Overview/Day 1

Hey guys!

How has been your week? So finally, I finished this post on my vacation in Zanzibar. Now, if you read my last Taking Stock, which is literally my last post on here, you’ll notice how I talked about getting to travel “intentionally for fun” and not only for business or social events. That is travelling not because you have to but because you want to. My vacation to Zanzibar happens to be my first ever “travel for fun”. Before I talk more about it, lemme share a little story.

Sometime last year, around October, November, I was to go on annual leave and I wanted to go on an actual vacation during that period. I felt like “finally, this is my chance”. And I surfed through all the vacation packages on Destinations Africa, Wakanow. That was where/when I first ever knew there was a beautiful place called Zanzibar. There were a lot of holiday destinations in Africa. Beautiful places like Zambia, Malawi, Botswana, Kenya, Mauritius, Mozambique, and so on and I day dreamed about it all. But then, I realized I wasn’t “financially” ready. I mean, the whole process of visa acquisition, return flight tickets, accommodation and most especially feeding. It was quite a lot of expenses and I wasn’t ready. So I decided to let it go. And practically stayed home all through my leave. Thankfully, my stay at home wasn’t wasted. Your girl released a new collection for Maudiffied during that period.

So, at the start of 2017, while I was putting down my goals for the New Year, I dedicated a page for “2017 Travel goals” (see I meant this travelling intentionally thing o) and on that list, was Zanzibar. I didn’t make it last year, so it was priority to go this year and it eventually happened!

The Trip: The flight to Zanzibar was about a total eight hours. Five hours from Abuja to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia where we first stopped and laid over till the next morning (D.Damo hotel was beautiful). From Addis Ababa, we flew to Kilimanjaro, Tanzania where we again stopped before finally to Zanzibar.

Hotel: I stayed in Island Beach Resort. Upon arrival, I had a very refreshing glass of fresh watermelon juice while doing some documentation. Oh and immediately I was able to connect to the hotel’s wifi using my name as password, how cool is that! Also, there’s free public wifi in Zanzibar. Everywhere. I discovered that the day I went touring Stone Town.

Money/Exchange: One US dollar is equivalent to about Two thousand, two hundred Tanzanian Shillings (1USD = 2,200TZS). And they charge for everything in dollar. Maybe because we are tourists. I don’t know. It just seemed like dollar was their own currency sef.

Food: Rice! Rice!! Rice!!! Till you’re tired. But there’s a variety of sauce/soups to choose from. So having a different kind of sauce with your rice wouldn’t make you tire quickly. I always had breakfast (which was usually a mix of bread, eggs, beef, fresh juice and tea) and dinner in the hotel (at the pool area). Lunch I ate out because I’m mostly out by that time. More importantly, feeding in Zanzibar is quite expensive! $10 for breakfast, $24 for lunch, another $24 for dinner. Times all that by the number of days you’re staying. Added with the fact that I’m someone who always like to nibble on snacks. So I still bought snacks that I kept with me at the hotel.

Activities: Tourist activities includes; sunset cruise, a trip to prison island, trip to Jozani forest, a tour around Stone town, all day at the beach, and so much more. My vacation was a relaxing one, I only got to go touring Stone town and enjoyed the rest of my time mostly by the beach and dinners by the pool. I really enjoyed those dinners by the pool. Only it was always dark.

In summary, all I did on my Day 1 in Zanzibar, was settle in, freshen up, relax, eat and sleep.

Thanks for reading guys. Coming right up is a post about my Day 2, a tour in Stone Town. With so many images to share. So stay tuned!

All images were shot and edited by me using a Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge.

Please, kindly share this post, Much love.

Maudleen.