Since the breakup of the Omani Empire, Zanzibar has fallen on hard times and has been remaking itself into a destination for tourists, mostly from Europe. Actually, if you think about that, it is not a far cry from it roots as the centre for the Middle Eastern slave trade. Just replace the Africans with the Europeans. Slave trade / Tourist trade. You be the judge.
Leaving the Serengeti with temperatures in the mid 30's to Zanzibar where the temperatures were in the mid 30's but with a Humidex of around 90% was a definite shock to the senses. As they say, it's not the heat it's the humidity. No airconditioning to be found at the Zanzibar International Airport. Thankfully we were coming in from Dar es salam and were able to avoid the long lines of tourists waiting to purchase their visas and clear customs. Moving out of the airport quickly and into the much appreciated air conditioned car that was awaiting our arrival. This trip has been a guided one from start to finish. Not our normal mode of travel but starting to see the benefits.
An hour later found us once again, safely behind guarded walls drinking our first of many fruity drinks. The plan was to spend the next five days laying on the beach, reading the entire Harry Potter series and drinking every fruity drink on the extensive menu of fruity drinks all while sucking up as much heat as possible before our return to the arctic temperatures of Harbin. Mission accomplished. The resort was typical of every all-inclusive resort that we have visited. This one catered to Italians. The buffet was a fusion of African and Italian cuisine sauteed and sauced into some interesting and not so interesting dishes. We quickly learned which ones to avoid. Safely behind walls, did not allow us to get a real feel for the Zanzibarian way of life. Leaving the resort was not recommended as stated by a large sign on the beach warning us not to use the beach after sundown. The resort was located in a very remote area with a limited number of organized excursions. We did take the the highly recommended "Spice Tour" which involved wondering around a couple of acres that were sparsely planted with various spices that had once made Zanzibar famous along with some spices never grown on Zanzibar. We tipped big and bought several overpriced souvenirs and hopefully made the day for the folks who tended the gardens, grounds, acted as tour guides and just generally hung around adding some local colour.
To ease us back in to some sense of reality, we booked a hotel for two days in Stone City, the historic heart of Zanzibar City. Hopefully this would be an opportunity to see the Zanzibarians in their natural environment. No Land Cruisers for protection here, just our cunning and fleet feet. We did hire a guide to give a short orientation tour of the City.
As you can see from the pictures, Stone City has all the necessary ammenities to keep the Omani Sultans happy, but since they were sent packing, things have gone a little down hill. Happily, it did not take a lot of imagination to see the beauty that first attracted the Sultans to Zanzibar.
It reminded me of Cuba in some ways but with out the Communism. Unlike the Cubans who seemed to enjoy life, the Zanzibarians seemed a little defeated by life. Until recently, they did not have a strong central government and what they had was rampant with corruption and economic mismangement. Elections held a few months ago has seen a change in the governing party and they have a faint ray of hope that change is on the way. Time will tell.
Another childhood dream smashed. On the last night of our resort stay, they advertised a traditional African dance show. But once again, the only bare chests I saw were on the men. Damn those missionaries. A little excitement on our outbound flight back to China. An explosion in a military base located adjacent to the internation airport in Dar es salam caused them to close the airport. When we arrived at the airport in Zanzibar we were told that a bomb had gone off at the airport in Dar and that it was closed till further notice. Whoa! We had watched both BBC and CNN that morning and no mention was made of this event. Given what was happening around the Middle East and North Africa, we though the worse. We were given no information but I smoozed the guy in the Duty Free shop. He had a radio and was able to give me the real story on what was happening. The explosion was an accident but it was in an ammunition bunker and exploding ordinace went on for hours as the fire department could not get close enough to fight the fire. It seems that a same incident had occured about 12 months before. No lesson learned, I guess. The airport eventually opened and we made our flight for Doha and onward to Beijing. Harbin is looking really good.
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