Tipping
How much to tip is always difficult for the traveller. You want to reward good service, but not go over the top. My guidebook advised to consider the cost of living and average wages. For instance, a qualified school teacher would earn about €80 a month, so tip your driver proportionately. This is more difficult than it sounds.
Milk
Milk isn’t abundant here and, when it is offered, it’s either UHT or powdered. So no latte, but you can get black tea anywhere.
Slogan t-shirts
Slogan t-shirts aren’t as popular here as they are in SE Asia, but I’ve amassed a little collection of example so far:
“I’m so sweet / I’ll give you cavities”
“Don’t worry / I have a dream”
“I [heart] only”
GDP
It might be the tenth poorest country in the world by GDP, but the Malagsy people *appear* to have a better quality of life than those I saw in Cambodia and Laos. Very few are skinny, most have good quality clothes and some children have toys (which I never saw in Cambodia or Laos). Although some of them are clearly homemade:
Houses
Given its lack of wealth, I was expecting houses to be more makeshift, but most in the cities are made of brick or concrete, and those in the country are made of clay. All of them look pretty solid. But, like Asia, they appear to be single skin.
Horns
Vehicles here have two horns to reflect the two main purposes – one friendly and one more aggressive. For those who know what I’m talking about: the “friendly” horn is (almost) a middle C (or sometimes a major third) sounded as a sforzando followed by a sharp diminuendo; and the “aggressive” horn is pretty much like our own. It’s a shame we don’t have the two on UK vehicles so we can communicate less aggressively. Perhaps this would positively impact people’s emotional state whilst driving.
Entrance fees
Foreigners have different entrance prices to most attractions. The Queen’s Palace in Tana was 10,000 Ar for us versus 2,000 Ar for a local. But the national parks have the biggest difference – for instance, entrance to Ranomafana was 55,000 Ar (about £13) per foreigner but just 2,000 Ar (about 50p) for locals. It’s a “white privilege” tax that I’m willing to pay, especially as it ensures the continued protection of their precious natural landscapes. But it is making this trip much more expensive than anticipated!
Road blocks
No road blocks for the first four days, and then three within 10 minutes of each other. Sapphire mines are around here, so security is stepped up. Except brides (or “bakshee”) are rife, so you can pretty much get away with anything.
Taxi-brousse
As well as the coffin we saw in Ambalavao, I’ve spotted the following on the roof of a taxi-brousse:
- Furniture (it looked like someone was moving house!)
- Ducks
- Goats
The 30 – 50cm limit is, it would seem, totally non-existent. And it makes the vehicles look very unsafe – the bit above the roof is sometimes taller than the bit below!
Roads
Four roads in Madagascar are in reasonably good repair: one to the north, south, east and west of Tana. Repairs are frequently seen and have clearly been done well – you barely notice as the car goes over them. Very impressed.
