Friday, February 19, 2016

My Parts Unknown: Tanzania And Malawi – Recap

Tanzanias are an exotic lot. There are about 125 ethnic groups mostly of African descent. There are also those from Arab, Asian and European descent. There is one Albino in approximately every 1,400 births in Tanzania - the largest proportion in all of Africa. There was a gallery on the ‘ghost people’ of Tanzania at the National Museum in Dar. Some albinos have been victims of violence in recent years. This intolerance towards those different from us saddens me.

The name Tanzania derives from the two states that unified to create the country: Tanganyika and Zanzibar.

Tanzania is apparently one of the poorest countries in the world although you’ll be hard-pressed to see beggars or panhandlers or homeless people. Well, I didn’t come across any in Dar or Stone Town. China is one of its three largest trading partners.

When I was trying to catch some kip at the airport the night I had to camp there, I overhead some Nigerians (from what I gathered from their conversation) that they find the country very peaceful. However, they did note that the education level in the country is still lacking.

Malawi projects itself as the Warm Heart of Africa. And I did find some of its people way too friendly. Too friendly that the men can approach a foreign girl and just shake hands (sorry, it’s not in my culture). Too friendly that they can spot from a distance a foreign girl sitting alone has some gold jewellery on her and decide to approach her to sell things.

From what little I saw, I surmised that Malawi is poorer than Tanzania. It is what Malaysia used to be 50 years ago. Most people are poor. Everyone walks everywhere. The more fortunate ones have bicycles. You do see brand new cars in Lilongwe though. My guesthouse owner told me his sister and one brother left to find work in South Africa because the job prospects in Malawi are low.

Malawi is very green. It is very much agriculture-reliant. The soil must be very fertile because it’s green everywhere. The main crop is maize. There were heavy rains and floods last year which destroyed the crop.

I read that fuel is expensive in Malawi (well, I don’t know about now what with the plummeting global oil prices). Malawi has very good roads though, even in the countryside. It’s a good thing there aren’t many vehicles on the road to spoil the roads. There are many police check-points all over the country, just like in Lebanon.

I don’t know if Malawians aren’t familiar with foreigners because they sure look and stare at you like you’re a freak. Most speak good English so you can presume they have high contact with foreigners or learned it in school.
  
People in both countries have very strong B.O. It must be due to the relentless heat (I was starting to smell like an African too). But then again, the Middle East is also blessed with strong sunshine and high temperatures but they don’t smell as bad.

Here are some pictures of the trip (you may have seen some of them before):



 Darajani Market, Stone Town, Zanzibar
 The Old Dispensary, buildings and an alley in Stone Town, Zanzibar
 Fishing activity, Stone Town, Zanzibar
 The Palace Museum, Stone Town, Zanzibar
 The House of Wonders and The Old Fort, Stone Town, Zanzibar
The doors of Stone Town, Zanzibar
 Cats of Stone Town, Zanzibar
 Cats of Stone Town, Zanzibar
 More cats of Stone Town. Zanzibar
Dar Es Salaam
 Monkey Bar, Mangochi, Malawi
Cape Maclear, Magochi, Malawi
Malawi