According to BBC - Zimbabwe's annual inflation is above 100,000% in February.
That's ridiculous. Like seriously.
The same article on BBC states that "In 1980, US$1 bought 80 Zimbabwean cents, in early March that figure is about Z$50m. A loaf of bread cost Z$7m."
On Aljazeera, "One hundred dollars bought nearly 20kg of local currency on Wednesday "
There's an old video on YouTube about how Zimbabweans were struggling in 2006 when the inflation was only 1200%.
Wednesday, March 26. 2008
Zimbabwe Inflation is at 100,058%
Saturday, March 22. 2008
Posted pictures from Zanzibar
I posted some pictures from Zanzibar. Take a look:
http://www.flickr.com/search/?s=int&w=all&q=%22200803xx+-+Zanzibar%22&m=tags
http://www.flickr.com/search/?s=int&w=all&q=%22200803xx+-+Zanzibar%22&m=tags
Zanzibar ATMs
Money is a tricky proposition in Zanzibar. Some places quote prices in USD, others in Tanzanian Shillings, and even some hotels in Euros.
The only places that we found that would accept credit cards were the big hotels and some places in stone town (not all though).
Upon arrival into Tanzania, we switched a lot of our currency into Shillings. But then the first hotel would only accept USD. (No problem they said, go one hour to a local currency exchange, or we can exchange it back to dollars for a horrible rate). We chose the horrible rate.
We actually had some USD, but no place in Zanzibar will accept the USD small head bills (only the newer version of the Dollar). The same hotel had different currency charges for each thing. Their room rates were in dollars and their food/drinks were in Shillings. No idea. hakuna matata, i guess.
There are actually a few ATMs in Zanzibar, but all of them are around Stone Town (none at the airport for instance). But the first day we went to get cash, there was a power outage on the island, so no ATM's worked.
We managed ok in the end, but it was kinda annoying. Apparently their credit cards and ATM machines are new, so hopefully it'll keep getting better.
The only places that we found that would accept credit cards were the big hotels and some places in stone town (not all though).
Upon arrival into Tanzania, we switched a lot of our currency into Shillings. But then the first hotel would only accept USD. (No problem they said, go one hour to a local currency exchange, or we can exchange it back to dollars for a horrible rate). We chose the horrible rate.
We actually had some USD, but no place in Zanzibar will accept the USD small head bills (only the newer version of the Dollar). The same hotel had different currency charges for each thing. Their room rates were in dollars and their food/drinks were in Shillings. No idea. hakuna matata, i guess.
There are actually a few ATMs in Zanzibar, but all of them are around Stone Town (none at the airport for instance). But the first day we went to get cash, there was a power outage on the island, so no ATM's worked.
We managed ok in the end, but it was kinda annoying. Apparently their credit cards and ATM machines are new, so hopefully it'll keep getting better.
Baggage Claim
We had two interesting baggage claim experiences this latest trip.
First - upon arrival into Zanzibar, we kinda just walked through immigration (got the visa in Dar es Salaam). On the other side of the empty booths was this room where they just took the bags off the cart and piled them on the shelves. no revolving escalator things. super high tech.
Second - Doha is a heavy "transit" airport. Most people travel here as a stop over to someplace less hot. Our flight from Dar was packed (every seat). When we arrived into Doha, we had our e-gate cards and used our fingerprints to get through immigration instantly. So we waited for our bag for a minute and out it came. And then the carousel stopped. Apparently, we were the only ones that had Doha as our final destination.
First - upon arrival into Zanzibar, we kinda just walked through immigration (got the visa in Dar es Salaam). On the other side of the empty booths was this room where they just took the bags off the cart and piled them on the shelves. no revolving escalator things. super high tech.
Second - Doha is a heavy "transit" airport. Most people travel here as a stop over to someplace less hot. Our flight from Dar was packed (every seat). When we arrived into Doha, we had our e-gate cards and used our fingerprints to get through immigration instantly. So we waited for our bag for a minute and out it came. And then the carousel stopped. Apparently, we were the only ones that had Doha as our final destination.
Saturday, March 8. 2008
When bad gas is really bad.
Lovers exchange blows after man breaks wind
http://archive.gulfnews.com/articles/08/03/05/10194830.html
"Two lovers are standing trial for having an illicit relationship and exchanging blows after the man broke wind while in bed. "
-Gen
Picture from Mondoagogo on flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mondoagogo/
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