Lilongwe

I extended the journey into Lilongwe by stopping at a self described boutique hotel as the afternoon wind grew in intensity. For the money, cheap by NZ cost, it had a few too many broken or missing facilities. But the beer was cold and the food was good. As was the wifi. I'd come to accept my Mzungu novelty over the preceding weeks and was leaning into it with the kids and younger people. Mzungu is the label for the white outsider. Generally verbalised by kids without being derogatory. Not so much by adults who would use it to represent a less generous description of foreigners. As a Mzungu you're also fair game on price jacking either explicitly or implicitly. When I used the term at the hotel the manager asked if I felt unwelcome. No I replied I had just been noting my uniqueness.
At breakfast the next morning I discovered all the other guests had departed after dinner having finished a stay of a couple of weeks as part of an international logistics assignment.
Not that it bothered me. When I got to Lilongwe there was time to spare. Abit of mall based excursion with an espresso bar and a modern supermarket was a pleasure. I made me way to the moderately priced , $30, la luna guesthouse for a very friendly few days and some downtime. Got in a visit to the local wildlife sanctuary where I only saw monkeys and some sculptures. Surprised to find swell stocked whisky collection, Speyside region at least, just behind the guesthouse.Read more