Took a minibus to Mangochi, and then rode the bike from Mangochi to Monkey Bay. When I boarded the minibus in Zomba, they said it was a direct trip to Mangochi. I paid 500 kwacha of the 650 that I owed them and said I'd give the remaining 150 when I found change. When we were about half-way to Mangochi, the minibus pulled over in a minibus park and we were all supposed to get off and get on another minibus. I was none-too-pleased about this event, because it meant transferring my bags, my bike, and me, which was a nuisance. Furthermore, in the original minibus, I had been one of the first people to board, so I had a prime front seat and was comfortable. This new minibus was very, very crowded and I was cramped in the middle of it, holding my bags (which had been under the seat on the original minibus).
Nonetheless, there we were, ready to go. But then the old minibus guys came to the window and asked for their remaining 150 kwacha. I told them I wasn't giving it to them because they renigged on their deal. That minibus was supposed to be direct to Mangochi and now here we were, transferring.
They said, "It's the same thing."
I said, "No, it isn't. I was comfortable before and now I'm not."
They said, "We agreed on a price of 650 kwacha."
I said, "And we agreed that we were going direct with no transfers."
This went on for a bit and in the end, I paid them (of course). However, before paying them, the entire (crowded) minibus of passengers had gotten into the debate. Should the mzungu have to pay the remaining 150 kwacha, or not? Most seemed to think that I shouldn't because it was true that they had renigged on the deal. Some people were even yelling at the original minibus guys, saying, "You think you can always get away with this! But you can't! We are not cattle!" Others, however, thought I should pay on the basis that I had a lot of money anyway. I found that to be an irrelevant argument.
In the end, I paid, but even as we drove off, a few passengers were telling me that I shouldn't have. However, we were going to sit there all day long, waiting on that crowded minibus and not
moving, if I hadn't paid the remaining fare. I tried to get a picture of how crowded this bus was, from the inside, but it was so crowded that I really couldn't get a good shot. Here is what I got. (That guy had to pay extra to bring his mattress on-board, taking up a potential passenger seat.)Got to Monkey Bay just as it was getting dark because it took longer than I thought from Mangochi. No problem. But then a young cool-kat man approached me, doing a lot of wiggling of his body and arms as he talked to me and talking jive.
He said, "Hey, wow, like cool. Where you going? I'll help."
I totally did not want his help because he was annoying and I didn't like him, and I didn't trust him either. I said, "I'm o.k., thanks." But he kept following me with his bike, telling me that he was going my way, anyway, etc. I kept trying to shoo him away, but he stuck to me like glue, saying things like, "Hey, cool, watcha thinkin of Malawi so far? Cool, huh?" Finally, he pointed to a lodge and said, "This is a cool place. I'll help you get a room."
I did not want his help to get me a room, in fact, I didn't even want him to know where I was staying. But it was almost dark and I didn't even know myself where I was staying yet. So I said, "I really am o.k.," and walked toward the lodge. He followed me. I said, "Are you going there, too, for some reason?"
He said, "These people are my friends. I borrowed this here bike from them. Gotta return it."
Oh, brother. I rolled my eyes. Tried to drop him but couldn't. Found the reception lady who showed me her "best" room (which was nothing like the Lilongwe Hotel - haha). The guy was STILL with us! I asked him why he was following us around. He said, "To help you talk with her. She doesn't know English."
I said, "We'll get by. It's o.k. You can leave." But he just stood there, so I asked the woman the price of the room and she said 1,200 kwacha. That's not really that much money (about $10), but it is a lot in Malawi for this dumpy room. I told her so, but she didn't say anything. I said I'd go find another place. I left. He tailed me.
Finally, when we were in the entranceway to the lodge, I said to the guy to please go away. I did not want his help. Thank you. Frankly, he was slightly scary and so I didn't want to be mean to him, so I tried to say it very, very directly, but with a smile. Finally ... he left.
I walked back out on the road, but didn't see any place else to go, so after about 5 minutes, I walked back into the very same lodge. There were some other guests there, so I walked up to one friendly looking woman and asked how much her room cost. She said 250 kwacha, single room, not self contained. The one the receptionist had shown me was a double, self contained.
The lady was very friendly, though, and I liked her right away.
She told me, "That boy you came with the first time..." and she just shook her head. "He likes to spend time with you mzungu. But he is a thief."
I laughed and said, "I know that. Thank you."
She and I went and found the receptionist who again showed me the very same room she'd shown me before and said the price was 500 kwacha. I said, "O.k., fine, I'll take it." I asked her why she had originally quoted a price of 1,200 kwacha?
She said, "That boy you were with, he is a thief and he told me to say that so that he could take the extra. And I was afraid of him."
I asked my new acquaintence if she wanted to sleep in my room, in the extra bed, because her single room was very stuffy, no windows, and very, very hot. She agreed. It turns out that the reason she was there was that the government had sponsored her and about 10 others to come to a 4-day seminar, to learn about better fertilizing and general farming techniques.
Then, I convinced my new friend to go out with me and find a pub with a pool table (of course). We did that and I played for a few hours and I was playing better than usual, so kept winning, game after game. It got the whole pub involved, as people kept trying to defeat me. That was fun. Around 9:30, my new friend and I went back to the lodge. When we got there, her fellow farmers asked her where she'd been. She smiled and told them that we'd been out having drinks and playing games. She seemed quite pleased with her outing. Of course, I bought all her drinks and snacks because she didn't have anything. No problem. It's funny. I have no problem buying people stuff or giving them money even. I just don't like to be cheated or scammed and have to hold my ground and "not be stupid" when it comes to that.
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