In the raw in Dar es Salaam

Lia Lenggogeni, Contributor, Dar es Salaam

Hot, bustling, teeming with humanity: No, we are not talking about our hometown of Jakarta, but Dar es Salaam, the onetime capital of Tanzania and still an adventure for the intrepid tourist.

I never thought the day would come when I would think that the condition of angkot (public minivans) in Bandung is humane. But as I sat squashed between two adults and watched in disbelief as others continued to eagerly pile into an overcrowded dalla-dalla in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, horror turned to excitement turned to horror.

There were at least 25 of us cramped into a battered minibus. The key word here is mini; Dalla-dalla are minibuses found in Kenya and Tanzania, only slightly bigger than our very own mikrolet (those ubiquitous minivans the color of salted duck eggs, one of the contributors to traffic jams in Jakarta).

Some people were sitting down, some were crouched behind the driver in contorted positions as they struggled to find something to grab on to, to keep their feet firmly on the ground and not fall every time the driver hit the brakes.

Each time somebody's mobile went off, the sight of the acrobatics that ensued was priceless. For a mere 200 THS (about Rp 2,000), this experience could be yours.

Not unlike mikrolet and angkot, dalla-dalla also depart whenever the driver or the conductor feels they have enough passengers. This could mean a mere five minutes or a full half hour. A few minutes after my dalla-dalla finally took off from the corner of my hostel, however, a security van slammed onto the side of the dalla-dalla.

It was only my second day in Tanzania and I had already experienced my first (and thankfully last) African hit and run! As the security van sprinted off, my dalla-dalla stopped in the middle of the busy street. The conductor checked the condition of the dalla-dalla as the driver looked for a traffic cop to file a report. After what seemed forever, we were again up and running in the dusty streets of Dar es Salaam.

If you love to travel and want to savor something different, there's no better place than Africa. The Portuguese, English, Dutch and Americans came to East Africa to exploit the riches of the interior. If you're curious to know where and how the famous question "Dr. Livingstone, I presume?" was uttered, look no more.

It was the only phrase Henry Stanley could utter when he finally caught up with the infamous European explorer Dr. David Livingstone at Ujiji near modern-day Kigoma after a journey of more than year. Stanley was the head of a special expedition sent out to find Dr. Livingstone, who got lost in search of the source of the Nile.

At the time, European explorers were setting out from Zanzibar into the unknown, spurred on by reports of a mysterious snow- capped mountain (Mount Kilimanjaro) and a giant lake (Lake Victoria). Nowadays, the continent has been getting a bum rap over the years and not without reason. Civil wars, famines, widespread corruption, human rights violation -- the list goes on and on.

But then again, Indonesia has not fared well in the international press, either, and I personally think it's still a great travel destination. So I left any preconceptions -- mostly developed through Western media -- behind and decided to sample the oldest continent firsthand.

Dar es Salaam -- a Kiswahili word meaning "haven of peace" -- is Tanzania's premier city and gateway to the East African country. Although the capital of Tanzania is Dodoma, the biggest businesses and most of the government departments are based here.

In the mid-19th century, Sultan Majid bin Said, then the sultan of Zanzibar, saw the potential of Dar as a safe deepwater port and trading hub at the center of the East African coast. In 1919, the Treaty of Versailles brought World War I to an end and removed the name of German East Africa from the map forever.

The former colony became a British mandated territory, with Dar es Salaam as its capital, under the newly formed League of Nations. Dar, as locals affectionately call it, in the 1920s was the exotic tropical seaport of European dreams, with its neatly laid out streets and whitewashed buildings surrounded by groves of swaying coconut palms.

Until 1946, when regular commercial flights were established, the approach to Dar for outsiders was through the bottleneck entrance to its spectacular landlocked harbor.

In the old days, the sun-starved British first glimpse of Dar was the dozens of dhow bobbing at anchor along the beaches while yachts darted over the surface of the water. Nowadays, tourists are more likely to be greeted by the chaotic view of touts and eager taxi drivers.

Nothing can really prepare you for the sights and sounds of Africa. In a time when the rest of the world looks increasingly the same, Africa is refreshingly raw and different. The landscapes are different, even the smells are different. Yet somehow it is familiar.

In general, Dar looks and feels like a shabby Indonesian small town stuck in the 1970s. Tall buildings are rarities. ATMs exist by the handful. Credit cards are often unheard of. There are a couple of nice spots, but usually they are the upscale areas frequented by expats, foreigners and the odd local or two. Surprisingly, graffiti is also very, very rare. Instead, you'll find painted advertisements on walls. Like here, you can spot homemade artwork or popular band names on the front and backs of trucks and public transport.

Taxis, usually beat-up old sedans, don't have meters or aircons. And for a place where the people almost ask for payment whenever you take a picture of them, even in nontouristy places, it is refreshingly free of parking fees, including official parking lots!

Crime in Tanzania as a whole is lower than its neighboring country, Kenya. But you'll feel differently when you first arrive. My hostel was guarded by several armed security personnel. I don't know anything about guns, but the ones they were carrying were not discreet, small guns usually carried by policemen. They were big, mean rifles I've only seen in movies or video games!

But according to a local staff from the Indonesian Embassy, Dar is pretty safe aside from the occasional muggings, usually in Coco Beach, the closest beach to the city. And the muggers never, or have yet to kill, their victims. They're interested only in your valuables, not your life. How comforting.

He assured me that most tourists usually fall prey to malaria or dysentery rather than muggers. Which brings us to the subject of insect repellent.

The threat of malaria is very serious. Most accommodation usually equips their beds with mosquito nets, but they're usually old with the usual wear and tear. So it's better to put up with foul, flowery scent of insect repellent and smell like your grandmother rather than spend weeks in high fever. It is preferable to take some anti-malaria pills before you go and get a yellow fever vaccination.

If you, like me, consider yourself to have a strong stomach, street food in Tanzania still requires some getting used to. On face value, the condition is similar to here: a bucket of murky water to clean (oh the irony!) piles of dishes. But if you consider that water is a rare commodity in the country, then the situation is actually uglier.

I did not develop anything but then again I wasn't as adventurous as I would like to. Food is usually very greasy and consists of barbecued meat (chicken, mutton, beef, lamb) eaten with chips or rice.

Chili sauce is a favorite staple, and Indian influence and an abundance of spices are strongly reflected in the food.

As for the people, Tanzania's 100 or more different tribal groups are mostly of Bantu origin. Although the Indian community is only a minority, their presence is very strong. Most business owners are second generation Indians.

Tanzanians in general are really friendly people, often going out of their way to help you, but their carefree attitude can sometimes create misunderstandings and frustrations. They engage in a lot of small talk and live by "Hakuna matata" (no problem) and "Pole pole" (slowly, slowly).

So service can be extremely slow by our usual standard (never go to a restaurant very hungry) or even nonexistent (a botched reservation is quite common). But then again, maybe they are the ones who got it right. Maybe we don't need to rush through life and take things too seriously. Hakuna matata, indeed.