Things i didn’t know about Malawi

I’ve been in Malawi for over a week now. Before coming here, I didn’t do much research about the country. I only researched travel requirements and places to stay. I prefer not to have any preconceived ideas about a place. Unless we are talking human rights violations – then that’s a different issue.

Anyway, since I’ve been here I have noticed few things that I really didn’t associate with the country.

For now I will only share four.

Transport

In Malawi there are many modes of public transportation. I was surprised to learn that cyclists also carry passengers. I noticed a lot of bicycles outside a shop in Karonga. I thought bicycles must be very popular in that town. Soon after that I saw cyclists picking up passengers. The penny dropped. The bicycles are bought to transport passengers!

Waiting for passengers coming from the shops.

If you don’t want a bicycle, there are motorcycles, private cars that operate as taxis, minibus taxis and buses. All these various vehicles co-exist peacefully!

Cycling

A woman with her bike at the Chitipi market in Lilongwe.

I was pleasantly surprised to see women in their kitenges, sometimes with children on their backs, riding bicycles. For some reason I wasn’t expecting that in the rural areas. The women don’t belong to any cyclist club. They’re not part of any catchy hashtag or group. They simply need to get from point A to B! So having a bicycle makes economic sense. I still smile when I see them because I think that’s just cool and I’m sure environmentalists will approve!

Nsima

Nsima with soya pieces and vegetables.

Nsima or ugali also known as ipapa is very popular here. In fact, it’s the staple food in Central Malawi. It’s eaten daily. So for lunch you will have nsima which is soft and delicious with relish and nsima for dinner. In the north their staple food is rice.

Language

They’re very old school when it comes to their corporate culture. The employees call their manager madam if it’s a woman and sir if it’s a man. I thought it’s only when the employer is around, but nope even when they’re not it “madam this, madam that.” It’s so wild to me but you can tell people don’t even think twice about it.

Have you been to Malawi? What stood out for you? Share in the comments section.

The “Cool Drink”

So last week I crossed the border from Tanzania into Malawi. I had emailed three weeks before to make sure I would meet all the entry requirements.

By the way, Tourism Malawi is very quick to respond and very helpful. So I made my way to Malawi feeling confident of all the necessary paperwork.

At the Malawi border.

I arrived at the border just after 9am. I was directed to the Covid-19 desk for the antigen test.

In Malawi, you need to have a PCR test that’s not older than 72 hours and you will still be required to do the antigen test for free.

Anyway, after receiving my negative test results I had to get my passport stamped. That’s when a very grumpy immigration officer told me my results from Tanzania needed to be printed out. I had to walk to the Malawi side of the border to get it printed. It was hot. I was carrying a heavy backpacker bag and a backpack. I was annoyed but I had to do it.

Anyway, I came back a few minutes later. She was now less grumpy. I had to fill in a form and when it was time to stamp my passport she looked at the man behind me. When she saw he wasn’t paying any attention, she whispered to me, “can you buy me a cool drink?”

I was shocked. For some reason I didn’t expect this in Malawi. I told her I didn’t have money and I was thirsty myself!

That’s when she started working in slow motion. She paged through my passport. Asked about my age. I was really worried that she was trying to think of something to deny me entry. That’s when her supervisor appeared. He asked if everything was OK and she said yes. She stamped my passport!

I was so relieved and quickly went out. I have two questions. Why do immigration officials (some) always act as if they are doing you a favour when doing their job?

Secondly, when and where was it decided that a code name for a bribe is a cool drink? As an African, you know exactly what a government official means when they ask for a cool drink. Perhaps there was a conference where it was debated and voted that cool drink is the best way to ask for a bribe?

Could I adopt minimalism?

I’ll be the first to admit that I love clothes and dressing up. There was a time when I rewarded myself by buying clothes so I have lots of them. However, despite having many clothes, I pack very light when traveling. If I’m going for three days, I pack three outfits. I’m not one of those who pack for every occasion. *Side-eye Dorcey from 90 Days Fiancé.*

So when I was packing for this journey it was tricky because I was going to be away for almost a year. I didn’t know which dresses, t-shirts and skirts to pack. I knew I couldn’t pack a lot because I was going to walk long distances with my luggage. So I settled on six dresses, a skirt, tracksuit and a pair of pants with four pairs of shoes. I was worried that they wouldn’t be enough. I also thought I would miss my many dresses.

Anyway, it’s been months now and I don’t miss my clothes at all. The eight outfits have been enough. I even think less shoes would have been OK.

Seeing that I can live on so much less I have started to question why I have so much clothes. I have dresses I haven’t worn since I bought them years ago. I’m saving them for the perfect occasion which never arrives. I do give away clothes but clearly it’s not enough. So I’m toying with the idea of really cutting down my wardrobe.

I don’t know if I’m ready to adopt the minimalist lifestyle but I can admit I have way more than I need.

Since I’ve started thinking this way, I’ve been reluctant to shop. I thought I’d buy a lot of material during my travels, but now I am not sure. What’s the point of buying things only to have them gathering dust in a few months?

I don’t have all the answers yet, but I’m really interested in living with less. Am I ready to part ways with my dresses? Only time will tell.