Tanzania

Elle and I were both really excited to get to Africa. We knew that going on a safari was expensive so we were prepared to go extra budget while in Dar es Salaam. I guess neither of us were prepared for the cost of things in Tanzania. The declining dollar and our declining bank accounts added a little stress to the situation but we came up with some creative money conservation tactics. We left India a little ahead of schedule but we didn't really anticipate Tanzania costing much more than India. We were wrong. Many things are priced similarly to what they would be at home. Not what you would expect in a third world country. It makes you wonder how people who according to our book make on average $250.00 a year can afford to live.

So we had a couple of weeks to kill before our friend Jamie came to meet us. We originally thought that we might do a short trip to one of the national parks in the south. Our guide book is slightly dated and the current prices made that option impossible. This gave us an excellent opportunity to explore Dar es Salaam an option most people might not choose.

Hotels are very expensive in Dar so we opted for the less luxurious YWCA. At six dollars a night it can't be beat. They have a canteen with good food and free aerobics with the nuns. Our other big saver was going to the casino for drinks. The minimum gambling amount is $10. We found that if we gamble very slowly and drink very quickly we could finish two drinks each before our money ran out. Since drinks are free to gamblers this worked out pretty well especially for Elle who loves gambling.

After two weeks Jamie arrived. This was her first trip overseas and she deserves some respect for making it a huge one. The guide books make it sound a little more scary than it actually is so I think she was pretty relieved to see some familiar faces at the airport.
Typical guide book suggestions for Tanzania:
don't carry around valuables
don't carry a walet
don't wear jewelry
don't carry a camera
don't walk around at night
don't look scared
never look anyone in the eye
don't leave anything of value in your hotel room
run from your cab to the front door of your hotel
O.K. I made up a couple of those but you get the picture. You are going to die if you go to Africa. We lived though and we had a good time. I'm not saying that taking precautions is a bad thing but reading about them may scare you.

Pictures: our sweet room at the YWCA
Beach camping we did outside of town
Kilimanjaro Beer it was 1000$ to climb the mountain but only about $2.00 for a little taste
Jamie Justin Elle at Ngorongoro Crater rim we totally blend in here many people had us mistaken for locals.