“Karibu Sana!”: we were welcomed by the concierge at the Southern Sun Hotel. “May we help with your luggage?” he asked, switching into perfectly spoken English.
I was still wiping the sleep out of my eyes and trying to puzzle together this showing of impeccable service. Was I day dreaming? Had the hangover from the night before affected my thinking? We rolled the dusty, oil caked bicycles into the reception area, feeling really out of place in our sweaty riding clothes. People started staring at the two filthy cycle tourists in the trendiest hotel in Dar es Salaam. Bicycles carefully balanced at the front desk, we checked in.
Within seconds we were feeling like royalty, even though we still smelt like bin men. With the bicycles safely in storage, we settled into the luxury of a hot bath and shave.
On the writing desk we found invitations to the cocktail party on the mezzanine floor, where we were to meet firstly our Vodacom host, Dylan Lennox, as well as the General Manager of the hotel, Adam Fuller. We were also expecting our fellow traveller friend, Caroline to be arriving from her travels in Uganda that evening. As it goes with public transport, she arrived later than expected, missing the party. Never the less, she was flabbergasted with the hotel as well.
Marc and I were guests of honour at the cocktail evening. It was strange having to talk to all the hotel guests about the tour. Everything was quite surreal. Two days prior to this we were eating overcooked chunks of meat and undercooked ugali (pap) on a dusty sidewalk table, now we were sipping fine wine whilst mingling with Dar’s social elite. We retired for the evening, well oiled, and passed out cold to the world the moment our heads hit the pillow.
The next morning the three budget travellers went down to breakfast. Everything imaginable was there. An assortment of cereals, fruits, cheeses, yoghurts and eleven hundred different ways to get your eggs done! It was the quietest breakfast the three of us had ever sat down to. I personally shed a little tear while eating my Coco pops with full cream milk. I had almost forgotten how good “real” milk is!
We spent our day getting all the administrative chores done such as photo uploads and catching up on emails, all from the comfort of your fully air-conditioned room, on a wireless connection, while flashing through channels on the satellite bouquet supplied by Southern Sun.
To just lie in and watch a movie while sipping on a coffee made you feel like you were about to wake up from a dream and find yourself still fighting the wind and dust on the Tanzam Highway.
Between Vodacom Tanzania and Southern Sun Dar es Salaam, they made sure that we were well rested, spoilt and entertained.
Dylan Lennox took us all out for a memorable night in Dar, showing the many facets of the multicultural hub of Eastern Africa, from dining on the Peninsular to a rough party at the Sweet Easy Nightclub, and O’Willies Irish Pub.
We would once again like to thank Vodacom Tanzania and Southern Sun Dar es Salaam for all their assistance and help while we were in Dar, from the fetching and carrying, accommodation, dining, and also the organising of our spares. Without the amazing assistance of Dylan and Adam we would have been totally lost in Dar es Salaam.
The dream was only going to get better: we were off to Zanzibar.
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