Sun, Sand, Sea and Sex?

Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Toliara, South-West, Madagascar
As I walked into the bar, every girl turned her head and looked at me. But this wasn't just a cursory glance as in "Who's that stranger coming into the bar?", this was a long, penetrating stare, too long to be comfortable, trying to catch my eyes returning the favour.

A 50 year old, overweight, white man walked down the street with his local teenage girlfriend, she was young enough to be his grand-daughter but the way he was acting with her, she wasn't. At least I hoped it was his girlfriend rather than his grand-daughter.

Passing through hotel reception, an Indian man in his fifties was making arrangements with the receptionist to get a girl sent up to his room later that night, without a care as to anyone else hearing his conversation. "Will she be black or white" he enquired. "Black" the receptionist replied.

In the hotel patio, a (Welsh) tourist was chatting to a girl with whom he had spent the previous night. She said she would give him five minutes of her "time" if he gave her enough money to buy a bottle of beer (about $2).

I'm in the coastal resort of Tulear on the edge of the Indian Ocean, a favourite tourist destination for Westerners, particularly it seems fat, old Frenchmen for whom this appears to be their "Thailand". My guidebook states that discos and nightclubs are hangouts for prostitutes and local girls looking for a "vazaha" (foreigner) boyfriend. It continues "Lone male travellers may find themselves pursued or harassed. Prostitutes are ubiquitous and very beautiful, but venereal disease is very common, and prostitutes have been known to drug a tourist's drink to render him unconscious then rob his possessions".

Day 14: Friday 7 Oct

We set off at 10am this morning for the drive down the RN7 to Tulear on the southwest coast of Madagascar. The varied scenery in the dry southwest of the country comprised baobabs, cacti, and other plants and trees suited to the arid conditions. We passed through a couple of mining towns set up to service the sapphire boom, but most of the money has gone to the Sri Lankans, Thais and Indians, as was evident by the family names on the gem shop fronts. The richest Malagasies in the business were not the ones digging but the ones providing security for the foreign buyers. My guidebook stated of one of the towns, Ilakaka - "Tour buses drive straight through with the windows up for fear of bandits". On the roadside, numerous children held out long sticks over the road with a large chameleon hanging onto the end, hoping to attract passers-by and earn some money for a photo. Potsy was unsure whether I would want to stop to take a photo but I urged him to drive on - to give them money would only encourage them to carry on doing it. I'm not sure what Potsy made of this attitude - putting the welfare of the animal over the necessity of money and food for the children. I suppose the children had a choice of how to earn money or obtain food, especially in a rural community, the chameleons at the end of the sticks didn't have a choice about their fate.

We were still a few miles away from reaching Tulear and as we went over the brow of a hill, I caught my first glimpse of the sea, the blue waters of the Indian Ocean, and my heart was gladdened. A few miles further and the smell of the sea hit me. I had the sun, I had the sea, unfortunately as it would turn out, I didn't have the sand since Tulear didn't have a beach, just a mangrove swamp and mud-flats!

Eventually, we reached Tulear late in the afternoon and on the recommendation of Potsy, I checked into the Hotel Paletuvier, but only once I had made sure they had WiFi. The most expensive hotel of my trip so far at 71.5kAr for a double room (although they did have single rooms at half the price, these only had cold water). A pretty plush hotel, with a swimming pool, and my room had a balcony overlooking the pool. The hotel was on the seafront, which in this case meant next to the mangrove swamp but a tall row of trees meant you couldn't see it.

After checking out local restaurants recommended in my guidebook, I headed to Bar Le Boeuf which was said to have great steaks. I entered, sat at a table and ordered a beer. A group of girls were propping up the bar, another sat round a table, all dressed up for the night. They stared at me as I sat at the table, and stared, and stared. I moved to a separate restaurant room and enjoyed a steak with mushroom sauce and chips. That night, I would find out my hotel was right next door to a disco/nightclub, which would play VERY loud music until 3am at night. Fortunately, I had a good set of earplugs.

Day 15: Saturday 8 Oct

I paid a visit to the Arboretum d'Antsokay today, a botanical garden outside Tulear displaying the flora of the dry, southwest of Madagascar whilst trying to conserve it since a lot was in danger of extinction. Also, my guidebook stated there were many birds and reptiles there, which was mainly what I was interested in. Potsy got lost trying to navigate out of town through diversions due to roadworks and ended up driving through what was basically a slum along dirt tracks. We were the only vehicle there. He then took a wrong turning before the Arboretum and ending up driving a few km down another dirt track before I suggested he had gone the wrong way and he head back. After I suggested he follow the directions in my guidebook, he eventually found the place. We then went on a guided tour - I paid my entry fee, Potsy seemed to get in free on the back of my payment. I enjoyed the tour and found the weird types of plant very interesting, eg. the "compass tree" that always leans to the south to catch humidity off the local winds, plants with spikes many inches long, baobabs with their thick trunks to hold water, one over 1,000 years old. They also had some mock-ups of local tribal houses and tombs.

Back in town, I wandered around looking for somewhere to eat lunch. As soon as they see a vazaha walking around, pousse-pousse owners will follow you, always asking if you want a lift. I ended up at the Manatane Hotel restaurant which turned into a lucky find as they had zebu kebabs for only 1,000Ar (50c) each.

In the evening, I headed to one of Tulear's most recommended restaurants, the Etoile de Mer, which was just across the road from the hotel. Even though it was only across the road, it didn't stop pousse-pousse owners flocking to me when I emerged from the gates of the hotel, they were still happy to transport me just across the road, although at the inflated rates they charged vazahas, I wasn't surprised. The tandoori chicken sounded nice for dinner, but I should have known better ordering chicken in Madagascar - a lot of bone with a few scraps of tough, rubbery meat attached.

Day 16: Sunday 9 Oct

Since Tulear has no beach, many tourists head to Ifaty about 25km to the north which my guidebook states has "sand, sea and snorkelling, plus beach bungalows". It also has a couple of reserves which are stated to be good for birdwatching which is what I was interested in. The route from Tulear to Ifaty can barely be called a road, it is basically a dirt track which requires a 4WD to navigate. I was in two minds about going when I was quoted a price to hire a 4WD but after negotiating it down to 120kAr ($60) for the day, I reluctantly agreed. It took about an hour to travel the 25km there along the cratered dirt track. At one point, the road must have been even worse because all the traffic went off-road through fields and sand dunes. The drive was the sort of off-road adventure experience that adrenalin junkies would pay a lot of money for in the West.

In Ifaty, we first headed to the Reniala Reserve where I paid 12kAr for an hour and half walk. The arid landscape of south Madagascar is home to a range of flora called succulents, some of which include Pachypodiums ("elephant feet plants"), Didiereaceae (with tiny leaves and huge thorns), aloes, vines, and Uncarina (with hooked thorns to catch onto animals and disperse seeds) and is also home to the baobab tree which can store water in its thick trunk and can live over 1,000 years. The number of spiny, thorn-covered plants mean the flora is often referred to as a "spiny forest". The Reniala Reserve protects a large area of spiny forest. Walking through the Reserve, I found the amazing variety of strange plants and trees fascinating, the flora was like nothing else I had ever seen on my travels around the world. I saw quite a few birds and some chameleons, although it would have been better if I'd tried to stay overnight in Ifaty and done the walk at sunrise to see more birds. I was also impressed by the Three-eyed Lizard, another example of nature-gone-mad in Madagascar, I'd never have believed such a creature could have existed.

Afterwards, I paid a visit to the adjacent Parc Mosa which was set up by an ex-member of the Reniala Forest staff (and is none too popular with the latter). I paid 30kAr for a two hour birdwatching walk through another part of the spiny forest. In this reserve, there weren't too many marked trails and we spent much of the time scrambling through the scrub, the spiky plants tearing at my shins and at one point, even hooking onto my skin. I was rewarded with sightings of two of the birds which can only be found in this small area of spiny forest though - the Long-tailed Ground Roller and Subdesert Mesite.

After the drive back to Tulear, I had a late lunch at the Hotel Manatane again. Back at my hotel, I got chatting to an Indian man staying there. He was in his fifties and very overweight. He was a chef on a boat and had just finished his stint so was on leave before returning to India. I pictured him as a cross between Gordon Ramsey and Mr. Patel and henceforth referred to him as Ramsey-Patel. As I headed out to dinner in the evening, he was at reception trying to organise a girl to come to his room later that night. He didn't care that everyone within earshot could hear his conversation.

Day 17: Monday 10 Oct

Today I visited the Musee Cedratom, a very small museum but nonetheless I found it extremely interesting, especially the stuff relating to death, burial and tombs.

In Malagasy culture, death marks the soul becoming immortal. A special ceremony is held at funerals with a feast and slaughter of zebu, although different tribes have different types of ceremony. One particularly nasty ceremony involves placing the body in the hot sun until it decomposes. The bodily fluids which drip out are collected and drunk by the relatives, believing they will take on the qualities of the deceased. After death, the Merina and Betsileo people perform the famadihana ("turning of the bones") ceremony every 7 or so years after the first burial. It provides an opportunity to "communicate" with and remember a loved one. The body is exhumed, wrapped in a new burial shroud, and then replaced - the ceremony can last over a week.

The Malagasy people believe the tomb is forever whilst a house is only a temporary dwelling, so tombs are more solidly constructed than houses. The museum had a storyboard on the elaborate construction of a tomb, it seemed to be as labour intensive as building a house. Zebu horns and beautifully-carved, wooden stellae called aloalo would sit atop the tomb. The zebu horns were from zebu sacrificed during the funeral ceremony - the more zebu horns, the wealthier the person. Paintings depicting the life of the deceased adorned the outside walls of the tomb. Outside Tulear, about 15km from the village of Andranovory, I paid a visit to some tombs to see some of these paintings. One even had Rambo painted on it for some reason! Whilst taking photos, despite the tombs being miles from any village, within minutes about 10 youths had appeared out of nowhere surrounding me, asking for money. No chance.

My guidebook stated that the restaurant Terrasse served English breakfasts so I had to pay it a visit for lunch. And what a fine breakfast it was - zebu sausages, thick bacon, two fried eggs, grilled tomatoes, toasted baguette slices. I took a pousse-pousse back to hotel, bargained down from 2,000Ar to 1,000Ar (50c) but probably still massively over-inflated compared to what the locals pay.

In the afternoon, I had to find a place to change some money as I needed some Euros to pay the remaining part of the car/driver fees. After trying two money-changers and the bank, all of whom refused to change my dollars to Euros, I ended up at one final money-changer in the town. Now, they also wouldn't change dollars to Euros, but they would would change Ariary to Euros. Since they would change dollars to Ariary, and Ariary to Euros, I stated that in effect, they were changing dollars to Euros but they didn't seem to understand my logic.

As I headed across the road to the Etoile de Mer restaurant again for dinner that evening, I noticed that Ramsey-Patel was at reception trying to organise another girl to come up to his room later that night. I walked very slowly past reception to hear as much of the conversation as possible.

Day 18: Tuesday 11 Oct

Today, we left Tulear at 8.30am for the two day drive back to the capital Tana, from where I would catch my flight back to Nairobi. At breakfast, Ramsey-Patel was there again having a discussion with one of the waiters. He was showing him a photo on his mobile photo. Apparently, he'd taken a photo of the girl who came to his room last night and she didn't look like the girl he was expecting. He wasn't very happy. I suppose it was like buying a BMW you've seen in the showroom and then the next day, they drop off a Skoda at your house.

I rather liked Tulear, a relaxing coastal resort with good hotels, restaurants, shops and craft markets. For a few days, with some fine sunny weather. it made an ideal destination towards the end of my stay in Madagascar. Unfortunately, it had a seedy underbelly which slapped you in the face everywhere you went. It would have been interesting to visit a nightclub to see what it was about, but I just didn't feel brave enough.

Expenses (excluding food, shopping and tips): $448 ($1 = ~2,000 Ar)

Day 14: Hotel Paletuvier 71.5kAr, 4 nights 286kAr ($143)
Day 15: Arboretum 12kAr (inc guide) $6
Day 16: Ifaty 4WD hire 120kAr ($60), Reniala Forest 12kAr ($6), Parc Mosa 30kAr ($15) Total $81
Day 17: Musee Cedratom 4kAr ($2)

4 days car/driver fees €40 = $54 (€1 = $1.35), total $216

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