It's about time I read my guide book

Ifakara flooded!

I have a confession. Yes, I bought my guide book two months. No, I have not opened it-- it is in utterly pristine condition. For this entry, I decided to start poking around in the guide book, looking at places that I find interesting, and seeing some of the places I'll be traveling too. This probably should have been my first Blog entry, better late than never. Tanzania has some of the most spectacular outdoor landscapes and is home to the Serengeti, Lake Victoria. and Mount Kilimanjaro. While in Tanzania I will be spending three weeks in Dar Es Salaam, the largest city in the country, and then traveling to Ifakara, a small town in the west. I will also have a week for vacation where I'll have the opportunity to go where ever I'd like. So first, some general info about Tanzania. Tanzania was created in 1964 by the union of Zanzibar (British ruled) and Tanganykia (former German East Africa) and is home to 36 million people. Tanzania is among the world's poorest countries, with an average salary of $50 a month. The country has had a multi-party democracy since 1995. The rainy season starts in March (so I'll miss it). The currency is the shilling (abbreviated Tsh) and comes in denominations of Tsh500,1000, 2000, 5,000, and 10,000 notes. The exchange rate is about $1 to tsh1300 (up from Tsh900 a few years ago)

While Ifakara is in the guidebook, it is mentioned in about two paragraphs. This is what it says, "Ifakara's hot and humid climate is notorious for malaria." Uh, oh. Because of this, there is a lot of anti-malarial research work that takes place here. It also mentions a good, unnamed bar on a street corner. I did a little searching and found a travel blog that mentions Ifakara. This is the description, "We finally arrived dusty and dirty into Ifikara, a non-descript dust bowl of a town. With one main high street, only one restaurant worthy of the name that usually doesn’t have most of the food on the menu. Not really surprising though we were in backwater TZ." This sounds like quite the adventure. 

So now a bit abour Dar es Salaam (called "Dar"). Dar is East Africa's largest city, situated on the East Coast. Less than one third of the city's residents have running water and power cuts occur daily. Two interesting districts seem to by the Asian district and the European quarter of Uzunguni. Dar is a busy city with no shortage of good restaurants and hotels and hostels. It appears that there is quite a bit to do and see. There is a large Muslim population (most of Tanzania is mixed between Christian and Muslim, and Zanzibar is primarily Muslim). 

After spending about an hour reading my guidebook I'm getting a better idea and a better sense of Tanzania-- the logistics of getting around, currency, and culture.