The bicycle taxi (see above). The most common form of transport in Malawi, second only to foot traffic. A harrowing and often traumatic experience depending on a variety of factors including, but not limited to: the fitness level of your bicycle taxi driver, the quality of the road, and if the bicycle taxi is "bwana" (meaning high class) and has breaks, peddles, handlebars, etc or not. An unstable journey anyway, this one was made even more life-threatening by the limited availability of taxis. Fortunately this driver reasoned that if he could carry a fat woman with a bag of charcoal he could more than handle the two of us.
***
Another term break spent hitchhiking. Southern Malawi to Dar es Salaam in 4 days by any means available is pretty impressive if I do say so myself. All went well until, in desperation and fear of having to spend the night in a maize field, we had to take a ride from a car of Indian men from Zambia with guns and then subsequently stuff ourselves into the trunk of a car. Oh the things you never thought you'd do voluntarily!
With the considerable time spent in various vehicles (and inspired by the bicycle taxi experience depicted in the picture), I was able to compose the following song (sung to the tune of A Bicycle Built for Two):
Azungu Azungu (meaning "white people")
What are you doing here?
I'm half crazy all for the chance to leer.
I don't know what I want from you -
maybe 50 kwacha (Malawian currency) will do
but at the very least
you're sure a strange beast-
a woman wearing short trousers!
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