Sandip Hor explores the Indian Ocean archipelago that lures and magnetises visitors from round the world.
''I landed here 15 years ago and never went back,'' Nora, from Holland, tells me while sipping coffee at a cafe in Zanzibar, the exotic Indian Ocean archipelago 35km from mainland Tanzania.
I can't blame her; I am feeling the same way, after spending just a few days here.
Zanzibar has been luring outsiders to its shores for centuries.
While for early adventurers the attraction was spices and slaves, for the modern generation it is abundant sun, sea and spicy seafood, with the lively legacy of past colonisers an added attraction.
The Arabs were the first foreigners.
They landed about the 8th century AD from present-day Oman and Yemen, started growing spices including cloves and cinnamon and began exporting them to the Arab world.
Soon ivory and humans forcefully obtained from neighbouring coastal settlements became part of their trading goods.
Inspired by their success, wealthy merchants from India arrived and joined them in that lucrative trade.
Portuguese were the first Europeans to control Zanzibar.
They established a colony around the 16th century and ruled for almost 200 years until ousted by the Omani sultans.
The Omanis traded in spices and slaves to such an extent that Zanzibar became the most important trading centre in the Indian Ocean, earning evocative titles including ''Spice Island'' and ''Slave Capital of the World''.
They shifted their capital from the Gulf to Zanzibar and continued ruling, later under a British protectorate, until Zanzibar became fully independent in 1963 as a constitutional monarchy.
However the local Africans, many of whom were descendants of slaves, did not approve, and a bloody insurgency followed.
In one fateful night, the rebels killed more than 10,000 Arabs and Indians and formed a new republic which a year later joined mainland Tanganyika to establish the United Republic of Tanzania.
The world has moved on since then, leaving Zanzibar to find its own pace of life.
However, the vestiges of its history are impressive enough to reward visitors like me who believe in the saying that ''old is gold''.
The moment I step on to Unguja Island, Zanzibar's main population centre and entry point for most visitors either by sea or air, its dilapidated physical fabric strikes as expected but what surprises me is the Arabic appearance of the neighbourhood.
Its exotic seafront location attracts many to charge their batteries by sun and sea.
Some achieve this by doing nothing.
They sit back and unwind gazing at the sea from the balcony of their hotel room.
Or they chat with friendly locals on anything from sport to catch of the day at a seaside cafe.
When bored, they go for a swim or sunbathe, walk aimlessly along the white sandy coast or take a wooden dhow to an island.
Tourists mingle with the crowd at local markets, cheer on children playing football at the beach, or visit a church, mosque or a temple.
The adventure-minded opt for diving or snorkelling to explore multicoloured coral reefs and incredible marine life.
The historically minded, however, will explore Stone Town, the cultural hub of Zanzibar.
Lying in the heart of Unguja, this World Heritage listed fabled quarter of narrow alleyways is a journey into a another time.
Leftovers from early settlers and foreign invaders are noticeable in every corner.
Despite years of neglect, Stone Town's original layout and fabric are intact.
While the ruined waterfront promenade is lined with palaces and faded mansions, the cobweb of winding lanes are packed to the rafter with clustered buildings, mosques, temples, shops and thronged bazaars where trading goes on almost the same way it was handled 200 years ago.
There are people everywhere, Africans, Arabs, Indians and even European locals, joined by hordes of tourists from far and wide.
The place is bustling. There are about 1700 houses in Stone Town, most of them built from the coral which gives the quarter its colloquial name.
The key features of Stone Town houses are its tall windows with a type of louvre that can be moved up and down for air circulation, a stone bench called ''baraza'', placed along the outside wall near the entrance, long verandas protected by carved wooden balustrades, black and white marble tiles on floors and intricately carved wooden doors lavishly ornamented with brass studs and bas-reliefs.
There is no shortage of aide-memoire that speak of Stone Town's earlier prosperity.
On most visitors' itineraries are the Sultan's Palace, now a museum exhibiting memorabilia of the Omani rulers; House of Wonders, the National Museum portraying the island nation's history and culture; an ancient Omani fort with an amphitheatre; the Anglican Cathedral built on the site of the former slave market; the four-storey Old Dispensary building reminiscent of British-Indian colonial architecture; the Mnara Mosque, decorated with a double chevron pattern; and Tippu Tip's house (Tippu being East Africa's most notorious slave trader).
Stone Town locals are very proud of British rock star Freddie Mercury because he was born in Zanzibar.
The house where he lived the first few years of his life, before moving to India with his parents, is a major tourist drawcard, even if the otherwise simple and dilapidated dwelling doesn't strike you until one of the locals says, ''Freddie lived there.''
However, Freddie loyalists storm Mercury's bar just across the road and if lucky get to hear the line
''Bismillah! No, we will not let you go'' from Bohemian Rhapsody, composed with Zanzibar in mind.
Fresh spices and abundant seafood make Zanzibar a haven for gastronomes and a great place to sample some of them is at the open-air street food market, in the waterfront Forodhani Gardens in Stone Town.
Soaked in a magical twilight atmosphere, the precinct comes alive after sunset with food stalls serving cuisine delights, the quality and taste of some a challenge to the kitchens of five-star hotels.
Every evening, baba lishas, meaning feeding men, set up trestle tables, charcoal stoves and gas lamps to prepare the food on site.
The choice is regal; from grilled or stewed seafood netted that morning and coated with fresh local spices to baby goat meat curry served with parathas and tamarind chutney.
You can even get roasted breadfruit and bananas topped with melted chocolate.
While tasting a seafood platter there, I realise why Zanzibar weaved her charm and seduced kings, merchants and ordinary people like Nora into abandoning their native land.
Travel notebook
Getting There: Fly Emirates from Christchurch or Auckland via Dubai to Dar Es Salaam in Tanzania and then take a comfortable two-hour ferry service by Azam Marine and Coastal Fast Ferries (www.azammarine.com) to the island.
Visit: Historical sites, central market, spice plantations, slave caves at Mangapwani and Pemba Island to see bullfight.
Immunisation: Yellow fever vaccination is mandatory for entry to Tanzania and Zanzibar
