Although I was told I "shouldn't" use public transportation, I went ahead and took 2 of my fellow fellows on a little adventure involving a daladala (the mid size buses used throughout Dar for public transport). Our way into town was relatively uneventful, our trip home was quite the experience. I haven't yet figured out the deal with the daladalas coming to our part of town (maybe there are very few?)....but it was quite literally a shoving match to get into the vehicle. By the time the daladala had stopped to let people off, there was already a huge crowd gathered around it waiting for that last person to get off so they could get on. Actually, I take that back. Not everyone waited for the last person to get off - some people climbed into the daladala through the back windows once it had started to empty out. And once that last person did get off, it was every man for himself. People were pushing and shoving to get in, in a way that I have never seen before.
Not surprisingly, the 3 of us were not really interested in throwing elbows at total strangers, so we had to try and squeeze our way in at the very end, which seemed like it was not going to be possible (an important lesson learned for the other fellows - there is always room for at least 5 more). But we managed to do it - after the conductor did some very expert people arranging to maximize every square centimeter of available space for us to fit...and then he had to hang out the door because he couldn't actually fit inside the vehicle. But hey, all in a day's work for him!
Some photos of daladalas...
The Bajaje
Unlike Mozambique and Zambia, Tanzania has a tuk-tuk like type of public transport called the bajaje. It's about half the price of a taxi, and it's pretty clear why. I don't have a photo yet, but I'll try to get one soon!
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