Thursday 1 December 2011

Lilongwe




The early cab was a cautious move but one I could definitely agree with so we awoke barely after sleeping to make our way to the airport in the dark. It was still dark outside when we reached the airport and also dark in the airport. It was shut.
I'd never been to a closed airport before but TC was a little more comfortable with this and made his way to the front door where the security belts were and then woke up the security guard. I would say that this was not the greatest security regime I have seen at an airport and actually still pretty inconvenient. We spoke to him and he opened up the airport for us and scanned our bags.
As I had noticed on the way in to Dar Es Salaam, the airport was pretty small and clearly nothing was going to be open when we had asked the airport itself to be opened for us. We sat and chatted for a bit until the desks were open and then eventually made our way through the whole airport to get on the flight. It was fairly uneventful as we waited for what seemed an age until we could board the Kenya Airways flight to Nairobi. As we were going to Lilongwe, this seemed a little out of the way but my friend had assured me this was better than going direct[1] as Kenya Airways were much more reliable. It is, as they say, all relative.

We ended up in Nairobi Airport and had a drink for an hour or so until our connecting flight – I would get to know Nairobi Airport's single curving corridor quite well over time.
On the flight to Lilongwe, even though we were checked in early, we were seated apart from each other. I, fortunately, was seated with a very pleasant Danish gentleman of similar age who was coming back from Copenhagen to Lilongwe which meant he was on his fourth and final leg. Before taking off, however we had been informed that our luggage would not be coming with us. A simple announcement as it was not us, particularly, it was all the luggage for the flight. There was a fuel crisis in Malawi which was given as the excuse for this and so our luggage would be coming on the next flight. Everyone else seemed quite prepared for this kind of thing and did not really complain much – my Danish neighbour said he almost always had problems and so packed accordingly with clothes in his cabin bag. He was working for the UN and we coordinated so that we could all pick up our luggage at the same time using a UN vehicle.
Lilongwe is quite a low density city and is much more spread out than I had expected and the route from the airport was full of greenery and even the more built up areas seemed to have few houses. The fuel crisis also made it a little harder to get around and plan things and on top of that I was still feeling a little rough after the ferry trip the previous day and so I thought I would do very little in the day. TC was back at work so we got a cab[2] back to his place so he could drop his stuff off and go straight to work. I briefly met his (pretty lovely) housemates and then had a nap. A fairly long nap....


I was in Malawi for a few days and I had planned to see more than Lilongwe but I was not feeling great and there was still the luggage to collect. As a result, I thought I would just have a relaxing few days in Lilongwe. It is a pretty quiet city with not a great deal to do in the context of tourism but there was sun and no work – and for a lot of people that is all you need for a great holiday.
In the next few days, I did not venture too far (in the daytime) with one trip to the airport to get the luggage and another trip to have a wander around the central part of town.
The trip to get the luggage was coordinated with the Danish guy and so I went with some drivers from the UN to collect our bags from the airport. I was a bit surprised that Kenyan Airways did not, at the least, offer to take it into Lilongwe itself as the fuel crisis meant the journey to and from the airport would not be cheap – we were just lucky to meet such a helpful person on the plane.
The journey into town involved an eye-opening trip on a minibus which was kind of fun. The buses (classic Toyota minivans, in the main) run certain routes but only when enough people have boarded so you have to get onto the minibuses and then wait – though sometimes they will drive around looking for people to get on. It is quite a strange experience but quite enjoyable. As public transport, I guess it is efficient in terms of asset use but not time but a fine example of private provision. The town centre (that I saw, anyway) was fairly simple and the modern part of it felt like a suburban shopping centre/mall as I imagine they have in North America – a massive car park surrounded by shops. I also walked up the road towards a mosque and a couple of open air markets. As I was walking back, a guy asked me about my camera and he told me about himself and some (fairly dubious sounding) stories about his job and his work with printing photographs. He was harmless enough and I bought him a drink and chatted for a bit after he asked some more questions. He wanted some of my photos so I gave him one of my email addresses (which I usually use for spam – this may be the one I have given you...) to contact me though I never heard from him again. It was an enjoyable hour or so though so it was fine
As I was staying with TC and his house was quite near a well known hotel, I also went there a few times to sit and read in the sun or to eat. Actually, TC's housemates often did similar to work as the electricity and internet connections were a little more reliable [than non-existent].
In the evenings, we (as in me and TC after work) went out for some dinner in a few different places (including the local hotel to watch Liverpool actually win a football match). One night we went to a local bar where there was a weekly party and I met a load of TC's friends and another night we went to a local friend's house to watch a film. I discovered that getting access to films and TV programmes was very important and this was a hotly traded commodity in the ex-pat community – to the point where we watched some truly awful shit (which I can genuinely not remember 100% the name of, though I think it was "What's Your Number")and everyone seemed to like it just cos there were moving images on a screen. It was still a fun night though.
I went back to London the next morning via Lusaka and Nairobi without much incident. The 8 hour wait in Nairobi airport really really felt like no incident. Nairobi Airport has a very strange aesthetic with a large semi-circular, wide corridor linking the gates. It also has the feel of the 70s (or the imagined 70s in my case) with the shop signs and lighting – it reminded me a little of my childhood trips to Bangladesh actually (and I don't just mean it used to feel like a long wait until the end).
My trip ended in Malawi with not much travel, not many photos but a few enjoyable memories. I don't usually have relaxing holidays but my illness kind of forced it on me. It was nice to relax and spend time with interesting people. The fact that I spent time with a friend almost exclusively for a week or two and we were still friends at the end may well go down as one of my finest achievements in life. 



Well, I think we are still friends.


1. As it happens, the flight that went direct to Lilongwe was run by an airline that went out of business that week or month. Or the route was cancelled, I can't remember. Whatever it was, another good shout by TC.
2. as mentioned, there was a fuel crisis and so the cab cost was pretty “western” in magnitude at about US$40 for the 20km or so that we travelled.