With ancient British lorries, terrible wages, frightening accident rates and corrupt officials, Zambian truck drivers have got plenty of things to complain about. However, one thing they can't possibly grumble about is the freshness of the food available on their journeys. Take this piece of bush meat for example - which despite smelling like a Glastonbury toilet on a hot summer's afternoon, was apparently attached to a live animal just a few hours before the photo was taken. Exactly what animal it was a part of is a bit of a mystery. To begin with the vendor reckoned it was a leg of Impala (a vital ingredient in every truck driver's favourite Sunday roast dinner). However, when the camera came out he changed his mind and said it might have come from a goat. Then again this could well have had something to do with the fact that the sale of bush meat is in fact illegal! A leg of this mystery meat will set you back about 30,000 Kwacha (about £3.50).
Anyone for ratatouille? Or failing that, a couple of tasty live rats! Yes that's right - they really are alive, and they really are rats!
I'm not entirely sure how you are supposed to eat them - but I presume the idea is to cook them first. These tasty snacks will set you back about £1 a piece.
Click below for a close-up of the rat and a few more tasty treats.
The rats have been tied to the stick by one of their back legs - and continually wriggle around in an attempt to escape - proving to passing motorists that they are fresh and healthy.
But if you prefer your food to have two legs instead of four - what about a live bird?
Or you could avoid the roadside snacks and sample one of the quality roadside cafes instead. 'Truckers Cafe' or 'Gods Mercy Restaurant'?
And if you are wondering what to wash it all down with, what about a nice carton of shake-shake? I think it's made from fermented corn, and as you can probably tell by the expression on MAN's Martin Pickering's face, it's bloody horrible. It's 6% alcohol - but don't let that bother you as drink driving seems to be perfectly acceptable in Zambia. As far as I'm aware there isn't any sort of punishment for the offence.
Jeesh I hadn't realised it was that bad! And to think my youngest grandson is going there next month on a volunteer work programme or something. I had better make sure he takes a decent supply of grub with him! And yes BLB, he will be taking some truck pictures for you.
You are right. The shake-shake brew, or shakers as it popularly known, is ABOUT 6% alcohol. Alcohol content may vary depending on how long ago it was brewed, making it difficult for one to say exactly how many cartons can 'knock one out'. Great, BLB!
Food, food! The 'rats' are moles dug out from garden fields around the villages and are known to be better than the GMO broiler chickens we eat from KFC. The birds? Most of them are bought to be kept as pet parrots - but they are disappointingly non-talking. The bush meat is usually a piece of goat meat because the nearest game park from you took the photo (Kapiri Mposhi, I suppose) is either Kafue National Park to the west or Bangweulu Plains to the north, both are way far off. Moreover, selling bush meat like that is illegal in Zambia.