Day 29 Stone Town

January 7, 2016

Stone Town is one of the major tourist attraction in Tanzania. After travelling overland it is a huge contrast comparing to other parts of Tanzania. It feels like in any touristy place in the world, full of touts, hotels, restaurants, tourist attractions. Our goal today was to get our visas for Mozambique, so early morning we headed to Mozambican Embassy. We walked to the Embassy through narrow streets of Stone Town:

At the Embassy behind tight security, we were the only ones there and we got all the papers and money ready for visas. We found out that visas will be ready in 6 hours instead of 24, so it meant we had to hang around Stone Town for the day. So we left the Embassy and went walking around Stone Town. Majority of population is muslim. Instead of doing tourist tours to see turtles and going to slave museum, we hang around the town and talked to some locals about their life in Zanzibar. So we met one local guide (after he tried to got some money out of us, but soon he realised we were not an easy catch and then we talked as friends). So we stopped and talked to him near the beachfront, he told us many things about peoples lives on the island, places to go and eat local, told us how they cheat white tourists, told us about about Indian hotel owners and local staff in five star hotels, he talked about the quality of food in tourist restaurants and many more. 

Soon was the lunch time and we went to the restaurant called "Lukmaan". The food was delicious, we had some rice with octopus sauce, another sauce made of anchovies, and some few little bits, the food was really tasty, rich of spices. This place is famous for backpackers and more like an upper class for locals:

The weather was incredibly hot, it was really hard at this time of the day, but still we were wondering around the town. We went to the market and criss crossed it. Being one of few whites there we were followed by countless sellers trying to sell us spices. We walked through the whole place watching daily lives of locals. Small restaurants, black from soot, "thats where they eating" - we thought. The food was Wali Kuku - chicken and rice and costed next to nothing. So we wondered through the busy market and headed to Embassy for our Mozambican visas.

Went through some backroads and yards, some apartment building areas, and here you see the difference - its not a place where tourists wonder and everyone leaves you alone:) Must admit the place reminded me Deli in India - garbage anywhere you look, countless homeless on the streets, non existing infrastructure. But thats what we like when we travel - to see the reality as it is and not pay for the imaginary paradise on a photo.

After we got our visas we went back to Old Town. You need a lot of imagination to see architectural beauty that all books are raving about, because all the buildings that carry World Heritage Badge are falling apart or are secured with steel wires so they won't fall on your head, the only good looking buildings are five star hotels:

Stone Town from the sea: