The tallest building in Lusaka

I have arrived, and as expected, Lusaka is nothing like I expected. The first thing you notice is that Lusaka doesn't really feel much like a city. There's much more space so every building is single storey and is usually surrounded by  bush, trees, gardens or plain scrubland. I have no idea where the 2 million people are hiding. It's also very hot.

I met Peter Manda at the airport and threw my rucksack into the back of his pick up before heading on a short journey along the straight road to Lusaka, cyclists balancing tomatoes and children either side of the carriageway. My lodge was on an untarmaced road, but had a lovely courtyard and garden. Not that I paid much attention - as soon as I saw a bed I crashed for a couple of hours.

I spent a very chilled afternoon and evening having a few beers in a couple of lodges and gardens in Lusaka with Peter and his friends and was entertained by tales about the various ways they had heard people had come to a premature demise at the hands of pythons, lions and buffalo. Particularly 'interesting' is the story of the python than jumped on the South African bus driver as he was relieving himself by the side of the road. Apparently these stories swept under the carpet as much as possible so as not to deter visitors...Following a quick sweep for snakes I enjoyed a pretty comfortable first night in the Executive Lodge.

The next day I met some of my new colleagues at Mobile Transactions, who I caught in the middle of an office move. Their main business is the transfer of money across the country using the mobile phone network and a network of agents. I spent the afternoon at their Green Kiosk in central Lusaka watching people make payments. The one time I tried to help out it pretty much seemed to go wrong immediately, to the obvious slight concern of the customers. I'd describe the work as hot and fragrant. The kiosk is opposite the tallest building in Zambia and therefore, if this is possible, the most derelict. It's a high rise office block from the 70s (I think) but was never finished - a relic, Hans (my new boss) informs me, of when the copper price was high and times were good in Zambia, before the price crashed.

The Chinese economy's demand for copper is however bringing new investment back into the country, so things seem to be on the up again. I spent the evening at an excellent Chinese restaurant which has a sign on the wall selling 'prospecting rights.' Not sure what that means but it sounds enterprising.