Lusaka & Africa Time...

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I was at the bus station at 8.30 all ready and waiting for the bus to depart at 9, like the timetable said it would.

9 came and went. As did 10. We finally set off at 10.45 headed for Lusaka the capital of Zambia, which in itself is classified as being 'Somewhere in Central Africa'.

The first part of the journey I started to talk to a white Zambian who started to explain the problems black Zambians have. The jist of the conversation was that they are lazy and dont plan for the future. At first I put this down to racism however his seat on the bus was taken by a a black Zambian student.

On our way up we started talking about what Zambia, and Africa, was actually like too live in. We also discussed the attitude of Zambians too life. The jist of it is that people are still living in the past along rural tribal lines of "We have enough for today, so why worry about tomorrow" in turn this has lead to inefficient farming practices and the lack of planning has resulted in Zambia not fullfilling its potential.

So it wasn't racism after all.

After the 6/7 hour bus ride we finally arrived in Lusaka Intercity Bus Station, and a chaos of taxi drivers, hustling for business, luggage handlers eager to off load the bus and a million potential pick pockets.

I quickly grabbed my bag and decided to reward patience by asking a taxi driver who was not hastling me to take me to the next backpackers place I had chosen too stay at.

We arrived at Cha Cha Cha and booked in. I then got a chance too look at the place I would be staying for the next 3 nights.

I had heard that it had become run down and was being renovated now that new management was in charge, but those words didnot prepare me for what I saw.

The place is dirty, noisy and it was being renovated on the cheap which would put it right back to square one in about 4 weeks time. On top of that it is also the most expensive place that I have stayed in a dorm.

The next day I found myself trying to sort out my visa. I was advised against taking a bag to Ciaro Road (the center of Lusaka) as there are bag snatchers and pickpockets, so no photographs again.

I turned up at the Tnazanian Embassy and handed over my passport for processing, at which point I was told that I needed two pasport sized photographs.

That ended up taking up most of the day.

The next day I decided that I really should make an effort to get to Friday prayers for once so after handing over some washing I set off once again. I turned up just as every one was leaving. Having nothing to do all day I stayed after and just just preyed on my own. It then started to rain. Two hours later the rain had actually died down enough for me to leave.

I then started to realise somthing...

Every where I had gone it rained within 2 days of my arrival, usually signalling the end of a couple of years of drought...

Coincidence? Well I've got the rest of Africa to test the hypothesis out.

Back to Cha cha cha to find that my washing had been drenched while out on the line, and probably wasn't going to dry in time for me to leave tomorrow. Not necessarily a bad thing...

Saturday was spent catching up on email and other mundains bits and Pieces, however Saturday evening was abit more interesting...

I was trying to talk to this person, however he was boring. I went off saying that I had to get a drink and would be back in about 5 minutes. On the way back to the dorm I noticed this one person sitting on his own and decided to say hello...

What happened next? I found out that he was heading to Livingstone the next day, and that he lived in Vic Falls, the place where I would be spending a month at the lion place.

We started chatting and made plans for the next day.

Sunday arrived and after drpping Sanele's girlfriend off at the airport we went to the bus station to catch the one o'clock bus back to Livingstone.

We bought our tickets at 12.30. 1 o'clock came and went. Thats okay, this is Africa, its not like I actually expected the thing to leave on time.

2 o'clock came and went, as did 3. This was getting beyond a joke. We actually borded the bus at 4.45 and left at 5. 4 hours late!

The other thing that really annoyed me was the luggage handler telling me I had to pay for my my luggage. I asked him why. He told me that it was standard. I then asked him why I had to pay when coming from Lusaka I didn't have to pay. I kept on isisting for an explination. After I pointed out that no one else was paying he got embarrassed and just walked off in a huff. However I had just been exposed to yet another aspect of Zambian attitude that thinks that all foreigners, in particular white people, are made of money...

After having a laugh on the bus with Sanele about it we were off to Livingstone.

At last...

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Comments

[Big Dave]

Sehail, Sehail the . . . 'rain maker' ! ! !
Can I be the first to offer my management skills! In respect of looking after your interests when you, ahem we make money by sending you round the world to cunjure up rain for areas which need it!! Keep the blog coming, especially as I am finding it a little releif from waiting for the 7th Harry Potter. Speak to you soon. Love Big Dave