Monday-Friday: 0800h to 1200h or 1230h and 1300h or 1330h to 1630h or 1700h. Some shops remain open at lunch time.

Saturday: 0800h to 1200h

For a relatively small country, Malawi produces a remarkable variety of colourful traditional and modern arts and crafts. Items are invariably hand worked to a high standard and there is none of the mass production of curios aimed specifically at the tourist market which occurs in some countries. Souvenirs made from clay, soapstones, beads, raffia, cloth, grass and reed can be purchased for quite modest prices from either shops in the city, pavement, curio stalls and from some hotel lobbies. Woods used for carving include African mahogany, ebony, palm and walnut. Raffia and grass are used to make not only mats but very cleverly made toys such as trucks, granaries and helicopters as well. Chirundu, the local wrap-around dresses make for colourful presents just as a dose of recorded Malawian music obtained from registered music shops will do.

A stroll down the Victoria Avenue from Mount Soche Hotel in Blantyre brings you to pavement curio and painting sales that have become a permanent feature of this street. Enjoy the bargaining.

There are no restrictions on dressing in Malawi although it is usually formal in the city hotel where a lounge suit for men and a smarter dress for women may be required for certain occasions. Visitors may wish to take souvenirs of Malawi-made cloth available from David Whitehead and Sons shops, the major one of which is just across the main hotel -- Mount Soche -- in the commercial capital, Blantyre.

Traveller Cheques can be cashed at hotel reception areas but there are several banks conveniently located in all major towns and cities. Banks open from 0800h to 1400h and provide virtually all banking services. Private bureaus also provide foreign exchange transactions.

This is allowed in all areas except military installations, uniformed security personnel and all places of a security nature.

Malawi has a national radio station providing two channels with the main studios located in Blantyre as well as five other private stations transmitting from Lilongwe, Blantyre and Mangochi. The two channels on the national radio stations are on FM, MW and SW and broadcast in English and the six major local languages -- Chichewa, Tumbuka, Lomwe, Sena, Yao and Tonga. A national television station opened in mid 1999 but international satellite television provided by Multichoice Malawi is also available throughout the country.

There is also a proliferation of the print media with more than 16 newspapers in circulation at the last count although only four can claim mass circulation status. There are two dailies, 'The Nation' and 'Daily Times' and their sister weekend papers 'Weekend Nation' and 'Malawi News'. All are tabloids covering both local and international news. A government paper 'The Weekly News' is published Tuesdays and Fridays. Most international news magazines and regional newspapers are current but overseas publications are sometimes a week late. These are available from the two main bookstalls Times and Central Bookshops, who also stock a variety of essential and leisure reading materials as well as toys.

The National Dance Troupe, formerly known as the Kwacha Cultural Troupe, was formed in November 1987 as a section of the Department of Arts and Crafts of the Ministry of Education to revive, perform and present various traditional dances performed by ethnic groups in Malawi. The troupe has 40 members comprising 22 men and 18 men. Among its aims, the troupe was formed to meet the following objectives:

• Revive, promote and preserve Malawi's traditional dances and performing arts to ensure their continuity.
• Promote general awareness, respect and appreciation of Malawi's traditional dances and music.
• Act as a symbol of national unity by bringing together people of different parts of the country to perform traditional dances from various ethnic groups of Malawi.
• Perform at public functions and national events and participate in traditional cultural exchange programmes and festivals in so doing learning about other people's cultural traditions. These are Malawi's flag bearers in publicising the country's cultural values abroad.

The troupe performs to a whole range of audiences such as international delegates to conferences, seminars and workshops, in addition to local audiences.

Hosted @ Malawi SDNP