Hello from Malawi!

21.30 Wednesday 12^th Jan

A lone traveller is never alone for long it seems. Before even leaving Johnanesburg or getting a chance to even get slightly nervous about pitching up in Africa on my own,  I had found a travel companion, with whom to embark on the first leg of my journey with. Ashley, a lovely gal from Jo-burg who happened to be travelling to the same hostel in Lilongwe. Having Someone to share you first couple of days in a new country is really lovely….would I have felt more anxious without her? Who knows, and who cares!

Flying into Lilongwe and looking down onto the lush, green, scarcely inhibited Malawian landscape instantly provokes a feeling of peace. It is so beautiful from the sky, and calm…so calm…even the small airport is still and quiet- full of friendly faces. I am met as arranged by a taxi driver who couldn’t be lovelier. Travelling from the airport to the city and taking in your first glimpse of Malawian life and its people…you realise it only going to get more beautiful.

The backpackers in Lilongwe greet us with open arms and many smiles then We walk into town along the road past 100’s of people leaving work in the opposite direction on their original ‘pashley’ style vintage bicycles.I ooh and ahh over these until I realise how sad it is that unbeknown to their owners, these bikes are worth so much in the uk now. Probably more than a years salary for some people in Malawi. I count over 100 of these within 10 mins. In the uk I once bidded on the exact bike…it went for over £300…

Lilongwe is smaller than I would ever have imagined, no high rise buildings, and given it’s the capital of Malawi, I’m amazing just how small it is, The dusty streets are lined with commuters, rammed taxi’s (combi style minibuses) and road side stalls- mostly selling mobile phones and sim cards.

 It’s pretty busy but the vibe is still very chilled. It’s an easy city to feel at ease in…I’m carrying my camera and I notice how many people glance at it, but not in threatening way. It’s a complete contrast to being in Johannesburg where I so often felt that my security was being compromised, especially walking around with my camera.

Everyone you pass says ‘hello..how are you?’ it’s a standard greeting here in Malawi  and its rare to pass someone that doesn’t acknowledge you in this way. The kind of automatic greeting you only seem to find in the uk when you are out hiking on a footpath on the English countryside. I try to imagine a life in St.Margarets where everyone you pass wants to say hello and ask you how your day is and what your name is….we would know each other so well, but it would take a hell of lot longer to get to Zorans for a coffee…..

Thursday 13^th Jan 2010

We are up at 5am to get a taxi into town to the bus station.,  Its hectic- people everywhere. I have no idea how we are meant to find our bus, but one thing you never have to worry about in Malawi is someone being around to help you with your luggage or show you where to go. As soon as we get out the taxi, we are surrounded by people wanting to take us to our bus…I’m relieved when a guy grabs my stupidly heavily backpack and pops it effortlessly onto his shoulder…but not before he reminds me he’s not doing for free. I’m happy to pay…I can barely lift my bag myself!

We follow him to our bus and I’m relieved when our bags get put on board with us under our seats as opposed to under the bus with everyone else’s stuff. I’d heard from another backpacker the night before that bags often go missing over the course of a bus journey. …

 Its not quite as ‘luxury’ as the website makes out and for a second I panic and wonder if we are on the right one, No reclining seats, toilets or air con and the seats have seen better days- the base of mine fell off when I sat down initially!  However, after looking around the rest of the bus station,  it doesn’t take too long to figure out that this IS actually the luxury bus after all. Its not too bad, and actually once we get moving I’m glad its not up to national express standards. This is Africa after all, and there is a natural pull to embrace what is real, and not hide behind western levels of luxury. With all the windows open, you are able feel more in tune to your surroundings, the sights, smells and sounds. During the entire 8 hour journey I don’t once feel the need to put on my headphones.

10 minutes into the trip I lean over the seat in front to say hello to the woman in front of me with the most gorgeous baby. The mum doesn’t waste anytime in passing her baby back over the seat to me. I can by the look on her face she’s thinking Instant babysitting service- ‘score!’ I let it bounce around on my knee for an hour or so, then as the bus gets a bit bumpier I pass her back over the seat to her mum, aware that she might actually throw up on me-with 7 hours to go its not an appealing thought.

Every so often the bus grinds to an abrupt halt on the side of the road to pick up people from the side of the road and drop people off. There are only a few ‘official’ stops in the larger villages, and here you get a swarm of people around the bus, selling food and drink to you.. Bags of bread, biscuits, bunches of bananas, cooked chicken, cooked mice (!) all sold on long poles so that you can take them in through the bus window. I’m holding back on eating or drinking too much, due to the lack of toilet facilities –say no more!!

We pass the most beautiful landscapes. Everywhere is so green. Small ‘banda’ style housing ( mud huts with straw roofs) are sporadically dotted alongside the road and are surrounded by crop gardens. Women and men work here, women carrying children on their backs as they do so. Children are playing with burnt out tyres, goats are roaming. All Scenes you have seen a thousand times of television, so much so that it almost feels like a film set.

The rest of the journey passes surpisingly fast. I chat to a very sweet young boy who is is on his way to Mzuzu to go to School ( he tells me he is 18- but I’m going with 14!). He takes it upon himself to teach me some of his local dialect. ( there are many differenent languages spoken within Malawi and I’m yet to fully understand quite how many and what parts of the country they are all spoken! ChiTombuka is spoken is Ruarwe). Its very tough to learn, especially given my incapacity for grasping new languages. Its so unfamiliar and this boy ( and most of the people at the back of bus) laugh at my rubbish attempts to remember what he is teaching me- I cant even remember the name of language he is speaking in! He resorts to writing it all down for me with the utmost precision and care.

It gets hotter and hotter the further north we go, but every so often we hit a bunch of massive clouds, and it starts to rain. Inside AND outside the bus. I don’t think I’ve ever had to wear a raincoat inside a bus before….

As we get closer to Nkhata bay, the relatively flat landscape changes dramatically- becoming mountainous with very dense green forest on the left hand side and Lake Malawi on the right. Its stunning. The roads get windier though the bus driver doesn’t let this effect the speed he travels at, and for the last couple of hours I  have to clutch onto the seats on front, to avoid sliding off into the person sitting next to me ( which I do many times- much to their amusement!).

Nkhata bay, is buzzing with energy and feels totally different to Lilongwe, which actually feels almost dull in comparison. It’s the most popular spot for travellers in Malawi and I can instantly see why. The centre of town sits in the middles of bay and is full of little roadside shops, and there is a supermarket, food market and a bank with a newly installed ATM. These all back onto the bay and then the stilted hostels, bars and restaurants are scattered along the lakeshore, on either side of the bay, Google Earth it, its gorgeous.

We get off the bus and are greeted by two very helpful, eager guys from the hostel, who bundle us into their car ( donning a massive Manchester united sticker across the windscreen). They then make an impressive attempt at ‘offroading’ in their ford fiesta style hatchback. It’s a beyond crappy road ( in fact not a road at all) that you really need a four wheel drive along, and we drive so slow that I’m thinking it may have been quicker to walk. Amazingly they do it without the exhaust falling off, though at several points I cringe as I listen to what sounds like the whole underside of the car being left behind.

Ill be staying at Butterfly space (www.butterfly-space.com) whenever I’m in Nkhata bay. Its beautiful travllers lodge, and run by a couple of English girls, Alice and Josie, both of whom I Instantly warm to- anyone would struggle not to…..

 Butterfly is not only a travellers lodge but a place for locals to convene too. The lodge also runs various community projects which amongst other things, include a youth group, and nursery. They also develop sustainable environmental and agricultural projects within the community.