kareem

a little grubby. Of course, “a little grubby” in Switzerland is beautiful in any other country, so don’t let that stop you.

But like the rest of Switzerland, it was fantastic.

It’s beautiful and relaxing.

Carlo is incredibly hospitable and helpful, the rooms are reasonably priced and clean, the terraces have magnificent views, and the pensione is right by the smaller (nicer) beach in Positano.

This is on the east side of Nungwi, about a 20 minute walk away from the touristy side of town. The bright side is that the villas are cheap, relaxing, and private. Rashid and Omar, who own and run the place, are great guys and will really look after you. They don’t look at you like dollar signs on legs, unlike many of the other tourist businesses in Zanzibar.

BTW, the picture is the view from the room’s terrace.

We went intending to stay for 4 nights, but ended up staying for 6—it’s that beautiful and relaxing. The town is built in the side of a steep cliff that overlooks the sea, and the warm waters gently wash up on to a really relaxing rocky beach.

Stay with Carlo at the Villa Maria Luisa—he’s a very helpful and accomodating host, and the Villa is reasonablely priced, clean, well-located, and has INCREDIBLE terraces.

BTW, the fastest way to get here from Rome is to take the train to Napoli, go downstairs at the train station to take the regional train to Sorrento, then take the SITA bus to Positano. Should take you 3-4 hours. We ended up taking two trains to Salerno and the SITA bus, which ended up taking over 6 hours.

Nungwi beach in the north is the most beautiful beach I’ve been to yet. Stay with Rashid and Omar at the North Nungwi Hotel—they are incredibly gracious hosts and won’t nickel and dime you to death like a lot of the other businesses that cater to tourists on the island.

Stone Town is beautiful and exploring the twisty streets is a lot of fun. Be sure to visit the Darajani market in the morning, and the old slave market.

it’s an interesting place to visit to see how the Rwandan War Crimes Tribunal has affected the local economy. go on your way to safari or to climb kilimanjaro, but don’t bother staying longer than a couple of days.

it’s hot, hectic, intense, dirty, loud, alive, and totally worth visiting. seeing how cairo has adapted to modern life without losing its historical prominence is utterly fascinating. islam meets the west in cairo, and the juxtaposition keeps things very interesting. i would definitely go back.

i lived here for 2.5+ years. don’t waste your time.