Roosters crowed, dogs barked, and the din of various city noises filled the cool air. Before the sun was even up, people were running to work- whether that be the maintenance of a shop, cultivation of a rice paddy, or carrying of vegetables to a nearby market.
By mid-morning, the city was a hectic jumble of human beings going from place to place. Buses were backed up along roads, street-sides were crammed with vendors, and some of the mangiest-looking chickens I've ever seen could be seen hopping through yards and side-alleys.
Though the city is rife with poverty, sketchiness, and other things that an American tourist would find frightening or off-putting, it did have its own unique charm. As Wikitravel states:
"There are actually a number of things to do in Tana and, if you can see beyond the poverty, the city is really attractive and a photographers dream. The architecture is a mix of French Countryside and Indonesia. Rice paddies scattered all over the city add a brilliant green to the pastel terracotta of the buildings. The market is wonderful, offering many unique souvenirs"
Indeed, the strange-looking trees, cobblestone streets, and stacked houses covering the hills had a very unique charm to them.
Here are some other unique aspects of the city that I noticed while I was in it today:
-Despite having a population of nearly 2 million, there are NO streetlights or stop signs. Anywhere. Drivers constantly cut each other off, honk at pedestrians, change lanes without signaling, and come very close to running people over.
-Rice is grown within the city limits-- within every available space.
-The spoken languages are French and Malagasy. A small but significant portion of Tana also speaks English.
-The entire city becomes DEAD QUIET after 10 pm, but gets extremely busy as soon as the sun rises.
-Merchandise tends to be quite inexpensive.
-You can buy pineapple-flavored Fanta!
-You can smoke INSIDE buildings! (who cares about fire hazards?)
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