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Sunday 9 January, Banjul, to the capital Banjul
Gambia and Senegal 2005 - part II
Elisabeth & Teije2006-08-26 17:49:30
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After breakfast (yes, we did sleep long and good, even yhough I woke up often because of the hardness of the bed), we attend to the information meeting about Gambia. This time we finally visit a country where Teije hasn't been either, so he can't pretend as if he knows everything (like in Egypt and Morocco). We learn a lot about Gambia and the excursions we can make. Next to resting and spending a few days on the beach we also want to see a bit of the country, off course. Another important subject that comes up is how locals deal with tourists and how tourists treat the local people. People are very friendly here, like in most other countries, but when you are poor and you see all those wealthy tourists spending there money, it is only obvious that you would like to profit from that. And, noticing that being persistent helps getting money from tourists, it is easy to become bolder and more aggressive.
We notice that immediately when we leave the premises of the hotel: from all sides people gather around us and have something to offer. But it is totally different from the way it goes in Egypt or Morocco, more personal. Everybody wants to shake hands, tells his name and wants to know ours, which feels much more friendly than in Arabic countries. One can be lucky, but most of the people around the hotels try to earn some easy money from naive tourists. You won't see the people who are more honest and 'normal' here, they are not bold enough.
Shaking hands along the way, we walk to a very modern-looking gas station with a supermarket. We buy some mineral water and sit down at a bar overlooking the intersection of two broad asphalt roads. The boy in the kiosk sleeps and we let him sleep. When he wakes up he apologizes and we notice that this a totally different kind of person than the people around the hotel. He is not only nice, but also not obtrusive. And the price of the drinks is only half of those at the hotel!
We wanted
...
See photographs from:
Gambia Gallery
