We checked out of our strange beachside hotel at about 10. “Strange how?” you may be wondering. We are not too picky with hotels and generally don’t stay in the nicest ones, but in this one we kept wondering if the staff had ever had any training or even stepped foot in a hotel before. For example, at 9:30 last night (Nick and Millie were already sleeping) someone knocked on our door to ask what time we were planning to check out the following morning.

We have moved on to much fancier digs in Stone Town. I cashed in some credit card points to get a few nights free at the nicest hotel in town. After staying in Airbnbs and low-midrange hotels, this feels very luxurious.

We took a 1.5 hour taxi ride from the top of the island into Stone Town. Millie was very well behaved the whole time and listened to music while looking out of the window. Then when we got to the fancy place where we need to be respectful, she turned into a little terror. We were early and she whined loudly, multiple times “when can we go to our roooooom”. When the kind receptionist was trying to explain nearby sites, she kept interrupting him and whining at me. Afterwards we explained that the way she was acting was very rude and she yelled at the top of her lungs “I am not RUDE!!!!”in the busy lobby. It was not great.

She got it together once we were able to check in. She loves when beds have mosquito nets like this and calls them princess beds.

She spent about 30 minutes using the little reading lights and pretending to be a dentist for me and Judy. I was very in character as the patient and then couldn’t stop laughing when I realized she got distracted and I was just lying on the bed like this. Balloon on eyes, illuminated teeth.

We left the room and took a walking tour of Stone Town. It has interesting little pedestrian streets. It is known for its carved wooden doors.

There are possibly more cats here than in Istanbul.

We visited the East Africa Slave Trade memorial and exhibition. It required a guide to enter and he showed us around the four main sites: the church built atop the trading post, the memorial, the chambers, and the exhibition.

I never know what to expect with Millie in these types of things, but also don’t want to shy away from them. History is important even for little kids and even if it’s hard to talk about. She took most of it in and asked questions. She missed some details while the guide was explaining and asked him “what did they sell at this market?” When he answered “slaves” she asked “what are slaves?” And so on.

When we were in the chambers, which is where enslaved people were held for days before being auctioned off, she asked where they’d pee. The guide explained that they’d go in the trough running down the middle. She asked “so is that why it smells so bad in here?” Kids, gotta love them.

It was a difficult visit but I’m glad we went. The museum exhibit was very informative and helped give context to Zanzibar in general, and why it’s such a melting pot of cultures.

We walked back through Stone Town and back to our hotel, where we watched the sun go down over the ocean.

Once the sun was down we ventured out to the nearby night market for dinner. Something we haven’t loved about Zanzibar is the constant hustling from locals. It is common for guys to walk with us and say the exact same script “Jambo, where you from, what’s your name, first time in Zanzibar?” Before trying to sell us something. This market was that on steroids, with every single stand having a guy pressuring us to go look at what they’ve got. We did a lot of firm “no thank yous” which ruins the experience a bit.

We walked a loop and realized that were four types of stands on repeat: 1. Drinks and fresh juice 2. Schwarma 3. Meat and fish skewers 4. Zanzibar pizza / crepes. We opted out of the skewers. There were just so many that it would be impossible that they were fresh. Nick said “I’m too old to get sick from mystery meats on sticks” In our 20s we’d pride ourselves on eating anything but those days have passed.

We did try Zanzibar pizza, which is not pizza at all. It is a sort of meat and vegetable omelette cooked into a thin dough over a grill. We loved it and got a second. Added to my list of things to make at home. We also had a shawarma bowl.

We watched a group of teenage boys run and do tricks into the shallow water below. Millie loved it. Nick and I, certified old people, worried they were going to get hurt. I couldn’t stop thinking about the horror stories of spinal cord injuries boys get from diving into water.

Everything was lively and loud, but also overwhelming. We walked back to the hotel. Millie had her first bath in weeks, since everywhere we’ve stayed has only had showers.

Nick and I have agreed that we will strategically dip into using our remaining points every 3 months. It feels like a real treat to stay somewhere so nice.