Sat 13th. Arusha. Breakfast at Buddies. Bumped into Steve again. A chilling day. To Fifi’s for masala chai and Wi-Fi. Went to Cold Pub and Edgar joined me. It was very noisy and after one drink headed to Black and White but that was even more noisy. Edgar suggested the Sikh Club. I had never been there before and it was very smart. We had one drink and played table tennis. Great fun, but one rally ended with me tripping over my feet, falling and banging my knee on the floor and knocking my head against the wall. Obviously not as nimble as I once was !!!!
We were bought a drink, which was very kind of a regular at the bar. And then back to my hotel after helping Edgar buy bread and eggs.

Sun 14th. Had a good nights sleep. I went to Buddies for my simple breakfast of mandazi and chai. Bumped into Steve once again; he was waiting to go to Moshi. I didn’t do much that day. I had washed two shirts the day before.


A visit to Fifi’s. I walked down to Shoppers supermarket and had one of their masala
chais in their café; it was much nicer than Fifi’s masala chai and a bit cheaper. After a shower I went to Cold Pub and had a chips mayai … or chips zege as they call it…from next door whilst watching football.

I then walked to Picnic bar where I was supposed to meet Steve but he got detained in Moshi.  I went anyway as it was a part of town I hadn’t explored before. At 7:30 in the evening the whole area was buzzing/fun, full of people and flashing lights. I drank 2 beers whilst watching the Spurs game. A good atmosphere.  Then I walked back to the hotel, bumping into Steve again at the Stage (about 9:30p.m.); he had just arrived back from Moshi.

Mon 15. An early start. Didn’t bother with a bus option but went to the stage and caught a coaster to Moshi for 4,000. I checked that it was only 45 minutes to KIA, so I knew the Russians would’ve made their plane to Zanzibar.


Just under 2 hours to Moshi so I had a coffee before getting on the dala dala to Holili. Even that took less than an hour so I had a cup of tea near the border post. Very smooth through immigration, apart from the fact I was behind about 15 German tourists. Hopped on a boda to Taveta and went for tea with Mercy.
Did the usual rounds of the town.

Jan 16th -19th. Back to a normal routine in Taveta, starting with tea with Mercy around 09:00. I got my back tyre pumped up but it went down again within minutes.  2 punctures again which I got fixed. Some heavy rain..in fact it was the day that I washed my bedsheet and hung it up to dry. So it got drenched but dried quickly when the sun came out again. Washed my jeans, but had to wear them when very slightly damp.
Saw Mercy’s chicken coop behind the house..bigger than I expected; there will be quite a supply of eggs in the near future.


Usual round of restaurants/bars/friends. Joseph didn’t contribute one evening his share of 300ksh towards a big bottle of County at Rockland, so when it came to another chicken and County meal, I refused unless he paid his share. Because he couldn’t/didn’t have sufficient funds, the meal never happened.
There was a lot of cloud, but on the 19th it cleared just enough to expose all the snow on Kili; a lot of snow because of the heavy rains.
I left it a bit late to buy a ticket for Moshi for the next day, but with 2 coasters headed in that direction I figured it wouldn’t be a problem if I just turned up on the day.

Sat 20th. Tea with Mercy.  Packed. To the stage for a tea and a wait. Chatted to another Steve who was Kenyan born and whose parents were buried in Makindu…something in common as Dad died in Makindu hospital. I bought my ticket for 400 on Moshi Express but when Harambee came in first I was put on that one; it seemed a bit chaotic but it did seem to work out ok. We left about 01:30 and arrived Moshi 02:30. No problems with immigration.
As I was doing well for time I went for a coffee then to the Airtel office to put credit on my sim card, before checking in at Kindoroko. Over the phone I reminded Pascal that he promised me a discount and got the room reduced from 20,000 to 18,000…a saving of 60pence..!! I asked for room 204 again. Refreshed under a cold shower and went to the Police Mess.  Had 2 beers then to Kaka’s for tandoori chicken and to see my friends.  I bought a large bottle of Konyagi for everyone to share. Nice dinner followed by a nightcap near the Hotel, and to my room.