Africa & India 2006:7 - Harare to Johannesburg via Malawi

Saturday, February 18, 2006

Yesterday the same taxi driver picked us up at the hotel and took us to the Harare airport. It was a great relief to find that Air Malawi was going to fly, although the routing had changed - we would now make a stop in Lusaka, Zambia. I'd planned a short tour of Llongwe between flights, but that would now be scrapped.

The Boeing 737-300 was clean and like most airlines outside of North America snacks, lunch and drinks were included. On arrival in Llongwe, Malawi we needed to clear customs and immigration, a quick and friendly process, then check in for our flight to Blantyre. We walked into the departure lounge with no security check; however later two police requested our carry on bags for to be inspection. This small airport has excellent services, including a post office and pharmacy.

The 45-minute flight to Blantyre was an hour late. The twin turbo-prop L4T aircraft is one I'd never seen before, and even the crew didn't know where it had been built. It loads from the rear, so Marilynn and I walked the length of the aircraft to our seats against the bulkhead wall facing the rest of the passengers. A stewardess sat in the seat facing me, so when not taking off or landing I had lots of legroom.

The taxi arranged by our hotel was waiting to drive us to the Hostellerie de France. It turned out to be an interesting find. The two main hotels were full when I checked on the internet, so instead of having them relieve us of over $US 200 per night, I had a booking agency make a reservation here for $35 per night. Marilynn was worried about what we would get for this price - she expected a youth hostel, but our room had a bedroom with queen size bed, en suite bathroom with shower and a separate sitting room with table and chairs.

The food in the French restaurant, which overlooks the valley and part of the city, was excellent, as was the accompanying wine. There is a well stocked bar, a good-sized swimming pool and a BBQ area in the well kept gardens.

The owners, Jean Michel and his wife Biou had a hotel in Sierra Leone, but had to escape when civil war broke out. They bought a large house in an area of big homes and properties in Blantyre and turned it into a small hotel and restaurant. The suite we had was the smallest; located in a new building Jean Michel built on what was the tennis court. Suites go up in size and price to the top of the line at $US 70 per night. This is a 2-bedroom suite with kitchen and sitting room, or a deluxe front bedroom suite in the main building. Jean Michel is a master of personal service, and his hotel is one of the better values I have come across in all my travels.

If anyone is planning on a visit to Blantyre in Malawi contact Jean Michel. His website is www.hostellerie-de-france.com , email hostfrance@malawi.net, tel/fax: 01668397. On request he'll arrange a taxi with an English-speaking driver for airport pickup. The trip from the airport costs about $US 20.

This morning a table was set up in the garden under large shade trees where a tasty breakfast of fruit, toast, omelettes, cereal and tea was served. I used the internet to get an update away, and then we were picked up for a tour of the area. The two-hour tour, ending at the airport cost $40. It included the city and most of the surrounding area.

Blantyre is a clean, active, modern, small city. It is the commercial capital of Malawi, while Llongwe is the capital and seat of government. The large number of banks in Blantyre amazed me. New construction is underway on an office building, and the only major shopping mall we saw is putting on a good-sized addition. There is a nice, inexpensive golf course and country club.

Outside of the city were a lot of empty buildings that were previously government owned manufacturers. The former president apparently sold them off, and then stole the money. Many proved impractical to operate and were closed, causing a lot of unemployment. An average apartment would rent for $300 per month. The minimum wage is about $40 per month. Most houses, even poor ones, are well built from fired brick - something poor people will make for themselves. In winter it can get below 0 C.

The economy is in bad shape, and public school education has suffered because of it. Many good private schools are available - the fees are between $300 and $1,800 per semester for the 4 semesters per year. School is taught in English, with Chichewa taught as a second language. There is a two tier medical system, with private hospitals for those who can pay and public hospitals that are free to those without money. Gas costs $US 1.00 per litre. That is expensive, but it is half the price of Zimbabwe. The shops and markets were well stocked, so for those with money everything is available. My favourite shop was Aunt Lydia's Hangover Clinic and Bottle Store!

Malawi was the British protectorate of Nyasaland from 1891 until independence in 1964. The first president, Hastings Kamuzu Banda ruled for 30 years until multi-party elections were permitted in 1994, and a new constitution was passed in 1995. The current president was elected in 2004 and has been running an anti-corruption campaign. He is very popular with the people, although corruption is still rife. I read in the paper that the opposition party of the former president (there have been 3) is being pressured to call for new nominations, as four of the shadow cabinet are currently facing criminal charges. The former president has not been charged even though it is generally believed he cleaned out the treasury and caused the current economic problems.

The country covers an area of 2,881 sq. km., a little bigger than Luxembourg or a bit smaller than Pennsylvania, USA. 24,400 sq. km. is water, as although landlocked it has a long coastline on Lake Malawi. The population is 12,159,000 of which 96% are Black African. AIDS has reduced the life expectancy to 41 years. The 2003 study estimated 900,000 were living with the disease, and that 84,000 had died from it. The literacy rate is a low 63%.

The small Blantyre airport has few services other than duty free. The bathrooms have to be smelled to be believed! Shortly before flight time the skies opened, soaking our luggage through as it was taken to the aircraft for loading. The dash for the aircraft required splashing through an ankle deep river that had formed on the edge of the tarmac.

The comfortable South African Airlines flight left on time, our entry permit for South Africa was still valid so immigration there was quick, and after a short wait the bus from the Birchwood Resort picked us up for the short ride to the hotel. Their shuttle bus runs every hour to the hotel and shopping malls.

What a difference we saw in the 15-minute ride from the airport to the hotel, in comparison to other African countries! Massive enclosed malls, many strip malls, car dealerships for every make, building supply super stores and so on. It is such a shame that the government does not seem to appreciate what a miraculous economy it has in this continent of failures, or what a fragile thing a great economy is. What a shame it would be to see it follow the example of Zimbabwe, where from a distance the tall buildings of Harare, formerly Salisbury, glitter in all their former glory, but on close inspection prove to be derelict, with all the life and prosperity sucked out of them by a foolish, racial, greedy government.

We had an excellent late lunch on the plane, so skipped dinner and relaxed for the night. Tomorrow's challenge will be to find out if Air Yemenia is going to fly, as we have not had any way to confirm our tickets. If they do not, we will face some very major problems.