Part Four - Lusaka, Zambia

Location: Lusaka, mid-Zambia
Languages: English, Nyanja, Bemba
Population: 1 750 000
Prices: Services and gas cheap, goods, european prices or more expensive
Attractions: Soweto Market, The National Museum, Munda Wanga Environmental Park 
Info: The capital and the largest city of Zambia with almost 2 million citizens. Lusaka was an old tribal village, which European settlers later expanded into a city. It was chosen as the capital of colonized Northern Rhodesia and after Zambia gained independence it kept its status as the capital city.
SA Recommends: Lusaka Backpackers (dorm room, breakfast, electricity and internet for under 10€/night)

26.11 17:02 GMT+1

We arrive to the Lusaka bus station late in the afternoon and the difference between the chill and serene Livingstone and Lusaka could not have been bigger. The bus station is very hectic and the first taxi drivers try to sell their services to us before our bus has even stopped moving. Streets are full of people, but I don't see any other whites, which is not new for someone traveling in Africa, but the pointing/shouting/staring we get is more intense than anywhere I've ever been before. Everywhere you see mountains of garbage, since the local perception of recycling and waste management greatly differ from the European...

The Zambian laid back attitude and chaos of the city with 1,7 million in it, create quite an interesting combination. The traffic is slow as the streets are packed, yet nobody seems to mind or be in a hurry. Our taxi trip from the bus station to our hostel takes about as long as it would've taken by foot, but since the taxi drivers prove to be super friendly (like pretty much every Zambian we've encountered) it's definitely worth the money. Taxi drivers here seem to often give good insights on the country. You don't even really have to read any local newspapers if you just initiate conversations with your taxi drivers.

Lusaka is quite busy and stressful for my taste and even though it's a nice city, I'm already looking forward to going to the more rural and peaceful Chipata near the east border of the country. Lusaka apparently has a reputation as a city with one of the highest crime rates in Africa, and while we haven't (yet) encountered any crime, the city certainly seems quite unsafe. The Zambians are generally really polite and friendly, but the unemployment and poverty rates in Lusaka are very high which always will lead to higher crime rates. The state of affairs in Lusaka is highly unfortunate. Like in many African cities life of crime isn't really a choice, it's just a way to survive for the less privileged, the real problems lie elsewhere.

28.11.12:09 GMT+1

Our original plan was to first head up to Chingola, a city near the (Democratic Republic of) Congo border to meet our local contact, but due to lack of time we unfortunately had to skip that part and now our plan is to travel straight to east. We never really had a fixed schedule, but we do have nonrefundable tickets for a flight leaving from Dar Es Salam on the 21st of December. So we have to move forwards, as much as I'd love to stay here forever and see everything.

The warmness of the weather and people in Zambia have been treating us extremely well and Zambia still remains as my favorite country I've ever been to. We've pretty much gotten used to the almost constant raining, but it's still nice to know, that the eastern Zambia where we're heading next, is supposed to be very dry and sunny, even during the rainy season.

Next destination: Chipata, Zambia