“You are alone?” The young woman’s raised left eyebrow gave away her surprise. It was Christmas Day during a pandemic and I had just driven 10 miles on a gravel road. The other woman behind the Hobatere Lodge reception didn’t bother hiding her alarm. Both eyebrows raised, she chimed in, “You don’t have children?” “No …
The music was nothing like I had heard before. The rhythm energetic, even a bit aggressive, yet laid back at the same time. The singer spew out words, half singing, sometimes half screaming: a few might have been in English and the rest in a language I didn’t recognize. The set up was unusual for …
At a 3-star lodge in the western hills of Eswatini, the receptionist pushed back my haphazardly filled out check-in form. She pointed at the boxes next to the titles all of which I had left unchecked. I’m a patient traveler except when it comes to hotel check-ins. After all, do they really need my zip …
It’s drizzling rain as my Lefa, a Namibian Uber, taxi pulls over in front of Sicilia, an Italian restaurant close to my Airbnb. Though I’m not a big fan of Italian food, I decide to have my last dinner in Windhoek here because it looks cosy and many restaurants are closed due to corona shutdowns. …
She’s on the third floor, next to a statue from Cameroon. She’s young and beautiful, just a girl really. Her expression is difficult to interpret. We pass a loudly chatting group of Senegalese women, all dressed in a medley of primary colors. I wish I’d understand what they’re saying, what they think of the recently …
On my first night in Johannesburg, I’m in an Uber heading downtown. My driver is a tall, quiet 50-something local man. He picked me up at my guesthouse called Melvilla, in a leafy northern suburb, which I had heard was safe enough to walk around during the day. I was told nowhere in Joburg was …
I’m on the back of a boda boda, Uganda’s ubiquitous motorcycle taxi, worried about being late for a meeting. In a traffic jam, my boda driver passes cars and other bodas in a way that should make anyone scared for their safety. The drivers have helmets but there are none for the passengers. I am …
I had already visited Uganda once, but that time I never went on a game drive. This might sound strange as safari is one of the biggest reasons people travel to Africa, but I was happy just visiting my friends, who had recently moved to Uganda, and going road tripping with them and Danny. I was also happy …
I really hadn’t planned my visit to Tanga at all: the previous night in Dar es Salaam I had randomly booked a cheap hotel online. As soon as I got there after my 6-hour bus ride from Dar, I headed out to wander around in the afternoon heat in search of food. Although a big city, Tanga …
The living room’s bright blue concrete walls glow under the fluorescent light. The air is full of cigarette smoke and the smell of coffee beans roasting. It’s Ramadan, Islam’s holy month. The old color TV transmits hypnotic praying live from Mecca. I’m in Harar, a historic Muslim town in Ethiopia, about 130 miles from the …