Kevin (the BFI driver, and now our friend) was a champ and offered to wake up super early to give us a ride to the bus station. We could have walked it (technically), but when we told Kevin that, he was kind of like "Ehhhhh not super safe--I'll take you." He got to Korea Garden Lodge at 4:30 in the morning to give us that lift.
We boarded the bus at the station in Lilongwe at 4:45, and our bus took off shortly after 5:30.
We stopped halfway there because the bus was smoking so much. After a period of waiting, everything cooled down and the smoke stopped, and we were back on our merry way (with my fingers crossed).
It got dark around 6:00, and I knew we weren't going to be able to catch the 7:00 bus to Livingstone. We pulled into Lusaka sometime between 8:00-9:00 (I think?). Fifteen solid hours of squeezing into the tiny seats, taking breaks to pee in the bush, or waiting for the bus to fix itself. It was hot and sweaty and slightly claustrophobic, but you know, all things considered, t'was marvelous. We all survived, and even better, none of us got blood clots or anything dramatic like that.
We got off the bus to the clamour of countless taxi drivers vying for your attention. I asked one for a lift to Kalulu Backpackers in Lusaka. He gave it to us for 30 ZMW.
We got to Kalulu and thank god, there were four available beds, because I hadn't made reservations (I'd been banking on making the connection from Lusaka to Livingstone that night). Rookie mistake. The options are limited in Lusaka, and I was trying to think of what we could do if they were full. We could try Lusaka Backpackers...if they're full...welp, I remember sleeping in the bus terminal last year when we had to wait for a connection, oh. Ralph would kill me, so probably not an option. Perhaps a hotel. Gosh, that would be expensive.
The next morning, we woke up, and headed back to the bus terminal, where we endured another eight hot, miserable hours on a (slightly bigger, so much YES) bus. We happily pulled into Livingstone around 9:00, where we found out that Jolly Boys had given our beds away due to our late arrival. Thankfully, they had room at their other location, which is where we slept for the night.
We had a lovely three days in Livingstone (I'll write about it more in the next post or two), before we headed back to Lilongwe. It was pretty much the same exact thing as the journey to Zambia. We did have to switch busses at Mchinji due to our bus breaking down, and we had a 2.5 hour delay at the border. So much waiting and sitting and more waiting, but I guess that's just how it goes.
Four full days on busses for three days of fun in Zambia.
Worth it? For me, totally.
We stopped halfway there because the bus was smoking so much. After a period of waiting, everything cooled down and the smoke stopped, and we were back on our merry way (with my fingers crossed).
It got dark around 6:00, and I knew we weren't going to be able to catch the 7:00 bus to Livingstone. We pulled into Lusaka sometime between 8:00-9:00 (I think?). Fifteen solid hours of squeezing into the tiny seats, taking breaks to pee in the bush, or waiting for the bus to fix itself. It was hot and sweaty and slightly claustrophobic, but you know, all things considered, t'was marvelous. We all survived, and even better, none of us got blood clots or anything dramatic like that.
We got off the bus to the clamour of countless taxi drivers vying for your attention. I asked one for a lift to Kalulu Backpackers in Lusaka. He gave it to us for 30 ZMW.
We got to Kalulu and thank god, there were four available beds, because I hadn't made reservations (I'd been banking on making the connection from Lusaka to Livingstone that night). Rookie mistake. The options are limited in Lusaka, and I was trying to think of what we could do if they were full. We could try Lusaka Backpackers...if they're full...welp, I remember sleeping in the bus terminal last year when we had to wait for a connection, oh. Ralph would kill me, so probably not an option. Perhaps a hotel. Gosh, that would be expensive.
The next morning, we woke up, and headed back to the bus terminal, where we endured another eight hot, miserable hours on a (slightly bigger, so much YES) bus. We happily pulled into Livingstone around 9:00, where we found out that Jolly Boys had given our beds away due to our late arrival. Thankfully, they had room at their other location, which is where we slept for the night.
We had a lovely three days in Livingstone (I'll write about it more in the next post or two), before we headed back to Lilongwe. It was pretty much the same exact thing as the journey to Zambia. We did have to switch busses at Mchinji due to our bus breaking down, and we had a 2.5 hour delay at the border. So much waiting and sitting and more waiting, but I guess that's just how it goes.
Four full days on busses for three days of fun in Zambia.
Worth it? For me, totally.
Hi Emily,
ReplyDeleteWhich country are you from and when are you gong to zamba again? I have asked because I often visit Zambia from UK.
Perry.