* T.I.A – This Is Africa

I am discovering that there are a lot of things in life that you cannot prepare for,a couple of them are the first day you enter kindergarten and every time you visit a new place. The “unknown” is meant to build courage in us as we fight the good fight of living life.I’ll tell my grandchildren that the best way to conquer the unknowns in kindergarten is to put one foot in front of the other and charge full speed ahead, trusting that they will wind up where they are supposed to be in due time.I always have to do the same thing when I travel. Road trip!!There are many ways to go to Dar es Salaam (Dar) from Nairobi. If you choose to travel by road, it would begin with a walk down River Road.This is Nairobi’s departure lounge.We boarded the bus and was happy to find the seats were large and luxurious, and the windows had curtains in case you wanted to keep the world out.Soon the bus left Nairobi.The rocking of the bus, the drone of the engine and the monotony of the trip puts me to sleep much faster than any pill would.Day 2:On the Coach on the way to Dar you have to keep your wits about you. This is because; when you get to Mombasa at 5 am in the morning you have to change buses. If you sleep through this important step you will wake up to find yourself in Malindi, further up north the Kenya Coast, in the opposite direction from Dar. The slow ones also risk getting left behind, as almost happened to us. We were dropped off a little distance from the Mombasa bus coach offices. The kind driver of a three-wheeler taxi offered to give us a ride to the office.By 5.30 am, Mombasa was bustling into life.Once settled in our seats on the bus to Dar .We set off at 6 am.The journey from Mombasa took us almost nine hours.After getting off the bus at around 5 pm.As usual, the most interesting parts of my travels are the people that I meet.There is never shortage of stories.So, from the eatery in Dar,we got a cab driver.We exchanged pleasantries and jumped into the van.Since am a “techie girl ” so it was natural for me to go right into my phone and start following up various issues.The cab driver turned to me and said ”Madam,here is Dar-es-salaam, you do not play with the phone while on the road until you get to hotel.”I smiled, made jokes and reassured him even in some parts of Nairobi, you can’t ‘play with phone’.When we checked into the hotel, he smiled and said, “Madam now is safe. You can play with your phone." The next day, we took the ferry to Zanzibar.