Zanzibar Day 1: Darajani and Forodhani Markets
Originally published at Rodney's Blog. Please leave any comments there.
So today I decided to get lost wandering around Stone Town’s markets. It was really an interesting experience to walk around Darajani Market (where everything from food to socks to sunglasses to mobile phones are sold. I have to say the spice markets smelled wonderful, but the meat and fish markets were an assault on the senses. And there were flies everywhere. It took some getting used to, but the immersion experience was fantastic. It was what I had been missing during my trip to Nigeria - a chance to interact with the local culture on my terms, without security, and haggling just like everyone else. I ended up not buying anything really, but it was really nice to look around. It turns out that most people are sensitive to having their pictures taken, so I didn’t take much in the way of photos of the market.
After spending time at Darajani Market, it was early evening so I headed in the opposite direction towards the Forodhani evening food market near the water. Interesting to note that there is fre wifi there
It’s in a really clean area of down by the sea. In terms of food, the food market was clean and delicious. I ate something that call “Zanzibar Pizza” which is more of a kind of pie cooked Halal-style with ingredients which have mostly been pre-pared and only need to be re-heated. But the pizzas were delicious. I ended up eating a chicken pizza and a beef pizza. And I washed it down with sugar cane juice, which is juice from sugar cane with lemon and ginger added. They run the three ingredients together through a kind of wheel press. I was skeptical at first but I have to say that it tasted great! I finally ended my eating experience with a chicken kebab which was yummy and then a cafe latte at a local restaurant. It was a really great food market and I will be making a return visit before I leave Zanzibar
Not the best photo, but here you can see how sugar cane juice is made
My Zanzibar Pizza being made. They were so good I had to eat two of them
A person checking his phone at sunset. The power had just been out for a few minutes
Panorama shot of the Forodhani Bay
Panorama shot of the Forodhani Bay
Boats of all sizes out on the water
Boats of all sizes out on the water
Boats of all sizes out on the water
Sitting on the dock of the bay, wasting time…
The water is beautiful even at night
Enjoying the sunset
Lesson Learned: Don’t set your food down for a second, otherwise the cats get it
Lesson Learned: Don’t set your food down for a second, otherwise the cats get it