“Hold on, but loosely,” he said. 

The blood flowed back into my knuckles as I released my grip. 

“I don’t want to go fast,” I reminded him, “Safe and slow is good.”

Whilst deciding to take a motorbike back from the airport in Dar es Salaam might seem slightly reckless at first sight, I promise it wasn’t. Honestly mum (if you’re reading this!). 
The domestic flight terminal is a good 15-20 min walk to the main road where the buses go from and it was getting dark. I’m feeling more comfortable in Dar now, but I try to avoid being out by myself after dark. This seemed like the best option – and avoided changing buses at the central bus station at night.

But more to the point I trusted this guy and his bike looked well-looked after. As much as I could tell…

And he did go slowly.

So that was how I took my ever ride on a motorbike. Not only that but with a backpack too!

The security guard at the hotel  chuckled as we arrived and just said, “Welcome back.”