Rain, mud and flowery bikes

The rains have well and truly set in now, and though the South of Malawi is suffering from a lack of rains, here in the Central region the rains are looking quite healthy. Welcome news for crops. From a purely selfish point of view, it does make my half-hour walk to and from the office somewhat treacherous, as the un-paved roads are instantly transformed into mud-baths! It’s also very hot and muggy. Therefore I’ve recently been treating myself to a ‘kabaza’ to work. This is basically a bike taxi but there’s no roughing it here…it has a wonderfully comfortable passenger cushion behind the driver, and separate passenger handle-bars and foot rests (photo). It’s Kasungu’s answer to the black cab and a popular mode of transport for local commuters. They zip up and down the main and back streets during Kasungu’s rush hour, ferrying children to school and workers to the office. Depending which one you get they can also be quite bling, decorated with rainbow handlebars, up to 15 reflectors, a bushel of mirrors and carrier baskets decorated with bouquets of plastic flowers!