Mumbai Taxis

They're everywhere.

posted by Rashid Khan @ 5:09 AM,

India

The Gate of India, or the India Gate, whichever suits you.

Africa out, India in. We arrived in Mumbai on Sunday night at 2am and bummed around the airport until 5am. This had the effect of making taxis cheaper and letting us get into the city at a slightly more reasonable hour.

We shared a cab with some Canadians and now we're holed up at the Hotel Volga, where we've been since we arrived. Mumbai is fantastic and there's so much todo when compared to Africa. There's and arts festival going on with theatre, film, photography, dance, city tours and more. So we're hanging out here for a couple days.

posted by Rashid Khan @ 2:24 AM,

Double booked

So we're on the plane, and Jenn's seat has been double booked. Of course, Jenn's seat hasn't ACTUALLY been double booked. The woman who is in Jenn's seat, 29D, clearly had row 38 printed on her board pass. Someone had tried to erase the 38 and write in 29. Obviously a total fluke that she knew the woman seated in 29C.

Not a big deal, its been resolved. We're in a half empty row now and quite happy about it. Gotta go, flight is just about to pull away from gate. See you on the otherside of the ocean.

posted by Rashid Khan @ 6:47 AM,

Nairobi airport

So Zain Tanzania can roam on Zain Kenya, although Zain Malawi definitely could not roam on Tanzania.

Anyway, we're in the airport in Nairobi. The flight supposedly leaves in 45 minutes and from the looks of the waiting area, is going to be packed.

posted by Rashid Khan @ 6:01 AM,

Smell you later Africa

Ok, the counter did eventually open. We're on the plane and we'll be flying in 10 minutes or so. We transit through Nairobi, where I'm going to try to down a Guiness Forgein Extra Stout, before boarding the flight to Mumbai (aka Bombay). Um, that's about all we know. We neglected to plan any part of the India segment, so I suppose we'll sort things out when we get there.

Also, the picture is of a fish eagle, from the boat trip on Lake Malawi

posted by Rashid Khan @ 3:53 AM,

@ The Dar es Salaam airport

This is not our line. This is not our line because this line is moving. This line is moving because the staff of this airline is here. The Kenya Airways counter was supposed to open 30 minutes ago. It has not.

posted by Rashid Khan @ 1:23 AM,

Last african morning

Our last morning in Africa and the sunrise over Dar es Salaam's many mosques and cell towers.

posted by Rashid Khan @ 8:02 PM,

Back in Dar es Salaam

We're back in Dar es Salaam. The bus wasn't so bad, but after the last one we figured we should leave Mtwara with a couple days to spare before our flight, just in case the bus broke or sometbing.

posted by Rashid Khan @ 10:32 AM,

Old Boma

Fritz took us up to Mikindani to the old German fort, which was converted to a hotel a feww years ago, for drinks.

posted by Rashid Khan @ 8:55 AM,

We're in Mtwara

We arrived in Mtwara, find it on a map on the very south of the Tanzanian coast.

We're staying with our friend Fritz, who used to live in Keetmans.

posted by Rashid Khan @ 10:57 PM,

Worst. Bus. Ever

I'm amazed we made it through that as well as we did. For the last 2 hours we hung on for dear life as the bus tossed us into the air and slammed as back down onto the minimally padded bench seats. Forget potholed roads, there was no road. That was roller coaster penned by a lunatic with parkinsons.

We were worried the entire 12 hour (!) bus trip would be like that, but another 2 hours have passed, we're almost to Lindi, and its been smooth sailing. If the road holds up we'll be in Mtwara within a few hours. Not that I have any evidence that the road WILL hold up.

In other news: We have our tickets to India and we leave a week from tomorrow. For some reason neither Jenn nor I could manage to purchase tickets online, so we marched into the Kenya Airways office in Dar es Salaam and left with 2 tickets to Mumbai for next Saturday.

posted by Rashid Khan @ 2:40 AM,

See ya later Zanzibar

Sitting on the dock in Zanzibar, waiting for the ferry back to the mainland.

posted by Rashid Khan @ 7:36 PM,

As I've mentioned, Stone Town is a maze of tiny alleys, most of which are too small for cars. That's why most opt for a tiny, Chinese made, scooter if they can afford one. I wonder how many pedestrians are run down by scooters everyday? And for that matter, how many scooters are taken out by minibusses.

We took a tour of the spice plantations of Zanzibar (aka The Spice Island) today. Few plantations still exist, but back in the 1800s Zanzibar's main exports, besides slaves, were spices such as cinnamon, black pepper, vanilla and nutmeg.

posted by Rashid Khan @ 6:02 AM,