Fish and chips from a street stall in the market, hurtling around town in a ‘bâché’ full of goats, marvelling at the range of colours available should you decide to purchase a non-electric plastic kettle, trying to look like you’re not looking at what look like mummified cats (or rats?) on the fetish stalls, and saying a word of thanks to your respective gods when the only working ATM in town actually works.Take a walk by the river where you will find the most beautifully tended and prolific garden allotments right in the centre of town. Bananas, papaya, lettuce, tomatoes, and mint all growing alongside lush tropical flowers and creepers. Forming a barrier between the dual carriageway and the allotments are roadside stalls selling trees and outdoor and indoor plants. (I was told that you take a plant as a gift when you visit someone in Mali. I don’t know if this is right but it seems like a nice thing to do.) It is here in the allotments where you will find people with more time to talk to you about their country and their lives. The Musée National is worth a visit. ${QuickSuggestions} If you find people can’t understand when you speak French, try dumping the French accent. I found that if I spoke French with an English accent more, people understood me. I don’t know why, but I wasn’t the only person to notice this.Photography can be a bit of a minefield in Bamako. The place isn’t very photogenic anyway, the inhabitants are not over keen on being photographed, and the police are certainly not over keen on people taking photographs of what they call ‘restricted sight’ but you call ‘mildly interesting view of a bridge’. However, I found that when I bought something, anything, from a stall, I was allowed to take photos of the vendors. Digital cameras with screens can be useful as people often lose their camera-shyness once they can see a picture of themselves. Take a cheap one and expect it to get mauled and manhandled. Use another camera to take the real pictures. When asking a woman for directions don’t be surprised if they don’t answer or even acknowledge you regardless of your gender. This is because many Malian women do not speak French due to a combination of cultural attitudes and lack of educational opportunities. ${BestWay} In the town centre, on foot. Traffic gets so congested during the day and the town centre is quite compact, you may as well walk. If you’re heading into, or out of, town there is a network of buses that serve the main arterial routes. Heavy congestion and breakdowns tend to make timetables unreliable. Another alternative is a ‘bâché’ or one of the thousands of green vans in varying states of repair that race round town, their drivers seemingly choosing routes at random with an internal logic that defies comprehension. Once you get the hang of it though, it’s a doddle. (More on that later). If you’re in a hurry, working to on a deadline, got a pile of stuff to carry, or just want minimal hassle then take a taxi. Fix price first.
From journal Bamako - Never Judge a Book by the Cover