Mali travel tip

1. INTRODUCTION

2. PREPARATION
     Documents
     Health
     Money
     Equipment

3. GENERAL TIPS
     It's not a very cheap country!!
     Never trust people about schedule!!!
     People calling you TUBAB!!
     Learn some bambara words
     Use  local guides
     If travelling with your partner
     Avoid last seat row in taxi de brousse
     Definitely people don't like to be photographed
    Don't take Africa bus tour , you'll regret it!!
     I loved malian fried potatoes
   

INTRODUCTION

Mine has been a low budget independent travel, without renting any kind of private mean of transport, but just using the public ones and without any support of tourist agencies. If you gonna do another kind of travel (medium/high budget travel by agency) you could have wholly different experiences, or my impression could sound you strange
Remember I don't speak french; this didn't help
Finally consider this travel took place in the 2002 summer; everything changes, things better or worsen, so check it out!

PREPARATION

Documents:
Italian citizens need a visa issued by the Malian embassy in Rome. I paid 30 euros to have it and took about one week (considering I live in Milan and I sent and received it by mail).  To get the visa it's necessary to show the yellow fever vaccination certificate.
When I crossed the border from Senegal in Diboli I was asked for one photo (?), that, obviously I didn't have, so I had to pay!

Health:
Yellow fever vaccination is  the only one compulsory  for italian citizens. But I got vaccination also for:
-meningitis
-hepatitis A/B 
-typhus
-tetanus

Besides I got Lariam pills to prevent malaria. I didn't have any particular side effect due to Lariam as it's said, left out some depression after the last pill back from the travel...I didn't figure out if the depression was for Lariam or for the end of the travel or just a psychological influence. Anyway I didn't commit suicide ;-)

Money:
The currency is the CEFA and the change ratio with euro is fixed to 1000 CEFA=1.52 EURO, hence nobody can really swindle you, left out obviously for the "commission"
I experienced two times the frightful street change without bad consequences, nevertheless I don't suggest it.
The most common problem with money is to recognise the kind of note just from the size as they're often unreadable.
Forget using an American Express card throughout the country.

Equipment:
I'll list just the main stuffs:
-mosquito-net
(it's necessary  when you sleep outside (over the roofs in the Dogon region), or to be set inside the rooms. I did it several times and in the morning usually I heard the mosquito buzzing outside it!! )
-mosquito repellent spray
-mosquito repellent burning stuff
-a flash lamp with batteries change
-a good knife... to eat mangoes ;-)
-water containers
-water purifier pills
-trekking shoes
-long lino?? pants
-something to dry your sweat

GENERAL TIPS

It's not a very cheap country!!
Even for a low budget travel like mine it turns out to be as expensive as Spain. Forget travelling with less than 15 euro/day, unless you don't travel walking, sleeping on the side of the road and eating bread ;-),... maybe if you are french speaking you'll be more skillful than me bargaining

Never trust people about schedule!!!
I've had bad experiences about people reliability  concerning schedule (and everything else). They simply lie.

People calling you TUBAB!!
You'll hear almost everybody calling you TUBAB, it means white man. To me it doesn't sound so friendly, at least don't smile thinking to be greeted !

Learn some bambara words
I experienced that to learn some bambara words as the greetings or "no thank you", "please","how are you?", really made people more helpful, also when you ask about their pronunciation you'll see the joy of the people while they explain you. At the end I was able to bargin in bambara, it was fun!...and remember, a greet (in any language) doesn't cost a thing

Use local guides
Getting a local guide is often the best way to avoid bothering people  but the risk   then, is that to get stuck in a turistic root.

If travelling with your partner
If you are travelling with your not-married partner always lie saying you are married, also to the policemen, and especially to the border guards. You are not obliged to have it written on the passport!

Avoid last seat row in taxi de brousse
They always pushed me in the last seat row in the taxi de brousse, even if I was the first to enter in it. I argued but never won. It's so uncomfortable, definitely you'll travel hours leaning you yaw on the knees of your grabbed legs

Definitely people don't like to be photographed
I've traveled in several countries with a very small camera and I've always been respectful and kind taking pics of people, but I've never had as much problems as here. Sometimes I had really to flee from yelling people, expecially in the market...

Don't take Africa bus tour, you'll regret it !!
I think that reading the funny story about my experience with Africa bus tour will be enough to convince you; considering I had been warned...

I loved malian fried potatoes
One of my best memories about Mali was the pleasure to eat the slighty sweet fried potatoes that were sold by the women in the streets. They were so delicious, don't miss them!!! And, moreover, they were one of the cheapest food