Our Great Tanzanian Safari - Still in Tarangire

We spent two days in Tarangire, and I'm glad we did. Day two into our game drive, we already saw some lionesses going after a pack of wildebeests. The lionesses hid in the tall grass and waited patiently as the wildebeests leisurely got their drink on. Without the super-intelligent zebras to warn them, they couldn't escape a hungry pride.

Biding their time, three pretty lionesses prepare to hide in the grass

These guys have no idea what's going to happen next...

The lionesses share their raw wildebeest meal kilometers away from our spot.

A family of elephants crossing the road. They are the cutest!

So we decide to have lunch with them. By lunch I mean we eat, they poop.

Back at our lodging, we see a zebra grazing by our hut!

They are totally oblivious to us. They make good pets.

I find myself in the middle of a Masai dance number.

The chief demonstrates how to use the talking stick.

Entering the Masai home. They're all nice and happy. We find out why moments later. They rip us off. No hard feelings.

Our Great Tanzanian Safari - Tarangire

Our five-day safari in the northern part of Tanzania started in Tarangire. From Dar Es Salaam, we flew all the way to Arusha and were picked up by our guide, Maluta, who did a great job! His eyesight and instincts were amazing. Because of him, we spotted animals that we wouldn't have been able to see if we had another guide.

We arrive in Arusha. The Kilimanjaro International Airport is small, clean and chilled out.

Our driver and guide Maluta is always alert on the road and in the parks.

Masamboi Tendted Lodges offer a piece of paradise in Tarangire. This is our hut.

Excited!

Our first stop: Tarangire National Park.

A family of elephants have a mud bath to cool down.

A pretty ostrich wandering alone on the grassland

Zebras are graceful, smart and simple easy on the eyes.

A small part of Tarangire's grassland

Lunch in the camping area

These girls are on their way home from school. They have recently been circumcised and have to wear these costumes.

10 Random 90's Songs That Got Me Through High School

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Top 3 places to check out in Dar Es Salaam

Waiting for our big bag at the Julius Nyerere International Airport

We only stayed there for a night, but Dar Es Salaam proved to us that we didn't need more than twelve hours to explore a city. It's a very safe place by African standards, except for the pesky insects. A sausage fly bit my right index finger and caused it to swell into a big purple (yup) sausage. But I'm fine. I lived to see what Dar had to offer. And I loved it.

www.holidayinn.com

1. Holiday Inn Dar Es Salaam. This is the perfect starting point of your rendezvous with Dar. Bang in the center of the city. We  checked in, headed out, and wandered semi-aimlessly, with the sea as our preferred destination. We reached the sea, looked at the waters in deep thought for a very, very brief moment, and went to the nearest pub, right around the corner.

2. New Africa Casino. The capital of Tanzania is the fastest growing city in the world, LBT read somewhere. And while high-rise buildings have not blocked the clouds yet, a few high-end, freshly painted (or renovated) structures suggest that its economy is gradually moving forward. New Africa Casino is one of them. We happily busted through the doors and the sight of slot machines and gambling tables and African men in suits excited us. All the waitresses were cacao-skinned voluptuous beauties, except for a tiny Chinese lady who emerged out of nowhere to take our order. (I knew China must have some form of presence in the world's fastest growing city!) We were sternly asked not to take pictures just as we were preparing to take a few snaps. And as we headed out, we were chased by the waitresses and were falsely accused of not paying for our drinks. Pretty intense....ly awesome!

3. Break Point. We stumbled upon a low-key sports bar as we sauntered and giggled away from New Africa Casino. We had our second round of drinks, and decided we didn't have much time. We needed to keep exploring and make our presence known as far as our tired but restless feet could take us. We continued our stroll and in seconds our ears were filled with the sweet sound that could only come from an authentic African live band. We followed the tune.We turned left onto a narrow street, and a light was shining a few hundred meters away. The booming bass that electrified the ground teased our feet as if to say, "You can't dance until you find us!" And find them, we did. Who's them? The patrons and performers of Break Point, a cool outdoor nightclub that had everything LBT and I needed to cap our awesome night. The six-piece African band played a few love songs and a bunch of dance hits, all in Swahili. Their tunes had a reggae-slash-tribal vibe to it, which we loved! Upon ordering his second (or eighth, who's counting?) bottle of Kilimanjaro, LBT felt the urge to let the whole place know that "I wanna live in Tanzania!" Thank God the music got progressively louder at this point, so no one really heard him. Whew. We called it a night in the middle of a Swahili dance intermission.

We are obviously not photographers.

Today, sitting at my office table 2,500 miles away, our Dar adventure seems so distant and surreal, as if it never happened. But one look at my healing, peeling sausage finger reminded me that it did. Oh yeah it did.

Dar traffic sucks though.

Tanzania

Earlier this year, Tanzania was something we read about on the internet, and in our then newly purchased Rough Guide book.
Now, two days after landing in Dubai from one of the most diverse countries in East Africa, we can say that all the interest, research and excitement we devoted to our biggest holiday so far were worth it.

JAMBO! 
Welcome!

We had a a taste of Dar Es Salaam on our first night. In one of the safest cities in East Africa (or so the locals claim), we did a bit of exploring and drinking and admired the under-developed, third-world and happy vibe of Tanzania's capital. That was cool. At one point I believe LBT screamed "I want to live in Tanzania!" as he chugged down his third Kilimanjaro beer.

The airport

Abdullah, our cabbie

The next day, we flew up north to Arusha to do a five-day safari. It was awesome. The breath-taking scenery and the sight of the animals roaming around freely in their natural habitat are something you don't get to experience every day. Many people never even experience it in their lifetime. So it was a gift, really, to witness wildlife at its wildest. I, a cowboy and a believer of immersion holidays, emptied my bladder just outside Serengeti National Park. That was the ultimate gesture of being one with nature and unspoken camaraderie with my rafiki, whose dung has beautifully decorated the the vast grasslands for years. Maybe even decades. Centuries. Who knows?!

Our tent in Serengeti

A rare cheetah sighting. And it wasn't eating Cheetos.

A big family of elephants that have just crossed the street

Thirsty wildebeests, minutes before a lion started chasing them

I don't remember what kind of deer these are, but aren't they a beautiful sight?

And let's not forget our Masai Mara stopover. We stayed there for a bit and palled around with our Masai brovas, took lots of pictures, and left $150 poorer, and a little happier in an ignorant tourist way.

LBT happy with his talking stick

Five days of  safari left us pooped (pun intended), and a nice evening in Arusha before heading to our next destination was what we needed to recharge. Arusha is a nice sweet place. The main road is lined with overly enthusiastic vendors that sell street food (gotta love my grilled corn) and used clothing. They sometimes get in the way of traffic. But the cars, as reckless as they may appear, don't seem to mind at all. Adding to the madness of Arusha's streets are a few Caucasian and Asian backpackers looking happily lost in the organized, dust-covered chaos that is Arusha.We had a few beers and retired to our lovely lodge to prepare for our next stop.

At Arusha City Park, enjoying a bottle of ice cold Tusker

POLE-POLE...
Slowly...

We said bye bye to Arusha and flew to the island of Zanzibar, a word that originally meant "sea of blacks", a term the Iranians gave the beautiful spice-rich island when they set foot on it. Our first stop: Nungwi, a beach in the northern part of the Zanzi peninsula. It can be a perfect honeymoon destination, or a backpacker's haven, depending on where you stay. We stayed at the very luxurious The Z Hotel. Fine white sand (Boracay's is finer and whiter, but let's not steal the spotlight from Zanzi), seafood and beer all day, lounging by the pool for five hours while buried in a book and letting the sun do its magic on our skin. Not to mention a TV attached to the bed's canopy. That was how we spent time for three straight days.

View from my lounge chair

We got a sea view room. Sweet.

Then we drove off to  Stone Town, the last leg of our great Tanzanian journey. We stayed in a lovely B and B, with a cafe that serves all-day breakfast on the ground floor. Since arrving in Tz, every place we stayed at served eggs and sausages for breakfast. Not this one.I had a nice sweet brekkie of banana crepes and cranberry green tea on the first morning, and spicy avocado on toast with grilled tomatoes and green tea on the second. Both were to die for. On both days, we let ourselves get lost in the alleyways of Stone Town. Souvenir shops, antique houses and lots of intricately designed doors lined every narrow street, with the occasional quaint coffee shop serving premium Rwandan, Ghanian and Tanzanian cuppas surprising us.

New friends!

A nice coffee shop in the middle of nowhere. Stone Town be da best plezz man.

He focused on the door. Thank you.

Mosquito nets are romantic.

One of Stone Town's many alleyways.

 We also went to a reggae concert, but left after one beer. There were nine people in the crowd, and the front act was a middle-aged white man. Very Ras Trent, by the Lonely Island.

"Are you there Ja? It's me, Ras Trent."

ASANTE SANA!
Thank you!
On our last morning, we found ourselves in Dar Es Salaam's airport, penniless (thanks to the $10-a-person airport fee that we didn't know about) and exhausted. But memories of our eleven-day adventure were still fresh, and we still breathed African air, the same air that made it possible for Tanzania's first president Julius Nyerere to utter his intention of uniting all indigenous tribes in Africa.

Our flight back was delayed by an hour, by which time we were getting a bit annoyed. Waiting in the airport - any airport - isn't something I would consider fun. There's only so much you can do. Hold hands, look at people, tell jokes, have a beer, have two cups of tea, have a nap in a very uncomfortable position, take a leak, drink more water so you can kill a few more minutes by taking another leak, and so on and so forth. When we finally boarded the plane, we relaxed. Relaxed as in relaxed. Relaxed. Relaxed. LBT relished the six-hour flight by watching movies and downing mini bottles of red wine. Emirates Airline really is the best in a lot of ways.

Julius Nyerere International Airport

30 Rock and grape. This is the life.

Okay, we're back here in Dubai, working our butts off just hours after landing. Back to reality, oops there goes gravity (a line from Eminem's Lose Yourself, I think). But we're still not over our African high. We're sorting out our souvenirs and washing clothes to kill all the ants and other alien insects we brought back with us. We have yet to frame the big Masai necklace we bought, and decide where to put LBT's tribal talking stick. It's a good way of buying time and denying that our holiday is indeed over.

Oh well. 'Til our next big adventure!

E-Gate is the only thing I believe in

The UAE E-gate card is the single most important thing in your life if you are a Dubai-based expat and travel at least twice a year.


Not having to wait in an immigration queue is one of the most wonderful experiences ever. I shelled out a little over 200 dirhams for my card, and in return, it gives me lots of time to wander aimlessly in any of the terminals at Dubai International Airport. I can shop for books, have a coffee, walk as slowly as possible, and so on.

It also preserves whatever airport look I'm going for. I put a lot of effort into making myself not look like an illegal immigrant whenever I am traveling. I think it's a must, in this judgmental society and in the airport environment, where profiling is an acceptable way to enforce security. Aaaanyway, falling in line and waiting and walking around and panicking make me look harassed. With my E-gate card, I breeze through the whole immigration process by saying hello to a small machine. Boom! Illegal immigrant look gone forever.

GOT THIS PHOTO OFF WWW.GULFNEWS.COM

In addition, my precious card put an end to airport diarrhea, a unique condition I have. It is usually caused by nothing but unfounded guilt. Nothing can destroy my stomach more than a stern look from an immigration official. I have never committed an offense (unless airport diarrhea is a crime), but I go crazy when someone gives me a look that says, "I'll get you. Just you wait".

Aaanyway, my E-gate card is the best!

Work is a big distraction....

... with four days to go before our big holiday!

We have been planning this big African getaway since March, and now that we're really close to boarding that plane, I am just demotivated to do anything. Anything. I'm groaning now as I type this, and this isn't even part of my work.

It's just the whole office vibe. Mostly awfully quiet, with the occasional sound of the photocopier and a few people exchanging niceties in the hallway. And the white walls seem more depressing than clean today.

Aaanyway. I need to be busy and productive for the next four days so that they don't drag on and I feel more deserving of our big escapade.

Can't waaaait!

But must.

How to De-Stress (Without Spending A Fortune)

I've managed to look for ways to relax without spending money.
I realized that having less money adds to my stress, so I had to stop crazy-purchasing useless stuff or going out to buy myself an expensive cup of coffee just to have something to do or somewhere nice and quiet to hang out at.
These are some of the things I do to ride my body and mind of stress, and the best part?
They're all free of charge.
Or very, very cheap.

1. Get a plant and take good care of it. Liam and I have three plants, and one of them, Burnie, needs constant watering and lots of sunlight. I water it every day and it's so amazing to see new leaves crawling out of the stems. I love it. It was less than a foot short when we got it from an obscure plant shop in Satwa, and now it's grown over two feet high. Knowing that I am nurturing a living thing and keeping it alive and healthy makes me feel good.

2. Keep a journal. I've kept a diary since I was eleven years old, and it's done a good job at keeping me sane, stopping me from saying nasty things to people I despise, and holding on to the millions of deep, dark and embarrassing secrets I've accumulated over the years. It's extremely therapeutic. It's just like having your own shrink, but it won't talk back, which is in many ways a plus. Don't worry about getting your grammar right or writing beautifully. Just let rage, desire, humor, or whatever it is you're feeling glide smoothly on the pages of your new diary.

3. Make a list of things to do. It's a very helpful thing, especially if you're feeling overwhelmed by all the tasks you need to do all at once. It can range from simple errands like buying a detergent or important reminders such as renewing your car's registration. Stick to the list, and every time you accomplish an item on it, cross it out. It's one of the best feelings in the world. It's improving your life one task at a time.

4. Block out a few hours to make time for your very own home spa session. Here's a great set of treatments that doesn't require you to go out and buy beauty products or tools to get your spa on:

Facial scrub - a teaspoon of brown and a few drops of extra virgin olive oil. The sugar will exfoliate and get your skin to glow, and the olive oil will moisturize it.

Face mask. Oatmeal. One tablespoon of any kind of oats, mix with hot water. When it's cool enough to put on your face, do it.

Hair mask. Massage it with olive oil and rinse.

Foot spa. Dip your feet in a basic that contains warm water and two to three green tea bags for 30 minutes. Watch TV, talk on the phone, have a nap. Chill. Then scrub with coarse salt and a few drops of extra virgin olive oil, and rinse.

That's it. You're de-stressed and not broke. That easy.

My Favorite Eva Mendes Looks

(photos from People.com, thefrisky.com and other random sites on the web!)

My 30th Birthday

... was simple, fun, and meaningful.

First of all, I had three days off because of the Eid holidays, and I had a great time watching TV, watering Burnie (our plant), Skyping with Mama and Zoe and going to the gym with Fifi.

I also fried eggs - my first perfect ones.

Celebration-wise, there was none. But I did have dinner with Fifi on the eve of my birthday. Her gift was the laptop case I was eyeing at Bloomingdale's last month. I had never known Fifi to spend like a baws, so that was a big pleasant surprise! Thank, Layds!

On my birthday, I picked Liam up from work and we went to Meydan, where we had drinks at the Millenium Lounge and Shiba Bar, and had the best steak in the whole universe at Prime Steakhouse. It blew our minds.

We went home to watch more TV. I didn't have to wake up early the next day, and that was a big bonus.

I totally downplayed my turning 30. That's the way all seemingly scary things should be faced, I guess.

I don't really know if I as scared to turn 30 in the first place, but I guess that's what we read and see and hear.

One big shrug.