Firstly I would have to say that dinner was excellent last night and we had a pleasant evening chatting with the staff and customers at the bar. Unfortunately events this morning weren't so great. Upon paying our bill this morning we found that government tax was added on afterwards, this may have been a small amount at 1% of the bill, but it is the first time we have been charged it since we arrived in Malawi. Bearing in mind the rather expensive camping, bar and restaurant prices of the lodge and it seems a little galling that the tax is not included. What was more annoying was that when I paid, I was told that I was owed 172 kwacha, but was then only handed 150 Kwacha and told that they didn't have any change. Now 20 Kwacha is worth less than 10p, but when the staff member laughs at you because he hasn't got any change, it becomes a matter of principal. No matter how long we stood there saying that he should go and find some change, all we got was more laughter. By now we were later leaving than we had planned and I was so annoyed at being laughed at, that there was no choice but to walk out and leave 'Ngala Beach Lodge' behind.
Things didn't really improve on the road where we encountered a pocket of aggressive, money demanding locals. Horrible children chasing up the road shouting “you, give me money!” and adult women with their hands out. If I hear one more 'Malawi the warm heart of Africa' and Malawians are the friendliest people in Africa I will scream. At the moment they are firmly behind Tanzanians and Kenyans, which quite frankly isn't saying that much. Anyone who thinks these are the friendliest people, should get themselves to Sudan and see what real hospitality is. Debs is finding it increasingly difficult to cope with the begging, demands and often insulting behaviour. Plugging the Ipod in certainly helps block out the constant barrage, but once again I had to pedal hard up the road to catch up with a speeding and upset Debs. Fortunately things improved and we passed through villages full of excited children, who just seemed pleased to see us. It is a shame that our journey through Malawi so far has followed the same pattern.
With only a light headwind today we made pretty good progress. The road was reasonably hilly though and it has to have been one of the warmest days in Malawi yet. Eventually after a longish day in the saddle we rode into Nkhotakota and stopped for some supplies. While Debs was shopping, I kept an eye on the bikes and attracted rather too much attention from the kids when I bought a samosa from one of them. They couldn't seem to understand that I only wanted one. Before too long I was surrounded by children with bracelets, peanuts and more samosas for sale. Clearly the best thing to do is not buy anything at all. When Debs came out we had to push the kids back so that we could pack the shopping away. Stocked up with supplies, it was good to get back on the bikes for the final 15km to our stop for the night. The rest of the journey went without incident until we turned off towards Nkhotkota pottery and set off down the 4km of dirt road to the site. The road was pretty hard packed so riding it wasn't a problem, but the kids lining the track all seemed to be of the 'give me pen/money' variety. At one point they were chasing along behind us shouting their demands. When we arrived at the safety of the lodges gates it was a bit of a relief.
While we were checking in we were joined by Pete, an Australian, who has been travelling round the world on his BMW motorbike for the past three and a half years. He is a fascinating guy to talk to, as long as you don't mention Ewan Mcgregor and Charlie Boorman!
It had been a long day, so we decided against cooking and went to the restaurant for dinner instead. The three course 'meal of the day' had to be the best food I have had in Malawi. Debs had a lovely, if slightly too spicy for her, chicken curry. A few beers and a chat with Pete rounded up a tiring day. We will have a rest day tomorrow and then possibly head to Lilongwe to extend our visas, provided we can leave our gear here for a few days. So far the pottery looks like a decent place to stay.
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