Zanzibar (January 2000)

As well as being known for its beautifully pristine beaches, Zanzibar is also steeped in history. We chose our accommodation in Stone Town, the historical centre of Zanzibar. This holiday did not pan out as we thought it would.
We flew Air Tanzania. When we landed at the airport, the taxi driver who was supposed to pick us up did not pitch. We had to take the local taxi, but we managed to reach the hotel without getting ripped off. We only realised later that the locals live a very laid back lifestyle here. Their favourite catchphrase is hakuna matata meaning "no problem."





Entrance to hotel

Our hotel, the Coco de Mer was surrounded by all these crumbly buildings, and our room had a tatty bathroom. Water was shut off at any time of day. We had visions of this being our holiday in hell.

View from hotel room

This notion was soon dispelled as we started to explore Stone Town. We came across beautifully decorated wooden doors, many historical treasures, hidden lanes and markets. I also had a deliciously spicy biryani at the Neem Tree Café.

Freddie Mercury was born here

We discovered the Forodhani Gardens, which was just a stones throw away from the hotel. Once the sun set, this garden was transformed into a food market, with chefs whipping up all kinds of dishes, from seafood to pancakes. While we were tempted to savour some of these dishes, we did not, as we were not sure about the hygiene.



Forodhani Gardens

We took a day trip to Nungwe beach, which was not very far away from our hotel, but because the roads were so bad, it took us at least four hours to get there and back.

Nungwe beach

There were a lot of South Africans on the flight back home, and the women looked so tanned and refreshed. The heat had got to me, and I could see it in my overly tanned self. As we had just started travelling, we didn't know much about sun protection. Our plane was delayed for a short while, and when it took off I remember it almost plunging for a few seconds, but it came up again.