TAZARA train 19 Chandaweyaya Zambia

 On the second day, we crossed into Tanzania. When border guards came aboard, they demanded a "fee" of $100 — in US dollars only, and in cash.

A stop in Chandaweyaya, Zambia, near the Tanzanian border. 
I did not want to pay the fee. But I had to, they told me, or I would be arrested. I didn't have any US dollars — only Zambian kwacha, Tanzanian shillings, and British pounds. Fortunately, my cabin-mate Yves had dollars, which I was able to exchange for pounds.

Ben Mack (to be continued) 

TAZARA train 18 Marketplaces

 But it was the brightly colored villages and towns we stopped in that were truly exciting.

Dozens, and sometimes hundreds, of people milled about whenever the train pulled in somewhere. Each place had something different to see — while some of the stops appeared to be little more than a collection of huts, others had large, vibrant marketplaces.

Ben Mack (to be continued) 

TAZARA train 17

We traveled with the windows open, since it was warm and there was no air conditioning. The green scenery was just as spectacular as I hoped.

The fans in our cabin were broken, so keeping windows open was the only way to let in cool air. Since there were frequent heavy rains, it meant the air also smelled incredibly fresh.

Ben Mack (to be continued) 

TAZARA train 16 Large bug on train

 
While our constant movement kept mosquitoes away, there were other bugs — some of which were the largest I'd seen.

The dragonfly-looking insect that flew in through the open window for breakfast one morning was so large that I thought it was a bird at first. It flew around the cabin for a whole day, buzzing as loud as a swarm of bees.

Ben Mack (to be continued)