Destination Africa, Tanzania

Africa was probably the place that I personally have been most looking forward to….. not just since starting this trip, but for years I have been dreaming about this far off magical land that I never thought I would make it to.  It is also probably the place I have been most anxious about since it actually started becoming a reality. I would be lying if I said that there weren’t any sleepless nights in the 2 weeks or so leading up to our flight to Mama Africa. As we really started to do our research what we came across was fear mongering government advisories and word of mouth horror stories, news reports of kidnappings, banditry, pirates and shootings, with a couple terrorist attacks and imminent threats thrown in for region of the world. It really left us with ZERO idea what to expect.

In the end we decided to cancel our original flight to Kenya given some of the recent attacks and threats in Nairobi and Mombasa and re-book instead directly to Tanzania.  All of what we wanted to experience on our first voyage to Africa was also in Tanzania anyways, and through a fellow traveller we met in India we found a great volunteer spot at Good Hope Orphanage and School in rural Tanzania just outside of the tourist enclave of Arusha.

So with arrangements made for pick up at the airport and for our first few weeks to be spent volunteering at Good Hope we set off for AFRICA! It was quite an expedition to get there. First off we spent 2 days in Singapore, recharging and stocking up on what we needed for Africa. Basically all we did in Singapore was eat and go to the malls (don’t even get me started on how many malls there are in Singapore – it is RIDICULOUS). 

Singapore Skyline at night

Singapore view from the river

Next up was a flight to Mumbai with an 8 hour lay-over, thank god for the Star Alliance airport lounge. Then we had a quick pit stop in Addis Abba, Ethiopia before our final leg to Dar Es Saleem, Tanzania.  We breezed through the Visa on Arrival process, grabbed our bags and crossed our fingers that there would be someone standing outside with our names on a sign.

SUCCESS! Our contact Lidya was there to retrieve us and help us get oriented in Dar Es Saleem for the night. Within a few short hours she had safely taken us to the bank, to get a SIM card, to book our bus tickets to Arusha for the following day and got us to a budget hotel for the night…. all before dark! The rest of the day and night was spent eating, sleeping and recovering for our 8 hour bus ride (which actually took 12 hours) the next day.

On the bus we got our first view of the Africa countryside and our first taste of the Tanzania people ……..and drivers! Both were wonderful, and much lovelier than anticipated…… although we later discovered that as you get off the big highway the roads get worse and the drivers get crazier – that I did expect.

We finally arrived in Arusha a little before 7pm where we met Bacari, a friend of the Good Hope director and local friend/volunteer for the orphanage, who escorted us out to Good Hope. Once we arrived we were greeted with open arms and warm hugs from all the kids, Aunties (local ladies who live there full time and take care of the children) and other volunteers. Within an instant we both began to fall in love with these kids, it’s impossible not to.  I can’t wait to spend the next month getting to know this amazing crew of people!

View of Front of Good Hope School

Kids playing in the yard with a view of Mt. Meru in the distance

OOO_Talia and Jonny

Beautiful Beach Pangandaran – Java

After a week of visiting temples and volcanos we decided it was time to go back to some of what we love so much about Indonesia….. Beaches! We were excited to hit the beaches in Java because unlike their neighbor Bali, Java beaches are not scattered with tourists and 5 star resorts, just back to basics sand, water and locals. And bonus – Java holds some of the best surf spots Indo has to offer. After asking around some of the local friends we met in Yogyakarta we decided to head to Pangandaran first, a beach hotspot on the south coast of West Java.  Pangandaran was rocked by a Tsunami in 2006 (not the same tsunami that hit Thailand) which killed hundreds of people and devastated the businesses in town, the tourist industry there is still on the path to recovery and some of the destruction and remnants of old guesthouses can be seen along the north end of the beach.

Since it is about an 8 hour drive to Pangadaran (12hrs in Java time) we decided to take an overnight minibus rather than drive all day. The overnight ride also meant that we would arrive at the crack of dawn so we choose to pre-book a guesthouse in advance.  Much to our surprise the minibus actually arrived relatively on time (10 hours instead of 12), which also meant we arrived at our fully booked guesthouse, Mangoe’s, at 3:30am. Checking into our room early was out of the question given the no-vacancy but the people at Mangoe’s were so sweet and welcoming that they actually offered us their own personal mattresses on the floor in the reception room (this is where the owners sleep all the time), we politely declined and said we would be happy just to crash on the floor until it was early enough for us to head to the beach until check-in.  Stretching their welcoming muscles even more, they actually got up a cleaned a room at 5am after one guest left to catch an early bus and let us sleep there until our room was ready.  Amazing hospitality.

After catching up on the sleep we missed on the roller coaster drive of the overnight minibus we set out for the beach. The beach in Pangandaran is a long sweeping crescent beach of dark soft sand. In terms of development it in no way rivals the beaches of Bali, but honestly this is the appeal of this remote beach town! It is a hotspot resort for locals and Jakartans on the weekends but other than that you won’t find more than a handful of westerners roaming this beach town at a time.  Another big draw for Pangandaran is the surfing, with both a beach break and reef break, the surfing here is fit for all levels. 

On our first day in Pangandaran we met some great locals, Joe and Epine, who work at the local beachside restaurant, which also doubles as the surfboard rental shop. They hooked us up with boards each morning and dinner accompanied by live music each night.  We had planned to spend only a few days here and then move on to other beach spots in West Java before heading to Jakarta but the people, surf and beach life was so great we never left.  Each morning we surfed a couple hours during high tide and then relaxed on the beach or about town for the afternoon, alternating between our favorites spots, Mungi’s restaurant and Relax restaurant (they actually had REAL coffee and REAL breakfast here).

Black sand beaches of Pangandaran

Sunset over the fishing boats

Sunset fisherman

Local soccer on the beach

About half way through our stay we decided to take a day trip to the nearby Green Canyon to break up our beach bum routine. The day included a trip to a coconut factory to see all the different things they make with the coconuts, a swing by a puppet factory, a boat drive and swim in the Green Canyon followed by an afternoon of resting on Batu Karas beach. The Green Canyon itself was an amazing experience. You ride on mini speed boats, no more than 3 feet wide, down a deep jungle canyon. Once you make it to the end of the boat accessible section you have the option to swim in the canyon, and for the dare-devils the opportunity to jump from a 5 metre high rock formation rising from the canyon floor under a trickling waterfall, into a deep pool below. We both choose to take a swim and naturally Jonny headed straight for the jumping rock. I on the other hand was on the fence about taking the jump. Although it wasn’t all that high, the pool below was small and intimidating and I am not all that daring in the best of times.  I watched off to the side for a while as many tourists and locals took the plunge, and finally after much peer pressure from a young local Muslim girl who did the jump fully clothed, head scarf and all, I decided to do it! Although it took me about 5 mins to actually take the leap once I made it to the top I was so glad I did it.

Sooooo many coconuts

playing with puppets

Amazing rice fields

Heading inside the Green Canyon

After our trip to the Green Canyon we had a few more days of surfing and sunning before we had to make our way to Jakarta for a day before flying out.  With long faces, particularly because we don’t know if we will hit another beach or surfing spot for the rest of the trip, we took the 12 hour bus ride to Jakarta. 

It was going to be Jonny’s birthday while we were in Jakarta so we lined up a stay at the Meridien again (Thank you SPG points!) and spent our time relaxing with first world comforts again. All we really did was hit the Mall and the Movies and then caught our flight to Singapore the next day.  

It was hard to say goodbye (for real this time) to Indonesia but we took comforting in know that we will come back…….SOON.

OOO_Talia and Jonny