点评:We (a family of 4 with 2 children aged 14 and 11) have just finished a 24 day tour around southern Malawi with Anake.
Firstly, you should have no reservations about visiting Malawi, it's an amazing country and wonderful and safe travel destination. It also posses a population of some of the friendliest, kindest people you are ever likely to meet. A country that is economically poor but rich in so many other more important ways.
Secondly, you SHOULD use Anake. Andrew, the owner, is knowledgeable, friendly, completely honest and entirely reliable, whilst Mike, who drove us, shares those qualities, is a careful and considerate driver, ialways courteous, posseses huge patience and will do everything in his power to enhance your trip. Together they made a great team. Mike was doing the driving driving us but Andrew would check in daily to ensure everything was running smoothly.
I spent a number of hours on WhatsApp with Andrew asking him questions, seeking recommendations and planning our trip. There was no cost to that and he couldn't have been sure that we would eventually book with him. He placed no pressure on us to do so.
Andrew was able to secure much of the accommodation we wanted at discounted rates to those I was being offered. He must have saved us more than a $1,000 across our trip.
With some slight hesitation (given we had never met in person and he was 1,000s of miles away), I forwarded Andrew some money to secure bookings. I was reassured by the sorts of sums asked for and by the fact that some of the reservations were made without the need for a deposit. I write that just to offer reassurance in case you are asked to send some money ahead of time.
So, to the trip...
When our flight changed last minute Andrew picked us up at the airport at 2am, took us onto a guesthouse for the rest of the night and then picked us up late morning to get on with the trip. He did not charge us for this.
We were then introduced to Mike who drove us for the rest of our time in Malawi. He drove us safely 100s and 100s of miles around the southern half of the country. A reasonable amount of this distance was across poor roads and all of it required focussed concentration due to the need for continual hazard identification (some of the Malawian driving was poor but mainly because much of Malawian town/village life happens on the roadside).
Mike was a polite, unobtrusive, generous, knowledgeable, flexible, helpful, happy and good driver. He is an absolutely lovely human being. In addition to driving us he did lots of other things to help, including making phone calls on our behalf, helping us track down one of our bags that didn't arrive in Malawi, helping us book the lake ferry and helping us source necessary items (medication etc) that were in the lost bag.
We all were very sad that the trip was ending and that we would no longer be spending time with him. There were tears.
Also important on a long road based trip and given the nature of some of the roads is that the car we used was spacious with lots of luggage storage, always clean and felt safe.
In several destinations we required guides and Andrew/Mike knew excellent ones. We negotiated prices directly with the guides and there was no pressure to use them.
Finally. the cost of this trip-long first-class service for an amazing holiday experience was entirely reasonable and cheaper than other quotes I received from larger outfits who were less interested in providing us with the tailored, individual service we received from Anake.
I could write so much more about how great Anake were, but I am sure you get the picture. You should use them without hesitation. You will have an amazing time.
翻译:我们一家四口(两个孩子,分别14岁和11岁)刚刚跟随Anake完成了一次为期24天的马拉维南部之旅。
首先,大家大可放心前往马拉维——这是一个极其棒的国家,也是一个美妙且安全的旅游胜地。这里的人们热情友善、心地善良,是你有可能遇到的最友善的一群人。虽然马拉维经济上不算富裕,但在许多其他更重要的方面却十分富足。
其次,你们绝对应该选择Anake。老板安德鲁……安德鲁博学多识、亲切友善、绝对诚实且值得信赖;而为我们开车的迈克也具备这些特质。他是一位细心体贴的司机,始终彬彬有礼,拥有极大的耐心,会竭尽全力让您的旅途更加愉快。他们二人组成了一支出色的团队。迈克负责驾车,而安德鲁则每天与我们联系,确保一切顺利进行。
我在WhatsApp上花了好几个小时与安德鲁交谈,向他提出了许多问题。我们在征求建议并规划行程。整个过程没有任何费用,他也无法确定我们最终是否会选择他来安排行程。他并没有给我们任何必须这么做的压力。
安德鲁成功以比我所获报价更优惠的价格为我们订到了大部分心仪的住宿。整个行程下来,他肯定为我们节省了1,000多美元。
虽然有些犹豫不决(毕竟我们从未见过面,而且他远在数千英里之外)。我给安德鲁转了一些钱以确保能顺利预订。所要求的金额都在合理范围内,而且有些预订甚至无需支付定金,这让我很放心。我提到这些只是想让你也安心些,免得你担心是否需要提前付款。
言归正传,说说这次旅行……
就在航班临时变更时,安德鲁在凌晨2点赶到机场接我们,带我们去一家旅舍过夜,然后在第二天中午又来接我们继续旅程。他并没有就此向我们收费。
随后我们认识了迈克,在我们在马拉维的剩余时间里,都是由他开车载我们。他安全地把我们送到了这个国家南部地区的无数个地方。这段路程中有相当一部分是在路况不佳的道路上行驶的;由于需要不断识别路上的各种危险情况,整个行程都要求他全神贯注。马拉维的驾驶环境确实不怎么好,不过这主要是因为当地的城镇与村庄几乎都分布在道路两旁。
迈克是个彬彬有礼的人。他为人低调、慷慨大方、见多识广、灵活变通、乐于助人,性格开朗,还是个出色的司机。他真是个极其可爱的人。除了开车接送我们,他还做了很多其他事情来帮忙:帮我们打电话、协助寻找在马拉维没能送到的行李、帮我们预订湖上渡轮,还帮我们搞到了丢失行李里的必需品(如药品等)。我们都为这次旅程的结束、为再也见不到他而难过不已。大家都流下了眼泪。
另外,对于这种长途公路旅行来说,考虑到某些道路的实际情况,我们所乘坐的车子空间宽敞、行李存放处很多,始终保持干净整洁,让人感觉十分安全,这一点也非常重要。
在多个目的地,我们都需要导游,而安德鲁/迈克认识许多出色的导游。我们直接与导游协商价格,也完全不存在非得雇佣他们的压力。
最后。这次长途旅行的头等舱服务为我们带来了无与伦比的度假体验,其价格也相当合理;甚至比那些规模更大、却不太愿意为我们提供像从Anake那里得到的那种个性化定制服务的旅行社给出的报价还要便宜。
关于Anake有多出色,我本可以再多说很多,但我相信您应该已经心里有数了。您绝对可以毫不犹豫地选择他们,一定会度过一段难忘的时光。