Madagascar Memories

---

I made a list of Madagascar oddities along the way, and just thought I'd make a quick note of anything I forgot to mention earlier.

The taxi-brusse - a poor man's best friend. A minivan packed full of people that goes when full (really full) and is piled high on the roof with bags, packs, and turkeys.

Domestic Animals - there ar eall kinds of animals running around any street, anywhere - chickens, goats, zebus. The zebu are not exactly running free, but they are often moved from place to place in large numbers and occupy the entire road so that you have to wait for them to move, or get them to move, before your taxi-brusse can pass. Also a lot of carts pulled by zebu.

Wildlife - lots and lots of lemurs in small spaces of forests still existing. Definately cool animals to watch. Alos bunches of chameleons and geckos, not to mention birds.

It's where Asia meets Africa - the people in most of the country are very Asian in appearance, due to the ancestry of the island, but it is part of Africa and acts like it to some degree. Africa time definately applies here.

Lots of children, all needing a kleenex, badly.

Wonderful baguettes - the French left a great legacy. And they cost about 200 ariary, and there are 2200 ariary in one US dollar.

Police checks - the taxi-brusses were always stopping for police checks. Not of the people but of the vehicle it seems, to be sure the paperwork was in order.

It's a country with toilets but no toilet seats. Where did they go?

Everyone is wearing discarded western clothing, donation type stuff with Disney characters. They refer to this as Dead White People Clothes, because obviously the person must have died for the family to have given away such nice clothes.

It's cold - did I mention this?

There are wonderful starlit nights - about the same as I saw in several African locations. No light pollution is a beautiful thing.

Coke is everywhere in the world, including here. But here it is in competition with Classiko.

There are terraced rice paddies with ducks everywhere.

Everyone is wrapped up in what looks like a sheet everywhere you go. Men in shorts, women with kids, everyone. Cheap jacket?

Not sure if this gives a perfect description of the country, but these things stood out the most for me.

---