We arrived into Stone Town after a knuckle biting flight, where our entire group who had previously been planning to take a flight back out, decided within minutes to make arrangements for the ferry instead. We met our driver and made our way to our hotel. As we got closer, the roads became narrower and narrower until it felt like we were going to be squeezed to death! The van came to a halt and with backpacks in hand, we walked through the constricting alleyways until we reached the hotel. And what a hotel it was! It was right out of a movie, with mosaic tiled, fountain bathtubs, stained glass windows, and curtained beds.
I stepped out onto the balcony and watched the streets bustling below. What a long way from the Serengeti. Everything about Stone Town seemed un-African. Stone Town was named due to the buildings being made of limestone. With a long history of trading with the Arab world, Zanzibar officially came under rule of the Sultan of Oman in 1698. His influence has remains intact as Zanzibar is known as "the spice island" due to the wide variety of spices and fruit being their largest export, the majority of which were introduced by the Sultan. The architecture is also a lasting monument of the Sultan's reign as the buildings and streets have you feeling as though you're in Morocco. As well, 95% of the population is Muslim and looking around, you wonder where that other 5% are hiding.
We spent two days in Stone Town, touring and shopping... mostly shopping, which consisted of hours upon hours of bartering, sometimes whether we liked it or not, and it needs to be said, I am not completely confident the locals fully grasp the concept of how to do this properly. Often we'd be walking down the street and a street seller would approach us. An example of a typical interaction would be:
Them: "Hello! Hello! Hellohellohellohellohello.." (this will carry on until you acknowledge them, which by the way, is the worst mistake you can make, and you know it, and you vow never to do it again, but you will continue to do it every single time.)
Us: "sigh.....hello."
Them: "You buy my elephant dung ashtray! Veeerrry good price! How much you pay?"
Us: "siiiigggghhhh....No thank you."
Them: "Okay, okay, for you, ten dollars!"
Us: "No thank you, I don't need an elephant dung ashtray."
Them: "Okay, okay, fifteen dollars!"
Us: ".......what?"
That's right, the price would usually go UP the more we resisted. While they have yet to master their sales pitch, they were fantastic at ripping us off when we became too tired to care. Tanzania in general, and I can say this confidently, is absolutely notorious for having no change, for anything, ever. You hand over 10,000 TZS (about $10 USD) for something that costs 1,000 TZD and watch, with mild bemusement, while they half-heartedly rummage through their pouch, look up with a grin and a shrug and announce the very words you will grow so accustomed to hearing, "No change", as if you'll reply with, "Aw, hey, no worries, keep the extra $9". What is even more amazing is how the change magically appears every time you start to walk away. What's worse (and this happens at restaurants all the time) is when you pay the waiter, then wait for him to come back with your change, and he never does, leaving you wondering (again) whether he was even a waiter at all! By the end of the day, the amount of merchandise we actually bought probably would have taken us a total of an hour anywhere else, but here, a full day, 13 blisters and a considerable depletion in sanity. Man it was fun!
The rest of our time was spent wandering around the beautiful streets and admiring the buildings. We went to Freddie Mercury's house! That is correct, Freddie Mercury, rock legend from Queen was born in Zanzibar. (Fun Fact of the day!) However, there is very little, if any of Freddie's dear spirit still lingering amongst the over-priced souvenirs and Queen memorabilia. Still worth checking out though! In the evenings we would go to Africa House, a large three story building, with a massive open terrace, overlooking the ocean, and smoke shisha while a baby monkey named Gio would bounce around us from cushion to cushion (Before you say it, it was not hallucinogenic shisha - the monkey was real) or we would just stroll along the ocean side night market with our sugar cane juice, lobster kebabs and chocolate banana pancakes, just taking it all in.
So far, Stone Town has been one my favourite places. If you ever get a chance to go there, I guarantee, you will love it!
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