Green, Brown, Stout and Special

JP: Besides the local brew (Kuche Kuche, the name makes Ryan giggle), there is only one other brand of beer in Malawi.

Budweiser? No.

Becks? Nein.

Heineken? Geen.

Carlsberg? Ja! ding ding ding!!! Yay!

Carlsberg controls the entire Malawi beer market (they probably own Kuche Kuche too) the same way Chicken and Chips/Rice/Nsima dominate the menus of all the restaurants. But there is a bit of variety and ordering is easy. With only four choices, you don't even need to say "Carlsberg" just Green, Brown, Stout and Special.

DY: They do own Kuche Kuche (which means "all night long.")

Although Carlsberg dominated the Malawi beer market, it hasn't produced any Liverpool fans, at least none that we met. They all love Chelski.

George, Annie's & the Hilux

How'd you sleep the first night?

Ryan (or maybe it was Katy who was up first), thanks for waking me up the first morning, otherwise, I have no idea how late I would've slept. Incredibly, Dan was already up and out of the house which is entirely opposite to when we roomed in San Francisco where Dan could slept until the early afternoon.

DY: Things change, Jon.

Prior to arriving, I knew I wanted/needed to do a few things during our only day in Lilongwe here's my list:

1. Go to the U.S. Embassy
2. Go to the U.S. Embassy
3. Go to the U.S. Embassy

Our first stop, you guessed it, the U.S. Embassy. I had been with Dan for less than 24 hours and I think he was getting tired of me already. We didn't really have a choice, Katy and I were desperate for additional passport pages.

DY: Jon, I've never been tired of you. xoxoxo.

Next was lunch at Annie's and then a visit to the local market. This is where Mellissa and Katy bought chitenges:


Not the place to look for Malawi magnets or pencils or the latest I Heart Lilongwe t-shirts but you will be able to find sandals, tires or Buffalo Bills Super Bowl Champions t-shirts.

A relatively quiet first day, so after the Embassy, lunch and the market, we head home to regroup. Later that evening, we meet a very special new friend named ...

Hilux