We hopped on a bus in Livingstone heading north to Lusaka where we caught a second bus to the small town of Kpiri Mposhi in northern Zambia. We arrived late at night after 12 hours on the road. After making our way out of the "taxi scrum" we found a gas station and got directions to an unmarked hotel between the Zesco and the Post Office (for those of you traveling, this will help as it is unmarked) which was a 1 minute walk from where the Shalom bus dropped us off. We were given the newly renovated (strongly smelling of paint) room - but the shower had hot water, so we were happy.
The next morning we walked to the Tazara Train station and bought four tickets to Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. We'd be spending the next 38 hours or more on the train, depending on expected delays. We were told that we had to buy all four bunks in a first class cabin as second and third class carriages are designated separately for male and female. Although the thought of going separately only briefly passed through our thoughts, (come on, we've been practically glued to each other since we left home) we bought all four tickets and went to buy some food for the trip.
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| Road to the Tazara Station |
Later that afternoon at the train station we met two very friendly families from Zimbabwe backpacking down to Zanzibar. They had three kids each and asked if they could buy our two extra bunks for the eldest boys, Keenan and Kyle. We were happy to have the company and chit chatted until the train began boarding.
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| Tazara station in Kpiri Mposhi |
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| Kyle and Keenan, our cabin mates |
After having our tickets checked and finding our bunks , the train started rolling away from the station, actually, rolling and bumping away from the station is a much better description. We opened the windows and stuck our heads out - waving at whoever was left on the platform like in the old movies.
A Little Ticket Side Story
About half an hour after we set off train staff came around and checked our tickets again. O.K. Cool. Later that night, oh at around 2am, just after our rowdy drinking neighbors passed out, a train worker and officer knocked on our door and started pulling it open. Jamie, half asleep, grabbed the handle and pulled the door shut. (No, the lock didn't work) They tried to pull it open again asking to see our tickets and Jamie was pulling the door closed one more time before we figured out what they were saying. We pulled our tickets out and showed them, asking why at this hour??? The one guy answered that the officer wanted to check all the cabins and he wanted us to wake the boys up so they could show their tickets as well. He looked a little unhappy to be the spokesperson. Well....we complained saying they were just kids, but the officer insisted. Easier said than done. Kyle and Keenan are sound sleepers. After a few minutes of shaking their arms and calling their names, Kyle woke up and stumbled down to his parents cabin to find his ticket. Keenan never woke up at all, but thankfully the Officer decided this was a bad idea and gave up. The next morning, the one employee poked his head into our cabin and apologized for the middle of the night visit. At the end of the trip, after we had disembarked from the train hours before and were leaving the train station, the security guard wanted too see our tickets again and did not seem to allow people off the property without them!!! After a bit of searching, we all produced a ticket and left the Tazara Station behind... It makes me wonder, was one of those tickets secretly worth a visit to a chocolate factory somewhere?
Ok, I digress. Back to the story....
The train stopped at SEVERAL little villages and towns along the way and we bought bananas, nartjies (oranges) and "Fat Cooks" (yum) from a few local ladies.
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| Those Fat Cooks were fresh and good! |
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| Dusty with the nartjies |
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| Kids greeting the train looking for candies, soap or anything... |
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| One of many stops along the way |
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| So many bananas! |
We got off a few times when we waited for the diesel engines to refuel or people and supplies to board. Jamie learned how to play speed scrabble and we spent our time reading, blogging, gazing out the open windows at the scenery and visiting with the Smith's, Mathieson's as well as a girl named Kate from the U. K. We were even invited to Jenna's birthday party with balloons and cake! The families were great fun and so interesting to talk to. Everybody hung their heads out of the windows looking for wild animals when we passed through the national park. We saw a giraffe, impalas, birds and a couple of baboons. They also introduced us to their version of the Happy song (Happy Harare) their theme song for this trip.
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| Birthday party and the crew |
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| Stretching our legs at one of the stops |
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Beautiful views
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Here's a video of our friends from Harare Zimbabwe doing their theme song video for their vacation.
We were able to buy our visa into Tanzania at the border when immigration officials board the train. They wouldn't accept one of our twenty dollar bills because it was creased ??, but they happily called one of the money changers that had boarded the train so we could sell some of our Zambian kwacha for U.S. dollars at a crappy rate. C'est la vie. Other than the little glitch getting the visa was nice and easy.
The train itself was an old beast much like the one we rode on in India, but with only 1/4 of the cockroaches. The brakes seemed to slam on often sending everyone jolting forward and back again - quickly followed by an awful burnt friction smell. On the second night as we moved slowly I swear that our carriage almost came off the tracks as we crashed so abruptly while traveling slowly around a corner. The bathrooms....well, they weren't pretty. You could only use them when the train was moving - probably because there was a big window that was usually open due to the smell, or is it because everyone could watch you ? Actually, it's for another reason. Can you guess why? Hint: take a walk along the train tracks and watch where you step!
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| The Loo |
When we finally arrived in Dar, the train trip had taken us 52 hours! Do not take this train if your in a rush. But, if you want to meet locals and other travelers, or just have a great time just taking in the beautiful scenery- this is the train for you.
Having arrived at the Tazara station in Dar Es Salaam well after midnight, we all decided to wait it out till morning. Some of us slept (ahem, keep the snores down Jamie), while others rested in a pretty packed station. At 5am we all hopped on a taxi bus and headed into the infamous town of Dar - a place one does not want to linger for long. Our friends were heading to the ferries for Zanzibar and we headed into the melee of the Ubongo bus station where another day long bus ride awaited us.
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| Tick Tock Tick Tock |
