Arrival in Tanzania

At 7:30 AM, the bus picked me up. From there, we headed to a large bus station in the city center, where I switched buses. I struck up a conversation with two Americans from Philadelphia, a father and son who were traveling around and were also catching a bus to Arusha. They were off to go on a safari in Tanzania’s Serengeti. The Serengeti is right next to the Masai Mara, where Honny and I are planning to go on safari when she arrives here in a week. The Serengeti is in Tanzania, while the Masai Mara is in Kenya. However, safari prices in Tanzania are significantly higher than in Kenya, which is why we decided to go for the Kenyan option. After a 2.5-hour drive, we reached the border. On the way down, I saw a lot of poverty—people living in mud huts and shanties. It was quite common to see one Maasai warrior after another with their bows. They wore incredibly colorful attire. But the poverty became even more pronounced after crossing the border. Tanzania is one of the poorest countries in the world, and you could really feel it. Despite this, Tanzania is safer than Kenya. When we arrived in Arusha, I said goodbye to the Americans, who were getting off there. I gave them the link to my blog so they could follow along and see if I made it to the top of Kilimanjaro. After an hour for lunch, the bus arrived in Moshi. Martha was there to greet me. I was originally supposed to stay at Key Annex, but instead, I was checked into the Kenyatta Court hotel. This was because Key Annex was overbooked, but when I saw the room, I was happy with the new place. The people were really friendly too, which sealed the deal for me.