Lilongwe, Malawi

Lilongwe, the capital of Malawi, not the most interesting place in Africa according to Lonely Planet? and to tell you the truth, they may be right. The old town, which is supposed to be the place where things happen, is quite relaxed and there?s not much to see really. Actually, I don?t think the central parts down here are much bigger than Evenskjer, except for the fact that more than half a million people live here.

So after two whole days, I can tell you that I look forward to going to Zomba and Cape Maclear. Zomba is the former colonial capital, and is situated in a beautiful setting below the Zomba mountains, while Cape Maclear is a backpackers paradise according to the very same book mentioned a little while ago.

The local supermarket is quite good actually. Kind of like a mix of Rema 1000 and Tesco, with imported goods from the US and Europe costing even more than they do in Norway. That should be protecting local businesses.

So what happened those last two days? Well, I have to tell you that it takes longer time to get used to being in Africa than I expected. I should have thought about this, but it is already 6 years since I was in Africa the last time. However, it is getting better every day I guess.

I keep meeting the same type of people all the time. With names such as James Bond, Jon Banana and Bona Africa, they are probably city originals. The obvious reason why they keep chasing me around the city is that I am European and have money. They are nice enough, but at some point they start trying to sell me things. Being Norwegian, I find it terribly hard not to buy something, so I already have some souvenirs.

Yesterday, the electricity was out most of the day, and that is apparently a common incident all over the country. Of course we couldn?t see all the mosquitoes hiding in our room, so I got my first five or six mosquito bites. Even after sleeping with a net and everything.

To those of you expecting postcards: I sent the first 9 postcards today, but I have a list of people that will get postcards later so don?t worry if you don?t get a postcard now. It will probably take some weeks anyway.

Finally, I haven?t been able to take many photos, simply because there is not much to take pictures of, and also because I don?t like putting my camera in people?s faces. That will probably also change when I go to Cape Maclear and Zomba. I will show you some photos of the hostel now, but they?re quite boring as there are no people in them. I promise to include photos in the update from Cape Maclear in some days. Leaving on Saturday. Yeah!

Just the signboard in the entrance


My bed. It's quite messy...

The hall.

Lots of big hugs from Big Bear who wants to hear more from you! Tell me how you are. Tell me about all the fun things happening wherever you are. And tell me what you think about this so far quite boring travel...