I have decided that I am not overly fond of bicycle taxis. These exceedingly popular contraptions consist of a cushion that is placed over the back wheel of someone's bike. You simply sit on said cushion and off you go! Minus the fact that you're squashed onto the back of some tiny bicycle, one of the main problems with this form of transportation is that Malawians have no sense of space. They just never seem to think 'That is a huge truck. I am a tiny bicycle. Maybe I should move over for the vehicle that is about 1,000 times bigger than me.' But alas no, while the truck is riding our rump the Malawian just keeps bicycling away at his slow pace. Even though I'm shouting move over from the back. Not that the weird foreigner on the back of their bicycle is going to influence him any more than the truck.
The other issue with my bicycle taxi ride to the market is that it seems to be a very infrequent occurrence to see a white woman on the back of one. Essentially every person I pass points and stares open mouthed. I'm pretty sure at least a few of them had to catch flies, they had their mouths open so long. Anyways, long story short, Malawian transports gets an A for usefulness and an F for everything else.
Overall my time in Malawi has been fun and challenging in a way that Switzerland and New York can never be. (I mean c'mon do you break down every time you drive anywhere besides Malawi?) I wanted to use this post to share some last anecdotes and pictures from my time in Malawi before I start the next part of my African adventure!
Based on long observations, one last aspect of Malawian culture that I find interesting is the lack of food variety, largely because of a simple lack of desire for variety. If you go out to a restaurant in Liwonde, and it doesn't matter which, you will be given a vast menu with dozens of choices. But then the waiter will say that the only thing they are actually serving is either fried chicken and chips (French fries) or goat stew. Any day of the week, any time of day, that is the only thing you can get at any restaurant. Largely because the Malawians just don't want anything else. I, however, got lucky and am living with an Italian who used to be a chef. Which means that I got to learn how to make things like ravioli from scratch - because I happen to be staying with the one person in Malawi who actually has a pasta machine!
As a last anecdote - to end my time in Malawi I spent an overnight on a boat in Liwonde National Park and got to see lots and lots of wildlife. Check out some of my pictures below:
Hippos!
Blue Cheeked Bee Eater
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