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Post by OnlyMark on Nov 4, 2016 20:28:59 GMT 2
Thanks for all the good wishes.
I arrived late afternoon without a problem other than a very long immigration queue and the thought that maybe I was in the wrong lane and would have to start again at the back of another one. There were various options depending on the category of person, but I was right first time. I am not a tourist, nor a resident, nor a member of a certain group of countries, nor a citizen. I didn't want a visa as I already had one and it wasn't a transit, visitor, business nor tourist visa. I didn't want single or double or multiple entry visas. Nor was I a person with a permit. I'm not a diplomat nor a member of a country that doesn't need a visa. I didn't have an eVisa authorisation either. Hence the confusion over which queue to take. I am a 'resident in waiting' and have what is called a courtesy visa.
So, apart from the wait and the long flights, all went well. By the way, if anyone wants to take on a reorganisation of Madrid airport, you will have my full backing. It is unnecessarily confusing. Mrs M was waiting for me, bless her, as I wielded my two big suitcases and cabin bag outside. With transport. Wonderful. On a point of interest - this is the first airport I or Mrs M has arrived at in her work country since 2006 that when we meet up, I can give her a kiss in full view of everyone.
The weather was warm and humid, Lusaka airport is small and run down, the roads are dusty and bumpy, there seems to be large amount of open spaces at the side of the road, traffic so far is reasonably slow, accommodation is overpriced for what you get, electricity and water are both in short supply, most food needs spicing up with something - but everyone so far is obliging (the Immigration woman even laughed! Unheard of), friendly and seem genuine. I'll let you know how that progresses or changes in time.
Tomorrow I'm hitting the ground running to see some apartments/houses and have a better look round. When I've sorted my crap out I may even remember to carry a camera.
OnlyMark, Zambian correspondent for the BBC, Lusaka. Now over to the studio.
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Zambia
Nov 4, 2016 22:36:54 GMT 2
Post by Scrubb on Nov 4, 2016 22:36:54 GMT 2
Glad to hear you're there safe and sound!
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Zambia
Nov 5, 2016 0:35:10 GMT 2
Post by Baz Faz on Nov 5, 2016 0:35:10 GMT 2
Good to know you have arrived. One wonders why they have so many options for visas. I suppose it provides work for all the unemployed. Unless they are trying to keep out spies.
I visited Romania during the Ceausescu years. At Bucharest airport I joined the queue to get inside the terminal building. A man in an overcoat came and stood beside me. He chatted casually but when he started asking questions (visiting family? friends?) I knew what he was. After a while he sidled off and disappeared through a side door. I next saw him at the immigration desk where he inspected my passport and watched when my bag was opened. When he saw Graham Greene's Our Man in Havana his eyes lit up. "So you are going on to Cuba?" It's a novel, I told him, and he frowned and walked away.
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Zambia
Nov 5, 2016 15:51:40 GMT 2
Post by Voy on Nov 5, 2016 15:51:40 GMT 2
oh good! Mark is there and atleast this once had internet... it's going to be fun watching him/them find a place to live and get settled and start exploring... but only after he finds his camera!
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Zambia
Nov 5, 2016 18:23:42 GMT 2
Post by auntieannie on Nov 5, 2016 18:23:42 GMT 2
Have fun, Dr and Mrs M!
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Zambia
Nov 5, 2016 18:45:04 GMT 2
Post by Baz Faz on Nov 5, 2016 18:45:04 GMT 2
I wonder if his overland trekking experience has given him experience of Zambia.
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Zambia
Nov 5, 2016 20:35:40 GMT 2
Post by OnlyMark on Nov 5, 2016 20:35:40 GMT 2
Baz, in my previous life I drove through Lusaka about eight times or so. Maybe a bit less, maybe a bit more. I would be running a trip from Nairobi to Capetown or vice versa. We'd only stop in the city to do food shopping and then drive on to a campsite, so I never had chance to explore here. But I know the feel of the place. I took a small camera out today but didn't really see too much to stop for (other than something later), especially because we were out with an estate agent going between houses and I didn't feel comfortable asking her to keep stopping. We saw half a dozen places and I wasn't impresses with any of them, but, I think I am subconsciously comparing them with the house in Spain. There is one that I think we will go for but it needs a couple of things doing to it that the agent will negotiate with the owner about. One big advantage is it is within walking distance of Mrs M's work. Other than that I spent a little time going around a couple of supermarkets to see what there is readily available. I was pleasantly surprised to see tins of mushy peas, malt vinegar and mint sauce for sale. That'll do me. There was also plenty of fruit and papaya is in season now, so we bought two and will have them later. In general food availability is perfectly fine and we will have no problem making 'normal' meals. As mentioned before though, cheese is a bit of a disaster. Meat and sausages are good but things like salami are very poor quality if you can get it at all. In a couple of the houses we saw were mango and avocado trees. There are a wide selection of restaurants, today I had bacon, sausage, beans, tomato, egg, mushrooms and toast for a late breakfast and lunch was two pieces of hake in batter and a salad. I could have had chips but didn't bother. Two hake and chips is equivalent to about 6 euro. Prices in restaurants for a meal are between eight and twelve euro on average. I will be trying many other meals over time but where we ended up just happened to be close to a place selling what I did have. King Pies is a place that has also drawn my attention but I'll save that for a snack another time. If you want traditional Zambian food you tend not to go to a restaurant but to one of the few street sellers or cook it at home. A SIM card was 3 euro by the way. The next four photos will probably mean nothing to anyone but me. In case you need an explanation, the company I used to work for was called Encounter Overland. They had orange and blue trucks. In 2001 they went bust (I was working for them on the day) and another overland company, called Dragoman, bought a lot of their stock. Encounter used Bedford trucks in Africa. The bodies are a lot shorter than the Mercedes trucks used by Dragoman and Encounter pulled a trailer instead, for the extra storage space. But Drago fitted a load of the old bodies to their trucks and added a bit on at the front. They then sold trips still under the Encounter name, as budget trips in Africa. I saw this in Lusaka today, and old Dragoman/Encounter truck, still on UK plates but being used by a local company. They told me it was for sale if I wanted it. Nope, I don't, though it does bring back many memories.
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Zambia
Nov 5, 2016 20:42:06 GMT 2
Post by OnlyMark on Nov 5, 2016 20:42:06 GMT 2
One small thing - the electric sockets here are all the UK three pin type. This is excellent for me as all my electric/electronic stuff is fitted with them. I used to cost me a fortune in adapters in Europe. The restaurant I went to earlier. Divide the prices by 11 to get euros (better easier by ten), 10 to get US dollars and 12 to get UK pounds - fishaways.co.za/standard-menu/
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Zambia
Nov 5, 2016 23:56:08 GMT 2
Post by Baz Faz on Nov 5, 2016 23:56:08 GMT 2
I see the trucks have Q licence plates so they are quite old.
Looking down the menu I see Pop Prawns and Squiggly Pops (subject to availability). What are these?
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Post by sophie on Nov 6, 2016 0:28:19 GMT 2
I got all excited to see the trucks.. Too new. I was on one of the old blue ones. They were tough old trucks. I remember having to use sand matts a few times, however! Good to hear Lusaka is doing okay in the food department.
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Zambia
Nov 6, 2016 0:54:31 GMT 2
Post by Voy on Nov 6, 2016 0:54:31 GMT 2
Baz said:I see the trucks have Q licence plates so they are quite old. I don't know, but when I lived in England in 84/6 I had a mini, that I bought off the army. And I had Q plates , which we all said stood for Queer. As the car was several years old, so couldn't get the current letter, but they also couldn't go back and issue the right letter... it really just stood for "out of pattern"...
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Zambia
Nov 6, 2016 7:23:19 GMT 2
Post by OnlyMark on Nov 6, 2016 7:23:19 GMT 2
I have no idea what Pop Prawns and Squiggly Pops are and I don't think I'll be trying them. I do have standards. Usually low ones, but standards all the same.
Q plates were discontinued I think many years ago. But if you built a vehicle that was not originally registered, when you did come to register it, it was given a Q plate. Something like that.
Sophie, remind me because I'm sure I asked at one time, what/which trip did you do? It must have been quite a long time ago if the truck was blue and orange rather than orange and blue.
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Post by sophie on Nov 6, 2016 7:34:26 GMT 2
Mark, I did a 6 week section Tanzania to Harare including Botswana ..this was still during apartheid so the trips didn't go to RSA.
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Zambia
Nov 6, 2016 8:41:23 GMT 2
Post by OnlyMark on Nov 6, 2016 8:41:23 GMT 2
Thanks.
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Zambia
Nov 6, 2016 13:22:49 GMT 2
Post by slowcoach on Nov 6, 2016 13:22:49 GMT 2
Vehicles registered privately, of unknown origin, ex-military or homebuilds, with a independently obtained approval (fitness as a vehicle) if no type approval exists were, and possibly still are, given "Q" plates.
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Zambia
Nov 6, 2016 18:16:10 GMT 2
Post by OnlyMark on Nov 6, 2016 18:16:10 GMT 2
I had a bit of a run round today. Mrs M has never driven on the left and we used the company car (at 30cent a km, so we didn't go far) so I could make sure she knew which way to look etc. One of the details I'm always in a new country trying to find out, before hitting the tourist things if I'm going to live there, are things like the best shopping, where to buy what, best routes around, restaurants, etc. The normal day to day stuff that makes life easier in the long run. There are several large supermarkets in several shopping malls and the quality varies between them. Also some supply some things and some others. Some only really expat and middle class locals use, some normal locals use. One has expensive imported food, one has cheap local stuff. Two have electrical goods, one has camping gear. Plus, and of importance to me, are places that sell car accessories and those that have tools and DIY supplies. So far I have only been to a small part of the city in the east. When I have our own vehicle and not having to pay a taxi to wander round or mileage, then I'll branch out a lot more. Bear in mind this is only the second day anyway. One of the aims to today was to drop in to this mall and see what was on offer. On the way we did pass a type of car boot sale and open air market that is held every Sunday. That though is for a different weekend, as are the other local outdoor markets. It's not as if I'm only here for a couple of weeks, so there is plenty of time. This is one of the entrances - There is a cinema just as you go in - Then half an hour wandering round the supermarket - Most things are available in the two main supermarkets, this one Shoprite, and another one in a different mall, Pick n Pay. There is a Spar but I wasn't keen on it and the fourth generally used is called Food Lovers. That one is a lot smaller and is probably 30% more expensive for the same items, but the produce is of a better quality. Pick n Pay will probably end up being my regular but there are still many smaller and more specialised food places I have yet to get to. This is the main 'motorway' to the east, called the Great Eastern Road naturally enough, and in the city is in reasonable condition with traffic lights and roundabouts as you would expect - Mrs M had to do a few things at her office but I think it was a trick to get me in there so that I could give her some advice about some of the fixtures and fittings that were falling apart. Doors didn't close or couldn't be opened, the same with a couple of windows, cupboards and shelves were a bit wobbly and I think she wanted me to have a look round so she could speak to the maintenance staff with some authority and to advise on solutions. For example there was a very large built in shelving unit, but the rear of it was just the plaster on the wall. This had become quite dirty over the years and the shelves were stuffed with old and unnecessary files to cover it up. The unit couldn't reasonably be removed and if the wall was painted through the shelf, the paint would end up on the wood as well. I told her that the first thing would be a weak solution of bleach and some elbow grease before anything more serious should be tried. It looks as though nobody had ever tried to clean the muck off. We'll see how we go with that. On the way back to where we were staying I managed to snap off a few shots down the back roads to give you an idea. Everyone is saying how desperate the country is for rain and are all praying every day for it to start. It is the time of year when it should. Everyone is complaining of the heat, but at mid to low thirties Celsius, it isn't too uncomfortable for me. It is humid, but not so much so, but the atmosphere does feel a little pregnant with expectancy of the storms to come. Water is badly needed now, there are cuts every day, and as 90%(?) of the country relies on hydropower, there are many electric cuts as well. Just so you know. Most buildings are one or more generators and most, as the capital is built over an aquifer, have their own bore holes. To finish off, just a little walk round where I am staying - To prove beyond doubt that we are on the internet, there has to be something about cats. Here, close to my room, is Bill and Ben -
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Zambia
Nov 6, 2016 19:08:51 GMT 2
Post by auntieannie on Nov 6, 2016 19:08:51 GMT 2
looks lovely. say hello to the cats!
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Zambia
Nov 6, 2016 20:33:21 GMT 2
Post by Baz Faz on Nov 6, 2016 20:33:21 GMT 2
Those kittens look expectant. Try the Squiggly Pops on them.
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Zambia
Nov 6, 2016 20:51:43 GMT 2
Post by OnlyMark on Nov 6, 2016 20:51:43 GMT 2
I'll make sure I get some tomorrow. That or the prawn thingies.
Forgot to mention, we went to look at a house to rent and it is on a plot with another house where the owners live. There is a shared pool and rental includes the gardener and a part time maid. It looked fine and we were told the owner has a dog, a Labrador. No problem we thought, until we get there are find they have four Labradors, all on the big side and all very 'friendly', meaning they jump up and wont leave you alone. They would have access to our side and garden and there is already dog poop we've noticed on our lawn and path. We've told the agent to contact the owners (who were away when we visited) and ask if they can put a small fence up where the access is on the driveway with a small gate. We'll see what they say.
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Zambia
Nov 7, 2016 21:10:36 GMT 2
Post by OnlyMark on Nov 7, 2016 21:10:36 GMT 2
Think of my daughters as German. They are culturally mixed but the predominant one is German. They will be visiting Zambia for Christmas and I've been talking with them about what they would like to see and do here. For a long while I was under the impression they'd like to see some cheetahs. I made a number of enquiries regarding actually being with them and interacting with them. This is what the girls expressed a wish to do. Well, it seems that as Tarzan had a pet chimp called Cheetah(sp?), it is chimpanzees they wish to do this with. They know of, because of these stories, chimps as cheetahs. Cheetahs, in German, are Gepards, which sounds far to similar to Leopards. Leopards are leopards, by the way. I have to start it all again.
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Zambia
Nov 7, 2016 21:18:05 GMT 2
Post by OnlyMark on Nov 7, 2016 21:18:05 GMT 2
Small update - as the Poll in the board shows, I have been looking at cars today. Our pet taxi driver, Dennson, has taken me round a load of dealers though I nearly gave up at the start when we first visited a Landrover dealer. At the side of our parked car when we entered was a fairly new Landrover Defender. The sticker price was 85,000 US dollars. Next to it was a Range Rover of about three or four years old, price 145,000 US dollars. I directed him to drive straight out and find me something more realistic.
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Zambia
Nov 8, 2016 7:21:34 GMT 2
Post by shrjeff on Nov 8, 2016 7:21:34 GMT 2
cor, pretty dear for a limey lemon...
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Zambia
Nov 8, 2016 8:58:25 GMT 2
Post by OnlyMark on Nov 8, 2016 8:58:25 GMT 2
Import tax is a killer.
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Zambia
Nov 8, 2016 19:48:31 GMT 2
Post by kuskiwi on Nov 8, 2016 19:48:31 GMT 2
Thanks for the updates and photos.
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Post by OnlyMark on Nov 8, 2016 21:25:25 GMT 2
You're welcome. Not yet signed a contract but we've decided which house and which car we will have. After a detailed examination of the Surf and Pajero I've decided on the Pajero. Several years newer for the same price, less mileage and a better condition. The place we'll stay is within walking distance of Mrs M's office, which is a bonus, has a shared pool with the owner who has the same design of house on the same large plot and is not far from the centre of town. The centre of the house has a large glasses area for light and the rooms surround it, the front is mainly lawn and the pool can be seen in the photos -
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Zambia
Nov 8, 2016 22:18:41 GMT 2
Post by Voy on Nov 8, 2016 22:18:41 GMT 2
that looks very nice, assuming you have got the fence/dogs thing solved?
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Post by sophie on Nov 9, 2016 4:15:56 GMT 2
Looks good!
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Post by OnlyMark on Nov 9, 2016 7:57:23 GMT 2
The owners have agreed to put up a fence so there shouldn't be much of a problem.
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Zambia
Nov 10, 2016 21:54:03 GMT 2
Post by kerouac2 on Nov 10, 2016 21:54:03 GMT 2
Glad to see some photos. I took about 1500 in Mexico during the last two weeks.
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Zambia
Nov 10, 2016 22:28:01 GMT 2
Post by OnlyMark on Nov 10, 2016 22:28:01 GMT 2
Not as many as you normally take then.
I'll be doing the photo thing as time goes on but for now, because I don't have transport, things are a bit quiet. As soon as I get a car and a proper place to stay then I'll be out and about. Otherwise it's just photos of the supermarket and cafes. Saw a wonderful local market today though on my way elsewhere and couldn't stop nor had time to do so.
Just to mention two things that have struck me so far - one is the lack of litter and the other is the lack of people smoking, especially out on the street. Some do in cafes and restaurants but I can't remember seeing anyone whilst they are walking about. Except the Chinese. They do so whenever I see them, but there aren't that many anyway.
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