Malawi Lilongwe to Zambia Lusaka 马拉维利隆圭到赞比亚卢萨卡 11/2018 Stop 14 站

2-3/12/2018. At 5 a.m. I was on a motorbike taxi leaving Cape Maclear for Monkey Bay to catch the 6 a.m. bus for Lilongwe, Malawi’s capital. This time it was a big bus, and I got my own seat—I mean the whole seat. On this African trip, I often got a quarter of a seat, squeezed and squashed by locals, who were often a bit rounder than me. At the end of the long journey, the seat cushions were blown off their seats and strewn all over the floor, as though the butts had gone on a rampage.

I spent little time sightseeing in Lilongwe. After a night at a campsite, I took a bicycle-taxi to the bus station, while my luggage was on another. I had to keep my eyes on the other bicycle lest it speeds away with my cargo. It was my first bicycle taxi, nothing luxurious but totally carbon-free. We probably looked weird on the streets—two African men peddling hard and trying to run away with a kidnapped Chinese man and his valuables.

At the bus station, I dismounted from the bike-taxi, and over my shoulders, I heard: “Hey, remember me?” It was an Israeli young man whom I had met briefly near Livingstonia. “Need your help,” he said. “I lost my credit card. Can you lend me some money?” He asked for USD 20 but I gave him USD 40, just in case he underestimated. It was a strange coincidence. I didn’t hesitate, even though he came from a country that my country does not recognize and restricted from visiting. Traveling, especially in this impoverished land, helps put a lot of things into perspective.

Lusaka is impressive. Around my campsite and downtown; I observed that the streets were orderly. The cars did not go berserk on the roads; no rubbish littered the ground. Trees were planted, and grass was laid. While they were not curated and manicured like the golf courses, nothing grew wild or out of place. I went to a big mall downtown to see how they do materially. I was immediately struck by how modestly and well-dressed they were. Long or short sleeves, they were hung loose or tucked in, but not in tatters. Jeans or smart pants, they looked well pressed, without holes, and not allowed to drop too far below their belly buttons. They put on their smart casual shoes and walked with pride. The girls did not wear glittering clothes or high fashion. But every piece they put on, they look smart and with taste. I stood around to observe for a while; I did not see anyone dressed to shame their bodies.

Zambians seemed well-mannered and unaggressive. When I by chance walked on some dark streets, some shadows walked past with a polite “hello, how are you.” Where I came from in Asia, we are too busy to say hello. We have no patience for frivolity. And we think we are more advanced.

I was so proud of them and so ashamed of myself for hearing too many of the stereotypes. In Zambia, I saw decency and civility. I saw African hope.

2-3/12/2018早上五点骑了摩多的士开始从麦克莱尔角 (Cape Maclear)出发到芒基贝 (Monkey Bay), 打算搭上六点到马拉维首都利隆圭 (Lilongwe)的大巴。抵达利隆圭车站，乘客下车后车厢内惨不忍睹；大巴椅垫都给坐废了，都跟椅框分道扬镳，真是奇景。

在利隆圭一晚后，我和行李各骑一辆自行车的士大清早到车站。脚还没落地一个以色列青年喊着“你好， 还记得我吗？我信用卡丢了，需要借点钱”。他想借二十美元， 我给了四十， 万一他低估了，毕竟这是玄机四伏的非洲。虽然他来自以色列， 马来西亚不承认的国家。没犹豫，不计他来自哪国那宗教也不知他名字，出门就是认识别人也要认清自己。

这次是往卢萨卡，桑比亚的首都奔。卢萨卡给人耳目一新，街道整齐干净，没看到多少拉圾塑料，人们衣着体面，彬彬有礼。 我在几条阴暗街道几次碰到擦肩而过影子在阴暗中打招呼 ‘你好’，“哈喽”。反而在亚洲我们通常觉得打招呼毫无价值。我以为我是黑暗中金光闪闪的元宝，可是有些人虽不耀眼，却散发温暖。肤色根本没代表什么。在赞比亚我看到非洲的希望。