Alright, here’s the deal. I left Le Caire (Cairo for all you nancy English speakers) yesterday morning around 7am to begin my voyage to Bamako, Mali. The trip would take me to Casablanca with an 11 hour layover before my 11pm flight to Bamako. Before the night was over, I would have my visa yanked from Morocco after accumulating god knows how many dollars in fines via customs.
David :: Mar.25.2009 :: assholes, journal entry, liberty, travel :: No Comments »
I know I haven’t yet written about Vic Falls (or posted the major portion of Zanzibar, which I will), but I have to call out the hotel I’m at. I’ll get back to journal entries soon enough. So, here’s the bitch fest.
David :: Mar.23.2009 :: assholes, consumerism, travel :: No Comments »
Zanzibar – Day 2 (minus the gory stuff…executive decision)
So, early in the morning I had set off with a new driver to go back into Stone Town to do more of what I did the previous day. I met a lot of the same people, and some of the people who were too shy or for whatever reason didn’t want me to talk with them or photograph them, were eager to meet me. That happens a lot. I don’t visit one place just once. I go back as many times as I can. It ingratiates you, however briefly, into the community, people talk about the crazy American with the tattoos (Tattoos are surprisingly uncommon in Tanzania – though Henna is popular) who was here yesterday, or this morning, or whenever. Going back allows you more access than you would normally have. People always ask me how I get the photos I get – the fleeting connection, the intimacy, whatever. I won’t give away all of my tactics, but returning over and over is a good place to start.
David :: Mar.19.2009 :: Photography, journal entry, travel :: No Comments »
Alright – took the ferry from Dar to Zanzibar (hereon referred to as Zanz for brevity’s sake – we know how I like to be succinct and not be overly verbose). This seems to be the preferred method of getting to Zanz Island from Dar. Ferry was uneventful, though it left real damn early in the morning and was late getting into Zanz. Taxi took me to the hotel I was staying at in Matemwe, and I was already disappointed. I had worked myself up for several years now about going to Zanzibar. I imagined more Goa, less Rockaway Beach. It was devastating to me. But, I’ve spent enough time in the shrink’s chair to somehow learn to give things a second chance. Continue Reading »
David :: Mar.17.2009 :: Photography, journal entry, travel :: No Comments »
Three for today…lucky visitors…
David :: Mar.16.2009 :: Photography, Uncategorized, holiday, journal entry, travel :: No Comments »
Ok, I’m gonna slip in a quick bitch & moan session before I write my two part recap of Zanzibar…
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Now, I’m a pretty even tempered kinda guy – I don’t fly off the handle, I don’t have a nasty temper that is a hair-trigger away from blowing up, and I certainly don’t frustrate easily.
David :: Mar.16.2009 :: assholes, journal entry, travel :: Comments Off
So, I reached Dar es salaam, Tanzania after about 25 hours of travel from New York to Amsterdam to Kilimanjaro through to Dar. When you’re arriving in a foreign city (read: a city I have never been to in a country I’ve never visited, on a continent I have no idea about), it is oftentimes a good idea to have arranged transport from your port of entry to your hotel when you’re arriving after midnight.
I was quite exhausted by the time we touched down, bought the visa in the 145F airport, and received my luggage that I was ready to just drop to the ground and sleep it off right there. But, much to my surprise, the driver I had hired when I was back in NYC was waiting for me at the receiving line. Ok, first good sign.
David :: Mar.13.2009 :: assholes, consumerism, journal entry, travel :: Comments Off
