Advertisement
Published: September 25th 2009
Ornament
Mufasa BackpackersThe morning I leave for Lilongwe, it's overcast and spitting with rain, the eight okta cloud cover greying out the pre-dawn light to the point where I am reminded of wintry teenage paper rounds. The AXA bus from Mzuzu to Lilongwe bears little resemblance to that from Karonga to Mzuzu. The latter's aisles were off limits to humans and cargo while the vehicle was moving, the former's aren't. I have babies' arses swiped across my face as their mothers force their way down the aisle, offspring secured to their backs by the ubiquitous
chitenges. Half way through the journey I acquire a (seated) neighbour whose hip size is roughly twice mine, and spend the rest of the trip perched on the edge of my seat, displaced by a mass of buttock that surely should require two tickets.
I've been told that Lilongwe's name comes from the fact that it's a "long way" from somewhere but this sounds like garbage. Its layout and infrastructure annoy me immediately, though in mitigation it does possess an Area 51. Taxis from the bus station to my (nearby) intended guesthouse are initially offered at the same price as my 6.5 hour bus journey from Mzuzu,
and even bargaining doesn't produce a satisfactory reduction. The first two guesthouses I try are full and the third has only one room left, which I take at 50% more cost than anywhere else I've stayed in Malawi. My bedside table contains two (unused) condoms, both of the chocolate-flavoured variety that is the only kind I ever see advertised.
An initial walk around the Old Town reveals banks (each with enormous ATM queues), large supermarkets, Internet cafes, and assorted non-Malawian cuisine - a perfect backpacker waypoint. There's a similar selection of Rastas to Nkhata Bay. I also find slightly cheaper accommodation in a much more preferable setting.
Nightfall reveals a citywide shortage of streetlights. I've heard that Lilongwe is dangerous after dark, but had assumed this was because of potential muggings rather than merely the risk of falling in a hole. There are also regular powercuts to ensure the few, the happy few, streetlights can't permanently shine. My first evening there, as I'm returning to my guesthouse in the dark, I trigger a barking frenzy among the neighbourhood's dogs.
In daylight, I see any number of knock-off concepts, from Argos (a mere supermarket here rather than a
catalogue-shopping experience), MacDaud's (Your (sic) lovin' it), and an overvowelled Iron Brew drink in Shoprite. Shoprite itself is a revelation, with different cheeses and even pasta sauces. Though I'm the world's most reluctant cook, I can't resist the lure of boiling some water for pasta then draining it and adding a stir-through sauce. Sadly, this precipitates a running battle with the guesthouse staff. Clearly used to a selection of inept foreigners, they continually clean up after me even when I'm still using utensils, and I eventually have to tell them to leave my stuff alone, threatening violence if they wash any of it up.
I do dine at a nearby Indian restaurant, simply for the novelty value. It's a weird experience, as the first thing the waiter says to me - in hushed tones - is that if I'm going to tip him then I should do it into his hand, as if I put the tip in the payment wallet then the owner will take it and not pass it on. This is uttered before I've even had a chance to see if the waiter is deserving of a tip. I can recommend Huts for its food, but
Mask
Mufasa Backpackers the owner/staff dynamic clearly needs some work.
Dull but possibly useful info i. I took the 6:30AM AXA bus from Mzuzu to Lilongwe, paying MK1180. It took 6.5 hours.
ii. I paid MK700 to get a taxi from Lilongwe bus station to Crescent Guesthouse. I think it should be more like MK500.
iii. I first stayed at Crescent Guesthouse, paying MK5500 for a double with TV, floor fan, hot water, use of a kitchen, and brekkie (the biggest yet - fruit, cornflakes, sausage and scrambled eggs).
iv. I next stayed at Mufasa Backpackers Lodge, paying MK5250 for an en suite double including Continental breakfast and use of a kitchen (though bizarrely the sink was in another room). The staff were a little overeager to clean up. Beers cost MK180.
v. You should change $ at the FX bureaux rather than in banks because the rate is much better. Similarly, don't use ATMs. Interestingly, the law is that you can't keep any FX.
vi. Minibuses to the City Center go from next to (and on the same side of the road as) Shoprite. You'll probably get one to Area 12. The fare is MK80 and it takes 20 minutes or
Mask
Mufasa Backpackers so. The route is along Kenyatta Rd (most of the journey), then right along Youth Drive then left up Convention Drive. For the Mozambique Embassy, you need to get off when you turn right onto African Unity Avenue.
vii. Don't waste your time by arriving when the Mozambican Embassy is supposed to open its doors (8-12 M-F, 2-3PM for pick-ups) as they'll be ~20 minutes late. You need two photos and have to fill in a form and hand over MK6,700 for an "urgent" single entry 30 day tourist visa (the non-urgent, at MK5,800, takes 10-15 days hence is useless for most travellers). Note that the date of entry you give on the form will be the opening date of a TWO month period in which you have to use your 30 days. Hence, if you're not entirely sure when you'll be entering Mozambique you can put your entry date as the earliest possible and that should mean you'll be covered. It's same day processing.
viii. You can pick up a minibus back to town from African Unity Drive on the other side of the road from where you were dropped off.
ix. Postcard postage is MK110 to Europe, MK115
Ornaments
Mufasa Backpackers to USA.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.102s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 15; qc: 31; dbt: 0.0491s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
deleted_49612
deleted_49612
Great photo captions! :D Is that photo of Queen Vic supposed to show there are no hard feelings, or is it to make you feel at home or what. We would never hang that thing in a hostel in Ireland.