Large buses are a pain in the rear. They are typically over crowded, make lots of stops at police check points, and rarely have enough seats for everyone who as purchased a ticket. My first experience with taking one was heading up the M5 Lakeshore road to a friend’s site close to Nkhata Bay. Let’s just say I’ll never again take a coach if I can help it. It’s a “fight for your space” situation which doesn’t work well for me. Although, you do learn pretty quick that if you don’t sit down in the seat before agogo (grandma/grandpa) then you’ll be the laughing stock, to yourself mostly. That, or else you’ll be standing for the 5 hour bus ride.
I managed to win musical chairs about an hour into the ride, for which I was extremely grateful. I’ll be honest to say that when it comes to public transport I’m already in a crummy mood because there is so much you have to deal with. So when a group of 5 boys in the isle next to my seat kept putting their hands in my face I went American on them: told them to knock it off. But you learn pretty quickly to simply accept the cramped situations or else it’s going to feel like an even longer ride. I finally arrived…9 hours after having left my house that morning. You wouldn’t believe how good a cold shower felt!
Mini buses. I don’t take them if I don’t have to. Short distances are fine, such as around the city or to the boma for stock up on food. These buses are the rejects from Asia, occasionally decked out in foreign characters and often in marginal shape. Now, when you hear that this is the most common mode of transport for Malawians you’d think they would be up to snuff. Wrong. They often have broken seats, mismatched or bare tires, broken doors, no seat belts…name it, and it’s got it. As if those aren’t reason enough to try and avoid them, the drivers have been known to drink which has resulted in hundreds of accidents around the country, commonly killing majority of passengers. Even worse they will pack as many people as possible simply so they can make some more money. I’ve counted at least 28 in one bus thus far (not including babies, chickens, or goats). Just when you think no one else can squeeze, they manage to find space.
They aren’t all that bad when going short distances, however since their predictability is commonly unknown I wait to pay when we arrive. To make it fun (mostly to keep myself sane in the rides) I figure if I can get everyone laughing or smiling on the bus then it will be fun. This is usually achieved by greeting everyone in Chichewa and they think it’s the funniest thing that an azungu speaks their language. The kids are a little tougher, but if you greet them with “Bo bo!” (simple slang) then they usually perk up…or cry. One time I was doing some silly dance as I got on the bus and a couple minutes later I was offered 20 kwacha by a guy to dance with him. It’s even funnier that kids here will say “Give me my money!” (yes, they say “my” not “your”) and yet I was given money for doing some silly chicken dance.
Matola’s are quite a ride, no pun intended of course. Essentially it’s like riding in the back of a truck bed, but sometimes similar to a flat bed. I’ve done some traveling up in the Northern region and matola’s are some of the only transport you can get. Typically they pack people’s goods towards the back and strap it in. It’s another situation where the conductors will pack in as many people as possible. If you’re lucky (or unlucky, depending certain factors) you’ll get a seat (read: a spot to pretzel yourself into). Women prefer to “sit” since most of them have children, while men usually stand. It still blows my mind how decently behaved the children can be while not crawling out of the matola. The trick is to get to a relatively empty matola and steak out your seat while it fills up. This is a time not to be nice or generous by moving to accommodate other people. You have to fight for your space!
The most fun I have had on a matola was going from Karonga to Chitipa. All the PCVs in the north have talked up that 4+ hour ride in the back of a truck, under the sun, with dust everywhere (the road isn’t paved yet). So while doing some site visits this last week and going that way, I figured now was the time to see how long I’d be able to handle it. Fortunately I got there early and camped out right behind the cab and sitting on top of my backpack. It quickly filled up and I had lost my leg space to three men and had a guy standing to my left on the rail of the truck the whole ride. My comfort “bubble” was quickly popped and my solution was to put on some music to keep myself chilled out while looking at the changing scenery. As usual, it didn’t take long to get a conversation going with someone and before I knew it everyone was laughing with me (or at me, I never know) while speaking Chichewa. Despite being covered in dust and dehydrated, I can safely say it was my most fun public transport experience yet.
This leaves us to the last option, but my favorite option. Hitching. The standard for getting a hitch is standing at the side of the road and waving your arm frantically. I’ve had to wait up to an hour for a hitch but have been picked up in less than 5 minutes so the trade of is pretty good. The condition of hitches are hands down better than mini buses. Typically the people who stop are well educated Malawians with nice cars which are in good shape. Occasionally I’ll get a free coke or maybe African cake (delicious muffin) and good conversation. The other side of "occasionally" rests on awkward/creepy men who just want a phone number and sometimes sneak in a marriage proposal.
The best hitch I’ve had yet was with a guy from Blantyre going up north to Mzuzu. Justine and I had met him on the way to a clothes market the previous week when he picked us up. He mentioned he was going north and I changed my travel plans to ride with him. Getting from my site to Mzuzu is safely a 2 day, 1 night travel and so this offer was one I couldn’t turn down. Especially when it’s a “bwana” (rich) ride there are usually perks. The ride included air conditioning (a luxury!), all the new dance hits back home, sandwiches, beers, two stops along the way including Kande Beach and Nkhata Bay, and dinner at the Sunbird Mzuzu which was a T-bone steak with mashed potatoes and apple pie with cream for desert (you’d better believe I ate it all!). He easily spent my monthly income on the entire day. Aaaand that’s the point in which it got creepy and a seemingly gentleman turned into a sleaze. How do you sleep at night with a family back home and hitting on women the age of your daughter? Goes to show they exist everywhere. But I can’t complain about that steak :)
Hitching also crosses into the realm of hopping into the back of pickups. I’ll be honest to say this is nothing I would ever do in the states. But there is an element of excitement and freedom when you’re riding in the back of a truck. You get to appreciate so much more of the scenery opposed to seeing it all from the inside of a car.
All in all, travel in Malawi can be an awesome adventure. It is such a treat to have fun conversations with people, even if it’s half in English and Chichewa with universal charades thrown in to distinguish any confusion. Knowing the language can go far with people here, as not all white people who visit Malawi will take the time to learn how to converse. Goals for my days are trying to make people laugh, and if I have done so then I feel accomplished. Everything I do is a cultural exchange and some of the best places for those are enroute to any desired destination. My experience here would not be the same without coaches, mini buses, matola's, or hitches. Especially when connections you make result in a delicious desert of apple pie :)
New buddies. Rode in that same position for 3.5 hours!
(Karonga to Chitpa)
A little snug :) looking out of the matola.
(Karonga to Chitipa)
Back of a trailer...I always wanted to ride in one!
(Chitipa to Kapoka)
Back of a pickup, at least kept the dust down
(Kapoka to Karonga)
I've been toying with the idea of doing a tour of the USA and Canada hitching the whole way for a few months!
ReplyDeleteThe likelihood of getting hit on drops pretty quickly when you're a man, but so does the likelihood of getting picked up!
Keep on adventuring!