Zambia Mosi-oa-Tunya (Victoria Falls)

2024, Nov 26    

Zambia | Country 29 | 6 day |

I have been looking forward to traveling the interiors of Africa for a long time! This has been a week of non-stop culture shock, mixed with wonderful experiences and landscapes.

Some aspects of my Zambia trip that I find really unique:

• Previously Rhodesia, Zambia gained independence in 1964 and has 73 different tribes. As an English-speaking country, they drive on the left.
• The president’s photo is mandatory in every shop. Its first president was Kenneth Kuanda (KK); despite a negative Western portrayal, he is well regarded and celebrated in Zambia.
• The 3 main telecoms are Airtel, MTN and Zamtel. What surprised me is that they are also means of sending payment; many shops only accept Airtel money.
• ATMs posed unexpected challenges - many were either out of cash or didn’t accept Western debit cards. I had to exchange USD for Kwacha, but encountered questionable “small note” exchange rates.
• During the Holocaust, Zambia once had a good amount of (Eastern European / Lithuanian) Jewish communities, but has since dissipated after Zambia gained majority rule from the British.
• There are an increasing amount of Chinese connections in Zambia, from the railways in the 1970s, to the present day Copper rush.

Arriving to Lusaka

About 30% of passengers on my flight from Qatar to Zambia were Chinese. I was surprised to learn just how significant the population is, whom are immigrating, visiting or working here.

There is something omni-present in Zambia - loadshedding. Caused by El Niño, Zambia like many in Southern Africa is experiencing a drought. This has caused low hydro electric generation, where electricity can go out often in the day, and many (affluent) businesses have generators to keep their businesses running.

As soon as I got to my hotel, the power went out, with the first floor elevator closing half way. I experienced loadshedding vividly in my first day while shower.

Being in a sub-Saharan country, mosquitos are a big problem. But fortunately, I had my own mosquito net. Unfortunately for me, I learned that I had some mild allergic reaction to Malarone pills that I had to take everyday.

Exploring Lusaka

Zambia gained independence in 1964, from a non-violence movement called Chachacha. It was previously Northern Rhodesia, the country named after Cecil Rhodes.

Cecil Rhodes had a dream to connect Cairo to Cape Town through Rhodesia, which is why the main street downtown is called Cairo Road.

The Central Business District (CBD) is bustling with street vendors.

You can often see mothers carrying their children, with big loads on their heads. They are either working as a small vendor, or traveling. The markets are chaotic, where you can frequently see people carrying dead chicken by hand, or others cooking sausages for sale.

I had some wonderful snacks / breakfast in Lusaka. Vitumbawa is Zambia’s version of fried dough, and samp (dried corn kernels) is a staple for breakfast.

A big portion of the Lusaka National Museum is dedicated to the relations with China. Because of the European scramble for Africa, China was a neutral party that really provided aid to Zambia, from TAZARA railways from back in the early 1970s.

Relationship for 50+ years!

The University of Zambia is beautiful, situated right besides East Park Mall. I saw so many hard working students at the country’s best university.

Right: Building dedicated to relations with China built in 2014.

Lusaka is chaotic, but bustling with life.

Outskirts of Lusaka

I took a Yango (aka Southern Africa’s Uber) to the reptile park. It was a 30 minute drive, and well worth it. There were snakes, turtles and most impressively, crocodiles. There were some enclosures dedicated to 2-3 year old crocs, 3-4 year olds and the fully grown adults.

Truly scary to see crocs that are 3+ meters long!

On the way back, I saw a Shaolin temple, and was surprised to learn that Africans are also practicing Kung Fu.

There are also Chinese schools and banks all throughout Lusaka.

I had lunch at a popular local Chinese restaurant district called JCS. There were about 30 Chinese restaurants, and the owners would speak Chinese to the Zambian staff about the menu.

I was so surprised that when speaking with an African Zambian at JCS, the staff couldn’t understand the food in English, and had to verify with me in Chinese (肉夹馍) instead.

Zambia’s Dishes

Nshima is like ugali or fufu from other parts of Africa, but with a maize-driven texture. I’d describe it as 馒头 but with a much softer texture. A typical dish is nshima with a protein (e.g. fish) with some vegetables.

Traditionally eaten with the hands, most restaurants don’t have knives and forks, but a hand cleaning station. You are supposed to grab nshima with your hands, and wrap the soft nshima around the protein.

Flies are also a big problem for me in Zambian restaurants, where most of my energy was spent chasing away flies instead of enjoying the meal. However in higher end restaurants, they had electric traps to manage the flies away.

Nshima is delicious, and every Zambia I had met loved it.

There are surprisingly few fast food chains in Zambia. I did try Hungry Lion, which is a popular fast food chain from South Africa.

Victoria Falls!

After a 55 minute flight, I am in Livingstone, known for the Smoke that Thunders - Victoria Falls!

One of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World, Victoria Falls spans an impressive 1.7 kilometers wide and drops 108 meters into the Zambezi Gorge.

The park itself is about a 20 mins drive from the Livingstone town, where it takes about 2-3 hours to walk around every trail.

“Dr Livingstone, I presume?”

When you see the Falls, it’s this spectacular rush of water, and the mist and rainbow that accomoany it. Being the largest waterfall in the world, more than Niagara or Igazu, I am so glad I finally got to see it.

It is unfortunately dry season, but I was expecting it and know what Victoria Falls look like in March at its peak. The rock formations are visible in many places in the fall, and Devil’s Pool is available because of the low water levels.

Behold, the Smoke that Thunders!

This is the dry season - but the water is spectacular regardless.

I met an interesting Zambian girl who asked me to accompany her while deep in the park. She is visiting Livingstone while her father is working in Zimbabwe. She is very impressive as we have chatted, a recent graduate who is doing a masters part time while working.

In the middle of the falls. People looked at me funny, but the view was worth it.

I ended up eating my lunch on the Knife Edge bridge, and just stared at the Falls for 30 mins.

There is a hiking trail that takes you right to the bottom of the falls, called Boiling Point, which takes a good 20-30 mins of climbing. At the bottom of the trail, there were so many monkeys everywhere!

A good 10-20 monkeys were eating, playing and nurturing their young. They existed with ease besides the kayaks that were at the bottom of the falls.

The last bits of the trail takes you to the bridge between Zambia and Zimbabwe.

I had a really fun encounter when someone on the bridge (in No Man’s Land) called out, Ni Hao! A local hustler and I got talking, and he sold me some Zimbabwean dollars for the memory.

Am I a billionaire now? The currency of Zimbabwe dollar stopped being used in 2009.

I had found many lovely and interesting souvenirs at the Falls’ market, but the vendors were so aggressive for my liking. Every single sourvenirs vendor would have the exact same script (which probably are full of outright lies): “I made this myself”, “this is a slow day, just buy 1 thing so I can eat tonight”, “China-Zambia good friends”, “I give you good price”, “Can I show you something, seeing is free” (then never lets you leave). On the bright side, I think I have become a more experienced negotiator.

Traditional Western African clothing (Dashiki).

That night, I had dinner at Cafe Zambezi and tried out the Croc meat. It tasted to me a bit like very dry and hard beef with a firm texture.

The next day, I went to the Livingstone museum. I learned that the Arabs had slaves for 500 years pre-European slave trade. I also learned about the man that was Dr Livingstone, an extraodinary explorer, who also was the first Westerner to see Masi-oa-Tunya and re-named it Victoria Falls.

Livingstone believed that if he can find a waterway to connect the oceans through the Zambezi, he can speed up the free-ing of slaves in Africa. He is now famous for the quote: “Dr Livingstone, I presume?”

Exploring Livingstone

I decided to take a 50-mins walk to the local Maramba Market. The journey from downtown Livingstone was quite interesting.

I was cultural shocked to see a prison market, where prisoners make and sell goods. The prison itself was very noisy, and it was hard for me to imagine that what stands between me and the brick wall is prison sentencing.

I also passed by the Northern Rhodesia Police Memorial.

Some home-farm maize which will be used for nshima; A health clinic focusing on HIV / AIDS (around 2% of the population is affected)

The actual Maramba Market is chaotic, with many vendors selling goods from shoes to plumbing equipments.

I went to volunteer at the local orphanage, Lubasi Orphanage. It was a gated compound and I was greeted by the program director, who explained the good work that they do.

Lubasi Orphanage is a catholic orphanage that helps the government take care of orphans temporarily. There were many kids from 4 to 15 years old, and many young women who were sexually assaulted.

Though the initial mood was tense, I quickly made some friends (including the mutt dog Jinja)! There were around 30 kids and we huddled under a big hut because it was too hot to play outside.

The kids asked me many questions, and I asked so many questions in return. They usually wake up at around 6 to go to church, and then go to school. After school, they’d complete chores and dinner and go to bed early.

Some questions that the little angels asked me: Do people at where you live go to church? (I was such a dummy and said that only 20-30%… haha, which prompted the follow up question: why do you not believe in God?); Does China have a king?; Do you play netball? (a version of basket ball short video example); How many brothers and sisters do you have? (I had to explain China’s One Child Policy, and the program director was turning her head…)

I felt so bad when I accidentally ask them “What is your favorite city in Zambia”? There was silence because they have only been in one region where we were staying at.

You should see their faces when I told them that nshima isn’t available where I am from!

Time flew by, and unfortunately I couldn’t take pictures of inside the orphanage for privacy purposes. My best wishes for all these little angels.

More Livingstone!

During the travels, I learned an African board game Nsolo (Zambia’s variant of Mancala). Traditionally, this game can be played in the villages, where holes are dug in the ground, and stones are used to play.

A Swiss girl from the trip, as well as many others at the hostel joined me to learn and improve in Nsolo. (More rules here)

Someone from the hostel said that they haven’t played Nsolo since the villages in 1982!

I also had a blast going to the local grocery store, and enjoying the local nshima.

Leaving Zambia / Lusaka

On my last few days in Zambia, I went back to the modern Lusaka, where there were many malls, with many foreigners, Indians, Chinese and Europeans on holidays.

Shoprite, the Walmart in this part of the world - so chaotic and so African in some ways too

I particularly enjoyed learning about the local curriculum, and flipping through books of Bemba poems.

Many practical courses in the curriculum like fabrics, nutritions, home management

Zambia is a land of contrasts - from the bustling markets of Lusaka to the majestic Victoria Falls, from traditional villages to modern shopping malls. While the cultural differences were striking, the warmth of the Zambian people and the raw beauty of the country left an indelible impression. I’ll definitely return to explore more of what this fascinating country has to offer!