Arusha - Can They Get the Bill Right?

After flying through Dar from Zanzibar, I made it to Arusha. It's the jumping off point for safaris to the Serengeti. Today I took the public transportation for the first time in Tanzania and boy did they take me for a ride. I was going to visit my Safari operator. I got in this dala-dala which is a Toyota mini bus and told them where I wanted to go. They pretended to understand and drove me to the next bus station where they discussed my intended destination with a bunch of people. There was lots of shouting and pointing. I didn't know what to do so I called my safari company and let them sort it out. After a brief telephone conversation, the driver took off and dropped me off at the right spot. Dala-dala's are supposed to operate like buses picking people up along the way. But I think these guys sensed an opportunity and drove me there like a taxi. They charged me taxi prices too. The safari people helped me get a ride back and I didn't get ripped off this time.

Last night, I met these two American guys and we grabbed beers and dinner at our hostel. I had to sort the bill out at the end of the night because they added 2 pasta dinners to our bill that we didn't order. It was a bit complicated because their calculator was broken too and they weren't too quick with the math.

Then, I ate with the same two guys again for lunch at this Chinese place nearby. Chinese cook and everything. We paid the bill 27,000 shillings and then headed back to our hostel. The waiter must have followed us all the way back to our hostel because he walked in a minute after us and said we didn't pay enough. I knew he was wrong because I had just counted our money. I had to sit with him and count it in front of him. And lo and behold, it was exactly 27,000 shillings. Exactly what we owed. We'll see how the next bill works out.