Travel Experiences

We have finally reached Livingstone, Zambia, one of the two “home towns” of The Victoria Falls. Our trip here was quite an experience. The flight from Dakar to Johannesburg was a real pleasure and we were comforted in the fact that Kilroy had booked a hotel close to the airport since we would continue our trip north bound the day after. We found a taxi, gave the address to the driver (who seemed to be a bit confused) and off we went. Apparently, close to the airport has a different meaning to us and Kilroy since the taxi drive lasted more than an hour and cost R1000 (approx. $180). However, the big disappointment turned into excitement when we had an extraordinary dinner experience at the hotel. Men who carried swords with meat served us all kinds of grilled delicacies including crocodile, zebra, ostrich, bushbuck and antelope. Yummy! (See photos)

The day after, we continued the trip and took the bus to Gaborone, Botswana. Since the Botswana Government aims at high class tourists, transportations for backpackers are not easy accessible (or not accessible at all :-)). The trip through Botswana (approx 1000k) took three days with more than 20 hours in a variety of vehicles of questionable standards. It has really been an experience! Being on the mini-buses are however always entertaining (or annoying). Just to mention a few incidents, we have encountered a man who accused us for being Nazis, sitting almost next to a guy who constantly played some Islamic prayers on his cell phone and heard a story from a guy who once was in Sweden where he for the first time saw a white lady cleaning the floors. He was shocked! Another funny thing about travelling by road is the wildlife which is grassing besides the roads (and sometimes on it). Donkeys, goats and cows are all over the place whereas elephants have been spotted several times. Danielle has now decided that she wants a donkey by her own when she returns home :-).

The food opportunities in Botswana are lightly deep fried chicken, deep fried chicken and very deep fried chicken. If you’re lucky, it is possible to find some baked beans or sausages. The British has managed to ruin another country’s food culture. When we asked the guy in the reception of the hostel in Francistown, the second biggest town in Botswana, for a restaurant that served anything besides deep fried chicken he looked very confused and was unable to mention a single place (why would anyone eat anything else???). However, a safe card has been the restaurants at luxurious hotels which serve good food at cheap prices. (Since lots of Americans visit Botswana our sandals and shorts fits nicely with the rest of those high class tourists.)

The people in southern Africa are very open and friendly. It is a delight travelling around the regions. We have now entered our fifth country on the tour and our passports are almost filled up by stamp-loving officials. The Swedish smile does also work on officials down here; Danielle managed to get a double entry visa for the price of a single entry visa when entering into Zambia :-). Livingstone is a really charming town and we look forward to spend three days here in our first real backpacking hostel on this trip :-)!