I went to Zambia in 2014 with my Chinese wife. Actually she was there first and I followed her that summer after my job was finished for the season. I mostly enjoyed the country, and it was my first time and more than likely my last time to ever be in Africa (I even so far as to stop my feet before I walked the ladder onto the plane to go home to remember my last step there.
Leaving the airport in a taxi, there was a police checkpoint a few miles away which was sort of a hassle, but its their country. One thing that was cool to me, was that I actually crossed the Equator for the first (and probably last) time in my life. It was July in Zambia and although it is subtropical, had fall weather. I did pack some light sweaters and needed them at night. But my hotel had a pool and it was warm enough (and the only one who used it) to go in the afternoon.
My wife is Chinese and I guess she was there to see if she could do some business, or something. Didnt work out. We were in the capitol of Lusaka which was by and large not a bad city. It was safe to me, and no one there seemed impoverished. My wife found the small casino in town and she pissed away everyday in there to my chagrin (she is a gambling addict) with other Chinese people. There are a lot of Chinese people in Lusaka, so many that one could find Chinese characters on walls and whatnot.
The casino was small but I gambled a little bit and one night made friends with some Zambian people and took some pictures of them with me playing this poker like card game. I was drinking whiskey and it was a fun night. Interestingly, the casino closed at night, around midnight. And it did not open up again until early the next afternoon. To my chagrin, one could not buy beer after a certain time at night either. One night I wanted to buy beer to drink in the room and it was locked up.
I was there about three weeks and in a building in the hotel was a church group that met on Sunday mornings. I was woken up to PRAISEJESUS, PRAISE THE LORD and all that. There were lots of advertisements for churches also. Sort of a fundy country in that regard, imagine black pentecostals in America, but in Zambia.
Lusaka actually had some whites who lived there as well as Muslims. What I enjoyed was that I ate steak about everyday and the meat was wonderful. I rode around Lusaka a bit and while it wasnt bad, it was sort of boring too. Sort of dirty around the edges but not what one would call filthy. I could live there if I made an excellent living doing something. The city had at least two nice shopping malls with restaurants and whatever. I did not see McDonalds or any fast food chains outside of Subway.
I did go to Victoria Falls on the border with Zimbabwe. That was an experience to be sure. I spent the night in a town called Livingstone and was shocked on how expensive the hotel rooms were. Like $90 USD a night for a basic room which would cost $20 (if that) in Thailand. A big reason I did not stay in Livingstone that long. If the hotel prices were more reasonable, I might have stayed two or three days (chilled out tourist town with some bars/restaurants and most hotels (but not mine) had a pool.
The Falls were incredible. Just a huge roar to them. There is a local language name for them, like Tunsi, or something similar. I drank Tunsi beer there which was very good. Crossing a bridge, was given a free raincoat because you needed one due to the rush of the water. In the park, there were wild monkeys and was told not to leave food unattended because the monkeys will steal it.
There was a bridge I crossed, which was the international border with Zimbabwe. I walked across with the driver to the other side. There wasnt a checkpoint, or border police there, the checkpoint must have been a bit further in. So, I can say that I have been to Zimbabwe, but only for about 10 minutes.
Going back across the bridge, there was bungee jumping, lines of white tourists (which I blame for the high cost of the rooms from rich tourists) waiting to jump. The cost was like $100 USD. Zimbabwe because their own money was absolutely worthless, used USD as official currency (as well as Cambodia in Asia). For myself, you couldnt pay me a $100 to do that. I talked with my father about my trip and how much money they would have to pay me to jump off a high bridge with my ankle ties to a rubber band. I came up with $10,000 dollars, but ony if I am very very drunk or on heroin.
One thing I thought was interesting at night was how dark the neighborhoods were, there were no street lights so there was this inky, absolute darkness in the evenings. It also had a smell, not an unpleasant smell, it smelled like a smoldering campfire. I dont know why or how but I talked to a taxi driver who told me that Africa is very rich but we dont know what to do with it, and so the Chinese are there.
That was my experience in Africa. If you have the money and want to go to a country in Black Africa, come to Zambia. But be rich where money doesnt matter because besides the falls, it is a bit boring there.
