MV Ilala

I now no longer have anything nice to say about the MV Ilala, the decrepit Glasgow made ferry. I can only assume it features on the list of Malawian highlights because of the frenzy it causes when it comes into port. It’s a complete free for all with people pushing their way and manners forgotten just to get off as quickly as possible.

Our day was largely uneventful. We eventually sneaked up stairs to the first class deck and spent much of the afternoon there. This offered the best views and a welcome relief from the overcrowding of 2nd and ordinary class (and a welcome break from the horrible stink of dried fish).

This afternoon we docked off three Mozambican villages (only 2 places on the entire lake have docks) and picked up a kiwi guy called Ashley. He’d been travelling the world for the last 8 years and this was him working his way up the east coast of Africa having gone down the west coast already. His attitude to travelling was rather different to ours and he found it both amazing and funny that we only had two months to see 8 countries and that we were on course to do it. It would be easy to envy his lifestyle but to me it’s more of a curse. In response to my question “Where out of all the places you’ve been would like to live” he said no where and that he’d just get restless and bored. I couldn’t imagine being on my own with no friends, support network, very little money and and no home. My attitude to travelling is completely different. Sure I’d like to visit almost every country in the world but not in one go. I like having fixed dates for arriving and going home so I can make the most of the time I have and not just day dream through it. Not many people look forward to going home unless they’re not enjoying themselves but I find that when I’m abroad I do look forward to going home as well as wishing I didn’t have to. It’s good to have a break but I get really motivated to get on with things on my return. Being in a different country/culture also makes me appreciate the UK more. We’re lucky people, many of us just don’t realise it.

Looking into “Ordinary Class” (3rd)

One of the 2 boats ferrying people ashore