Zanzibar — Stepping back in Time

Something was in the air when I arrived in Zanzibar and it wasn’t just the aromatic smell of cloves in April.

Kenya’s Mombasa

The ship docked after a week crawling across the placid Arabian Sea. My foot touched African soil for the first time to the sound of an African greeting, “Jambo.”

As I explored Kenya’s coastal city, Mombasa, sea breezes sailed in off the ocean. 

China’s Macau

I took a ferry to Macau for the day. In many ways the town reminded me of Goa. Both having once been ruled by the Portuguese, the architecture had that distinct flavour: arches dominating the buildings; open squares; even one of the churches was similar to one I’d seen in Panjim.

A Hunger for History?

I was curious about historical Melaka; the boring stuff that hadn’t captured my interest at school. So it was understandable my daughter wasn’t impressed when I wanted to visit old Portuguese churches and the museum.

A Memory of Portuguese Melaka

Photo courtesy: Rudolphfurtado — Wikimedia Commons

The thought of going to Melaka next, evoked memories of countries on a world map coloured pink. During my school days, we learned about Commonwealth countries, so Melaka was somewhere vaguely familiar.