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Nicole's
Travelogues and Budget Travel Tips..
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MOSHI, TANZANIA
I caught the shuttle to Moshi at 8am from Nairobi and scored a great seat (usually I am squished and my knees are throbbing!). Of course, I spoke too soon. We met up with 2 other shuttles at the gas station and passengers from my shuttle were squished into both. I did get a seat by the window which was cool so I could look out - it was the seat over the tire though - so there was a huge hump under my feet and my knees were almost at my chin for the 5 hour trip. Yipee! For the next 3 hours or so I listened to my mp3 player and watched the scenery go by. Still in Masai country, we passed herders every few minutes. It was such a treat! We stopped at a toilet/market stop for 10 minutes. Whew! It was soooo nice to be able to stretch my legs! The toilets were western style but with no toilet seat - when you come across those, it is just easier to find a bush out of the way and use that!
About 45 minutes later, we hit the border. We all got out onto long line and got exit stamps on the Kenyan border. Then the driver pulled me aside and told me to follow Joseph up the hill and he pointed to the man next to him. OK. Joseph asked me how I knew the driver and I said that I didn't. Joseph said that the driver told him that I was his friend and to take care of me through the border process. Ahhh how sweet! I didn't need it - I knew I had to walk up the hill to the Tanzania office, hand in my blue tourist card, $50 and get a VISA - but the company was appreciated. Joseph is a management consultant who works/lives in Arusha. We talked alot about politics and corruption of both of our governments. We both had similar views on Bush and Arnold. We walked up to the Tanzanian office and beat the crowd behind us - alot of tourists were stopped by touts and money changers - no one bothered us because Joseph is local oh and about 6'4" and 350 pounds! So I paid $50 for Tanzanian VISA - takes up whole page. So we have to wait an hour at the border until everyone on the shuttle sorts out their VISA issues. I wander around for about an hour or so. By now it is about 5pm, so I want to make it to an internet cafe to check in before the sun sets. Moshi is the hub for travelers wanting to climb Kilimanjaro - so I was expecting to see more tourists and more of a backpacker infrastructure but I didn't really see either. There were a few tour agencies and a few curio shops but the bulk of the shops were local which was cool! I was expecting to see a cute little Vic Falls Town but Moshi was a much less touristy African bustling town. It was a nice surprise! Somehow I managed to find the internet cafe and settled in to check email. I met some travelers from Ireland who were heading to dinner so I tagged along. We went a few blocks to Mama Philips Restaurant and had decious nyama choma and beer!
I took a cab back to the hotel about 10:30pm and settled into the main lounge and read the paper. A couple of the staff are watching 'Living Single,' so I joined them. They had lots of questions about US - so I give them my perspective. They tell me that they have never seen a brown tourist. Wow! I was surprised at that since Moshi attracts alot of tourists but most do stay in the nicer hotels. We talk until about 10pm and I return to my room. There are alot of locks on the doors and windows and I take advantage and use all of them! There is a night club across the street, so it pretty much sounded like I was in a disco until about midnight! Paper thin walls! Though it was nice hearing African hip hop while I was writing in my journal. |
Moshi has a population of about 145,200. Nyama choma is Swahili for "grilled meat." But it can be either nyama n’gombe, grilled beef, or nyama kuku, grilled chicken (it’s mostly tourists who eat nyama kuku). Beef nyama choma is a slab of beef—any slab will do—that is slow cooked over a fire for about 45 minutes. Once done, the meat is either sliced into bite sized pieces and served in a bowl with a side of ugali and grilled bananas, or everyone grabs their knife and slices off the meat.
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About an hour later, we pull into Arusha at the Impala Hotel - a nice hotel that I won't be staying at! Hah haha. Joseph asks me where I am going to stay in Moshi and Arusha. I say that I have no idea! I can't afford nice hotels, so I will find one that is $15-20 a night. He gives me a voucher for one night free at the Impala Hotel and says to use it on my way back from Zanzibar. WOW! How nice! I may use it on the night before I leave back to Nairobi since the shuttle back will stop in the parking lot. Anyway, Joseph gives me his info in case I need to contact him and I change shuttles to continue on to Moshi - takes about an hour.
In Moshi, the shuttle lets us off at the shuttle office - which is past the clock tower on the main street. I ask the guy in the shuttle office if he knows of a cheap hotel near the main road. He names two and one of them I remember a few Dutch travelers from Nairobi Backpackers stayed at and said was fine - so I ask him how to get to Golden View Hotel. He says that he will take me because he has to do errands down there. So he takes me to an ATM so I can get Tanzanian Shillings and then takes me to the hotel. Cool! Thanks! So I check into the Golden View Hotel and get a single room with bathroom for $14. We go up to the room and I have a balcony overlooking Mt. Kilimanjaro! WOW! Only one thing...it's too pickin' cloudy to see anything! ARGH! So I just look at where it is supposed to be... I wash a few clothes and hang them hoping they will dry by morning. I hide valuables and leave the room to explore Moshi a bit. 
