This is my third trip to Malawi. Each time I come I see things that strike me as interesting or strange. I tell some people at home but I rarely write it in detail. There are many random things that I notice and I hope you’ll find them as amusing or interesting as I do.

First, the Malawians are always saying, “this is Malawi.” They say this when things are not moving along as they should be or when something strikes a tourist as strange. This is Malawi seems to be a national motto that explains all things weird and wonderful here.

Let me start with public transport. There are several ways to move from one place to another. One mode of transport is to hitch a ride on the back of a bicycle. There are seats secured on over the rear tire and some even have a handle to hold on to as you ride along.

This year I tried a bicycle for the first time. I was afraid at first but quickly relaxed and enjoyed it. I’m sure the guy cycling was being very careful knowing he was carrying a mzungu (white person).

The cost to ride about 2km seems to be about 35 cents. One can also send goods from one place to another on a bicycle. I would be apprehensive about this but Mabvuto often did it last year to send meat from the market.

Another mode of transport is to catch a ride in the back of a pick up truck. I did this many times last year. It can be comfortable for a short ride but the wind and dust gets annoing after a while. The trucks are often packed full of bags of maize, cabbages or other goods to be sold at market. It can be difficult to climb over all of these items safely. Again, this is a cheap way to travel.

Minibuses are always an adventure. These are vans consisting of three or four bench seats. The rule is no more than 3 people to a seat but it seems many drivers don’t take this rule very seriously. Yesterday I rode in a minibus with at least 5 people per seat and one man sitting on bags of maize at the front. Another trip yesterday had me packed in among 20 litre jugs of cooking oil and 35kg bags of maize.

People are squished in among these goods and have no choice but to be friendly to one another. Personal space doesn’t seem to be of much concern here. Minibuses can travel far but often break down or stop and start to let passengers on and off. They are not all that efficient but are affordable. Our trip yesterday was about 100 km and cost about $2 each.

Finally coaches are the preferred method of transport. A coach has 5 seats across with an aisle down the centre. The aisle is narrow. The seats are narrow and not always comfortable. When the coach is full, it leaves the main depot. By full one would assume all seats are occupied but that is not the case. Full means not one more person can cram themselves into the aisle. Chickens are often found on people’s laps or under their seats. Luggage is precariously piled at the front of the coach. There are luggage compartments at the bottom but it seems they are rarely used. Once, a bag fell from the overhead compartment and hit me on the head. The coach is cheaper than the minibus and travels slower. It generally stops only at actual depots as opposed to a minibus which stops wherever it is requested to stop.

Few people here have cars. Fuel is expensive and cars are beyond most people’s budgets. As a result public transit is always busy and slow.

There is no such thing as a schedule. A bus may sit for hours waiting to get full. The first time I traveled by coach I was furious because it sat in the depot for 40 minutes before it left. I was squished and standing and tired before we left. The ride was 2.5 hours. I stood all the way. The next trip, I decided to take a minibus. This time I sat in the depot for 2 hours and 45 minutes before the bus left. Even the Malawians were angry about this one!!

So those are my observations on public transport here. It’s not always very very enjoyable but sometimes interesting and surreal. I will try to remember my transit experiences here when next I want to complain about the TTC.

Tags: itatu, itatu orphan care, jennifer douma, malawi, orphan care, this is malawi

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