Well, to say Zanzibar is a paradise, would be an understatement. Its magic can't really be captured in words; although I would try to, in tits and bits in the numerous travelogues that I would be jotting down in the coming months. Deciding the topic to go forward with was the first hurdle, and I zeroed on writing about the most unique restaurant of this African island because the experience exceeded my expectations!

The Masai men adding local culture to the ambiance

Mind you I am talking about 'uniqueness'. It's not about Michelin star quality or an extravagant affair like dining in a submarine (Mauritius) or in an aquarium (Maldives) or up in the sky (Dubai). It's unique as per Zanzibari topography (the drama of low tides and high tides) and believe me, it was really incredible.

The Rock restaurant definitely has the most beautiful scenery till now I have been. And the fun part? You have to take a boat to reach it during high tide! Basically the restaurant is built on a big piece of rock; in the Indian Ocean. During low tide, when the ocean recedes upto 2 kms 😆 (Peculiar Zanzibari phenomenon), you can walk to the restaurant over the sea bed. But during high tide, not only you have to take a boat, but the ride is rather bumpy, because the ocean gets so wild!

The boat is complimentary by the restaurant, although some people do tip the sailors. We intentionally reached during high tide as I wanted to soak in the full experience! It was a 5 minute boat ride, rocking from side to side and getting almost fully wet. Since the restaurant is built on a rock, you have to ascend the steps only to discover a mesmerizing 360 degree view of the area. 

The Rock is situated on the Pingwe Beach, and there is a swing on the beach that gives an excellent view of the restaurant in the backdrop. The owner is an Italian and the place serves a mixture of all kinds of cuisines. You get fresh sea food, pasta, Swahili food and desserts and coffee and of course drinks. They are priced in USD, and this restaurant is the costliest in the entire island (that was expected). However if you just want the experience and don't want to fill up your stomach and empty your pockets, you can order coffee and a dessert. We had a full lunch in Michamvi an hour before, so we ordered an iced coffee (5USD) and a coconut tiramisu (12USD) The experience was of course; priceless. The coffee was lovely and so was the tiramisu. 

We dressed as the national flag of Tanzania 🇹🇿

Since it was my pre birthday celebration, I made sure we were dressed nicely for family pictures. Too sad our tripod broke right at the airport; hence we were solely dependent on the public for our family pictures. I dressed my family as the flag of Tanzania, and although we got a few pictures together, none of them are satisfactory to my level, ie for enlarging and framing.

I would always suggest to sit outside; unless it's the middle of the afternoon with the sun glaring. The ambiance is more than magical; with sand beneath your feet, the ocean breeze ruffling your hair and the soothing turquoise waters of the ocean on three sides. It basically feels like a stationary cruise. I could literally spend hours there, if we didn't have a long drive back to our resort. We had rented a car for our entire Zanzibar stay (7 days) so zooming around the island wasn't an issue. My husband loves to drive and we tried to explore every nook and corner of this picturesque Tanzanian island.

We spent 1 and a half hours there; left at 6 30 PM, when it started getting dark. After reaching the shore, me and my daughter pranced around in the water, which was mind you absolutely chilling. But who cared! We were headed back to the resort only, so just chuck the wet clothes!

Cute souvenir shop inside

We had a great time on the swing too, in the dark, in wet clothes, with the mobile flash on for taking pictures. Would it even count as an excursion if I don't take enough captures? 😂

I strongly feel that one should definitely give this place a visit, no matter where you are staying in Zanzibar.

Which has been your dreamiest restaurant experience till date?

This blog post is part of the blog challenge ‘Blogaberry Dazzle’
hosted by Cindy D’Silva and Noor Anand Chawla.

 Title: The Great Indian Tamasha

Author: Rasika Bhatia

Genre: Memoir/ Anecdotes

Pages: 170

Blurb: The book is an easy breezy read; very short chapters; each narrating a different wedding prep story. What I loved most is that Rasika narrates in the first person, as if she is telling the story there itself. Something really sad about this industry that I came to know is the pending payments and running behind them. I used to think that chasing payments is very much pre dominant in the influencer industry, but it seems that it is so much rampant in the wedding industry too! Who wants to earn bad omen by holding back the money? There is even a chapter where a client comes back running with impending payments because his daughter's marriage was already on the rocks.

From facing corrupt politicians to donning the hat of a detective, to being a counseller to the groom's mom to being a philanthrope, Rasika does it all. 

Almost every anecdote has an illustration; which is so graphic that you can totally visualize the entire situation. This is what you get when a visual artist wants to write her memoir.

This book may not be fiction/imaginary; but is way more entertaining! It's hilarious most of the times, nail biting at some places and even sad. 

I just wish Rasika revealed us the endings of the stories. I know she is bound by client manager confidentiality but you become so invested in their lives that you just want to know how those things culminated.

Cheers to Rasika for being so professional, brave (defending mafia and all) and such an excellent writer. It was such a fresh take on the glitzy wedding industry that we see from outside!