Starting Home Part 2

Having left my overnight stop in Lilongwe I arrived at the airport in plenty of time for rmy flight. I waited at the sole international check in desk and took the opportunity of it being empty to weigh my bags as I had no access to scales in Blantyre. To my relief all was fine and after about a 10 minute wait the check in opened and  I had handed by luggage over, I must say with some concern. When I left Heathrow my bags had a bright green label attached advising that the bag must be transferred at Addis Ababa. No such system seemed to be in place at Lilongwe, just a bit of confusion followed by the stacking of the bags in a separate pile in a corner of the check in area! However, after 12 weeks in Malawi I was reasonably used to the relaxed attitude so was not actually as worried as I would have been when I first arrived in Malawi.

The flight to Addis was completed without incident on a nearly new plane, in stark contrast to the outbound trip which was completed on an aircraft that must have been close to loosing it's airworthiness certificates. So when I arrived at Addis airport I tried to get in to the Sheba Miles lounge [African air miles!], having joined up to this scheme run by Air Ethiopia,  just after I had flown out in March. I was greeted by 2 fairly large security guards who then referred me a member of the local airline staff who looked up my details, and gleefully announced that I was not allowed in as I was only a blue member, not silver or gold. And they say Britain is still riddled by the class system! So having proclaimed grumpily to anyone who would listen that I thought the scheme run by the airline was a waste of time and was not worth joining, I wandered off in search of a berth to rest for the 5 or 6 hour wait for my connecting flight. I say anyone who would listen but actually it was only the 2 guards and the staff member because she was such a successful gatekeeper there was nobody actually in the lounge!


So a comfortable seat eluded me but I managed to find a quiet place to be able to sit and read to pass the time. Now call me grumpy, and I know that many will, but why do people feel the need to sit next to me when there is a whole bloody airport to sit in. And with 3 children under about 6! A family arrived and deposited themselves next to me so I decided that if I was to be able to get on with my reading I needed to move. I offered them my one seat as well as the ones they had already taken and headed off. They looked rather hurt but I have spent enough time sitting with my own kids when they were small to know how annoying they can be for people without kids. So I buggered off for a bit of peace.

After a coffee and several hours reading I decided that the time had come to make myself comfortable for the flight, and wandered off in search of the facilities. As I came out of the loo I casually glanced at the departure screen and noticed that the flight had changed it's departure gate to the opposite end of the airport. Not a large airport so I strolled down there and went through security very easily as the gate, in contrast to the original gate, was almost clear.

Having gone through the screening I collected my bags together and looked for the seating, only to be greeted by no empty seats and a large queue. Being British I, naturally, started queuing and waited about 15 minutes and moved 4 feet. I had been looking round and noticed 2 people just wander off in another direction and decided that I would go and see where they were going. So I left the queue and as I approached saw a notice stating that the entrance was for Lufthansa flights only. Bugger,  back to the queue. Waited another 10 minutes and this time managed to move about 15 feet so things were looking up when an English guy came up and asked if the queue was for the London flight. I quickly advised him that I did not know but was reluctant to leave the queue again and he offered to ask at the desk which he did. It transpired that I had been queuing for no reason as the London flight desk was past the Lufthansa one.

So I happily left the queue and went to the desk indicated, which had 2 people checking tickets. As I passed the desk I checked with one of the staff that this was indeed the London flight check-in. Confirming that it was he indicated that it was the far desk that I needed. I looked up and could not actually see the end of the line! I trudged off to find the end of yet another queue and started again. This time progress was even more glacial than before, and as the flight was actually due to be take off in about 45 minutes I was starting to get a bit concerned about actually getting on the flight. After about 35 minutes and a journey of some 9 feet suddenly a member of the airline staff decided that enough was enough and he just waved everyone through to the tarmac and waiting aircraft boarding buses. A quick check of my boarding pass and I was on the bus and in the aircraft in about another 10 minutes. As I got on the aircraft I was pleasantly surprised to find that I was able to turn left to the good seats. Or so I thought!

I found my seat with plenty of legroom so I settled in and decided that this would be a good way to end 12 weeks overseas. All was fine until shortly after take off when they pulled the curtain to seal off the business class just a row in front of me, preventing me seeing the screen that was displaying flight information and various films for the journey. And a baby started to cry. However, I decided that I was not too worried as I intended to sleep as much as possible on this journey so after a meal served at about 2am, I settled down to sleep. Unfortunately that's when I found out that the seat did not recline as it was tight against a bulkhead behind. So sleep was elusive, as along with the lack of recline there was a hole at the base of the seat back and hence no support for my back. I was given a blanket to stuff in the hole but that did not really help. The lady in the next seat had managed to fall asleep, and left her reading light on which was now burning very brightly overhead. Normally not a problem except that when I tried to find the switch I found that it was down the side of the arm of the seat and the occupant had fallen asleep against that particular arm. I either had to try to turn it off and risk the lady waking up finding me groping around her midriff or try to sleep with a light burning my eyes out. I chose the later for fear of arrest on the tarmac at Heathrow!

Although sleepless the flight passed fairly quickly and I was just starting to enjoy a really good sunrise when the stewardesses came round and closed all the windows blinds to keep out the light. When I asked why, I was told that 'The sun will wake people up.' Talk about adding insult to injury for someone who had hardly slept a wink! So the remainder of the journey was spent listening to music and soon we started out approach to Heathrow, and flew in down the Thames estuary and over central London. What a splendid sight it was with the various landmark buildings and bridges easily visible along the way. Tower Bridge, The Belfast, the London Eye and the Palace of Westminster were all laid out below as well as many of the London parks, although I could not readily identify them. In the distance the arch of the new Wembley stadium which even unlit in daylight is quite impressive.

Landing was smooth and the transistion from aircraft to baggage claim to the arrivals area was accomplished in a little under 45 minutes, with all bags arriving intact and I was soon able to greet my family and start the final leg of my journey home.

And much to my wife's surprise I was content to sit in the passenger seat and let her take me home, something I would never have done before I went to Malawi.

Starting home.

I'm writing this having safely completed the first leg on my journey back to the UK.

However, that does not hint at the interesting journey it was. The coach arrived a few minutes late at the coach station, which is based at the side of a filling station. Normally that would not be an issue but, at present Malawi is suffering severe fuel shortages so whenever there is even a rumour of a tanker of fuel arriving cars and vans descend on that particular filling station. Over the last two days there have been trucks and vans just parked outside a filling station, waiting for a promised delivery of diesel!

Anyway, back to my coach. Having fought it's way through a queue at the coach station as the filling station actually had a tanker unloading fuel so the numbers of cars just seemed to explode, it arrived about 10 minutes late, which under the circumstances was pretty good.

It was not the normal luxury coach that is used for the journey, but a slightly down at heel looking beast, but it was there to start my journey home so it was fine by me. I loaded my bags on the luggage compartment and climbed aboard to be greeted by sagging seats, very limited leg room and a generally grubby and uncared for look. It seemed pretty cold and I soon realised that the sliding windows did not close properly letting in a rush of cool air. And to compound matters one of the windows was missing and had been replaced with 2 or 3 sheets of plastics taped in place, actually expertly. I guess they had done this before.  However, I had 2 seats to myself and all was well.

We set off on our 4 hour journey about 20 minutes late and slowly made our way out of the city of Blantyre en-route for Lilongwe. The initial part of the journey was slow, making our way past the various small trading centres that line the route close to Blantyre. Then on the far edge of the urban area of the city we stopped for the first of 4 police checks. After this the journey would mainly be on the M1, the main north-south artery in Malawi, so that would enable us to travel a little faster. Which normally would be fine but when this coach's speed got over about 45 kph, it started it vibrate very noisily. As most of the remainder of the journey was completed at speeds considerably over 45kph I think I now have something resembling the industrial mining injury 'white finger' affecting my nether regions. They have only just started to recover this morning as I write this, some 12 hours later.

After about an hour and a half darkness started to fall and it seemed for all the world as if the driver was trying to conserve the life of his headlight bulbs as even in the gloom it was difficult to spot any sign of headlights. One thing I have learnt in Malawi is that headlights are seen at times as an optional extra!

Eventually the lights appeared and we sped through the darkness towards our destination, with seemingly ever increasing speed mostly using the centre of the single carriageway road [I know I said it was the M1 but it's all relative] on the basis that, as the coach was larger than most oncoming vehicles they would smartly get out of the way. And I must say, it really worked well! One or two interesting moments when a truck far larger than us approached but we passed by unscathed, by I felt the proverbial fag paper.

Another unusual technique used for overtaking, involved speeding up behind whatever vehicle it was, flashing the headlights furiously, [maybe that's what he was saving them for!] and the pulling out at the last minute to sweep furiously past whilst at the same time honking the horn to warn the hapless driver we were there. As if they needed reminding after that approach!. Again this worked well except when passing a large lorry when we had to go slightly 'off-road' on to the broken edge of the tarmac, and beyond, to find the space to get by.

In fairness once I had accepted that these guys do this journey most days and I had yet to read of a coach from this company having a fatal accident, I decided that my odds of arriving in Lilongwe were probably better than even, relaxed and almost drifted off to sleep. Only to be woken by another flaming police road block. These are really a pointless exercise as they mainly involve stopping the coach, having a quick chat with the on board hostess [forgot to mention her, she certainly helped relax things!] and then after, on rare occasions, a perfunctory look in the luggage compartment for I know not what, we were waved cheerily on our way.

So on arrival in Lilongwe only about 10 minutes late, I was collected by the local project driver who kindly waited while I collected a much needed Indian takeaway and some coca cola and then delivered me safely to the project house in town.

Well after consuming the aforementioned Indian with gusto I retired to a very clean and comfortable room and slept the sleep of those who had briefly stared at their own mortality, very disturbed! But this morning, what a difference. The sun is shining and the room had the best shower I have had in a long while. That being said it does not take a lot to beat a shower that only works if you hold the shower attachment over your head and wait for a dribble of water that could be by turns, either freezing cold or scalding hot, with no warning of the impending approach of either. So after a long and seemingly luxurious shower I am sitting writing this looking out over the well cared for garden and drinking coffee and eating the toast prepared for me by the excellent staff here.

From here I will shortly be taken to the airport to check in for my flight to Addis Ababa and from there will embark at 00:40 Friday morning on my flight back to Heathrow. It's unlikely that I will be able to access the internet at Addis so I will post another update when I arrive back in the UK.

Day to day life

I think it's probably time I posted some thoughts on what life is like in Malawi as I will be departing in just under 2 weeks now.

From my observations I would suggest that there is, I guess obviously, a large divide between the standard of living in the towns and cities and the rural communities. I'm not sure I expected it to be so wide but the reality is that Blantyre feels and acts, in the main, like a western city. There is a definite daily commute although the majority commute on foot, but there are still enough cars to get traffic jams some mornings, although again it's all relevative, as the most we have ever been delayed in about 5 minutes!

Almost everyone appears smartly dressed as it's one way for the poorer in society to blend in by making sure they look smart. Talking to the locals it's common to see that. There is still a fairly large number of people who are dressed not too smartly but they tend to be working as street cleaners so don't need to be smart. The only evidence that is visible of different levels of society is a street market near the centre of Blantyre, but even this is fairly prosperous looking.

However, when you get just a short distance from the towns and get in to the rural areas and go through a trading centre, you start to see definite signs of poverty. There are normally street markets beside the main roads and these are very dusty and dirty affairs, selling everything from shoes and clothes to freshly butchered meat. The concept of food hygiene has not made it to rural Malawi yet!

I've always made sure that I ask for my steak well done, and I think this illustrates why!

So the trading centres are actually closer to what I had imagined 'real' Africa to be but are still quite prosperous in comparison to some of the small villages I've seen, but more of that later. The trading centres are basically larger settlements that have grown up around a particular part of the country, but with no discernible reason other than, perhaps they are at the centre of many smaller villages. The picture below illustrates just how busy they can be, especially as pictured, when a bus stops. 

All the vendors that can, rush to the vehicle that's stopped and tries their best to sell something to a captive audience.

Further down the chain are the smaller villages, a little off the beaten track, where most people seem to survive purely by subsistence farming on the poor land that they have available. They will grow crops, primarily of maize, normally trying to replant the land as soon as it's been harvested although I don't know how successful the second crop is. This maize is then cut, laid out on blankets to dry, and then ground at the local mill. This, however, could be several miles away and you often see bicycles laden with 3 or 4 large sacks of maize being taken either to the mill or possibly in a really good year, to market. The really affluent amongst these villagers will even have a grain store, constructed on blocks to keep it above the ground, of reed or rush walls and roof. This means they have sufficient to see them over the lean periods so they can spend money on other items, instead of food.

Unfortunately no shots of grain stores but this is of a fairly typical small settlement seen all over the areas of Malawi that I've seen. 

Something else that is a striking difference from the UK is the transport system. There is a railway system of sorts but has not run for many years so all you see are a couple of really rusty sections of overgrown track. The road network is very good in general, and far better than I had imagined before I came out here. The main roads between the major towns are generally tarmaced although to varying degrees of coverage. If drivers in the UK were to drive over here there would be a huge outcry as potholes are a fact of life, even on the main roads that seem to have the capability of breaking even the soundest of suspension. However, the side roads are mainly not tarmaced and most people have a 4 wheel drive to cope. The most noticeable difference is the side roads in Blantyre. They are tarmaced but very potholed, and repairs consist of cramming broken bricks in the holes without bothering to compact them. Why bother when the the traffic will break them down for you! However, it's not very efficient as the bricks only last about 3 weeks before the are completely disintegrated.

Road safety is another interesting concept in Malawi. Seat belts are compulsory and if you break down, which is fairly common, you must place a warning triangle in front and behind of your vehicle. However, that's probably as sophisticated as it gets because most days there is news of another road accident with multiple deaths. It's sobering for a westerner but seems to be tolerated over here. The other very different thing is the overloading of any vehicle if at all possible. This ranges from bicycles carrying 4 or 5 crates of beer, sacks of maize as mentioned before, huge bags of charcoal and even live animals. No photos but I've seen goats and chickens carried on bikes and have also seen a photo of a pig strapped to the back of a bike.  Not very comfortable for the pig but it's probably on the way to market anyway!

Because not everyone has transport you often see people sitting on the back of lorries, and clinging to the top of piles of whatever is on the lorry as a load. 

This was a lorry I followed back from one of my day trips and is typical of this mode of transport. Another common sight is for trucks to be overloaded and seemingly very dangerous. Here is another shot of a slightly overloaded timber lorry that I passed with extreme caution.

So  a view of many different aspects to life in Malawi but the thread that runs through everything is the friendliness of the people, and as the tourist brochures say, Malawi really is the 'Warm Heart of Africa'.

Working in Malawi

A good working week to report.

Busy all week preparing and then delivering a 2 day business planning workshop to local businesses, all of whom are involved in the grain trade in some way. Many were large companies with estates, some were smaller and buying and selling grain and others were small farmers. They were all members of a trade association, who engaged us to do the training, and seem to be very positive about helping the sector to progress. I had been co-opted on to the team as one of the local consultants was taking an external exam on the second day of the workshop.

It was a tiring 2 days, but the team, expertly led by fellow Brit Mike Mytton, did a good job of engaging the various types of businesses there. From a personal perspective it was good to be able to do some client facing sessions before the end of my time out here, which is now fast approaching.

Amazingly I have less than 4 weeks before I complete my Malawi Malarkey. It seems in many ways that I have been here far longer as the routine seems normal and, whilst certainly not at the stage of being 'old hat', the first excitement of being in a vastly different place has worn away a little.

In other ways the time has flown past and I seem to have been busy since I got here, with different types of ways to spend my free time than I have experienced anywhere else. I'm lucky in that I've managed to do all the things I set out to complete, with the exception of visiting a tea plantation, but I hope to rectify that on my last weekend here. However, if I don't manage to get to the tea area, I will not worry as Malawi has given me more than enough to remember it by already!

It's a small world!

So another holiday weekend here in Malawi, but plans for an overnight stay at Majete wildlife reserve were thwarted due the lodge undergoing maintenance work and being shut. Frustrating for us but I think they are concentrating on being ready for the high season for game watching which, I think starts about July when the grasses have died back and viewing is easier.

However, being typically English people my fellow consultants and I decided that we would not be deterred and planned a day trip. Inevitably it meant being out in the midday sun, and Noel Coward was absolutely right, as we were the only people out in Majete during the day.

We booked a game drive, in a 4 wheel drive vehicle with raised seating, complete with driver and scout, who was incidentally the same guy who had scouted for us one month earlier and set off to spot game. After a slow start to proceedings we started to come across the usual array of antelopes, although the Impala were fewer than when we visited before. We discussed whether the planned introduction of lions and leopards had been brought forward, causing this demise. However, we were assured it was just too hot.

We soon spotted a herd of Zebra in the bush, quite difficult to see as they are superbly camouflaged against the various branches and leaves of the bush. An excellent example of how something seemingly so striking just seems to vanish. Nature at it's finest! I was able to get a few photos to prove we had seen them but it was a challenge that the automatic focus on the lens was only just able to cope with.

 I think this illustrates the point fairly well!

One of the certainties at Majete is viewing hippos, as they tend to just lounge around in the river all day. We arrived at the viewing area on the river bank and there were, indeed, about 15- 20 hippos in the water. Much closer to the bank we were on, was a solitary hippo who had obviously been sent to Coventry, as most of the other's had turned their backs on him. He did not seem to worry, but did take a keen interest in a bunch of Mazungu, [white European] tourists interrupting his wallowing. After much blowing of bubbles and splashing of the water, by the hippo not me you understand, we decided to move off. Just as we turned away, I caught him starting to move, quickly turned back and was rewarded with this classic hippo shot.

Definitely one for the family album.

So we traveled onwards, and visited a viewpoint looking over the mountains of neighbouring Mozambique, and to the eponymous Mt. Majete. We then returned to the main gate, feeling we had already seen a pretty good variety of game considering the time of day. However, one last surprise was in store for us. John, our scout, suddenly spotted an elephant about 40 or 50 feet away, busy defoliating a tree. We stopped and watched for a while, and once full, the elephant turned, flapped an impressive set of ears and departed back in to the bush. A great way to end the trip and we then made our own departure having had a great day in the sun.

As you may have noted, the title of this blog has nothing to do with the content. However, I could not pass this sign, near Blantyre, without taking a picture.

So you see, it is a small world!

Another day another 'green'

Well, not having posted for a while I think an update is due.

Work has suddenly got busy as we have just got 3 contracts that are starting at the same time, and all with fairly short completion dates. Obviously better than being too slack but it would be easier on resources if there was a bit more time available. Oh well, having spent a fair part of this weekend working I guess that will be the norm for a few weeks.

The 2 new consultants have settled in quickly but it seems to have put too much strain on the house. First my air con unit packed up, then one of the loos filled with boiling water, destroying all the fittings and leaking all over the floor. That was 3 days ago but still no repair. Then this morning awoke to a power cut and not hot water as it's pumped. So off to work after a cold wash and a moan because the generator has not been fixed. We've been asking for the repair for as long as I've been here, although threatening to pack up and go to a hotel and then home if it was not fixed seemed to focus minds. Repaired but no petrol, but at least we’re a step closer.  It's frustrating because it's the small things that help keep the sanity intact.

Still that’s enough bitching from me.

We had a great get together last Friday with most of the people from work. It was good to meet in a social setting and to have a few drinks and get to know a little more about everyone. We used the braai, [bbq] that we had got from the local market which worked well, although we could have done with the meat being in the marinade for a while longer as some, especially the goat was too tough. Still there was a good supply of 'greens' the local term for a bottle of beer, as 90% of all beer here is brewed by Carlsberg, and comes in green bottles. Simple really.


More Malawi Malarkey sometime soon.

Back from Liwonde and The Cape.

A belated post but just updating the trip I took over the Easter break with Jim and Ian, the other 2 UK consultants our here at the moment, to Liwonde National Park and then on to Cape McClear. Well after a fairly long drive we arrived at Liwonde and found that the accommodation we had booked had actually closed about 1 year ago! As it was about 16:00 and miles from anywhere we were, to be honest, slightly concerned but in transpired that the telephone number had been taken over by somewhere called 'The Bushman's Boab' and once we found that, we did indeed have rooms. And very good they were too, a lodge in the middle of the bush which was extremely well appointed and comfortable. Excellent food provided and a great place to stay. Always dreamt of a night in the bush and this more than lived up to expectations!

Up early and on a game drive by about 07:30. Liwonde much bigger than Majete but actually seemed to more sparsely populated. We did however, see several troops of baboons, the obligatory antelope and a couple of large elephant herds, although only at a distance. To make up for the lack of mammals we saw a varied and quite large number of birds. The most striking one was what I think was a Little bee-eater and I have included a picture below.

 An interesting few hours but, on reflection, I think I preferred Majete. So from Liwonde another drive of a couple of hours on to Cape MacClear, on Lake Malawi and a much hotter and more humid climate. Arrived in the middle of the afternoon tired and dirty so appreciated the air conditioned rooms and the cool shower in our beach front hotel. We decided after a stroll along the beach for about an hour, that we would eat at the hotel, and as it had a very well stocked bar the evening started early. I will skip the details except to say that an excellent meal was rounded off with a few whiskeys and, speaking for myself, a good night's sleep!

Next day Jim and I had booked a boat trip to a nearby island to possibly do some snorkeling and then go and see the fish eagles, the symbol of Malawi, feeding. We had expected a large sedate boat, but for some reason the Dutchman who booked as well wanted to go alone. I'm sure I showered that morning!!

Not to be denied a speedboat suddenly appeared and we were invited aboard and told we were going to pick up 2 more people and then go to the island. Sounded good and it was until about 30 yards form the shore the outboard motor cut out, and despite the attentions of all 3 crew members failed to restart. It soon became apparent that the current was drifting towards the middle of this 300 mile long lake, so we suggested that someone should swim ashore to get help. Better than that all 3 jumped off, as if abandoning ship and thankfully towed us to shore. After about another 20 minutes normal service was restored and we were on the island in no time. A great place to relax and I spent the morning reading and finishing the book I had started when I came out here. Decided against going in the water after reading that swimming in the lake was a great way to contract bilharzia [look it up] so just had a scramble round the rocks until lunch. After a lunch prepared by the crew of b-b-q'd fish and enough rice for about 20 people. most of which was cleared up by the ghekkos, we got back on the boat and went off to the eagles.  By now it was well past lunch and to be honest the eagles were really too full to be bothered going after another small fish thrown by some tourist boat. However, one greedy individual decided to play ball and the result is here.

Another good evening, but minus the whiskeys as had booked an early start to go for a walk in to the hills behind the lake. Breakfast a 07:00 and walking by about 08;00 through the village and in to the wooded slopes of the hills. After about 2.5 hours decided I had gone far enough as it was extremely hot and humid but Ian pushed on to the top and down the other side for a round trip. I came back with one of the guides and got back to the hotel after about another hour or so. Very hot and sticky so the cool shower cam in handy again.

Ian did not appear for about another hour so I was glad I did not go with him. Anyway, after lunch we started the long drive back and got back to the house at about 17:30 exhausted but happy. A good weekend and Ian, who goes home next Wednesday had a good send off.