my anus is godot

We were mega-border hoppers today. We not only went into Zimbabwe for the elephant ride, but also crossed the border again to head over for high tea at the Victoria Falls Hotel.

Zimbabwe is falling apart all around us (we didn’t realize that while we were there, Tschangere came back into the country and was arrested and his folks were getting beaten and detained by the war veterans and police), and this grand old hotel is doing its damnedest to make us think it’s still high times in the British Empire.

The hotel is beautiful, if a bit threadbare, but is quite empty. There is one other party of Africans here, us, and a couple of Japanese tourists. It is a complete and utter transformation from Zambia, which is full of tourists, money, and absolutely no class. Think Russian Mafia chic and you get the Royal Livingstone at Zambia vs. the Queen Mother (who is still revered here at the Vic Falls).

The border between the two countries is a no-mans-land between the falls. There are people here carrying goods back and forth between Zim and Zam. The inflation here in Zim is so incredibly bad that you cannot keep the local currency. One of our party asked to see an inexpensive dollar bill, the waiter handed him a ZIM$25 million bill and told him to just keep it.

Our bill for tea was ZIM $44 billion, roughly USD $90 given the poor (and totally illegal because it was still 100x better than the official rate) exchange rate they gave us.

I have a strong feeling that if they can get Mugabe to exit, Zim is really going to come back in style, give it 2-5 years and it will be rocking here, just like Prague after the wall fell.