(These are some thoughts I wrote in my journal on October 9 2003, just after I arrived in Madagascar.)
There are an awful lot of people selling ‘things’ on the street, but not too many buying. TV antennas, sunglasses, all kinds of food, souvenirs, etc.. Every second guy here is a money changer, including the security guy at the hotel. (Incidentally, I changed hotels, moving to my original choice yesterday. The roaches at Le Glacier will probably miss me.)
I wonder about the economy here works – or doesn’t. It’s good to see that the bottled water I get is Malagasy – Eau Vive or Olympiko. Whoever runs those companies must be doing fairly well. (Near the end of my trip, I discovered that the president owns and/or runs Tiko which produces Olympiko….) How do you jump start the economy in such a poor country? Surely, if they depend on tourism it will only take them so far because it is heavily dependent on the state of the global economy.
One encouraging sign is that communication seems to be improving steadily here. Internet in Tana is quite readily available and I’ve seen many Orange shops around town. (For you non-Europeans, Orange is a big European telecom company.) By using wireless technology, they can leapfrog the ‘wired’ phones and get service in remote areas relatively easily. Everyone I’ve talked to so far seems to think that this ‘new’ president is going to be good for the country. They say that things have improved steadily since they were on the verge of civil war a couple of years ago.
I look forward to seeing life outside Tana.
It was quite striking going out to the Air France office. Air conditioned office in a brand new multi-story (10 story?) building. Compared to everything else I’ve seen in Tana so far, it’s another world.
I went to La Boussole for dinner. It’s an interesting place with a wine list to put many French restaurants to shame. The clientele seemed to be primarily French ex-pats. Not too many tourists besides me and a couple of Spanish ladies. For dinner I decided to try zébu. Zébu looks essentially like a cow with horns and a hump, which contains fat reserves much like a camel. In fact it tastes exactly like beef, much to my dismay. I hope there’s no mad zébu disease!
As I wandered back to the hotel past the Japanese Embassy (Malagasy soldiers with AK47s as guards), I couldn’t help but think more about the economic situation here. I guess in typical Western style thinking, I see something ‘broken’ and wonder how it can be fixed. I know it doesn’t work like that, but where would you start? Education? Fighting corruption? Food? Infrastructure? Communications? I can’t help thinking about this as I wander the streets and look around.
I’ve discussed this with a number of people – Malagasy, French ex-pats, and other tourists. Of course there are no answers, but it’s an interesting thing to discuss nonetheless. The president has chosen to tackle infrastructure by improving the road system. After having some experience travelling the roads here, I think that’s a Very Good Thing.
When I go to the pharmacy here in Tana and buy something, am I depriving a local of it or am I helping by increasing the profits of the pharmacy so they can buy more? (My guide in Ranamofana explained that the medicines at the pharmacies are too expensive for the locals anyway and that they turn to nature for their medicines.)
(Note: This is a post from my 2003 travel blog IMoL: Travels and Travails.)