TAZARA Express

Tanzania is unique in the sense that they actually have a functioning passenger rail network. Most other countries have allowed their rail network fall into a sorry state of disrepair. Our guide book recommended taking the Tanzanian and Zambian Rail Authority (TAZARA) Express train from Dar Es Salaam toward Malawi. The train journey is unique in that it travels directly through one of the many national parks in Tanzania. In theory you are able to view animals from the comfort of your cabin. However, when the train is delayed by 2 hours leaving Dar Es Salaam because it's discovered the brakes don't work, viewing animals in the dark isn't possible. Apart from this slight hiccup at the beginning the journey was very interesting.
Due to regulations men and women aren't allowed in the same cabins, read into this what you will. So Leighanne and I were separated for almost 24hrs, the longest we have been apart since we left. Sad I know, but it didn't feel right. Luckily for me, all the men in my cabin could speak English so my journey was quite informative. Unlucky for Leighanne, she was the only English speaker in her cabin so spent a portion or her time engaged in exaggerated hand signals.
The real character of the trip only occured when darkness decended. The cabins hold 6 people, stacked sardine style. Sleeping was a challenge at the best of times due to constant chatter and pumping African music coming from nearby cabins. However, the real problem was that at every stop, regardless of the time, everybody would wake up and open the windows and commence with loud negotiations with any and everybody on the station platform. Wanting to include you in the festivities, you were duly woken up as well.
After a long night and a good portion of the next day we rumbled into Mbeya station close to the Malawian border and made a dash for the nearest hotel with the hope of seeing England play. After finding a bar/shack that was showing the game we settled down for a few beers. Unfortunately, blackouts plague this part of Africa and at the crucial moment the lights went out. Didn't need to see the rest, everyone knows the result. Next day was the border crossing and trip down to the crystal clear waters of Lake Malawi.