Malawi is drawing closer and closer. Many of you have asked about the weather. August is Malawi's spring. Daytime temps are in the high 70's (hot but comfortable) and nighttime temps are in the upper 40's (cool and sometimes breezy) So bring summer clothes and a light jacket or sweater and you will be fine. I am not sure if the link below will work. If it doesn't you can go to www.weather.com and in the search box type; Lilongwe and you can use to see the weather for the next 10 days or for a month. see you soon,
gratitude and blessings, Masankho
Weather forecast for August in Lilongwe
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Art Exhibits in London during our layover
Katharine Kunst offers this advice about some art exhibits in London that folks might want to try to see during our layover.
Two really interesting art exhibits going on while you all are laying over.
At the Tate Modern an exhibit called Global Cities. It takes 10 cities (Cairo, Istanbul, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Mumbai, Sao Paulo, Shanghai, and Tokyo) and looks at this in the present moment and then how they will be into the future using five thematic lenses: size, speed, foprm, density and diversity. I found the exhibit just fascinating. Full full full of information. And asking many interesting questions, not all of which did the exhibit answer. There are other more conventional exhibits there as well. A Rothko room which is a quiet place amidst all the school kids and groups. Helio Oiticica's The Body of Colour which you have to pay to enter.
At the Hayward Gallery is an exhibit by Antony Gormley called Blind Light. One of the most exuberantly creative guys I've seen lately.Concrete and hanging guys and a room filled with fog. Don't miss the piece called Event Horizon which to me was absolutely stunning.
Both of these exhibit are on the south side of the Thames.
From Heathrow, there are two ways to get into London. The Heathrow Express is 31 pounds round trip which is expensive--but it only takes 15 minutes from Heathrow to Paddington Station. You can also take the tube which costs a lot less but takes longer.
If you go the the Hayward Gallery first, you'd get yourself on the Circle line and get off at Embankment, walk across a pedestrian bridge and there you are. From the Hayward it is a simple 15-20 minute walk down to Tate Modern which is a converted power station. (The Cities exhibit is in the old turbine room.)
Two really interesting art exhibits going on while you all are laying over.
At the Tate Modern an exhibit called Global Cities. It takes 10 cities (Cairo, Istanbul, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Mumbai, Sao Paulo, Shanghai, and Tokyo) and looks at this in the present moment and then how they will be into the future using five thematic lenses: size, speed, foprm, density and diversity. I found the exhibit just fascinating. Full full full of information. And asking many interesting questions, not all of which did the exhibit answer. There are other more conventional exhibits there as well. A Rothko room which is a quiet place amidst all the school kids and groups. Helio Oiticica's The Body of Colour which you have to pay to enter.
At the Hayward Gallery is an exhibit by Antony Gormley called Blind Light. One of the most exuberantly creative guys I've seen lately.Concrete and hanging guys and a room filled with fog. Don't miss the piece called Event Horizon which to me was absolutely stunning.
Both of these exhibit are on the south side of the Thames.
From Heathrow, there are two ways to get into London. The Heathrow Express is 31 pounds round trip which is expensive--but it only takes 15 minutes from Heathrow to Paddington Station. You can also take the tube which costs a lot less but takes longer.
If you go the the Hayward Gallery first, you'd get yourself on the Circle line and get off at Embankment, walk across a pedestrian bridge and there you are. From the Hayward it is a simple 15-20 minute walk down to Tate Modern which is a converted power station. (The Cities exhibit is in the old turbine room.)
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
London airport
Dear Friends,
Katharine Kunst, who is part of this traveling group, has shared with us that the security in the London airport has been very tight. Given that, if you choose to leave the airport for some time on our long layover, you may want to give yourself plenty of time to get through security when you come back.
Phil
Katharine Kunst, who is part of this traveling group, has shared with us that the security in the London airport has been very tight. Given that, if you choose to leave the airport for some time on our long layover, you may want to give yourself plenty of time to get through security when you come back.
Phil
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Malawi notes!!
Greetings of peace and love!!
Dear Malawi Travelers,
How are you? I am well. I have been on the road for the past two weeks. I am in Atlanta on my way back to Oakland and I am taking the opportunity of this 4 hour layover to update you. I hope that you are having a wonderful weekend.
Three more weeks and we will be on our journey. It is very exciting.
Thank you to all of you have sent you biographies introducing yourselves to my Dad and to me actually as I am learning about who you are as well. If you haven't sent yours in please do so as soon as you are able. Thank you.
I am going to respond to some questions that have come up.
Q. Is it best to take American currency or travelers checks or both?
A. i would take both. say you are planning to take $500, you might figure a breakdown of $300 in travelers checks and $200 in cash
Q. Will we be able to change money/cash travelers checks easily in Lilongwe? Tukombo?
A. We will change our money in Lilongwe. once we leave Lilongwe it will be a little more difficult though not impossible to change money. We are in Lilongwe the afternoon of our arrival and the next morning which will give us plenty of time to change money. I recommend you purchase one of those money bags that allows you to strap your money under your clothes. I will be in touch with Mrs. Chintu and we will come up with a strategy for changing money. I am wary of having us all carrying lots of money that once lost in whatever way cannot be recovered. Malawi is a very safe country but just as you can be ripped of on the streets of oakland you can also be ripped of on the shores of Lake Malawi. When we are traveling they will be folks who will help to keep an eye on our stuff when we are doing various activities.
A+ Let me add something here. As I have said Malawi is a safe country. However, it is also a poor country and people get tempted by anything that might alleviate their poverty, like your shiny new digital camera for example. A digital camera could feed a four person family for two to three months. Your travel insurance will cover any loss. Please make sure to document and if you can take a picture of any equipment that you bring. I am bringing my laptop and you can too. However, back up all your files before you leave if you do. write down your computers make and serial number. Keep a copy of the document here in the US and bring one with you. Nobody in the last trip had anything stolen and I pray that no one will in this trip either. When we are out and about be wary and careful (not paranoid) just wary and careful. At Kande beach they have three desktop computers on which you can check e-mail and they also have ethernet ports to hook your laptop to if you bring it. In Lilongwe we will also have internet access.
Q. What is the currency called there and what is its value to the US dollar?
A. The currency is the Malawi Kwacha and it is currently $1 = 140 kwacha. you can check http://www.xe.com to see what the updated currency exchange is. It takes some navigating because the kwacha is not a top listed currency.
Q. Krista has mentioned that we might want to have some "small bills" for tipping dancers, etc. What would constitute a "small bill" and how much is it worth?
A. The Malawi notes are in 500 ($3.50), 200 ($1.50), 100 ($0.70) and 50, 20 & 10 kwacha bills. So you can see that even our largest bill is only $3.50 which can sometimes be the amount of money that a person can earn in a month especially in the village. When we arrive in Lilongwe Mrs. Chintu will give us a briefing before we go to the bank to change our money.
Q. Can you remind folks again about what things they would need cash for and which will be covered by us?
A. All food, accommodations and transportation are covered for the entire 10 days. Accommodations are shared. If you need and/or require to have a single then that will be extra. Example if you were to share a room and it was $20 per person per night and you requested to be by yourself in that room then you would be responsible for the extra $20 because that is how they would charge us.
Game park fees, accommodations at the game park and game viewing are also covered by your registration.
Kande beach has horses, canoes, there is an island that they can take you too when we have open windows and there are other water activities. all of these are at your expense. Internet and any phone calls are at your expense. if we are out somewhere, the meal and a basic soft drink are covered, any alcohol is at your own expense. Please visit Kandebeach.com for listing of activities that are available and their prices.
In the three days of cultural activities we are arranging small group visits with healers, farmers, etc. We will give them a small stipend to cover their time. You are welcome if you feel inspired to give them a small tip for time. They will appreciate it.
If you are arriving a day early I will arrange for someone to meet you at the airport and bring you to the hotel. That is a taxi fare of about $20 and the nights accommodation of the same price which you will need to cover. It may be possible to have a car that will be free. I won't know this until its closer to the time.
If you are leaving a day early. By the way, is anyone leaving a day early? This will also be an added cost for transportation from Kasungu to Lilongwe. Approximately $30 to $50 dollars which you will need to prepare for.
DONT forget you need to have $30 in US currency to leave the country.
My best estimate is that if you bring anywhere from $300 to $1000 that is plenty of money.
Other things:
Diet: our meals will consist of a variety of vegetables, fruits, and then meat, chicken and fish. grains will be the local nsima (made from corn flour mixed with water), rice and potatoes. if there is anything more exotic than that we will be sure to let you know. Please let me know if there is anything that you don't eat or if you are vegan or vegetarian. For vegetarians with each meal there will be plenty of vegetarian options.
things that are needed: I am going to look into this and get back to you. some of you have asked and of course this is optional.
I can't think of anything else right now.
Please. If you have asked me a question and I haven't responded please send your e-mail to me again and I apologize that I haven't gotten back to you. I am a little more focused on this trip now and will respond as quickly as I can.
I am taking deep breaths and going wheeeeeeeee! as often as I can. I hope you are too. This will be on the blog in case you want to refer to it from time to time.
gratitude and blessings, Masankho
510 773 7328
Dear Malawi Travelers,
How are you? I am well. I have been on the road for the past two weeks. I am in Atlanta on my way back to Oakland and I am taking the opportunity of this 4 hour layover to update you. I hope that you are having a wonderful weekend.
Three more weeks and we will be on our journey. It is very exciting.
Thank you to all of you have sent you biographies introducing yourselves to my Dad and to me actually as I am learning about who you are as well. If you haven't sent yours in please do so as soon as you are able. Thank you.
I am going to respond to some questions that have come up.
Q. Is it best to take American currency or travelers checks or both?
A. i would take both. say you are planning to take $500, you might figure a breakdown of $300 in travelers checks and $200 in cash
Q. Will we be able to change money/cash travelers checks easily in Lilongwe? Tukombo?
A. We will change our money in Lilongwe. once we leave Lilongwe it will be a little more difficult though not impossible to change money. We are in Lilongwe the afternoon of our arrival and the next morning which will give us plenty of time to change money. I recommend you purchase one of those money bags that allows you to strap your money under your clothes. I will be in touch with Mrs. Chintu and we will come up with a strategy for changing money. I am wary of having us all carrying lots of money that once lost in whatever way cannot be recovered. Malawi is a very safe country but just as you can be ripped of on the streets of oakland you can also be ripped of on the shores of Lake Malawi. When we are traveling they will be folks who will help to keep an eye on our stuff when we are doing various activities.
A+ Let me add something here. As I have said Malawi is a safe country. However, it is also a poor country and people get tempted by anything that might alleviate their poverty, like your shiny new digital camera for example. A digital camera could feed a four person family for two to three months. Your travel insurance will cover any loss. Please make sure to document and if you can take a picture of any equipment that you bring. I am bringing my laptop and you can too. However, back up all your files before you leave if you do. write down your computers make and serial number. Keep a copy of the document here in the US and bring one with you. Nobody in the last trip had anything stolen and I pray that no one will in this trip either. When we are out and about be wary and careful (not paranoid) just wary and careful. At Kande beach they have three desktop computers on which you can check e-mail and they also have ethernet ports to hook your laptop to if you bring it. In Lilongwe we will also have internet access.
Q. What is the currency called there and what is its value to the US dollar?
A. The currency is the Malawi Kwacha and it is currently $1 = 140 kwacha. you can check http://www.xe.com to see what the updated currency exchange is. It takes some navigating because the kwacha is not a top listed currency.
Q. Krista has mentioned that we might want to have some "small bills" for tipping dancers, etc. What would constitute a "small bill" and how much is it worth?
A. The Malawi notes are in 500 ($3.50), 200 ($1.50), 100 ($0.70) and 50, 20 & 10 kwacha bills. So you can see that even our largest bill is only $3.50 which can sometimes be the amount of money that a person can earn in a month especially in the village. When we arrive in Lilongwe Mrs. Chintu will give us a briefing before we go to the bank to change our money.
Q. Can you remind folks again about what things they would need cash for and which will be covered by us?
A. All food, accommodations and transportation are covered for the entire 10 days. Accommodations are shared. If you need and/or require to have a single then that will be extra. Example if you were to share a room and it was $20 per person per night and you requested to be by yourself in that room then you would be responsible for the extra $20 because that is how they would charge us.
Game park fees, accommodations at the game park and game viewing are also covered by your registration.
Kande beach has horses, canoes, there is an island that they can take you too when we have open windows and there are other water activities. all of these are at your expense. Internet and any phone calls are at your expense. if we are out somewhere, the meal and a basic soft drink are covered, any alcohol is at your own expense. Please visit Kandebeach.com for listing of activities that are available and their prices.
In the three days of cultural activities we are arranging small group visits with healers, farmers, etc. We will give them a small stipend to cover their time. You are welcome if you feel inspired to give them a small tip for time. They will appreciate it.
If you are arriving a day early I will arrange for someone to meet you at the airport and bring you to the hotel. That is a taxi fare of about $20 and the nights accommodation of the same price which you will need to cover. It may be possible to have a car that will be free. I won't know this until its closer to the time.
If you are leaving a day early. By the way, is anyone leaving a day early? This will also be an added cost for transportation from Kasungu to Lilongwe. Approximately $30 to $50 dollars which you will need to prepare for.
DONT forget you need to have $30 in US currency to leave the country.
My best estimate is that if you bring anywhere from $300 to $1000 that is plenty of money.
Other things:
Diet: our meals will consist of a variety of vegetables, fruits, and then meat, chicken and fish. grains will be the local nsima (made from corn flour mixed with water), rice and potatoes. if there is anything more exotic than that we will be sure to let you know. Please let me know if there is anything that you don't eat or if you are vegan or vegetarian. For vegetarians with each meal there will be plenty of vegetarian options.
things that are needed: I am going to look into this and get back to you. some of you have asked and of course this is optional.
I can't think of anything else right now.
Please. If you have asked me a question and I haven't responded please send your e-mail to me again and I apologize that I haven't gotten back to you. I am a little more focused on this trip now and will respond as quickly as I can.
I am taking deep breaths and going wheeeeeeeee! as often as I can. I hope you are too. This will be on the blog in case you want to refer to it from time to time.
gratitude and blessings, Masankho
510 773 7328
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Time in London
For those on the group flight, we do have a long layover in London. You will get to decide how to spend that time, and can conspire with fellow travelers if you choose. We will not be planning anything for the whole group. It sounds like those of us with US passports will be able to leave the airport if we desire. I know that Rich Citrin has investigated the possibility of getting a room to get some rest. (See his note under the "Lonely Planet" blog entry.) Depending on your energy, you may decided to hang out in the airport. (I'm planning to get to the airport and decide in the moment what to do!) Our friend Caroline Kisiel, an InterPlay from Chicago who is studying in London, is going to come to the airport to meet us. She may be available to give people advice about the options.
mosquito nets
The places we are staying will have mosquito nets, so there is no need to either bring those or buy them there, as far as we know.
Friday, July 6, 2007
Homeopathic Info for Traveling
Here are a couple of documents from Karen Austen that give information about homeopathic alternatives to the sorts of things one might be immunized against when traveling to where we are going in Africa.
Alternatives to immunization
AlternativesHomeopathy for disease prevention
Alternatives to immunization
AlternativesHomeopathy for disease prevention
Thursday, July 5, 2007
More advice from Krista and friends
Here are additional thoughts for our trip to Malawi that Emily, Liz, Louise, and I felt might be helpful.
Tipping.
1 - It is customary to tip dancers when their groups perform for you. This usually happens during their performances: witnesses go up to the group leader or individual dancers and give them small bills to honor them. After the performance, all the money is given to the leader. He pays group expenses and divides the remaining money equally among all the dancers. Emily and I feel our visiting InterPlayers should know about this tradition beforehand and have opportunities to get plenty of small bills before we get to the village.
2 - The September, 2006 group also often tipped people who helped us at our motels and who were generally paid exceedingly little for their work. Smaller bills would be needed for this. Sometimes these tips were collected and given as a group.
3 - At the end of our September, 2006 trip, group members were also invited to give more substantial tips to our guides, Emily and Priscilla, to our bus driver, and to Harriet who had done so much work helping prepare for our visit. While this was not required, we all wanted to do this. Some planning in advance may be helpful for people who are unaware of this at the beginning of the trip.
Buying souvenirs
1 – Emily wants the InterPlayers to know that Tukombo villagers have been busy making jewelry, souvenirs, paintings and more in the hopes of selling these to guests who visit the village. Please do not buy the majority of your African souvenirs before you have seen what these dear people have been preparing. Susan Kirsch, one of our Malawi group participants in September of 2006, helped the villagers realize that their creations have value and may be a small source of income.
2 – If people are interested, Emily can have tailors come to our motel with fabrics and sample clothing styles the day we arrive. Tailors can take measurements and sew traditional clothing that will be ready for purchasers before they leave the country, possibly even being delivered to Tukombo village while we are there. Emily needs to know if she should arrange this.
Dress Code. Apparently the dress code at the Kande Beach Resort (a tourist resort) where we are sleeping is less conservative than in the village where we will be dancing. Sounds like layers of covering and uncovering would be a good idea. Light weight T-shirts with sleeves that are less revealing than plunging tank-tops might be appreciated when we are dancing. Masankho may know best about this.
Counting the days,
Krista
Tipping.
1 - It is customary to tip dancers when their groups perform for you. This usually happens during their performances: witnesses go up to the group leader or individual dancers and give them small bills to honor them. After the performance, all the money is given to the leader. He pays group expenses and divides the remaining money equally among all the dancers. Emily and I feel our visiting InterPlayers should know about this tradition beforehand and have opportunities to get plenty of small bills before we get to the village.
2 - The September, 2006 group also often tipped people who helped us at our motels and who were generally paid exceedingly little for their work. Smaller bills would be needed for this. Sometimes these tips were collected and given as a group.
3 - At the end of our September, 2006 trip, group members were also invited to give more substantial tips to our guides, Emily and Priscilla, to our bus driver, and to Harriet who had done so much work helping prepare for our visit. While this was not required, we all wanted to do this. Some planning in advance may be helpful for people who are unaware of this at the beginning of the trip.
Buying souvenirs
1 – Emily wants the InterPlayers to know that Tukombo villagers have been busy making jewelry, souvenirs, paintings and more in the hopes of selling these to guests who visit the village. Please do not buy the majority of your African souvenirs before you have seen what these dear people have been preparing. Susan Kirsch, one of our Malawi group participants in September of 2006, helped the villagers realize that their creations have value and may be a small source of income.
2 – If people are interested, Emily can have tailors come to our motel with fabrics and sample clothing styles the day we arrive. Tailors can take measurements and sew traditional clothing that will be ready for purchasers before they leave the country, possibly even being delivered to Tukombo village while we are there. Emily needs to know if she should arrange this.
Dress Code. Apparently the dress code at the Kande Beach Resort (a tourist resort) where we are sleeping is less conservative than in the village where we will be dancing. Sounds like layers of covering and uncovering would be a good idea. Light weight T-shirts with sleeves that are less revealing than plunging tank-tops might be appreciated when we are dancing. Masankho may know best about this.
Counting the days,
Krista
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