Malarity Ensues

Ending with a bang? Oh dear. Not to worry anyone back home, but I've been under the weather for the past few days with a wicked case of malaria. I probably got it by being an idiot and staying at cheap hotels that didn't have mosquito nets over the beds, but hey...who knows? Malaria, simply put, is awful. A lot of tourists here want to get it just to say "I went to Africa and got Malaria!" but I heavily advise against doing this. Malaria is awful. I've been steadily improving on a cocktail of quinine (no, I don't mean gin and tonic) and coartem (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coartem), but I've still got about 5 days to go before I'm all better. Malaria, awful as it may be, is not all bad though. It is with this in mind that I proudly present to you "The Pros and Cons of Having Malaria"

The Pros and Cons of Having Malaria

Pro: Great conversation starter with the ladies. Simpathetic responses tend to include back massages.

Con: Having a mouth smelling of vomit and quinine has to be one of the least attractive things on the planet.

Pro: It's a great diet!

Con: Solid food is actually pretty awesome.

Pro: It made an excellent excuse to book a few nights at the nicest hotel in Malawi.

Con: The bar is unusable.

Pro: You get to watch TV all day.

Con: BBC World is crap. Really, really crap. I mean honestly, the "Top Stories" repeat every ten minutes! There has to be more going on in the world than this.

Pro: Simpathy from Malawians gets me comfy seats on minibuses.

Con: "Comfort" in a vehicle designed to hold 8 people that has been filled with 20 people, 10 chickens and luggage is a relative term.

Granted, there are other cons (see: symptoms), but I just want to illustrate that all is not lost.

Infectious disease aside, Malawi has proven to be a great spot to relax for three weeks. My time in Nkhata Bay (which was supposed to last 2 days, but got extended to a week) was fantastic, until Malaria hit. I slept late, enjoyed excellent food, excellent views, excellent company and a most excellent lakeside trampoline. I didn't swim much, but apparently there was excellent snorkelling too.

Last I checked Malawi was ranked as one of the 5 poorest coutries in the world, but you would never know that being here. It's really easy to see places as mixtures of news items and statistics, but the reality here contradicted most of my expectations. Yes, people are very impoverished and there are likely a slew of serious challenges facing the country, but looking at the people you'd hardly notice. Blantyre and Lilongwe (the two largest cities), are clean and bustling (if astonishingly dull). These are just broad observations made by a guy who has only been here 3 weeks doing absolutely nothing, but Malawi in person is a million times better than it sounds on paper.

Anyhow, I'm out of here the day after tomorrow to Nairobi (I'm just going now to pick up my ticket). By September 3 I'll be back in Montreal. The coming home fiesta will likely have to be postponned a few days (drinking on an injured liver is hardly intelligent), but it will be a pleasure to see y'all soon.

Cheers,

-Dave