From the United States, one route is to fly overnight to London. Spend the day in London. Fly 10 hours the next night from London to Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. If you're lucky and able to sleep on the 2nd leg, you wake up a bit before flying by Mt. Kilamanjaro. That is when it really hits you. Africa.
The airport at Dar Es Salaam is pretty modern, but when you're driven to the other side of the field for the 20 minute flight to Zanzibar and see donkeys and ox-carts on the road, you know you're a long ways from home.
Once on Zanzibar and in Stonetown, the incessant hassling begins. They'll bug you to buy sunglasses, nuts, cd's, paintings, tshirts. They'll come up and be friendly, engage in conversation, then won't leave you alone till you or the place you're staying pays them for 'guiding' you. Whatever you do, don't say "maybe tomorrow". Because they'll be there waiting, telling you that you promised.
Mt. Kilimanjaro
