boda (taxi-moto) jusqu'à la frontière et c'est parti pour un peu d'administratif. D'abord, on nous dit de nous laver les mains et on nous vérifie la température. Il y a des panneaux plein de conseils anti-ebola un peu partout. Un petit tour des bureaux pour donner nos passeports, empreintes, frais de visa. Ambiance très pépère à cette frontière. Une femme est grimpée sur un bureau pour y faire la sieste. On n'y avait encore jamais pensé ! A tenter.

      De l'autre côté, on se fait comme toujours assaillir par des gens qui veulent nous amener au bus qui est juste à 2 mètres, prendre nos sacs pour décider de les mettre dans le tuk tuk du copain, etc. On monte dans le dala dala (minibus) et là... youhouuu c'est parti pour un tetris humain. C'est un peu comme une partie de Twister, mais dans un bus. Et ça dure des heures car on prend de nouveaux joueurs un peu partout le long de la route. Nous les mzungus on a pas le droit de participer, on nous a assigné les places de devant, avec le chauffeur. Arrivée à Tanga, petit port tranquille où on fait étape sur la route de Dar es Salaam.
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    • Day 83

      Lets go Tanga

      December 8, 2023 in Tanzania ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

      I have already mentioned the swahili / tanzanian phrases "hamna shida" and " pole pole", and I was immediately forced to apply this to my cycling journey, before I even managed to get going. The guys from the beach apartments locked the doors of the room where my bike was stored, and it took two hours for someone to know with whom or where it could be found. Hamna shida. Pole pole.

      Well, after some chapati and chai (also the word for tea here, easy) I got going; man is it hot and humid. I thought it would be fine, but the first day wasn't fun—the busy car road didn't make it any better. Cool experience was when I took a detour through a village to get away from the cars, and immediately came upon a flooded street which I was sure was too deep; a local disagreed and picked up my bike /including luggage/ on his back, and balanced his way across the water on a skinny tube, where I had issues getting across without anything. I was seriously impressed.

      Made it to bagamoyo to a really, really nice campsite with pool and bar which made me forget the days exertions. (The next morning crows did shit all over my bags and gear but... Hamna shida.)

      On the way to sadaani national park I was treated to my first experience of really really bad tanzanian gravel roads, including the occasional flooded part; you learn to deal with these somehow. The national park was shitty though, as I wasn't allowed to enter by bicycle, and had to have an escort or taxi across, which cost me 100 euro... Waaay more than I wanted to spend, but I didn't have a choice in the end—well that's what they convinced me, I could actually have taken the local bus across, but they hunt on tourists here.

      I did see some giraffes, zebras, and other animals, but could have cared less to be honest. I don't like the car experience, if I cannot do it by bike, I will skip the safaris. Interesting about the ride was to experience how deep the ponds are that they drive through... I was not surprised that some truck and multiple motorcycles got stuck on the way, because water for sure entered into the motor at some points.

      After that ride I had to cycle in the dark to the nearest town, which was interesting given those horrible road conditions. Thank god for supernova lights. Got some food on the town (mwkaye or mkwaye... I cannot pronounce it either way) and ate with some locals in a very small poor village—they do talk about you in weird suspecting ways, but nothing happened.

      Day three was shitty, because I thought I lost my water purifier, it was even more humid, and I lost my towel somewhere on the way: some lady found it for me though, which made me really thankful— it was not my day. But yeah, hamna shida. Have I mentioned that the "roads" are horrible and that it is hot and humid? Best experiences here are just being greeted by kids enthusiastically yelling "hiiii!!! Hiiii!!!" And waving, coming towards you if you stand still, and men that are chilling somewhere yelling "mambo vipi?!". Generally Tanzanian people are very welcoming and interested. Even if they will occasionally ask cash for fuckall. (They will literally come up to you and say "give me cash!") But just say no and they will leave you =)

      I mentioned this "hamna shida, hakuna matatizo, pole pole, hakuna matate" already right? Well, I think this is more the mindset of people because it is forced upon them, rather than an active choice. Roads are horrible and unrideable after rain; blackouts during the day or evening are norm rather than exception; it is so hot you are inclined to sit around and relax. And the bikes or cars that they ride and drive are not exactly made for going fast either. I am also losing stuff because I am less focussed and the heat makes things harder.

      Which brings me to today: first rainstorm during this cycling trip. And yes, it will rain HARD. But that wasn't the issue— shelter is easy to find as there are people everywhere. The issue is these sand roads become swimming pools — our above-ground pools are just as deep— or the soil becomes so sticky that you just get stuck, and the wheels clog up. (Hamna shida... Oh fuck off) I made it to tanga, but it wasn't fun and I lost my sunglasses to the mud. Oh, I also was not responding "poa" (cool) to people shouting "mambo?!" Anymore. More like "yeah whatever"... But a nice experience nonetheless.

      I again could go on and on about details but it's getting too long again. I hope this wasn't a song of self pity; the pictures of the kids surely make up for this.

      Plan is to go diving on an island for a few days, and then probably a bus or train to an area with less heat and humidity (and hopefully no rains).
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    • Day 41

      Tanga: Sag mir quando, sag mir wann

      June 19, 2023 ⋅ 🌙 26 °C

      Am Samstag ging es dann weiter von Bagamoyo nach Tanga. Nach 5h Fahrt durch Mais-, Reis- und Sisalfelder kommen wir ein wenig erschöpft an, da die Fahrt uns doch einige Nerven gekostet hatte - der Busfahrer war wirklich insane😅

      Tanga gefällt uns auf den ersten Blick. Es ist die viertgrößte Stadt in Tansania, wirkt aber sehr wie ein verschlafenes Städtchen mit unheimlich netten Menschen, die uns immer wieder grüßen und sich mit uns unterhalten. Noch am selben Abend machen wir einen Spaziergang im Sonnenuntergang und sind erstaunt wie ruhig es hier ist.

      Da wir eigentlich nur zwei Nächte hierbleiben wollten, ist der Plan sich um einen Bus für die Weiterfahrt schon mal zu kümmern. Wir gucken auf Maps nach und wollen ein Moped nehmen. Nach langer Verhandlung geht’s auch schon los, aber der Fahrer will anscheinend mit uns ganz woanders hin. Wir fahren statt fünf Minuten eine halbe Stunde durch die Gegend und am Ende stellen wir fest, man kann den Bus auch einfach spontan buchen - naja ein kleiner Fail, aber wir hatten ein witzige Fahrt durch die Stadt😂

      Also erkunden wir die Stadt ein wenig, halten noch im Hashtag Café, wo wir fantastisch essen und wirklich lecker Milchshakes trinken, und gelangen schließlich zum Urithi Museum von Tanga. Der Leiter des Museum Joël begleitet uns durch das gesamte Museum und erzählt uns die interessante Geschichte Tangas und wie Sisal nach Tansania kam und zu einer der wichtigsten Exportmittel wurde. Oben auf dem Balkon sind noch verschiedene architektonische Besonderheiten in Tanga erklärt und als wir zurück wollen, ist die Tür zugefallen und wir kommen nicht mehr rein - Joël ruft jemanden an und sagt immer wieder „funga funga“ (geschlossen). Der nächste Fail des Tages😂
      Kurze Zeit später werden wir jedoch erlöst und treffen eine Gruppe betagter Deutscher. Plötzlich entsteht eine rührende Situation: Joël und einer der beiden Deutschen kennen sich noch von vor 15 Jahren! Natürlich müssen sie sich direkt austauschen, wie es ihnen ergangen ist und schwärmen von der damaligen Zeit.

      Außerdem haben wir noch das alte Krankenhaus besucht. Es ist ein wunderschönes Gebäude noch aus der Kolonialzeit und wird leider heute nicht mehr genutzt und verfällt. Drum herum ist ein neuer Krankenhauskomplex entstanden. Im alten Gebäude scheinen Altlaster gelagert zu werden und Dokumente - es ähnelt eher einem kleinen Mülllager aber auch sehr spannend🙈

      Joël, der im übrigen extrem aussieht wie der „Vater Tansanias“ Julius Nyerere, schlägt uns vor, eine Tour zu den Sisalplantagen und einer Fabrik zu unternehmen. Kurzerhand verlängern wir unser Hostel und machen uns auf den Weg. Leider scheint der Weg ein wenig länger zu dauern - für 25km mit Daladala und Motorrad brauchen wir 4h😅 - aber als wir dann da sind, geht’s direkt auf die Plantagen. Hier werden uns die verschiedenen Stadien des Sisals, wie er geerntet und dann weiterverarbeitet wird, er klärt. Dann wollen wir eigentlich noch in die Fabrik, aber wir erhalten leider keine Berechtigung… Also geht’s wieder zurück nach Tanga ohne die Fabrik gesehen zu haben, was schon sehr schade war. So hat sich die lange Anfahrt leider nicht wirklich für uns gelohnt. Aber trotzdem mal spannend zu sehen, wie so eine Plantage aufgebaut ist.

      Morgen geht’s dann weiter in die Usambara Berge zum Wandern, auf die wir uns schon sehr freuen!
      Badaaye rafiki🤗
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    • Day 368

      On the road again

      December 19, 2020 in Tanzania ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C

      Little traffic on my way to Tanga. One short break for 20 little bananas and a child-sized pineapple, another one for pilau (spicy rice) and Stoney Tangawizi (ginger beer). Get stopped twice for "overspeeding": 56 and 63, each at town entrance, "proof-pictured" directly at the respective 50's traffic sign. Both times I am pretty pissed because the whole part of the town I am driving 20-50 km/h and do not see the point of being fined. There are so many other asses driving like shit which is much more dangerous than not having the correct speed directly at point of town entrance. Arguing with the friendly police wins and I don't pay anything today \m/Read more

    • Day 100

      Jour 100 😱

      March 18, 2022 in Tanzania ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

      Aujourd’hui, on fête deux choses… les 100 jours de voyage (oui… déjà) et en plus de ça, nous touchons l’Ocean Indien !

      On fête ça avec un petit chai sucré et gingembre chez mama.

      Puis c’est marrant parce qu’à notre hôtel de Tanga, on rencontre Cylia et Julien, deux jeunes vaudois🇨🇭 avec qui on partage la soirée. Ils nous ont même offert un petit échantillon de Herbamare de la Migros 🥲.
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    • Day 2

      Tanga we go!

      August 8, 2019 in Tanzania ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

      As neither Jack nor I are planners, we decided last night that we would make our way north and then inland - passing by Tanga, Lushoto then onto Mtae. Or something like that. So we put our alarm on for bright early 7am, and walked out of Safarri Inn towards the DART rapid bus stop, where there was actually a map of the routes! I honestly think it's the first time I see a map of public transport in Africa! We eventually pushed our way onto an incredibly full bus towards the main bus terminal north of town. Having navigated buses in East Africa before, we were ready for the attack. And as we expected, we were crowded by men shouting different locations at us, even before entering the station, all hoping to score commission for assisting us to our bus. One guy kept yelling "Kilimanjaro" which made me laugh - it's not a destination, it's a mountain, and I guess he's unaware of my hatred for climbing mountains.

      Once in the station (an outdoor parking lot of buses) we took a second in the middle of this crowd to look around and find the bus with our destination written on it. Yes, it can be that simple. Bus stops can get overwhelming for tourists because of the touts, but it's as simple as taking a minute to look around, find the bus with the name of your destination, and then finding the person standing at it's door holding the receipt book. Then you stand next to them, and wait for someone else to buy a ticket. Because yes, even they can up the price on you. And once someone else has bought a ticket, you get yours and demand the same price. And just like that, we were headed for Tanga.

      Jack edit here- It may be easy, but it's a skill which took us some time to learn. Let's be honest, the first few weeks in East Africa last time was a learning curve. We now do know what to do and Fred and I even seamlessly will alternate who's walking in front, to be able to adjust if one is looking annoyed or if a bag is being grabbed (which they only do to convince you onto their bus). Despite the times I might get impatient, I still have a true love for the culture and life it brings. Anyway, back to Fred.

      Lonely Planet says it's a 5 hour bus ride. I don't know where they got that, since Google driving instructions says 6 hours and it took 7 hours. The only thing on my mind at that point, was food!

      But of course, the bus station was outside of town, which meant we needed to jump on a Dalla Dalla (like a matatu, or minibus) into town. And Jack being who she is decided to flag down the one that was leaving because it was full, because god forbid we'd have to wait 10 minutes for the next one to fill up and leave. So here we are, holding our bags with one hand, trying to stand in a mini bus, bent at the waist because the ceiling as at about 5 feet, and holding on to the side rails because your body is no longer over the top of your feet with all the people pilling in. Good times. Thankfully, the ride was short.

      We walked around town to find accommodation and landed on New Coffee Tree Motel. It was even rougher then the last place, but had running water, private washroom with shower and a double bed for 30,000TZS (13$US). We later found out that the street and people noise was ridiculous, and we both barely slept. This one we'd both not recommend.

      Tanga itself is a cute town! For being the 3rd largest city in Tanzania, it's actually quite small, 273,000 in population. It was laid back, easy to walk around, and felt super safe. Everyone saying hi as we walked by, or Mambo! In the morning we visited old Germain cemeteries and bomas (ie. 'German fortified compound' from their colonial days). We went into a museum which Lonely Planet said was free, it was not. But at this point, we were surrounded by about 10 students on a "field study" here from a bachelor's degree in tourism, all looking forward to walking us through the museum. So of course, as good, cheap travelers do, we negotiated the price. Only this time - it wasn't by lying! We asked for a student discount! And considering both Jack and I are going back to school in September, total honesty! Half price!

      By the end of the tour, it felt like they should have paid us, but I wasn't going to try that one... Each student wanted a chance to practice their English and what they had learnt, so we went from room to room, and got full explanations of every single photo lining the walls. I'm not exaggerating when I say I got a full description of at least 50 photos. And I say I, because Jack had to excuse herself half way through to go dry heave and almost pass out from not having eaten yet and standing in the heat. Who had it worse? Jack passed out, pale as can be? Or me, having to listen to all they had to say about sisal plants...?

      Once she gained a bit of color, we walked out to buy some fruit and hunt for food. Only - we really haven't mastered that part yet. Restaurants come to life from 5.30pm to 7pm. Before or after that, finding food is hard! Well, for two muzungus it is. We walked quite a while without finding any meals being served, so we bought yogourt and ice cream at a corner store and oranges which are everywhere here! That was the extent of our food intake before we made our way back out of town to the bus station to make our way to Pangani.

      Granted, there wasn't tons to do in Tanga, but I really enjoyed it. The vibe of the place was great, friendly, we saw only 2 other tourists which made us quite happy, there's plenty of beautifully maintained parks, and there's a massive market around the central bus station that was lively and great.
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    • Day 94

      Tanga - our home for self-development

      October 7, 2020 in Tanzania ⋅ 🌙 24 °C

      Currently we are staying for one month in Tanga (located at the north coast of Tanzania, close to the boarder to Kenia). We have arrived after 6 hours of traveling in a so called luxury bus from Dar es Salaam. Someone brought a small chicken with him and traveled with it for 3 hours through the country, on the seat next to us (funny experience).

      Tanga is so different to Dar- here people are much calmer, peaceful and not so pushy, they are not trying to sell you something on every corner, not at all. On the contrary, people are so nice and polite, incredible.

      One funny moment was when we were trying to chase som monkeys we entered the property of one of our neighbors and after a small chat they invited us for dinner. We actually cooked this dinner together with them. It was sooooo delicious.

      Local food is ridiculously cheap compared to how, fruits and vegetables from the market are unbelievably tasteful and cheap and organic.
      We are loving and enjoying it so far.
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    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Tanga, Tanga City Council

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