Wed 11th Dec. Kahama
Awoke 01:00. Had to pay the extra 15,000 for the room; there had been some confusion…that was fine.
Left bus stand at 02:30 in a Sahani bus, smaller than the big Taqwa bus I was expecting. I thought we were doing well for speed but it still took 4.5 hours with various stops.
3.5 hrs at the border itself; Tz side very slow. I got a bad surprise; because I’d exited Tz to Rwanda, this invalidated the 1 month extension I got in Moshi which expired on 21st Dec. A bit annoying but just meant I had to get a new 3 months visa about 3 weeks earlier than planned. At least I had the 50USD on me.
Not surprisingly that with different people’s needs, the processing time can be long.
Eventually the Sahani bus came and we all bundled on. Unfortunately there was some major road construction going on for about 30 or 40 kms which added to the length of the journey.
All in all, over 15 hours journey Kigali to Kahama. Not especially exciting scenery. I arrived in Kahama around 6pm; in theory I was supposed to go through to Arusha. Talking to the bus company lady, that was totally impractical and I might be standing the whole way and not arrive until the next morning.
I was happy with the solution to stay the night in Kahama and continue to Arusha the next morning…especially as it would be at no extra cost. I don’t know how they do it…I buy a straight through ticket in Kigali; I change once at the border; I change again at Kahama…and they somehow track it all.
I booked in at the hotel behind the bus stand, where I stayed before …for 25,000 (£8); ordered rice,veg,fish soup and a beer…all very nice. I went walkabout and found a small bottle of nightcap for the room. I had a shower to test the hot water; absolutely fine. Put the fan on and went to sleep. Great decision to break the journey as I don’t think I would’ve survived the alternative.
Thurs 12th Dec. Arusha
Very comfortable room. I set the alarm for 3am; too early really, but I got about 5 hours of good sleep. Showered etc and got to the bus after 4 am. Way too early as we didn’t leave until 5:45.
I switched seats with a guy so that I could take a photo of the interesting rock formation at Tinde, but as it happened I nodded off just before and missed the opportunity. Not an interesting journey apart from fascinating rock formations. We stopped at Singida and then Babati for a tyre change …so that took over half an hour.
Not too much of a traffic hold up getting into Arusha, thank goodness. The Mtei booking office wasn’t at the main bus stand, so I hopped on a boda for 1,000 to take me straight to Midway. I accepted an ‘okay’ room as it was just for one night.
I settled in, changed my shirt, and phoned Edgar to say to meet at McEllys in 15 minutes. He actually got there before me, which made a change..!! We had a good catch-up for an hour and then I went to Slope Garden for a chips mayai and a beer. Hilda was very chatty and I bought her a drink. It wasn’t that late, but the place was crawling with prostitutes; am not used to that sort of environment.
I finished my beer and went back to my room…didn’t even stop at Mrinas…I was tired.
Fri 13th Dec. Moshi
Had some strange dreams so I woke up a little earlier than planned. I was at breakfast after 07:30. Much much nicer breakfast than previously; I think I benefited from the fact that a football team were due for breakfast, so a huge spread was put on the table.
After 08:00 I was at the stage. A good, comfortable journey and 2 hours later I was in Moshi. I checked into Kindoroko for a good price of 20,000 (£6) and was given room 302 ( small but okay for one night) whose air from the fan didn’t seem to penetrate the mosquito net..!!
I left there on a mission…to locate Claire Goodman’s grave and to pass on a message from her sister Jennie in NZ. It seems Claire died in 1963 at the age of 15. Mission accomplished; took a photo and filmed a short video.
I went back via the Greek Church (which is now a Baptist church) and took a few pics. From there to Aroma Coffee for a masala chai and to use the good wifi. Then to the Airtel shop to update my sim card registration in line with my new visa which didn’t expire until 10th of March. But the current one was expiring on 21st Dec, and I learned from someone in the shop that the authorities can cancel/disable the card the next day…if you’re very unlucky. The updating process took ages..at least 45 minutes.
Back to my room where I finished washed 2 shirts and a pair of socks and watched them dry in the hot sun on the hotel roof; it only took 45 minutes. I met up with Catherine at the Police Mess; I had to use my umbrella on the way there, but the rain didn’t last long.
I kept the meeting brief as I wanted an early dinner at Kaka’s.The guys were on the balcony as usual , and I had my usual tandoori chicken and rice. That was around 5pm and my plan was to go to Kibo Palace hotel in the hope of getting a good sighting of Kili. I wasn’t disappointed as there weren’t too many clouds, and Jennie was right about the spectacular view from the rooftop bar. Looking at Kili like that is mesmerising, and worth the expensive beers.
I got chatting to Aamir who was in Moshi on business. After a while he offered to ask for a shisha pipe/hookah for us to smoke a mint and watermelon mix. Well, that was tasty and good fun. We had a long chat before I went to another table to do an FB post. By this time it about 9pm and dark; we said goodbye and I returned to Kindoroko. The good thing was that I didn’t have an early start as I was only going to Taveta the next day. My one day in Moshi was action packed…
So, all in all it took 3 days to cross Tanzania to get to Kenya from Rwanda…Tanzania is a huge country.