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Our guidebook describes Lilongwe as "the blandest of African capitals." This did not adequately prepare us for our complete lack of attachment to this place. The city is not aesthetically pleasing or convenient. It's not loud, dangerous, quirky, or particularly poor. While "bland" would normally conjure the image of a place somewhat cleaner and more oppressively orderly than Lilongwe, it nonetheless is the best description we can find. Perhaps the strongest support is this very paragraph, which resorts to describing Lilongwe only by what it is not.

We are staying in "Old Town," which you might suspect to have some kernel of character. In reality, it lacks not only fudge shoppes and saltwater taffy, but also anything really old. Since the capitol was moved to Lilongwe only in 1975, this previously existing part of the city, with its unappealing string of 50's and 60's cinderblock structures arranged as a disconnected strip malls with no sidewalks became known as old town.

The new "City" "Centre," with its ugly 70's, 80's low-rise office buildings scattered randomly over huge tracts of grass and dust, make the strip malls of "Old" "Town" look like the model of pedestrian friendly design. One can only hope that City Centre has been designed to accommodate vast growth, as the government expands to offer health, education, and other basic services to a bigger fraction of the population. Perhaps such new construction will somehow stitch this mess together in a way that it resembles a place.

Thankfully, we recently found a pocket of urban interest. Across the Lilongwe River - which is neither particularly polluted, nor particularly clean, and often has a medium number of people washing clothes in it, though not particularly colorful clothes - lies the sprawling, gritty bus transit hub. Deep within its confusing, dusty, food-stand-lined streets, there is a large thriving market with heaps of disassembled minibus taxi engines and chassis; table after table of dried fish from Lake Malawi, organized into little 80-cent heaps; piles of tomatoes, leafy greens, pineapples, and colorful old ladies shucking fresh peas into lovely woven baskets; and a circle of food stands where we enjoy a typical 75 cent heap of chicken and greens with nsima.

We expect to be spending our remaining week here divided evenly between the various government and NGO buildings, food stands at the market, and the club house of the golf course where we are camping. (JJK)

October Update: With an extra couple weeks to appreciate Lilongwe's unique charm, we have really come to like the place - especially the people! And we're not just saying that because some of them may be reading this.

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