Living in Lilongwe

Malawi has two main cities; Lilongwe and Blantyre. While Blantyre is the financial and commercial center, the capital Lilongwe is home to parliament and many government bodies. Consequently, it is also the home of charities, international government embassies and NGOs like CHAI.

Despite having a population of around 900 000, Lilongwe has a small-town feel. Or perhaps more precisely, a suburban-sprawl feel. It is difficult to define a central downtown area, but the city can be roughly divided into Old Town and New Town. My house and workplace are both located in New Town, along with Parliament and Capital Hill.

CHAI House #3 (My house)

Our house is in a newer suburb about a five minute drive away from work. Ten minutes away from home is the city center with a number of shopping centers, offices and low rise commercial buildings. It looks roughly like this:

We head to city center for groceries, bank machines and shopping at some of the larger stores such as Game (a South African Wal-Mart) and Mr. Price (a poor-quality clothing store). There are a number of options for grocery shopping, and if you choose the right shop on the right day, you might luck out and find treats like cream cheese and un-melted ice cream. Commercial transportation is not Malawi's strength, especially when you add refrigeration in to the mix. Not surprisingly, we buy boxed milk that comes shelf-stable in 1L tetra packs. While the grocery stores are great for dry staples like pasta and cereal, the main vegetable market is also located near city center and it is the best source for fruits and vegetables in terms price, quality and variety! Yumm!

Veggies at the outdoor market. 

Lake Trip #3: Weekend at Mumbo Island

Hello all!


I apologize for the lack of blog posts. This past week has been very busy at work and unfortunately, 14 hour work days leave little time for blogging!

But here are a couple of photos to enjoy until I can get another proper post up!


Date: Feb 1st-3rd
Location: The spectacular Mumbo Island on Lake Malawi (3.5 hrs from Lilongwe)
Details: I joined a group of ~25 expats for a weekend on Lake Malawi. This included 1 night on Mumbo Island; a spectacular eco-resort on a beautiful island on the lake.

Mumbo Island

Mumbo Island is collection of open-air buildings and covered tents scattered throughout the forest on an island. Mike, a local tour operator and friend, organized the trip as a quick getaway for those of us working in Lilongwe. One of Mike's drivers drove us out to Cape Maclear after work on Friday. After a social night in Cape Maclear, we boarded a boat and headed across the water to the island!





As one of the last to sign up for the trip, I stayed in a tent on the beach instead of one of the official villas. However, this meant that I had my very own beachfront accommodation complete with a comfortable mattress, clean sheets, and an amazing view!!

We spent the day swimming and snorkeling and as evening came closer we started to get in costume for a Murder Mystery Party! My character was a gold-digging waitress named Candy Cotton who was dating an older millionaire Thurston Howard III. I wasn't sure how well I would be able to pull off the gold-digging waitress character, but apparently I did well, because I won a top prize for my acting/dumb-blond abilities! Hummmm.....

Candy Cotton and Thurston Howard III (aka Patrick, our main contact at the Ministry of Health here in Lilongwe)

Lake Malawi

Lake Malawi (or Lake Nyasa as it is called by other countries with different ideas regarding lake ownership) is the third largest lake in Africa and the ninth largest lake in the world. After being in the country for just a few weeks, I have already visited the lake three times!

'The Lake' is a popular weekend trip for those looking to escape the city for the weekend. Driving from Lilongwe to Selima, one of the nearest spots on the lake, takes around 1.5 hrs. However, for the past two weekends I have gone to Cape Maclear--a very beautiful area around 3.5 hrs from Lilongwe.

Fuel in Malawi is extremely expensive and not always available. Outside of the main cities, cars and trucks are few and far between. Consequently, most of the road to Cape Maclear is paved, scenic and almost car-free.

Rush hour on the Lilongwe-Cape Maclear road. 

Cape Maclear (or Chembe) is a sleepy lakeside village with a small local community and a number of cottages. Backpacker lodges share the waterfront with locals doing their laundry and catching fish to dry in the sun.

Lakeside laundry

Ten minutes by boat and you are away from the daily village activities and surrounded by beautiful tropical paradise. The lake is known for its amazing diversity of fish and we spent the day swimming, snorkeling and attempting to catch a few. I guess our lack of fishing expertise was obvious and a group of local boys quickly paddled their dug-out canoe to sell us their fish.

After a full day on the water, you can't get too much better than a beautiful sunset over the lake!