We leave Zanzibar by ferry at 7am and get back in Dar es Salam within a couple of hours. Now we have to go buy the tickets for our train ride to Zambia. This is a 42 hour sleeper train ride from Dar to a place called Kapiri Mposhi (somewhere in central Zambia). Our goal is to get to Livingstone, where we can see Victoria Falls. The whole trip should take about 3 days.
The only place you can buy the tickets is at the station, which is a few miles out of town. We've got to go there as soon as possible or the train will be sold out. We get there in time and we’re able to buy a whole cabin (4 beds) to ourselves. This is great because on this train each 4 bed cabin is same-sex only, so if we hadn’t of gotten there early, we would’ve been stuck in separate cabins with 3 weirdos for 48 hours! Now we have five hours to kill before the train leaves so we jump in a taxi back to central Dar, against the advise of the station master who insists that traffic gets bad and he cannot hold the train for us if we're late. We assure him that we'll return in plenty of time, making a mental note to do just that.
Back in town, we grab some lunch, hit an ATM and then, worrying about being late, get a taxi back to the station, only briefly stopping at a supermarket to pick up some supplies for the journey. When we get there - a full two hours early - the place is packed! Clearly we won't be the only ones getting this train. Just as we're resigning ourselves to standing for the next couple of hours, we spot a First Class waiting room and head straight over, First Class tickets in hand. It’s not your standard "First Class" of course, but there are seats available and that's all we wanted. We settle down for a comfortable 90 minute wait, have a chat with a couple of South Africans and a missionary group on their way to spread the good word in Zambia.
Six hours later we board the train.
If First Class has summoned any visions of silver service dining cars, luxury lounge cars, waiters in penguin suits, etc. please think again. There aren't even lights! Not when we first board anyway. After 30 minutes of sitting in complete darkness, the train finally pulls away from Dar and we are given the luxury of lighting. Having said all this, there is something quite fun about the whole experience and we're still looking forward to the ride.
