"Life in Tana" Top 5 Page for this destination Antananarivo Travelogue by Norali

I really enjoyed my life in Tana: a great city but an urban area not to live in. In fact, my place is in Tana countryside. I personally enjoy there pure air, silence, and safety... as living the same way I lived (and my family live) would be dangerous in urban Tana.

My home is in Malaza, located North Tana (21 km), close to Rovan' Ambohimanga (25 km), the then home of Merina kings.

Dad still works, Mum retired some 5 years ago and a sister lives there. My youngest sister and myself live in Belgium.

A view from my bedroom window (Norali)

Our family life in Malaza was kind of regulate: wake up early (at 5.30 am) to go to school and work, commute to join urban area, commute to join home for noon lunch. That was possible given that we were entitled to 2-hour breaks and that traffic jam was not so tense as nowadays'. In the evening, return home, do homework, have dinner, continue homework if needed. Otherwise, 20 to 30 minutes watching Tv and go to sleep.

This kind of rhythm was not as common as it seems for Malagasy people. Most of my friends at school lived in urban area, woke up later, had more time for noon lunch, and returned home earlier ... But I have to state, when I arrived in Belgium, that this quick pace is really common in Europe.

We also used to play tennis, swim a lot (thanks to a swimming pool in the garden, something I miss).

On the picture is my grand- grand- father house. I took this picture from my bedroom. People in my village call it "The old house". I've never seen it lived in. At dawn, a all-white hawl uses to sit on the big window. So white that you could see it in the dark, making strange noises and threatening kids. *LOL*
This typical house you find in countryside is a one or two-storey house, most of time with a balcony. Basement uses to be place for seeds, tools, kitchen. Families lived in upper storey. Nowadays, both storeys are occupied by families.

Red earth and ricefields (Norali)

As for holidays, mostly in Europe, sometimes in other Madagascar cities. I personnally enjoy Toamasina and Mahajanga (West coast)... Coast life, nice weather, sea, sun, great beaches... Favourite place is Amborovy, a Mahajanga beach. However, I would like to visit Nosy Boraha (Ste-Marie Island); Taolanaro (Fort-Dauphin); Nosy Be and many spots in Antsiranana province (or Diego Suarez). See? Still many places to discover...

Here is a picture of ricefields in my village. On rainy seasons, it looks like a big swimming pool. Love that red earth