TRAVERSE Issue 18 - June 2020 | Page 69

assive impact on e. Zambia are eople selling it and vegetables of the strangest is chargrilled es, believe it or rds, the road ntastic, hardly rry about. The town of Chipata the night. The ould have only 35 o reach the actual en a further 119 Lilongwe, the his would make with little travelwing in a border the paperwork mbian / Malawi eted with the ers and semi-trailers parked everywhere. It seemed straight forward, including the payment of the $20 road tax needed for the motorbike. It seemed fine until I had to fill out the deposit forms in duplicate, four times, for the lady behind the counter. We then had to wait while she processed the paperwork along with that of a few other drivers. Frustrating to say the least. Further down the road we were able to purchase a sim card for our phone, the required data, and the bikes insurance. All straight forward when on the road. Malawi, with its population of over 18 million, has a relatively small landmass. It seems there are people everywhere on the roads. Most can’t afford a car, so either walk or ride bicycles, riding a motorbike means you must concentrate intently on the road. We’d undertaken volunteer work at a school in Lilongwe for a few days E 35