We have been in Arusha for a total of eleven days and this
morning we are leaving for Dar.
I know it’s a little early to say as I readily approach the
end of my third week in Tanzania, but I think Arusha might be my favorite Town
in Tanzania. Because of its high altitude, Arusha is significantly cooler than any of the seaside towns we’ve been to
thus far. You might want a medium jacket until about 10 or 11 am when the sun
melts away the cloud cover. Arusha is also an incredibly clean city. Aside from
the occasional corncob, you’re not going to find too much trash on the ground,
which is perfectly fine with me. Fewer rats.
As the hub city for safaris, tourists—wazungu—are not hard to find, although
they tend to stay in nicer parts of town than we do. We only encounter them as
we walk briskly past places you could easily mistake for Europe or America such
as Africafe or the Blue Heron Pizza Garden—a garden surrounded by a high wall
where they sell pizza and salads—or
Shoprite. The first time I passed Africafe, I couldn’t help but laugh. It was
filled with people whose skin was the opposite color of the coffee they were
drinking, and they were paying close to Starbucks prices for it and the food
they were eating. Perhaps they knew that they could get these things for less
than one-fourth the price even a few doors down, but it was much more likely
that we didn’t. We seasoned Arushans, on the other hand, did.
After a few days of wasting thousands of shillings on taxi
drives, we began to venture out of our safety net by walking around the town.
It helped us get to know it a lot more quickly, and saved us quite a bit of
money. We also got to know quite a few people and places as we passed them each
day on our way from one side of town to the other.
Food:
Can I hear three cheers for Sweet Bite? Very aptly name,
this joint with the typical Tanzanian fare was one of our favorites. Enormous
portions and dirt-cheap prices. What more could you ask for? While Arusha does
have tons of expat-friendly
restaurants—I’ve even seen a sushi restaurant—we preferred to frequent the types of places
where the waiters don't speak much English. Restaurants such as Kulan’s,
Mehboob’s BBQ (yeah, we know), The (2G) Restaurant, and the like. At these
sorts of places you can never go wrong with Wali Ro(a)st (the “a” is optional)
which costs around TZS 2500-3500 ($1.50-2.25).
Notice: There are
also places nearer to the outskirts of town that are a bit cheaper than this.
They’ll usually have enormous banners that you can see quite easily from the
street announcing their prices. This is most likely a lie and they will tell
you that the promotion is over, but the food is usually good enough.
Also, Mehboob’s has 4 different types of grilled chicken. Do
not be fooled: they are all exactly the same. And what they give you doesn’t
taste like any of the descriptions, but it’s still good!
Markets: Mount
Meru Market (aka the Maasai Marktet, it’s near the clocktower roundabout) is
fantastic. However, if you don’t have basic Kiswahili skills or are white they
will rip you off immensely. I actually made quite a few friends in that market
(I went there far too often) and even received two marriage proposals. They
know me there as the Girl from Cameroon. There is also someone selling
something at every street corner and a few places in between.
(Hoorah for new
categories!)
Sights:
Mt. Meru is a mountain near Arusha that always stands
proudly in the distance. Unlike Kili at this time of year, you can see Mt. Meru
most days, and it’s a rather incredible sight at that.
Arusha has a fantastic Cultural Tourism Program (which is
just near Africafe so you can go there right after your TZS 5000 muffin!) which
provides area tour excursions ranging from a half-day to four days to places
such as maasai villages, waterfalls, Mt. Meru, local schools, camel safaris,
and the like. The best part about these is that the profits go back to the
community. While they tend to be slightly overpriced (be careful because they will cheat you), they’re still a great,
relatively inexpensive way to spend your time.
Stays: Hotel
Flamingo is a dream. We’re currently getting the resident rate (TZS 35000 for a
double) because we had our Supervisor help us out, but even without the savings
would be worth it. The hotel is incredibly clean, the water is (almost) always
hot, and the staff will even cut and peel your mangos for you!
Notice: The girl
at the front desk smiles and laughs a lot. You may assume she’s laughing at you
and your inability to open the door or work the remote, but she’s really just
like that.
Also, our Boss says Hotel Miami Beach is not as good and
more expensive, so don’t be fooled by the price.
Warning: I’ve
heard that Arusha is supposed to be a very dangerous city. We haven’t
encountered any mishaps (thank God), but I’ve heard quite a few stories.
Everyone knows someone who knows someone—that sort of thing.
There is a particularly rude scarf vendor one street down
from Sweet Bite who will most likely refuse to give you good prices and won’t
sell you a Pashmina for any less than TZS 8000, even if you want to buy five.
Always make sure to add up the bill yourself. Some restaurants will add on random fees just because they assume we'll just go ahead and pay. Which you probably will. Let's just go ahead and call it a wazungu tax.
Always make sure to add up the bill yourself. Some restaurants will add on random fees just because they assume we'll just go ahead and pay. Which you probably will. Let's just go ahead and call it a wazungu tax.
We all adore Arusha and will miss it immensely when we go. We
extended our stay here for an extra day because we love it that much. A day in
Arusha vs. a day in Dar? When the opportunity presented itself it was a
no-brainer…
We have a running joke among us that when we have too many
taxi drivers phone numbers, or begin to know our way around the place then
that’s when we know it’s the time to go, but with Arusha we were absolutely
content with befriending the Mango Guy down the street or the duffle bag
vendors on the street corner or the man who tries to sell us paintings every single day. It was the closest
we’ve felt, I think, to being safe and comfortable. The closest we’ve come to
something we could want to call home.
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