The day I missed the train to Dar Es Salaam

It was supposed to be a cheap safari. I imagined seeing giraffes, elephants, antelopes and all those animals just like what some reviews say online. Well, some people are just lucky. Definitely, NOT Me!

There are things that we plan for and there are those that we don’t. They just happen and when they do, they usually get stuck in our memories just like the day we had unintentionally spent Christmas eve with Mama Eda in Mbeya, Tanzania.

TAZARA train station; Where it was all supposed to start.... (how it looks on the other side)

This was the original plan:

December 23: Lilongwe to Mzuzu. Spend night at Mzuzu

December 24 (early morning): Mzuzu to the Songwe border

December 24 (8 a.m): cross the border to Tanzania

December 24 (12 noon): be in Mbeya; catch the TAZARA train to Dar es Salaam; Christmas eve on the train

December 25: Christmas in Dar es Salaam

Very simple.

So here is what actually happened.

I started off from Lilongwe morning of the 23rd and arrived in Mzuzu in good time. Unfortunately for my friend who is starting off at Kasungu, she decided to take the afternoon regular Axa bus which got delayed somewhere, probably at the bus depot in Blantyre. Instead of the expected 2 p.m arrival at Kasungu, she had to sit at the station and wait for a long time, 4 hours more or less.

Eventually bus arrived at six in the evening. Since the bus is full, she had no choice but to stand.  Not an easy feat as the bus was travelling at full speed. To make it worse, the driver hit a pedestrian. The driver would have drove on had the passengers not shouted at him to go back and check. They did. Unfortunately, the man died. Quite a traumatic experience for my friend who eventually arrived in Mzuzu at around 4 in the morning, after nearly an hour detour to the police station prompted by the incident. After a quick stop to pick me up at another friend’s house, we headed for the Mzuzu bus depot. No rest for her.

The minibus bound for the border was already waiting when we arrived at the depot. There were a few passengers inside and I immediately made a beeline towards the back thinking we won't be disturbed and we could catch forty winks or so. Wrong decision!  We got squeezed in at the back of the dark minibus by these two young lads who were conversing really loudly and violently in Chitumbuka, a language incomprehensible to me. Had it been in Chichewa I would have stood a chance of at least getting an idea of what they were talking about. They were saying azungo a lot and I felt like they were talking about us. Heavy backpacks on our laps,  I kept hoping for dawn to break because it was getting a bit threatened by their tone. It was a sleepless journey.

For all my worries, we arrived at the border in good shape. Paid fifty dollars for our visas, got our passports stamped and hopped on a motorbike taxi to find the bus. There were several persistent touts wanting to change our dollars. We managed to dodge them and got on a bus to Mbeya where a man, whom we thought to be the bus conductor, immediately handed over a piece of paper which looked like tickets. Little did we know he was pretending to be the conductor and is just trying to rip us off.  He did not succeed. When the passenger seated beside me learned how much we have to pay, he got outraged and demanded that we be given the right fare. That was when the real conductor approached us. We got some really good Tanzanians aboard that bus. Much as we wanted to chat further with them, we were unable to. Once, we crossed the Songwe border to Tanzania, it became pretty obvious that communication is not as easy as it is in Malawi. We did not know Swahili. Our English was of little help but kindness has no language.

At the bus depot in Mbeya, we were informed that there was no direct bus going to the TAZARA train station, we had to take a dalla dalla to the city proper and then another to the station. It wasn't stressful though.   People we asked directions from just led the way and we followed. Arrived at the train station on schedule. That particular bit was nice..us arriving on time. The thing is the train did not..... IT WAS DELAYED.. 10 HOURS. and the second class coach which I booked was under repair and still in Dar es Salaam. All that effort I spent! Researching the TAZARA train contact numbers. Calling countless people and offices to get us booked. All were in vain. Of all the coaches to break down, it had to be the second class. Then of course, the first class was fully booked. The only choice was the super seater which is just like in a bus with very uncomfortable seats.

The facade of train station at Mbeya, Tanzania

I am not fussy about such things. Neither is my friend. We were just tired from the overland travel. All we wanted was to get on a decent bed without having to worry about our backpacks.   We decided we cannot afford to be seating around waiting for the train to arrive that night.  Maybe if we were well rested, it could have been a different story.

Truth be told, I so looked forward to boarding that train and I was  feeling let down. The cheap safari I read so much about and was anticipating was not going to happen. No passing through the Selous Game Reserve. No elephants. Not this time. Even if the train manages to arrive at all, we would still be passing by the game reserve at night. There was nothing else we can do about that. 

We decided to just to head to town and find somewhere to sleep. Luckily, my friend knew some people in Dar who knew someone who could host us in Mbeya. They took care of everything and in no time,  a good doctor came to pick us up. We ended up spending Christmas Eve with his mother-in-law who told us to call her Mama Eda. . She graciously served us a a Christmas feast of rice, chicken and plantains.

In retrospect,  I guess this was the universe's way of telling us that Christmas Eve was no time to be on the road. It was a time to be with family. That night, we found ours in a warm Tanzanian home.  

Posing for a photo in our borrowed chitenjes with Mama Eda and her daughter, our hosst for Christmas Eve.

The next day, Christmas day, Mama Eda brought us early to the bus depot. I was quite pleased as we got nice seats but as they say good things never last. To complete the journey, the bus broke down. All passengers have to get off and transfer to another bus which fortunately did not take long to arrive. Myself, I got a spot smack in the middle aisle seat. No window seat this time Couldn’t see anything outside from where I was. I had no trouble falling asleep as I always do in buses.

Regrettably, that was when the animals decided to show themselves along road. The bus apparently passes by Mikumi game reserve. While I was sleeping my friend who was right in front of the bus and had the vantage view saw a number of zebras and baboons on the road side. There were giraffes and elephants crossing the road. Talk about me being unlucky!

So what I promised to myself is that I have to really take the train going back to Mbeya ...which I did! Still no animals though, it was pitch black when we passed by the reserve.

Another time. Maybe I will be luckier then.

It may have been stressful at that time, but I would say that it was a very interesting trip, a Christmas celebration to remember.

The train that I missed. I did manage to be in it on the way back to Malawi.