Travel and Transport

by Zoë Ashwood

Day 2: 30^th June 2008

Arriving in Malawi

“This is it,” I said to myself as the orange seat belt sign finally appeared above me. Sucking on the umpteenth hard boiled sweet, the plane began to fall through the clouds.

And then I saw it… miles and miles of orange soil below me.

Those green trees.

And in the middle of it all, a tiny airport.

“Kamuzu International Airport,” I read.

The plane finally stopped and we disembarked down some stairs, feeling like movie stars, until our feet finally touched orange Malawian dust.

Looking around, I could see only a handful of planes, later finding out that only ‘Air Malawi’, ‘Air Zimbabwe’, ‘Ethiopian Airlines’, ‘Kenya Airways’ (we flew with them) and ‘South African Airways’ used this small airport.

After making our way through customs- and boy, did that take some time: our first true experience of “Malawian time”- we were greeted by a swarm of smiling Malawian bus drivers… tens of hundreds of thousands of men touched your arm; tried to help you with your luggage; offered you a “good price”… I don’t think I’ve ever been more pleased to see Mr Kamanga’s face than when he emerged from the crowd.

We were then shown to our bus: the bus in which we would be spending literally hours during our next two weeks.

Now feeling embarrassed to admit, my first thought as I saw the bus in front of me, was that it was very old-fashioned. Something you might have seen in Scotland half a century ago possibly.

The inside of the bus especially. The chairs were a light brown leather, some of them torn in places. Some of the seats had no leg room: you were literally forced to sit cross – legged for the whole journey. (As Thomas found out!) Some of the other chairs, made of an ancient light brown suede material, you had to fold down.

None of the chairs had seat belts. If we had crashed, we would have had a number of casualties. The exterior of the bus was, in fairness, more modern: painted a white with green and red stripes, if I am not mistaken.

Then. Compared to some of the other “buses” or “taxis” we came across in Malawi, we were exceedingly fortunate. I really began to believe Mrs Dallas had had to specify, when booking, that she needed brakes on the bus! All around us, we were able to see on the roads – bus – loads of Malawians. Only these “buses” were really pick – ups with a few men enclosed in the front, while as many men and women, boys and girls as possible plus a few more crammed onto the back. No roof over their heads.

Health and safety was not the issue in Malawi obviously.

No bus stops: just a few words to the driver: a quick “pullover” would do. You could get off wherever you so desired.

These “buses” along with the “taxis” of course, provided the main mode of long distance travel in Malawi.

We travelled on foot (the main mode of travel in Malawi – being both healthy and cheap – cheap being the essential criteria) as we entered the capital: Lilongwe.

Much later, when we returned to Lilongwe, I saw for myself a Malawian taxi depot. Many: maybe ten or even more, large mini – van/ mini- buses lined up outside a large supermarket, next to a busy road. These taxis, with their rows of seats crammed full on their journeys, provided many Malawians with a job. The head teacher of BAGSS, if I am correct, owns one of these to supplement her very poor teacher’s salary (education is not yet seen as a high priority in Malawi).

“Mirror… Now Signal… Manoeuvre!” W

We did see a few Malawians taking driving lessons in Lilongwe, but for the rest of our trip, we saw very few cars. Having spoken to some of the teachers at BAGSS, they were shocked to find that in Scotland, families can own two or even three cars. In some remote villages, people have never seen even one car.

Train – Spotting- I only saw one train line and absolutely no trains!

What we did see was the “only cargo ship on Lake Malawi” during our day trip to Nkhata Bay.

CO₂ emmissions, carbon footprints and food miles are empty terms in Malawi. I can see that most Malawians will travel only short distances for the majority of the time (though the girls at BAGSS come from all over Malawi and so some do have to travel a substantial mileage by bus to go home for the school holidays). Most Malawians will not leave Malawi during their lifetime. Mr Kamanga, who visited Falkirk High School in March, has only ever left Malawi to visit Scotland. Holidays are not high on many Malawians’ agendas. Malawians have bigger issues.

The day- to- day battle for survival being one.

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