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Welcome to my travel log! You will find here a lot more than in the travel reports, stripped from political correctness. Enjoy! 
Nov 03, 2005 07:00 PM Masvingo (Zimbabwe)
When the bus rolled into the town of Masvingo, I was not sure if I wanted to get off. I was not actually sure it was Masvingo. I had to guess, judging on the time it was taking from Harare. The town was not sign-posted and of course there were no announcements on the bus. The part of the town, in which the bus stopped had absolutely no significant features and it looked like I was getting off in the middle of nowhere.
The town could be pleasant from a closer look, though. The avenues in the centre were wide, some were planted with tall palm trees and colourful bougainvilleas, and there were a few interesting, colonial buildings, which made Masvingo look actually like a town. Sadly, there were no good restaurants but the number of banks (all with modern ATMs accepting domestic cards only) was much larger than sufficient. Yet, there were few hotels!
The backpackers place of my choice was fully booked, which I found surprising, because it looked large and I could not imagine anyone coming to Masvingo and staying overnight. The town looked totally tourist-free to me.
So, I wandered around the town a little and checked to The Firelilly Lodge for 700,000 Zimbabwean dollars (ZWD). Initially, they wanted to charge me USD 30 instead! That would be three times more the official price quoted in ZWD, the actual 700,000 dollars.
Payment in foreign currency was required of foreigners unless they could present a money exchange receipt from a bank. Luckily I had one and escaped paying three times more than I should! I was proud of myself that I remained calm during that entire process of agreeing which price i should be paying.
The thing was that there was no record, in which currency I was paying, so had I fallen in to the trap of paying in USD, the personnel (looking suspiciously dishonest to me) would have changed USD 10 to ZWD and pocketed the remaining USD 20.
After checking in at this rather terrible lodge, I went to town looking for the tourist information office to enquire how I could get to the Great Zimbabwe National Monument. When I found the office, the personnel was leaving for lunch, so I started speculating about hiring a taxi. As soon as I mentioned that to one of them, they decided that they were not so hungry and were prepared to negotiate a price, so one of them would take me wherever I wanted to go.
I reluctantly agreed to a rather expensive ride, but I understood that the driver had to get petrol from the black market. The best place to get petrol was to go to a filling station from behind or ask someone at the several day-long queue right in front of the station.
The guys who queued for several days did not complain. This was their living. As the black market price could be ten times higher than the official one, as soon as they got to the pump and took their 20 litres allowance, they made sure they sold the fuel with a nice profit. And it could be as much as two million Zim dollars for the lot - three weeks salary of an office clerk. That was a pretty nice profit.
I might have overpaid for the ride and the guy wanted to trick me, however I guess I had little other options at hand and definitely no time. I could have hitched but petrol shortages resulted in much less traffic everywhere. Well, I did not plan to ever come back to Zimbabwe, so I cared a little less. The most important fact for me was that I was making progress, and accepted that travelling in Zimbabwe was going to be a challenge. Unfortunately, wherever I went, I was under impression that everyone wanted to trick me.
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Nov 02, 2005 07:00 PM Harare (Zimbabwe)
I arrived in Zimbabwe through the international airport of Harare. The procedures at the border were smooth like James Bond, and the immigration officials were friendly and welcoming. I was only disturbed by the size of the visa in my passport, which required an entire page!
I quickly changed some money and got about two kilograms (four pounds) of local currency, Zimbabwean dollar.
When I left the airport, I saw that Harare was quite modern with up-to-date architecture and wide avenues. There were also two or three interesting colonial building on the street leading to the airport.
I arrived at 9.30 p.m. and at that time the city was sleeping. Absolutely no action whatsoever! Even at the Small World Backpackers Lodge it was dead quiet. Well, there were just eight people staying there, including me, nevertheless I wanted to find about Zim (the locals shortened Zimbabwe like that) a little, get some travel tips, particularly about moving around. It was important because I heard that there could be problems with public transport, which could have been significantly reduced due to the lack of petrol.
The quite friendly taxi driver, who took me from the airport, told me that certain buses were running despite the national petrol shortage and that the train was definitely moving.
Although I was falling on my face, after being on the road (in the air) for 28 hours, I was definitely preparing for socialising at the lodge. Not a chance! Not at that night! Even the bartender-turned-receptionist was tired and was getting ready to go to bed. What a disappointment!
The Small World Backpackers Lodge (SWBL) was slightly out of town and although it was laid out on a largish area with a few common rooms (television room and two sitting lounges), my room smelled terribly. The walls were painted in institutional cold blue, the bed was uncomfortable and despite a small table - there were no chairs. The bathroom was outside and the light inside was broken - though they did fix it in a heartbeat, after I reported it.
Morning showed the SWBL was in a very nice area with great villas, gardens and clean streets. I was moving swiftly to a bus station in the southern part of the city.
The Harare Mbare bus terminal was busy with about three thousand people trading or catching a bus or touting some to catch one. The guy who brought me there from the lodge was a little concerned about my safety and claimed that the bus terminal was not a place for a tourist like me. Well, how would tourists like me travel around Zimbabwe, if they were not using the bus terminals to get on a bus? Nevertheless, he was very kind and accompanied me to the bus and left only after ensuring I was safe sitting inside a bus going to where I wanted to go. And by the way, I did not see anything strange or dangerous-looking around.
The quality of the buses varied considerably, from unbelievably old and rusty to sleek and equipped with toilets and air conditioning. I got on a below-average one; dirty and overcrowded - a truly African bus!
In the bus of fifty people I was the only white one. This is was absolutely fine for everyone and no-one actually paid any attention. One of the passengers suddenly, or maybe spontaneously, joined the ticketing team and why, I still do not understand.
Later, all the tickets were checked twice. First by a strange guy, who pretended he was a passenger, and was actually travelling with his wife. Second time by an inspector, who stepped on to the bus en route. Obviously, the bus company did not trust their employees and had to recruit more people who would check if anyone was pocketing any fares. I just thought it was rather expensive method of revenue protection.
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Oct 29, 2005 02:00 PM Vilnius - Lithuania, a second look
I got up early and hit the old town. Unfortunately, the part with the classic townhall was dug up for some roadworks. It was disturbing. But I tried to enjoy the cold autumn day soaking the UNESCO listed old district, searching for famous churches, city walls and gates, and houses of Polish poets. I found them all. The Mickiewicz house was inconspicuous but I never expected it to be more, and the 'Sharp Gate' from his poem was also nice...
I snapped and snapped and ate hot soups to warm up every now and again, until the time came to be preparing for the flight back to London.
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Oct 28, 2005 02:00 PM Vilnius - Lithuania, a first look
I have been snoozing a little while before visiting Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. Perhaps because it has been so near, and there was always going to be time to come. So, I bought a ticket for a quick weekend visit.
I arrived in the afternoon. And I was rather impressed with the street leading to the unexpectedly classical cathedral. The architecture was striking and there was little traffic. It looked so peaceful.
I went for a short stroll. It was rather chilly, and windy, so I did not linger too long. I jumped into a cellar bar for a quick drink. It was a glass of wine. I also had a hot soup to warm up. I took a glance at the historic district looking for a place to go out but nothing stoke me so I went back to the hotel, and decided to get up early for some good deal of sightseeing.
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Oct 23, 2005 02:00 PM Amsterdam (NL) - weather did not improve
Back in Amsterdam. Weather was still shabby, but it did not prevent us from having a wander again. It was Monday and streets were fuller, so it was fun to see more action in the city. Not that the weekend was not lively. It was, but a regular weekday was slightly different, and it was interesting to see it that way. Then, in the evening, I had leave back to London and we had to say goodbye, and I went to the airport.
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Oct 22, 2005 02:00 PM Antwerp (BE) - popping up for a steak
Holland, I found, did not impress me with food, so I decided to take Mustapha to Belgium for a good steak. He had never had a real steak, and I knew this restaurant by the cathedral in Antwerp that served wonderful pieces of meat.
We took a train from Amsterdam (originally wanted to go to Brussels, but there were problems on the rail line) to Antwerp, had lunch and wandered a little about the town. We went to see the castle, the townhall, the market and some side streets. We could not try those Belgian beers, as Mustapha did not drink. We stayed until dusk and then retrieved back to Amsterdam.
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Oct 21, 2005 02:00 PM Amsterdam (NL) - back again
I came to Amsterdam to see my Gambian friend Mustapha, who was visiting his friend in the Netherlands. It was great to see him. He was so funny. He had never been to Europe before and wanted to see Amsterdam. So, I flew from London to take him around. His friends in Holland were not that helpful.
Weather was not great. It was raining unpredictably and it was hard to choose what to do and where to wander without getting too soaked. But we managed to see the best canals, the royal palace and some more prominent buildings and even had peek into the red lights district.
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Oct 15, 2005 02:00 PM Montpellier (FR) - lunching in Antigone
On the way out, back to London, it was great to walk towards the Antigone district of Montpellier, which was built to resemble an ancient city, like those of Ancient Greece or Rome. The buildings are modern, but they look spectacular and the part by the canal, complete with nice restaurants and cafes is very popular. It is always a good place to grab something nice to eat. In the evening, it can be difficult to find a table without booking.
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Oct 14, 2005 02:00 PM Millau (FR) - the famous bridge
I so wanted to see the new bridge or viaduct in Millau. Its pylons are taller than the Eiffel Tower in Paris. They look very graceful and if weather is misty they appear mystically as if out of thin air.
When I came it was relatively misty, so it was hard to take a good picture. I had a few ideas of nice photograph, but most of them did not work well in those conditions. I am not complaining, I think the photo I manged to take was not a disaster.
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Oct 13, 2005 02:00 PM Montpelllier (FR) - at the end of the summer
Well, although the summer on the northern hemisphere is officially over on 23 September, the south of France enjoys warm weather a bit longer. But it was not this hot anymore; rather pleasant instead. There were still many visitors heading for the nearby beaches. Not as many as in the full high season of August, so it was easier to get a table at a cafe or a restaurant.
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