A taste of Dar es Salam Nightlife

After a busy week at work, my second weekend in Tanzania arrived to welcome what I see as an unexpected social life. I was definitely in party mood since was missing Jorge's three days annual Uruguayan Asado, trust me you would like to be there: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1glJR4rap-A. My mom was there for me, and the kids were sure to have a blast that weekend! So my weekend started on Friday at 2:30 PM, which is when people leave their offices on that day, and when I was taken by my colleague/new friend Daines around shopping centers and "boutiques"of the Kinondoni area [the boutiques are essentially small shops in which you can't really tell whether you are purchasing second hand or brand new items].  I indulged myself in shopping for what seemed to be the hip South African brand in Dar at Mlimani shopping center. I didn't pack a single dress or alike as I imagined I was gonna be coming home every night to have a relaxing, quiet evening. I guess I was wrong.

After not going out to bars in like forever ago, doing so for three consecutive days was a complete revelation to me; yet one weekend of sleepless nights, weird drinks, OK music and random dudes checking you out was probably more than enough for me. But before you reach to the wrong conclusion, the impressions expressed are based on my limited experience in just an insignificant proportion of the plethora of bars located on the Msanani peninsula, which is where NGOs, expats, embassies, local government and other "elites" of Dar reside and go party. The company couldn't be better indeed as the "GU crew" was finally reunited with the happy arrival of Carolyn, Adeaza and Helena. Emman and Daines, our Tanzanian pals completed the group, plus some other really great people we met during this weekend.  The places per se, were on the other hand, less attractive to me...



The "pre-game" [I am not 100% percent of that means, but Carolyn explained to me is what younger people do these days before hitting the bars]... So as I was saying, the pre-game started at Lukas Pub,  where we had Mishkakis (beef kebab), broiled bananas (plantains, actually), broiled chicken, more potato chips and Emman's favorite beer, Castle Lite. I will back to DC "carrying" some extra pounds...

After "pre-gaming" we headed for Trinity Bar, which based on our anecdotical experience is the hotspot for ex-pats and tourists alike. But nobody was into paying the Tsh 10,000 cover to dance with the Wazungus (foreigners), particularly because the initial plan was live Bongo music and dancing. I did end up staying as I was supposed to meet there a Venezuelan girlfriend I'd been put in contact with the previous weekend. Social circles in Dar are pretty small. The open-air area consisted of a big hut with the bar, huge speakers and an audio/music mixing equipment controlled by a supposedly super famous DJ from somewhere I can't remember. I guess it could have been like many other bars on earth.  Now, the population in that bar, was composed of mostly Wazungos and few Africans, of which 50% were sex workers, or maybe even more... Well, I went through almost three hours of the whole environment to finally give up and run to where the "GU crew" and the others had departed a few hours ago. A bar called Elements. Music: Bongo mixed with hip hop and American music from the 90's. OK, that's better!  Demographics: hard to tell, but definitely less Wazungus :)  There we stayed dancing until 2 am to finally head back 'home'.

Despite an agitated previous night, Saturday morning started with a nice run along the beach avenue, finally exercising!! Then a whole afternoon of frustrated attempts to get a pedicure done. It was 5 of us without an appointment, so it was probably very hard anyway. When the night came some sleeping beauties stayed home :) , but Adeaza and I went to a friend's birthday party I'd been invited the previous weekend. I promise, my real life in DC is not like this at all. The reunion was hosted by a lovely South African couple who live in a beautiful house in Dar. We spent the evening chatting with our new friend Christin about gender issues and some of her interesting work in Africa. I had a great time there. The after-party took place at Q-Bar and Guesthouse. Another popular place like Trinity bar, although that night they had music from the 90's. Go figure how people get some sleep in that place... The 'attraction' there was a performance given by a couple of skinny contortionists who were bending their bodies to the beat of the music while the Wazungu public formed a circle around them. The whole scene was just irritating to my eyes, but that being said, if I lived in Dar and there were not many options in terms of places to go out, I'd likely go back to Q-Bar. I really liked the setting on the second floor's deck. Here a pic form there:



Sunday was wisely reserved to rest at the beach. This time, the destination was Bongoyo Island, another gem of Dar's marine reserve. Carolyne, Helena and I took a 30 minutes boat ride from Slipway to encounter a nice peninsular shaped beach. It was similar to Mbudya Island but not as nice. We relaxed all day long, sunbathing, swimming and taking short walks on the island.  When we got home, there was Eman and Aedeza ready to take us to a life music venue.  Are you kidding? It was time to rest!! All in all, this busy social life has been a blessing as it has avoided prolonged sad times when I think of Manu and Kaia back home. Eight weeks left from today ( I am behind posts)...