I have been mad about books, food, places and people since I was somewhere around speaking age, and I presume this may be normal behaviour. But veering slightly away (from normalcy), I have set myself several missions related to my passions. Most of my intended goals are private, but visiting 50 countries before I turn 50 is an oft-repeated and publicly declared one.
In fulfilment, I landed in the lovely little island of Zanzibar with boundless joy and bookish fascination, but without credit cards or spending money (yes, yes, wallets do get left behind). Admittedly I didn’t qualify for the title at that time, but veteran travellers always carry emergency money and I found Dh800 to last me a week. My room was paid for, but I had to pay for everything else.
The sights took precedence over meals and without any hesitation I dished out money for an assortment of trips, leaving me with very little in hand.
An adventurous and admittedly abnormal mind has no limits and I carefully considered my possibilities, which included offering to assist any chef and proposing to Abdullah the boatman — gorgeous to boot — and sailing into the sunset. Oh, the possibilities were endless…
But I chose to survive Africa with food management.
This patented concept involves a combination of activities — pocketing a muffin at breakfast, eating the banana intended for a monkey, accepting coffee from tour guides, dividing a Snickers bar into four and making it last four days and practising mindfulness by eating a single strand of pot noodles at a time. (This can take 55 minutes, but you feel quite full.)
If you ever decide to dine frugally and only on alternate days, the experience can be considered complete with a plate of either mishkaki (Swahili kebabs) or samaki wa kupaka (Zanzibari grilled fish). At a jetty, a Japanese lady shared a bag of what felt like fried sugared squid. Friendly global conversations and fascinating sights can overcome the sounds in your stomach. You just have to keep talking, and walking.
Zanzibar has staked a special place in my life. For it is here that I discovered, and discarded, hunger.
— The author recommends that if you’re travelling this summer, always carry candy bars, pot noodles and emergency cash. Wallets seem optional.
