"Tanga" Tanga Region by skatzcatz

Tanga Tanzania is nothing special for a town but it is a good stop over point between Mombasa and Dar Es Salaam. Just don't get stuck there on a weekend without money as i did. Shops are all mostly shut except an internet cafe, a pub or 2 and the motels. Not sure why you would come here besides as a stopping point heading north or south? but i did? but then again i'd go those places people say not to go to check it out for myself.

Well its a Saturday arvo and i'm in a little place called Tanga, not much of a place and i have nothing to do, so thought i'd send an email off before i go to Dar Es Salaam and catch up on my washing and eating. Anyway time i get into this email. I'm going to put this email into words, rather then sentences, it will be just on Mombasa and Diani.
MOMBASA
hawkers, touts and beggars, watches, dvd's, cassettes, belts, t-shirts, coconuts, bananas, phone covers, food unknown, water, singlets, safari tours, my friend and fake brands. Rooftop washing, crows above, water tanks, aerials, corrugated iron, mosques, satelitte dishes, buildings growing on buildings, people like ants walk below, motorbikes, bicycles, cars all around, matatu's, hoens honking, police, security guards, banks, banks, banks, bureau de change, spot the white guy, chaos, singing schools, families, black moslem, mosques, dirty streets, dirty, people, walking but where, cros watch me watching people watching people, Fort Jesus, Portuguese, Omani, hardship, remote, slavery, i couldnt do it.

Diani Beach
over-rated, german tourists, touts, seaweed, sharp rocks, cut foot, shoes wet, monkeys, stole my chips, in a word - skip-it, aussies beaches are much better. Ukunda, play pool, helpful people, lunga lunga, shops all over, 3rd world. Lunga Lunga whatr an adventure that would be.

Ok, i'm extremely sunburn and after today stuffed. left Diani Beach chalets @ 8am, caught a matatu (20ksh) @ 8am but we where pulled over by the police for the compulsory bribe, then @ Ukunda walked a few hundred metres to catch my Lunga Lunga matatu (100ksh) matatu's are spose to seat 14 people (by law) but we had 22 in ours, people standing and sitting on each other, plus there was a car rally on and our driver felt it was a race with every other matatu driver on the road. Didnt help either that we saw a police bock for the rally so 8 passengers jumped out and after the road block some more jumped in. At the Kenyan border went through but no 1 told me what to do, so they called me back to get my passport recorded. Then caught anothe Matatu (20 kenyan shillings) Then waited at the Tanzania border for over an hr till caught a Matatu for (2000tsh) but since there where no rules in Tanzania on ppl we had 28 and 2 chickens in it. My butt sure hurt after this as it was a 2.5hr dirt road and the bus rarely got below 20 people, stopping at every village to drop off and pick up.
So now i'm in Tanga and a small motel with an america next to me (7000tsh) a night and booked a bus @ 7.30am (7000tsh) to Dar Es Salaam.

• Pros:are there any
• Cons:too many to mention
• In a nutshell:a stopover point heading north or south