A quick summary

I made it back to the US. A quick summary since my last post.

Dar es salaam to cape town, then to Johannesburg back to Kruger national park for a safari adventure and from there I ended my trip before one final stop in Abu Dhabi.


Since my arrival back in the US, i'm proud to announce that I matched at the University of Pittsburgh Medical center. I'm totally stoked about this as I got lucky and matched in their internal medicine-global health track-----which means that i get to travel somewhat even during residency!! woo-hoo.

My plans now are kinda dull i guess. I might sit back, relax, take in the spring weather and do absoultely nothing. That's option one.

Option 2 involves a possibility of heading to Thailand, Cambodia, Laos for about a month. I'm not sure if I really am up for another travel adventure and this being so close to residency but who knows? So far i've visited 12 different countries this year!! An amazing feat. Let's see what happens

Zanzibar

So it's been a while since I posted and my journey has gone from Dar es Salaam to Zanzibar to Johannesburg and now to Cape Town since I last posted. Dar es Salaam turned out to be a pretty fun city as it was a nice mix of cultures all merged together. It turns out there is a huge indian population in Dar and it is definately reflected in the local cuisine. The first day, I just walked around the city to get a feel for the city. I also had to take care of a lot of errands. The next day I headed out to Zanzibar about a 2.5 hour ferry ride to the island.

Buying the ticket to Zanzibar was quite an adventure all in itself. As usual, there were the "touts" constantly irriating the hell out of you trying to earn a few bucks by any means they could. It turns out these guys get comission from travel agencies and will do anything and everything they can for you to buy a ticket from a particular company. I got the heads up on this before I arrived at the port and headed straight to a ferry company called Seagull. After I purchased the ticket which ended up being like 35 dollars, I was quickly passed on to a gentleman who was waiting outside of the ticket sales office who supposedly was going to show me to my boat. It turns out this dude, was anything but an honest gentlement--a tout who obviously was trying to make a few bucks out of me. He decided to make up a scam and said that before heading to my ferry he had to take me to the tax office so i could pay a departure port tax. Not knowing the circumstances, I followed him as he led me towards a set of staircases. It was here when things got weird as I caught a glimpse of a guy without a shirt who was smoking a cigarrette. Quickly the tout said something in swahilli to this topless guy and this dude ran into a hut and boldy proclaimed that he was the departure tax man. It was obvious to me right then and there that this was a scam and I refused to pay and started walking away. It was then I told the guy that i was going to report him, and he RAN AWAY. a funny end to a funny scam.

The ferry ride was nice and lasted about 2 hours. I met a gentleman from Canada on that ferry who was traveling alone and he was planning to spend some time in Zanzibar as well. We both feared the hassle and the touts that were surely awaiting us in the Zanzibar port and thus decided to team up and brave the elements together by staying in the same hotel.

Immigration was interesting as I was told at the counter that my visa was incomplete and that i owed another 100 bucks. This was strange to me as i was issued a visa at the zambia- tanzanian border for 50 bucks. I think the official just wanted to pocket 50 dollars from me. After much convincing and a 20,000 shilling bribe i finally got through.. what a relief and we checked into the Wariri hotel.

A nice hotel it was and that night was spent walking around the city and going to the street meat vendor area... This was an area where local fisherman grill up their fresh catch of the day. We met some interesting people.. an american and a couple of cute norweign girls. They were pretty nice although I still dn't believe their claims that they bought some great white shark meat earlier that night. I mean c'mon... how in the hell do u catch a great white shark... I guess maybe if u use a goat as bait, but still!! I wanted to see the carcass and then i'll be convinced. We also had a shadow, a gentleman by the name of Jackson who kept following us and popped up everywhere. He was trying his best to earn a few bucks out of us and he kept pestering us to sign us up for a spice tour.

The next day we headed on a spice tour- we didn't book with him- which was very nice. We saw a wide variety of spice plants including ginger, cardamon, nutmeg, coriander, cinnamon. it was great and I even bought some. Afterwards we went swimming at a clear blue water beach nearby which was just what i needed. That night we headed out to the street meat area for our dinner and went to a reggae bar afterwards. We saw our first bar fight in Zanzibar and my first of AFrica. These two dudes were definately going at it... Afterwards we went to another place called livignston beach bar which was nice. I met some other canadian girls who also were on the spice tour and it was pretty apparent right off the back that they were interested in Dean (the guy i was traveling with )as they took interest to his profession. I think they even wanted to hook up with him, although sadly enough he was already tied up with a girlfriend. I stayed away, as I felt really dumb and stupid around them--they would say things that were intellectual in nature and I would say really dumb and insensitive things. haha...

The next day I headed off to Dar es Salaam.

The flight from Dar to Johannesburg was a story all by itself. I must post about this later!!

giraffes, elephants and the trip to Dar

The journey from sumbawanga to dar es salaam was both fun and a bitch. It took about 8 hours from sumbawanga to Mbeya by a really bumpy bus ride. I had to overnight in mbeya and the next morning i caught a 7 am bus ride to the coastal city of dar es salaam. the bus ride was 12 hours, and although super long it was quite interesting. THe landscape of tanzania is just beautiful with rolling hills, moutains and the typical african plains. It was so awesome and I even got to see wildlife. Coasting the road, we saw wild african elephants--herds of them crossing the street huge ivory tusks and all. On some stretches I got glimpses of herds of giraffes grazing on trees. It was just amazing to see all this wildlife as we were casually mkaing our way to dar. I arrived in dar es salaam late last night and am staying at the safari inn. Not that bad of aplace. tomm i wil head out to zanzibar for a few days before flying out to johannesburg on Monday.

Swahilli time

I woke up this morning to the sound of knocking on my door. I checked my little radio alarm clock and quickly reconfirmed that it was only 7 am in the morning. i opened the door and there stood one of the hotel workers greeting me with a smile. You should get ready for your bus. In the background was Mr. Mitha's voice.. "yes anil you should get ready for you bus you are getting late". Totally confused I walked outside my room in my pajamas wondering what the chaos was all about. It was only yesterday that I purchased a ticket from the Sumry bus ticketing office for a ticket to Mbeya that was supposed to depart at 12:00. I had many hours left!! I was soon to find out a new concept one that I faintly remember way back in my days in social studies class in elementary school.. SWAHILLI TIME! I realized that 12:00 was the swahilli time equivalent of 6 am. Slowly things starting fitting together and I faced the sudden realization that I had missed my bus! Doh! Swahilli time.
Quickly we headed out to the bus station to see if i could somehow make it on the 8 o'clock bus. Despite many quarrels done on my behalf by one of the men who came with us, I realized that I was destined to stay in Sumbawanga for another day.

Sumbawanga is a really pleasant town. It's small however very pleasant and friendly. I really feel like I am in Africa and it has a unique feel and vibe one that I really can't explain in words. People here are just too friendly. The place I am staying at... is just superb and the owners are just too warm and hospitable. They even serve the best indian food one can imagine--which is esp great for me, because I'm a really picky eater. I had dinner with them one night which was too nice of them and it will definately be a lasting memory when i head back to the states.

i now feel that back at home, we are always in a hurry... whether this may be to eat, to get to where we are going, to make money, to deal with situations. We really don't slow down much and just enjoy the moment and take time to just enjoy the present. That's what africa has taught me thus far and I know that I'll definately view the pace of my life back in the states with a little more scruitny.

I also learned a great deal about Sumbawanga's past and even present beliefs in the powers of witch craft. In fact it is still believed and practiced in some areas.
Well, the plan today is just to relax and tomm i will make it on the mbeya bus at 8 am which is 2:00 in swahilli time. From mbeya I will head out to Dar es salaam, before taking a ferry to the island of Zanzibar-which i hear is a must! Unfortunately, for now, my trip is kind of coming to an end as I have to back in the united states on March 19th to find out where I matched for my internal medicine residecy. From Dar es Salaam I will fly back to Johannesburg and make brief stops in Krueger natinoal park and Cape town before heading back to the United States. WE'll see where I decide to go from there

From Zambia to Tanzania

Life's been moving considerably fast since my last post. I've done a lot of things from working at the hospital to slowely inching my way up north. One thing for sure, in 2 weeks I am beginning to feel what Africa really is. A place where in the local media back in the US where u only hear of war and bloodshed, lies the most friendliest and warm-hearted people on the planet.

I left Livingston after having a blast and continued my way to Lusaka, the capital of Zambia. It was a long bus ride of course lasting about 8 hours and I tell you... what a bumpy road!! The bus ride itself wasn't that bad, as I had great conversation with an elderly man sititng next to me. We talked about a lot of things from religion to politics to the world in general. He had one son and a daughter and lived in Lusaka. He was enroute back from a trip to Zimbabwe to visit his old father who was 95 years old. Zimbabawe is in a pretty fucked up shape he tells me. Corruption, poverty, insane inflation has made life in Zimbabwe incredibly difficult. Right off the bat, I could tell that this fellow was very educated and he was quick to point out that he thought George w. Bush was the devil. Among many other things I learned how much the United States has neglected Zambia prefering to make better allys with Tanzania their neighbors up north. In addition, much of the population too offense that Bush didn't visit zambia only visiting his select favorite countries. The zambian government aren't in the friendliest of relations with the US and he was quick to point out that the russians and cuba and even the chinese have done great things for the country and wondered why we as americans hated these countries so much. We also talked about relgion... and what do u know. he was an evangelical chrisitian. Kind of odd, as he wasn't a bush supporter. He was a great fellow, as when we arrived in Lusaka, he escorted me to a taxi and to my hotel so I wouldn't have to deal with the haggling that I'm accustomed to. I stayed at the Kumboka backpackers hotel which was great although my stomach bug started acting up again.

So i stayed in Lusaka for a while, working at the local hospital. Lots of great experiences too many to recount on a blog but i can say this.... the world is in desperate need of healthcare workers!

After my time in Lusaka, I felt it was time to move on after a few days. I headed to the tanzanian embassy to purchase a visa as Tanzania was my next stop. From Lusaka I headed on a 3 hour bus ride to the town of Kapiri Mopshi from where I caught the TAZARA train to Mbeya, Tanzania. This train was nice although insanely slow as we derailed a couple of times and had some delays. Also at the kapiri station, the train was supposed to depart at 4 pm but after announcement at 3:30 pm stating that the train was now going to leave an midnight it was apparent i was in for a long journey.

The train ride itself was fab as I got the sleeping compartment all to myself. I also made friends with the Train conductor who basically gave me the royal treatment. He was an interesting fellow and asked me a lot of questions about abraham lincoln and Martin luther king jr. Also on the trip I met a police inspector who was stationed at the Zambia-Tanzania border. He had caught the train with his brother's son to dar es salaam so he could see his wife for a week. A nice pair they were as we talked a great deal about life in Africa. Finally it was my time to get off in Mbeya and the police guy insisted that he accompany me to find a taxi with a police escort. Although it wasn't necessary I think he really wanted to do this to kind of show his authority and power he had in Tanzania--so i took him up on the offer.

I stayed overnight in Mbeya and headed out on a 9 hour bus ride to the town of Sumbawanga. The Congo border is only like 30 minutes away. People here are insanely friendly.. everyone has smiles and will greet you when u walk down the street. even strangers. I'm trying to work on my Swahili. The plan from here is to work at the hospital of course for a few days before I headed to the Tanzania capital of Dar es Salaam. Theres also a slight chance that i might meet the prime minster of Tanzania tomm as he is paying a visit to the hospital. WE'll see what happens.