bus from Moshi to Dar el Salaam

i have until now avoided taking a bus anywhere in East Africa.  it's the most common although time consuming way to get around.  for this trip to Dar i'm traveling with a new sales rep for training and although a flight from Moshi to Dar is about the same cost the new managing director doesn't want to seem like he's giving special considerations to the marketing team and tells us to take the bus.  i'm actually okay with this since my forward travel after Dar is to one of the islands for a one week holiday and i won't be returning via bus.

i appreciate the opportunity to see via the ground a lot of what i've been flying over.  the 10 hour bus ride turns into a 14 hour trip but at least it does not break down which is not only common but is expected anywhere in Africa.  indeed, a western couple approaches me on the halfway break and says every bus trip they've been on has broken down.  i use the chance to learn some more about the sales rep that we hired to expand the business and i'm disappointed but not surprised that she's really not interested in what we are doing.  she just needed a job since the organization she was working for was defunded.  i'm not saying that's a direct reflection of her sales skills but i hired her reluctantly at the request of the managing director knowing she'd need lots of training.

turns out i'm not missing much between Moshi and Dar and i'm glad i'm not returning via bus.

she's well educated by Tanzanian standards but perhaps too much so as she aspires to become the next discovered 'african model' and work at the UN.  i'm all about empowering women to reach their goals but in this case i'm thinking it's not going to happen.  [spoiler alert: this 24 year old, who is unmarried, ends up pregnant and supporting the baby daddy in a continued cycle of poverty that could be avoided with some education about and use of birth control. yeah, i saw that one coming.  it's time to give these women some power over their own lives and control over their future.]   

getting accommodations in Dar is difficult because the company allowance is not generous and i usually stay someplace nicer but this time not willing to pick up the cost for an extra employee.  my new sales rep [a tanzanian who speaks the language] is absolutely worthless in helping with this.  let's say i slept with the lights on.

an american visit

had a short visit from an American friend and it was surprising to realize how much i miss my friends from home.  sure i skype with a lot of people but it's really not the same because there isn't a way to describe the not knowing if there will be water or electricity of some other disaster when get home.  

but when she mentioned she wasn't checking any luggage i was quick to throw together a bag of stuff that is mostly gifts and souvenirs that will lighten my load when i return.  as i kept wrapping orange duck tape around the bag she kept saying what are you doing?  

clearly, when you think it not just normal but also necessary to wrap your bags in duck tape when checking them from a third world country you've been traveling for too long.  i've long passed the point when dragging this off the baggage carousel would embarrass me.  

gay house vs. chaos

there is a dutch expat who i see a couple of times a month.  she does some contract work at the office so one evening over drinks i was asking how our company compared with some of the others she works with.  

she was saying how well run our company in comparison with other organizations so the discussion went to which companies were most disorganized and she said one is openly called gayhouse which seemed inappropriate and a little odd to me.  then i realized with the thick accent she was saying chaos and not gayhouse.  i think i'm losing all my english language skills.

the expats here who are paid western salaries are worked to death.  most of the professionals i know work 10 hours a day in contrast to most locals that start work around 9 and wrap up around 4.

the african view of trump

i was asked very often about and spoke many, many times to people about a trump presidency and told them in very clear language that he will not be a friend to Africa.  as early as January when i was talking to USAID workers it was clear that resources were being pulled and money going away.  

now, more than ever, it is important that resources be channeled into sustainable economic solutions for Africans or the cycle of challenges will continue. the old aid model of sending money to African countries is a catastrophic failure.  with billions of dollars in aid there is little or nothing to show for it and the lives of the average African hasn't changed much.  

immigration, income equality and gender discrimination are all hot topics in the international development community BUT also impact the lives of westerners.

we see migrants [people who have left their home country and no legal status elsewhere] flowing into Europe and the US and westerners recoil but without sustainable environmental and economic solutions the systemic problems that create illegal migration will not go away. 

it would also be nice if trump would stop offending everyone outside the US and provide some real leadership.  America is already great.  if it wasn't illegal  immigration wouldn't be a problem because no one would be trying to get in.

corruption in Africa

extortion and bribes are a way of life in Africa.  it's part of their income stream.  as a company our policy was not to pay any 'extra fees' and there were times when without that leverage it felt our paperwork was neglected.  

in Tanzania if you call someone to a meeting, like our farmers to a training, you have to pay them to attend [transportation & time].  it's common that government officials will show up for organizational meetings just to sit through them and collect the stipend at the end of the day.  it's not a productive model as real engagement is pretty low.

unfortunately, high visibility into corruption in African leaders leaves locals believing that it doesn't exist to the same extent in the west.  

we don't call it corruption when US doctors get free trips for continuing education from pharmaceutical companies and when PACs run negative ads in election cycles yet somehow the African model is viewed as more corrupt. hmmmm, makes a person think.

be truthful, gentle and fearless

Ghandi House - Mumbai

i just left the house where Ghandi lived for a time in Mumbai.  he didn't spend his whole life there just the bit towards the end.  it has now been converted into a museum and library.  it traces his life and work which i admire tremendously.  what an exceptional man and life of impact he had.  there were copies of letters written in his humble voice to hitler and roosevelt imploring them to use their power to avert the pain of war.

Ghandi's bed and work space

the room he lived and worked in is preserved in much the way it would have been while he was living there.

it left me in a thoughtful mood.  contemplating the world we live in today and how different it would be if we could practice just a small percentage of his teachings.

it was a great way to end my trip to India. i leave early tomorrow to return to Africa.

five star hotels + slum tour

as usual when i am exploring a foreign place on my own i get to see things more organically rather than from the window of a bus.  i hadn't really expected to see the gateway of India or the Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai which made it all the more interesting when i wandered past.  the hotel is infamous because of the 2008 terrorist attack and has been completely restored.  the view from the rooftop restaurant is spectacular and i find it's opulence a huge contrast from what must be the view from the slums.

yes, just few kilometers from the five star hotel are some of the worlds largest slums.  apparently, the 'slum tours' are quite a popular activity for tourists.  one woman told me 'i think it's important to see'.  no thank you.  i have seen enough of those by accident.  i'm not paying someone to take me to one.  i hope she learned something from it.

elephanta island, off mumbai, india

i got up early to beat the tourist crowds to Elephanta Island and was surprised by how quiet it was. everywhere there has been talk of the tourists not coming this year because of the demonetization.  however, by the time i leave there is a healthy line waiting to get in.

Elephanta is one of the World Heritage Sites that doesn't disappoint.

getting out to the island is easy enough via a ferry which leaves from the Gateway to India.  there is a 45 minute ferry ride which is nice and since i'm early, it's pretty empty.  on the island you have to run the gauntlet of touts as you climb the 120 uneven steps to the top carefully avoiding eye contact which is the first buying signal from which it will be hard to disengage without making a purchase. still, i find the touts in India to be only mildly aggressive compared to places like southern Bali and Morocco or Egypt.

once you‘ve hit the top you can grab your ticket - it is one of those places where locals pay 10 cents and forieners are charged $6USD which is slightly annoying.  no one really knows the origin of the cave/shrine/temples so its hard to explain what they are. everyone seems to agree that it was dedicated to the female goddesses and that seems to make sense from the location away from mainland india and the reliefs that remain.  it contributes to my sense of the indian culture that women are kept separate, considered unclean and unequal.  to westerners like myself it's offensive that indian women during their monthly cycle are prohibited from places of worship or kitchens.  when choices are limited it contributes to the cycle of poverty and inequality that will continue to be a part of the culture here.

it was great to wander around feeling like i had the whole place to myself in a place where women were honored.  when i left the ferry back was also mostly empty.  

it was one of the few historical places i wanted to see on this trip and i am glad i made the effort.  

i had surfed around to find a good guide since i'd never even been to Mumbai before.  it ended up being more stressful to coordinate going with a guide and between uber and guide book available onsite for less than $1 i had a better time on my own.  the cost of a guide with ferry and entrance fees would have been over $200US so i was glad i had done it my way.

kalava

armed with my kalava blessing from the puja on New Years Eve i am ready to leave the comfort of the 'resort' to explore more of India.  i want to spend a few days in Mumbai before i leave and have received advice from both locals and travelers to avoid both trains and buses. although the airlines are considered unpredictable they are more reliable then the trains or buses which i have been told repeatedly it's common and expected for them to run 24 to 48 hours behind schedule.  must drive the Germans crazy!  i cross my fingers and again book a flight on a domestic carrier from Goa to Mumbai.  

new year, new country

 another year and i'm still loving trying out new flavors of a traditional celebration.  i'm at the resort and there is quite a large, elaborate program that involves a lot of eating, meditation, pujas, processions, candles and singing but no alcohol.

literally a drum circle

candle lantern at midnight