Last Friday we had a long weekend in Dar es Salaam. Although it was a break we wouldn't exactly call it restful. The journey should take about 1 ½ hours by bus to Dodoma and then about 7 hours by coach to Dar es Salaam - that's when the Mvumi bus doesn’t break down, which ours did on the way delaying us by 1 ½ hours and causing us to miss the 1st coach where we had tickets booked near the front. Fortunately there was space on the next coach 2 hours latter with the only seats left being right at the back - not the best of position on Tanzanian roads!
Its strange how perceptions change. The last time we travelled from Dar to Dodoma was our first day when the coach seemed grubby and the country strange. This time the coach looked fairly smart (compared with the Mvumi bus) the roads smooth (compared to dirt tracks) and the surroundings familiar.
Whilst there we did a bit of sightseeing, though there is not a lot for tourists in the centre of Dar. We had quite a nice day out on a local island uninhabited Bongoyo Island) where there was nothing to do but sunbathe and swim – great for Irene. Needless to say Malcolm quickly got bored and opted for a walk along the island instead. It was long and narrow with thick ‘jungle’ along its length which very few people seemed to walk along its narrow path. This meant that there was a lot of wildlife with a close up view of Kingfisher-like birds and mice-like mammals.
Dar itself isn't a tourist place. We did visit a couple of tourist shopping plazas and markets. In one a coffee and milk-shake cost an unbelievable £2.50 (compared with the normal price of less than £1) – scandalous.
We walked around Dar on Monday as Malcolm needed to visit the Ministry of Health and the Treasury for work. We spent some time in the National Museum which had displays on the history of Tanzania and some of the tribes. The city reminded us a lot of Stoke on Trent, but without the new bits! A bit scruffy, noisy and dirty. We travelled in local daladalas – small mini buses where the competition seemed to be how many people could be squeezed on-board. Flat fare of about 14p. However there was no route map so it was difficult to work out which one to catch. It was nice to have hot showers and share a double bed even though the mosquitoes were more prevalent and vicious than in Mvumi and we both got quite a few bites.
Dar is quite a bit wetter than Mvumi and we even had a few drops of rain – the first we had seen since first arriving in Dar. It’s surprising how soon you get used to things. We were quite taken aback by the fact the rivers had water in them; it actually looked odd as we are so used to dry sandy river beds here.
Back to work on Wednesday. Irene is plodding on with the filing and sorting the clothes store. On Friday she started a stock-take in the medical store mainly to relieve Malcolm of the job as it was on his “to do” list in order to know the value of the stores, and what stock is held. There is no list of items which means the doctors don’t know what’s available to treat patients. A few weeks ago a baby died from lack of food because the doctor did not know the stores had feeding tubes.
On Thursday the tax inspectors came for a routine assessment. Tax has become a controversial issue. The staff have become used to only paying tax on their basic salary and not on other allowances or pay awards – and not in accordance with the Tanzanian Tax regime which, like the UK system, regards most payments to staff as taxable. The problem is that no-one anywhere likes to start paying tax – and no tax inspector likes to find places where staff aren’t paying enough tax. And Malcolm is in the middle!!!!! He had a long discussion with some nurses who were not happy that they were paying the correct tax.
Coming up next week:
· the Tax Inspectors finish their inspection
· Simon and Laura Walton have their farewell service and leave Mvumi
· We may move into their old house (Hot water!!!! Double bed!!!!! Hooray!!!)
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