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Bombing in Arusha on July?
I just read anews article on recent violence in Kenya and Tanzania. The bombing incident in Arusha was in a restaurant frequented
by tourists. We are on the July 26th tour. Hopefully this won't impact our trip which we have been looking forward to for over a year.
by tourists. We are on the July 26th tour. Hopefully this won't impact our trip which we have been looking forward to for over a year.
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Just returned from the July 5th trip ... K &T Classic Safari. Arusha got bombed twice during our visit, and I know our tour director had a long talk with the 'office' before we flew back to Arusha on our way to Amboseli. He said they were watching the situation closely. The second bombing happened when were at the Fairmont Mara Safari Club. Then while we were waiting for our flight from Nairobi to Amsterdam, KL was shot down going from AMS to KL. Would prior knowledge of those things stopped us from going knowing what we know now? ... No! Trip of a lifetime! Too windy for ballooning ... made two attempts ... One balloon got up, but ours did not ... no matter. We got to see everything, and had the first balloon attempt gotten up on the third try, the delay would have cost us our view of the great migration across the Mara River. Unbelievable ... People had been waiting for hours (or days) to see that. We drove up just after it started, watched until they stopped crossing (crocodiles seemed to concern them), and then we went to lunch in the bush.
Exposure is very limited in Arusha and Nairobi, and our accommodations were very secure. Besides, I plan on being around a bit longer, but if I died right now after doing this trip, I would die with a smile on my face. As our tour director told us, "This trip will make you cry, and it will change your life. The last day of your previous life was yesterday."
In our case at least, I think he was correct. (:-)
Tauck is watching. I'm confident that they will take care of you.
Incidents such as this have been occurring in Arusha since May of 2013. The most recent one on 7 July this year. My research indicates that a week earlier a (very?) small explosive device was thrown into the home of a Muslim cleric. Then on 7 July, a similar, but apparently larger device was thrown into an Indian restaurant. Contrary to what was reported initially by the sensationalist and suspect media that the restaurant was "popular with foreigners and wealthy locals", the Indian restaurant was frequented by locals, NOT tourists, and was NOT located in a tourist area, unless you consider the entire town a tourist area. Arusha is the jumping off point for most Tanzanian Safaris. In both cases, no one was killed. In the restaurant incident, eight people (most from the same Indian family) were injured, only one seriously, but a few others required overnight hospitalization. No one has claimed responsibility, but as often happens in incidents in countries like this, the police quickly arrested a number of the "usual suspects." Often what also happens is that one or more of those rounded up, while not being directly involved, often reveal under "extreme persuasion," the names of those responsible. I experienced this in the Philippines years ago.
I know it may not be reassuring to anyone who might desire to explore the town of Arusha or victims of the incidents, but by the nature of the targets and devices, it seems to me that they were more along the lines of personal, family, ethnic, political, or religious disagreements as opposed to terrorist attacks targeting tourists. The Duluti Serena hotel is 13 km outside of town and the airport even farther.
For years I lived in Northern Virginia, and there were places I felt unsafe and that I would never consider visiting in Baltimore or DC!
In January of 2014, my wife and I began our most recent safari in Arusha. We spent our first day (a jet lag recovery day) walking the streets of Arusha and talking to people we met on the street. There was never a moment of discomfort. People approached us just to talk and to be welcoming. These are the real Tanzanian people.
Sealord said it better than I could..."if I died right now after doing this trip I would die with a smile on my face". Well, I've been smiling for the last 2 1/2 years thanks to four safaris in the most wonderful place I could ever imagine. We have met the people of Tanzania, Kenya, South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe, and, they have graciously shared their wildlife heritage with us.
I was born, went to school and worked in Washington, D.C. for years. Arusha has a long way to go just to cast a shadow on D.C. as a place of danger.
Don't worry, Sandy. Tauck will keep a eye peeled for your safety. Above all, you don't want to miss this life changing experience.
Leo M.