Swaziland

  Manzini, Manzini, Swaziland
Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Today, I got on the BazBus for the last time from Durban to Swaziland - I must admit I was not particularly sad to leave Durban and more precisely the Banana Backpakers. The journey was slightly shorter than the previous 2 so it went very smoothly. As we crossed the border I remembered what Modlin had told me - Swaziland was a dictatorship! Strange feeling!

On the way Manzini, there were very few accommodations but most of the land on the side of the road was used for crops which, I noticed, were guarded by the army. The other thing that surprised me is that there was litter everywhere - I really expected Africans to be very respectful of nature but I must say it is not the case. Littering is a real problem in the parts I went to.

I also noticed that school kids have to wear a school uniform - I learnt later that this makes it even more difficult for parents to send their kids to school; it is very difficult for them to afford them. I saw a school bus absolutely packed going uphill and it was leaning very heavily to one side - I have no idea how it made it to its destination.

I saw a puzzling poster saying: "Be the winner - fight AIDS / HIV" with an American Flag at the bottom. What the hell was the American flag doing there? It's like the Coca Cola signs absolutely everywhere! I just don’t get it!

I arrived to Lidwala Lodge where there were quite a few British people. I check-in, had a long explanation about the lodge given by the trainee attendant after I managed to get myself sorted. I stayed around the lodge, not much of a choice as it was raining quite heavily and there’s nothing around anyway. I got to talking to a few people; there were 2 Danish girls, a guy called John and 2 German girls who were coming with me on the Quad Biking tomorrow.