I posted some pictures from Zanzibar. Take a look:
http://www.flickr.com/search/?s=int&w=all&q=%22200803xx+-+Zanzibar%22&m=tags
Saturday, March 22. 2008
Posted pictures from Zanzibar
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.
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