Kendwa Rocks
At the beach of Kenwa Rocks the chief of the resort, the husband of the finnish woman I had been
communicating with, welcomes us. I' m bargaining with him about the price of a „Banda“ which is a kind
of palm hut, raised on the sand ground, looking like a tent without windows But as made out of
watteled palm leafs permeable for air, shadowy and neither by day nor at night too hot. But even
permeable for insects so the mosquito net over the simple bed is very important. We agree at a price
of $ 7per night inclusive breakfast. I' m very happy to have arrived and start to make me as
comfortable as possible in my banda.
Here the entries of the diary of 1998 end.
As the women had arrived in Kendwa she did not make any entries in her diary anymore then from now
on she was occupied by how to internalize all experiences she was gaining, moment by moment. She had
to learn how to relax, how to cherish it and how to "stop running around in her head" , which the
Europeans think means planning and organizing. She had to lern what „hakuna matata“ means.
A good lesson was given to her by a young man from Holland. One day some of them were sitting at the
beach under a palm shield pausing between sun bathing, swimming, reading books, having refreshments,
chattering and commentating the state of feeling, he cried out:
-"Oh dear what a stress I' m having! All the time I have to push up my sun glasses and then put them
down again!"
Well, that really is almost everything the tourists have to do. Everrything else is taken care of
through the money they bring along. No matter if it is coming from a meagre cash box of a backpack
tourist or from a more opulent portemonnaie. The tourists carry no responsibility, they can enter the
country as ingnorants and leave it in the same state. They doen't have to see the children who run
along the beach early in the morning from far away to get to school in the village, at noon coming back
and in the afternoon the repetition. And that these children are lucky as their parents can finance the
school for their children. Too many parents are too poor to send their children to school and these
children have to work with their parents to help the family. A lot of children are looking for empty
bottles that the tourists leave around and collect the deposit but this seems to be a kind of game and
also very benefical as recycling. At the time the woman stayed in Kendwa it was not common that the
children would be begging, the grown-ups did not allow this.
But in later years as the woman visited bigger hotel installations (wich she called tourist ghettoes)
with hundreds of tourists walking around the beach, she could see many children begging at he tourists.
The tourist needs not relly to worry about this, it is no busines of his but he must not close his eyes
because everything he is percepting can help him to understand the people whose country he is visiting.
At least he should try to see all the beauty around. The smiles of the people, their cordiality and the
open clance of the eyes and when he meets this he might fall in love with this country and its people.
From then on he would not feel like a tourist but like a lover and thus win more than he ever could pay
with money.
A very special experience the woman had in Kendwa as she lied on the beach by darkness looking at the
firmament above her. She felt as if the stars would have an enormous suction to drag her up or to
overwhelm her. As if there would be nothing between her and the stars, as if she could touch them
crossing the space. This kind of clear athmosphere she remembered to have experienced as a child
when lying on the snow and looking at the firmament in winter in her home country.The woman and the
other guests used to sit at the beach in the evening waiting the sun to go down over the horizon and
even if this happened every evening it always was an impressing wiew. So they were sitting there
drinking their sundowners in best tourist manner.
communicating with, welcomes us. I' m bargaining with him about the price of a „Banda“ which is a kind
of palm hut, raised on the sand ground, looking like a tent without windows But as made out of
watteled palm leafs permeable for air, shadowy and neither by day nor at night too hot. But even
permeable for insects so the mosquito net over the simple bed is very important. We agree at a price
of $ 7per night inclusive breakfast. I' m very happy to have arrived and start to make me as
comfortable as possible in my banda.
Here the entries of the diary of 1998 end.
As the women had arrived in Kendwa she did not make any entries in her diary anymore then from now
on she was occupied by how to internalize all experiences she was gaining, moment by moment. She had
to learn how to relax, how to cherish it and how to "stop running around in her head" , which the
Europeans think means planning and organizing. She had to lern what „hakuna matata“ means.
A good lesson was given to her by a young man from Holland. One day some of them were sitting at the
beach under a palm shield pausing between sun bathing, swimming, reading books, having refreshments,
chattering and commentating the state of feeling, he cried out:
-"Oh dear what a stress I' m having! All the time I have to push up my sun glasses and then put them
down again!"
Well, that really is almost everything the tourists have to do. Everrything else is taken care of
through the money they bring along. No matter if it is coming from a meagre cash box of a backpack
tourist or from a more opulent portemonnaie. The tourists carry no responsibility, they can enter the
country as ingnorants and leave it in the same state. They doen't have to see the children who run
along the beach early in the morning from far away to get to school in the village, at noon coming back
and in the afternoon the repetition. And that these children are lucky as their parents can finance the
school for their children. Too many parents are too poor to send their children to school and these
children have to work with their parents to help the family. A lot of children are looking for empty
bottles that the tourists leave around and collect the deposit but this seems to be a kind of game and
also very benefical as recycling. At the time the woman stayed in Kendwa it was not common that the
children would be begging, the grown-ups did not allow this.
But in later years as the woman visited bigger hotel installations (wich she called tourist ghettoes)
with hundreds of tourists walking around the beach, she could see many children begging at he tourists.
The tourist needs not relly to worry about this, it is no busines of his but he must not close his eyes
because everything he is percepting can help him to understand the people whose country he is visiting.
At least he should try to see all the beauty around. The smiles of the people, their cordiality and the
open clance of the eyes and when he meets this he might fall in love with this country and its people.
From then on he would not feel like a tourist but like a lover and thus win more than he ever could pay
with money.
A very special experience the woman had in Kendwa as she lied on the beach by darkness looking at the
firmament above her. She felt as if the stars would have an enormous suction to drag her up or to
overwhelm her. As if there would be nothing between her and the stars, as if she could touch them
crossing the space. This kind of clear athmosphere she remembered to have experienced as a child
when lying on the snow and looking at the firmament in winter in her home country.The woman and the
other guests used to sit at the beach in the evening waiting the sun to go down over the horizon and
even if this happened every evening it always was an impressing wiew. So they were sitting there
drinking their sundowners in best tourist manner.
The woman enjoyed the time in her banda as a kind of scouts life (it was so different from the life at
home, wasn' t it). Here she tried to read at night by candlelight under the mosquitonet, all the time
aware of the danger she might set fire on the whole thing when beeing unvary with the source of light;
here she was using the common toilet/shower combination (not so easy to get habituated to) and there
were the simple meals at the long tables to the common lunches and suppers. On the 31st of October
(her birthday) she felt an urge to leave this place for a couple of days and to go to Stonetown. Asides
from that, since a couple of days a troop of Aussies which were travelling Africa per truck had
overwhelmed Kendwa and were behaving rather unpleasant. They were boozing, roaring day and night,
burping and farting at the lunch table,they were unpolite to the team members of Kendwa, treating
them more like domestics and so everybody else war peeved.
home, wasn' t it). Here she tried to read at night by candlelight under the mosquitonet, all the time
aware of the danger she might set fire on the whole thing when beeing unvary with the source of light;
here she was using the common toilet/shower combination (not so easy to get habituated to) and there
were the simple meals at the long tables to the common lunches and suppers. On the 31st of October
(her birthday) she felt an urge to leave this place for a couple of days and to go to Stonetown. Asides
from that, since a couple of days a troop of Aussies which were travelling Africa per truck had
overwhelmed Kendwa and were behaving rather unpleasant. They were boozing, roaring day and night,
burping and farting at the lunch table,they were unpolite to the team members of Kendwa, treating
them more like domestics and so everybody else war peeved.
So the woman left for Town and took accomodation in the
Tembo Hotel for $ 75 per night. She enjoyed a hot bath,
a room with zanzibarian furniture, a dignified ambiente
(inclusive mosquito spray every evening) and especially a
superb breakfast buffet. In the first night she was happy
about the elecric light as she now could read in bed
without danger for life, she needed not to take the
mosquitonet down, the spray was very efficient and the
airconditioning was running.This noice but - as she was
used to the noiseless nights (apart from the last ones with
aussies) - was nerving her terribly, she felt herself
locked up and she had to get out of the bed. She went to
the small balcony, had a smoke and tried to look for the
stars to relax. But even Stonetown is a town with electric
lights, so you don't have the same effect under the stars.
So she went to bed again, left the balcony door open,
opened the windows, put off the airconditioning, let down
the mosquitonet and finally fell asleep.
Tembo Hotel for $ 75 per night. She enjoyed a hot bath,
a room with zanzibarian furniture, a dignified ambiente
(inclusive mosquito spray every evening) and especially a
superb breakfast buffet. In the first night she was happy
about the elecric light as she now could read in bed
without danger for life, she needed not to take the
mosquitonet down, the spray was very efficient and the
airconditioning was running.This noice but - as she was
used to the noiseless nights (apart from the last ones with
aussies) - was nerving her terribly, she felt herself
locked up and she had to get out of the bed. She went to
the small balcony, had a smoke and tried to look for the
stars to relax. But even Stonetown is a town with electric
lights, so you don't have the same effect under the stars.
So she went to bed again, left the balcony door open,
opened the windows, put off the airconditioning, let down
the mosquitonet and finally fell asleep.
The next day she went to the Forodhani Park to have a chat with Hassan. They were talking about the
differences between the countries and also about the phenomenon tourism in this town an on this
island. The woman had a very subjectiv feeling about the tourists. They were nerving her. Perhaps this
was a feeling of an enamored one. Like all enamored ones she felt that only she could feel the rigt way.
She would have liked to require an entrance exam of all visitors of Zanzibar. The tourists should have
lessons in history, habits and customs of the country before entering it. She was very european and
she was lacking tolerance which even makes the people here so amiable (by the time the woman
learned to handle this better, quite free from jealousy she never gets).
differences between the countries and also about the phenomenon tourism in this town an on this
island. The woman had a very subjectiv feeling about the tourists. They were nerving her. Perhaps this
was a feeling of an enamored one. Like all enamored ones she felt that only she could feel the rigt way.
She would have liked to require an entrance exam of all visitors of Zanzibar. The tourists should have
lessons in history, habits and customs of the country before entering it. She was very european and
she was lacking tolerance which even makes the people here so amiable (by the time the woman
learned to handle this better, quite free from jealousy she never gets).
The woman went around in Stonetown bought small handicraft articles as souvenirs. It was fun to
bargain - she remembered the time long ago as she learned bargaining in the bazaars of old Jerusalem,
the real high school for that. She bought a Kanzu, a long white traditional cotton shirt for men that is
very comfortable, heat- and mosquito-repellent as well. As she was walking around dressed in kanzu,
some people asked her if she knew that this is a costume for men. She said: Yes I know and this is a very
pleasant dress.The people didn' t add much to that. The tourists are a little bit odd and sometimes they
run around in wrong clothing. Perhaps it was because of the kanzu that made the old man, mentioned
previously, remember the woman.
After two days she had enough of the civilisation and went back to Kendwa to the scout circumstances.
Only the breakfast buffet she missed badly.
Back in Kendwa she surrended to lethargy, she was reflecting neither tourism nor powerty of children.
She was sunken in her physical entity, devoted to sun, wind, water, moon and stars. She didn't want to
use her head for thinking but her heart. She became brown and relaxed. She tolerated herself and
others as they were, didn't get upset when things went different than she thought.She learned hakuna
matata. She recovered from the "European Disease".
On her last weekend in Kendwa there was a full moon party. As the woman hardly had any cash left she
sold her new snorkelling equipment to the Chief for $ 50.-. As the Chief also was short on cash they
made a deal: the woman should enjoy the party, eat and drink and the rest she would get in cash next
morning.That occured to become a very expensive party for her. She got $ 5.- back next morning. But
as in the meantime she had become totally relaxed she was laughing and gave the Chief her
congratulations for his good bargain.
Back in Stonetown the woman was seeing Hassan again who told him about an Australian man, called Brian
who was supposed to be building up a new hotel resort on Pemba island where there are not so many
tourists and where the nature still is intact. The woman asked Hassan to manage a contact to this person
then she was sure to come again.
bargain - she remembered the time long ago as she learned bargaining in the bazaars of old Jerusalem,
the real high school for that. She bought a Kanzu, a long white traditional cotton shirt for men that is
very comfortable, heat- and mosquito-repellent as well. As she was walking around dressed in kanzu,
some people asked her if she knew that this is a costume for men. She said: Yes I know and this is a very
pleasant dress.The people didn' t add much to that. The tourists are a little bit odd and sometimes they
run around in wrong clothing. Perhaps it was because of the kanzu that made the old man, mentioned
previously, remember the woman.
After two days she had enough of the civilisation and went back to Kendwa to the scout circumstances.
Only the breakfast buffet she missed badly.
Back in Kendwa she surrended to lethargy, she was reflecting neither tourism nor powerty of children.
She was sunken in her physical entity, devoted to sun, wind, water, moon and stars. She didn't want to
use her head for thinking but her heart. She became brown and relaxed. She tolerated herself and
others as they were, didn't get upset when things went different than she thought.She learned hakuna
matata. She recovered from the "European Disease".
On her last weekend in Kendwa there was a full moon party. As the woman hardly had any cash left she
sold her new snorkelling equipment to the Chief for $ 50.-. As the Chief also was short on cash they
made a deal: the woman should enjoy the party, eat and drink and the rest she would get in cash next
morning.That occured to become a very expensive party for her. She got $ 5.- back next morning. But
as in the meantime she had become totally relaxed she was laughing and gave the Chief her
congratulations for his good bargain.
Back in Stonetown the woman was seeing Hassan again who told him about an Australian man, called Brian
who was supposed to be building up a new hotel resort on Pemba island where there are not so many
tourists and where the nature still is intact. The woman asked Hassan to manage a contact to this person
then she was sure to come again.