A Resort and a Ring

Arusha, March 9, 2018

We had decided that we would go and discover more about the big restaurant Ray had shown me on Tuesday. I found out that its name is Asili Resort, which seemed odd for a restaurant without any hotel attached to it. Anyway, we sat over on the terrace and worked on our computers or read until nearly 1:00 p.m.  Then Ray came to take us to the “resort.”

I asked Ray to drive us on Kanisha Road so we would pass by the Peace Restaurant, where I had braved the rain and mud to cross over a temporary wooden bridge to enter. Today it was dry, but I wanted John to see the dirt piles and deep trench.  He agreed with me that the trench was at least 8 feet deep. Even Ray got out of the taxi to have a look. Some sort of cable is being laid, but a workman told John that this is being done for a sewer line. The entire trench is being dug by hand, foot by foot, both deep and block by block.

Peace Restaurant, now dry

Bridge over deep trench

When we got to Asili and entered the restaurant, there were a few African diners scattered throughout the one side, and on the other side, there was a large group of wazungu tourists—maybe European, not American. There was a buffet lunch laid out for the group, and our waitress invited us to have that, too, if we wanted. John thought that sounded pretty good, so we went over to serve ourselves. It was a buffet of all African food: banana soup, rice pilau, chicken stew, beef stew, vegetable stew, ugali, greens, Swahili salad, three types of baked yams/sweet potatoes, beef mishikaki, and fruit. There was plenty to eat, but we were disappointed in the quality. Nothing was seasoned well: the pilau was over loaded with cinnamon, and the stews were bland. There was no wali (plain rice) or mandazi. We questioned our waitress again about whether there were rooms for rent, and she said, “No, we are a resort, so we only serve food and beverages.” A rather strange definition for the word resort.

On the exterior wall

The impressive entrance

The waitress also told us that while they serve the public, they specialize in large safari groups like the one there with us. Asili certainly has the space for that since it is every bit as expansive as the dining areas in the big lodges we’ve visited in game parks. I would advise, however, that their chefs take some cooking lessons or hire some mamas to improve their food. The regular menu offers mbuzi (goat) and chipsie in its African section, so why didn’t they offer that to the tourists?

 One half of the large dining area

 

We couldn’t find a taxi after lunch, so we walked back to the main street, Moshi Road, to see if we could find one there. To get to the larger road, we had to pass the curio shop where I usually buy gifts each year. Of course, all the workers just happened to be outside. They greeted me and asked why I hadn’t come in yet this year. I gave a vague response and kept walking. When we got to the main road there was a big police stop right at our corner.  Of course, absolutely no taxis were approaching from either direction. Taxi drivers warn each other about police stops so they can avoid being hassled and having to pay a bribe or worse yet a fine. We wanted to go to the House of Gems to pick up my ring, which had been sized for me, but it was too far away for me to walk.  We had no choice but to wait patiently until finally a taxi approached. While waiting, I was pestered by a street vendor named Johnny. He was absolutely certain that I had to buy some of his bracelets. I finally convinced him that I really didn’t.

We  were rescued by a taxi driver who took us to the House of Gems and waited for us while I got my ring and looked at other rings and pendants in the $100 and under range. There were some nice items which would make good souvenirs for students on limited budgets who still would like a bit of Tanzanite. With my ring on my finger, we continued back to Kundayo, where Mama was outside waiting. I gave her a short report of our lunch, and she examined my ring. She, of course, would have gotten a far better stone and setting.  However, I like my simple circle and twinkling bit of blue. Rain cut our conversation short, but I’m sure we’ll resume the topic.

Slightly better stones than mine

My ring

The rest of the day provided time for washing underwear, reading, and watching some TV when the power was on. For dinner, we had the fish fingers John had purloined from the women’s lunch on Thursday. It’s the first time I’ve ever eaten fish fingers wrapped in a mayonnaise smeared chapati. It was actually a fairly good wrap, But I think I can improve it if I try it again in the future.