Do you know these people who just sleep well anywhere? Are you like that or do you belong to the group of people who only sleep really good at home? If you haven’t had enough sleep, or if your back pain is the biggest motivation to get up in the morning, you will not really enjoy the day.

UnboxingTanzania shows you how to sleep like a stone during your next holiday in Tanzania. And we report how we bought our mattress.

Some friends here in Tanzania helped us to find our new home in Dar es Salaam. The apartment was empty. That was exciting! When you buy furniture, you get to know the country and its people from a different perspective. We love that. Buying a mattress was at the top of the list.

You helped us already to choose the curtains! Have you seen the pictures in our Instagram account?

How to buy a mattress in Tanzania? What do you have to pay attention to? The first step for us is – interviewing friends and asking them to come with us and help us.

Mattress Size

So, first some measurement information. In Tanzania, they think in feet, not meters. That was a brain teaser, or as they say here “chemsha bongo”. The standard size for a double bed is 5×6 feet. That was also the case in our Airbnbs. Our bed in Germany wasn’t much wider either. However, 6 feet are only 1.83m. That means it will be a little short in length.

Our tip: When booking a hotel, pay attention to the size of the beds. 6 feet is 1.83 m. When you sleep on your back your feet might touch the mosquito net. 

In Dar es Salaam you’ll find some large shopping malls, where you can get mattresses and beds in the length, we are familiar with – 2m. Friends of ours also got their mattress there. However, the prices were a little too expensive for us. We’re not 6 feet tall, that’s fine.

However, we decided for a 6x6f mattress. We followed the tip of other Wazungu (learn more about Wazungu/Mzungu). We always sleep under a mosquito net here. And it is warm – to very warm. The advantage of the wider bed is that we have enough space, we lie comfortably and ! still don’t touch the mosquito net. We now have a square net that is attached with 6 hooks. But a round net is also very practical because it is attached to just one hook. We got that one as a gift from my sister & now we always take it with us when we’re on tour. You never know.

Our tip: In case a bed doesn’t have a net, buy a mosquito net and pack it in your suitcase. It’s not heavy and you spare yourself of unnecessary bites. (and malaria is no fun either)

The Purchase

Once again, we were grateful to be friends with locals who knew exactly where to go and what price to pay. We took a photo for you because the idea of a shop differs. It’s quite common to buy the bed frame at thrift stores. Mattresses, on the other hand, are bought new.

The clear recommendation from our friends was, to buy a mattress from “Dodoma Original”. This is a manufacturer here in Tanzania. The quality is therefore guaranteed – as long as you don’t fall for a fake product. So, we pay attention to the correctly printed hem and the original plastic packaging.

When it comes to determining quality, it’s quite simple here: the firmer the mattress, the better. So “hard”, as in rock-hard, concrete-like, tile-floor-soft. That didn’t immediately appeal to us. But once you understand the reason behind, it makes sense again – and you understand Tanzania a little bit better.

When we asked our friends, how much we have to spend on the mattress, they gave us approximate prices. However, they said they haven’t bought a new mattress in years. Our mattress cost over 300,000 shillings. For many families here in Tanzania, it takes quite some time to safe up on this amount. People buy mattresses – and also upholstered furniture – for durability, hence as hard as possible.

Although we knew how much we wanted to spend on a mattress, it took some time to agree on a price with the seller, his friend and the boss.

Our Tip: If you’re offered a chair at a sales pitch, take a seat. It will definitely take a while.

Transport

We haven’t decided to buy a car yet. We get along well with public transport. When buying furniture or mattresses, we thought we’d miss it. But we didn’t have to. There are Bajajis here in Dar es Salaam. We negotiated with the Bajaji driver and paid about 1€uro more than a normal ride. And then the four of us + driver + bought mattress went home.

The Bed Frame

We had our bed frame made by a local welder – according to our ideas and wishes. It is incredible just what the craftsmen here build, given the lack of tools. We don’t always get exactly what we order, but with willingness to compromise, our welder built a brilliant bed frame. The bed is a comfortable height (and we can store our suitcases under it). We also wanted a high headboard and two small attached shelves to hold our glasses, cell phones and a book – instead of bedside tables.

Bottom Line

We have to mention at this point that we sleep very well in our bed. And the degree of firmness has its advantages. We also use our mattress as an ironing board. We don’t need a tray for our morning coffee in bed. Nothing gets spilled, even when jumping around on the mattress.

Sleep is extremely important – so that you can approach people cheerfully and enjoy life as much as possible. As said, we sleep excellently on our Dodoma-original. When you visit beautiful Tanzania and use our tips, you will have sweet dreams.