After an awful bus ride from Harare, I arrived in the Lusaka bus station where I transferred to the Radisson Blu Lusaka by taxi. That evening I relaxed and had dinner and drinks with the team from the hotel.

The next day I had an early breakfast with the GM who happened to be from Frankfurt.

Then I went on a short tour of the city with a taxi driver name Mike. We started with a drive to find my country tourist t-shirt. We eventually found a small stall on the side of the road selling football jerseys. Close enough. I picked up a Zambia team jersey for 60,000 kwacha (~$12) and continued the tour.

The Freedom Statue

Our first stop was the The Freedom Statue which is a monument dedicated to those who died for Zambia’s independence achieved in 1964. The statue of a man ripping chains apart symbolizes the break with colonial governance. The area is popular for celebrations during Africa Freedom Day on May 25th.

Lusaka National Museum

Nearby is the National Museum opened in 1996. There was a school trip ready to visit outside when I went in. The kids couldn’t stop staring at me probably because I was wearing my Zambia shirt.

The exhibit was displayed on two floors with a temporary photo exhibit in the main atrium. The galleries focused on Zambian culture through sculptures and diagrams, from the prehistoric period to present day. There were also some art pieces made by locals on display.

It was interesting and fairly well presented.

Flight from Lusaka to Lilongwe

From the hotel, I took the shuttle to the airport. I checked-in at the Proflight counter and then went to the seating area to wait. Immigration and security was a breeze as there was no line.

Soon enough we boarded a small Jetstream 32 which only had three seats per row.

The flight was a bit bumpy and this kid sitting across from me seemed really scared. I sat next to a Chinese guy from Anhui who worked in a construction company building hospitals and power plants in Malawi. He shared stories about the difficulties of living and working in this foreign land.

Next up, I explore the little known Malawi.