Zanzibar or the best reason

After the really cool train ride (I will write about it some other time) I made it all the way to Zanzibar. It is a very impressive place. Its narrow streets, the mix of Indian, African and Arab influences. The food, the beaches, the water.
I went to a cool museum today about the history of Z. Especially got tickled by the painting that was done in 1888 and presented to the Sultan of Z. (from Austria) in... 1887! It must have been dull-looking the first year.Also enjoyed the sunset over the Indian ocean from the top floor of the museum (as always I was cutting it close and I was the last visitor to enter and leave the museum - They basically asked me to shut out the lights when I was done...)

Then had a nice dinner on the beach. There is a place where they sell all kinds of foods - fish and shrimp on sticks, Zanzibarian pizza, chapati etc. Pick and choose. Unlike the sugar cane to chew on as it is sold in many places, here they squeeze the juice out and serve it as a drink. And unlike the chewing version, which is way to sweet and complicated to eat, I actually like the juice. I had two glasses (55 cents total...)

Well, concerning the train ride real quick: It left at 11pm instead of 6pm due to engine problems.; I wasn't too thrilled to sit at the train station with moskitos , but fortunately most were at the lake. And I had my repellent on - actually for three nights running as there was no way to put up my moskito net in the sleeper compartment. So I slept in my clothes, too - I just wasn't gonna risk it. Of course I will only know ina few days if I didn't get bitten by an infected moskito...

The train ride was incredibly scenic and never once dull. I enjoyed the sunsets, sunrises and the stop at the villages. Each seemed to have their speciality. In one they sold tons of onions. In the next coconut. In one everybody was keen to collect water bottles. A train wreck meant the ride ended in Morongoro and after waiting for a few hours the buses arrived that brought us the final three bus hours to Dar. The boarding process was comical and at some point I will write more details about the whole trip.

Tomorrow I will head to the east coast for some real vacation. After months of trickle, bucket or now showers I will enjoy it!! Next post may only come from Moshi. I should be back there around the 10th of January.

PS: The title refers to the book by Alfred Andersch, which is called "Zanzibar or the last reason" in German. The engl version is just called Zanzibar (BORING!). We read it in school and I don't remember much about it. I think there wasn't much talk about the food and the beaches, though...(it's actually a serious book about the Nazi times)