Africa: Last Full Day in Tanzania
Alex and I have figured out that it is only a few blocks to the DTP office from where we are staying. We set out on foot around 7:30 a.m., leaving Harvey to his slumber. On the way over, I notice a building that purports to be the home of the “College of Business Education.” There has been an ongoing joke amongst us about a gentleman who handed Maina his card at the Pixel Corps launch. His card stated his profession simply as “Business Man.” I imagine that he was trained at the College of Business Education for his future career.
Mr. Faddy is in whatever line of work you are in.
Mr. Faddy’s alma mater.
We get over to the office before most of the staff. Other than being able to get tea and breakfast cakes, there is little good done in getting in so early. This is mainly because there is a problem with the ISP temporarily suspending the account. It takes another few hours after Hanif and Shafiq arrive to get it sorted out and the packets to start following again.
Maina comes in with Rita and she brings out her interface project. Alex had scoffed at the idea last night, but he is floored. Rita and five others have put together a city guide to Nairobi in Flash over the last year and a half. They have dubbed their interface Yebi and are scheduled to launch version 1.0 on August 1. Alex has been talking about moving people off of the “Web” and into customized delivery interfaces for most of the trip. The Yebi fits into this model perfectly.
Rita from Nairobi showing off Yebi.
Chantal, Hanif and I join Alex Fox at the train yard to take some photos of the engines and cars that the Fox Family has recently purchased. A thunderstorm hits on the way over, which causes us a bit of distress, but as quickly as it started, it is over. The train yard is a delapidated affair. The train stock that Alex has purchased used to belong to the Tanzania-Zambia Rail Company. They had been sitting out in Dar es Salaam and are consequently in very bad shape.
The stripped interior of one of the cars. The steel floors have rusted through and need to be replaced.
The primed exterior of the car. Note the red lead paint which is extremely hazardous and illegal in most countries. Of the seven original painters at the yard, only one is alive today. The workers seem unconcerned about the fumes coming up from their welding and grinding, nor the bits of the paint that get on their skin.
In order for us to get better shots of the car, several smaller pieces of rolling stock are moved out of the way by being winched onto the pontoon and repositioned on other tracks.
Most of the cars and engines are of Chinese origin.
Huh? This condom offers huge protection.
Back at the all you can eat buffet. As much of this deliciousness at you can handle for $3.
The distribution for the local Coca-Cola bottler is people powered.
Alex looking for artwork amongst the local tingatinga painters.
Back to DTP to regroup before we head out for dinner. Harvey read through all of the restaurant listings in the Lonely Planet guidebook and the consensus was for the Alcove, a delicious Indian place with a large veg selection. We try to get in touch with Maina’s cousin who would like to see us all before we leave. Rita has used up all the juice in Maina’s phone by SMSing her colleagues in Kenya. Maina borrows a phone from one of the wait staff and disects it in order to swap out the memory chip.
We drop Alex over at the office and head off to the 4twenty bar. By the time we make it over there, Maina’s cousin is long gone. We run into Peter, a South African we had met on the first night in town. We shoot a few rounds of pool and then head back, getting a little turned about in the process. Finally get to bed at 2 a.m,