Dar es Salaam to Lusaka is a two hour flight. Departure is from Terminal 3 which is new, with modern facilities, air-conditioned and clean but the clever security people are the same. My luggage was scanned at the entrance to the terminal and I was asked to open my suitcase, this has only ever happened to me in the Caribbean in the past hahaha. I have no idea if these people get any training or what sort of equipment they use or do they just want to have a stickbeak. Check-in and immigration only took a minute, no queues and efficient. Comfortable flight with Air Tanzania on a fairly new B737-MAX9. Landed at Lusaka, bus to the terminal which was also new, clean and air-conditioned, immigration only took a minute, no Visa fees, once again fast and efficient. There are 3 ATM’s at the terminal, my Mastercard only worked at the Zanaco Bank ATM no fees and a good exchange rate. Next door is an Airtel shop where I bought 6 GB data for ZMW 100 + 5 for the SIM card or US$4 in total. The recommended rideshare service here is called Yango and you can bargain with the driver on the app hahaha. I paid 350 Kwacha or US$14, a regular taxi was US$30, you need a local phone number to use the App. Good roads and clean on the way to my hotel. Checked-in, paid with my credit card and they said that Lusaka only has electricity for half the day or less and they only run their generator in the morning and evening and rooms start on the 4th floor with no Lift when the power is off hahaha. I told them I can not manage 4 flights of stairs so they agreed to cancel the booking but their terminal could not give me a credit so someone had to get cash from somewhere which took about an hour. I booked another hotel in the CBD that ran their generator automatically whenever there was no power as they should. This hotel only accepted Visa so make sure you have both Visa and Mastercard when travelling in Africa. The CBD is not the best area to stay in, too many people loitering, touts and beggars, crowded and there is nothing to see. Book a hotel close to one of the big Malls like Manda Hill Mall which is in a nice area and has everything and Yango is so cheap it will only cost you US$2 to go anywhere. Unexpectedly the people here speak English very well better than any of the previous African countries.
A word of caution, about US$200 in small bills was stolen from my backpack in my hotel room. First time this has happened in 16 years of travelling and 133 countries. It was cleverly done just before I left so I only noticed it after I landed in another country and was unpacking. Apparently this is not unusual in Africa.
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Chris's space 