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Central African Republic

Arriving in the morning I was definitely a bit nervous. Bangui has been struggling with violence for years and now has a UN peacekeeping force to keep the stability of the country. Recently Pope Francis made a controversial visit to the city to promote understanding and peace among the warring Christians and Muslims

Central African Republic Immigration
The immigration process was quite straightforward and they didn’t bring up any issues with the visa I got in Yaounde. Customs does a check before you leave the terminal and marks your bag with chalk “X” after inspection.

Country 163 complete!

Outside the airport seemed quite calm but it was heavily guarded with police and UN force armed with machine guns and armored vehicles. I hopped on with a rather surprised moto-taxi driver who took me to my hotel.

The area right outside of the airport was a chaotic market with some traffic that made me nervous. Locals yelled out “China!” and not in a friendly way.

We drove by a heavily guarded dirt road which the driver pointed out was one of the most dangerous neighborhoods. Apparently the recent prison break, where hundreds of criminals were freed, occurred here.

I stayed at the Ledger Plaza Bangui, a new 5 star luxury hotel about 15 minutes from the airport.

This hotel full of NGOs, UN personnel, and journalists was the opposite of the world outside of its gates. The contrast of ultra luxury and poverty was a bit unsettling to say the least, but the security was comforting.

Bangui Top Sights

Over the next two days I cautiously visited the few sights of the city.

The Notre Dame of Bangui Cathedral is one of the most important sites of the city and also where Pope Francis preached during his visit. I took a group taxi to the church compound a few minutes from the hotel.

I walked over to the enclosed church area and explored the grounds. The cathedral was closed but I could peer in through the gated door.

On the right of the cathedral was a school and an administrative office with a gift shop on the left. A young guy came up and asked for 100 francs for food.

In the gift shop I saw they still had some Pope Francis gear, so I picked up one of the remaining baseball caps with the Pope’s face on it.

Funny Situation
The taxis fit four people in the back and two in the front. The one I hailed already had three people in the back, including a mother with a baby. On my way into the seat I accidentally nudged the sleeping baby’s head with my elbow. She woke up and started crying. I said “pardon” and stroked the back of the baby’s head. Suddenly the baby stopped and stared at my hand then back to her mother with an expression on her face that seemed to say “what the hell is that?”

Another passenger explained what just happened to the driver and then the entire taxi of strangers roared with laughter. The baby stopped crying and went back to sleep.

Across the cathedral is a small market with a craft market down one of the streets. I walked through and saw some foreigners wandering about for shopping. I picked up my tourist shirt which was a handmade “I Heart Bangui” shirt.

They seemed quite desperate for business.

Back in a taxi I headed downtown to Place de la Republique. The main roundabout of the city also known as PK0 was quite busy with street hawkers selling all sorts of items from clothing to food. There were a few monuments like the archway and a statue. The Grand Marche is just down the road.

I was getting quite a bit of attention, most likely because no foreigners were on foot and definitely no foreigners on foot wearing a tourist shirt. But they were mostly confused stares or smirks so it wasn’t uncomfortable.

I continued toward the river and followed the road to the Oubangui Hotel. I walked by the French embassy, a couple of riverside restaurants meant for foreigners and some abandoned buildings. Fishermen were getting nets ready to throw out of their pirogues. 

The hotel has a restaurant on a rocky outcrop into the river. I grabbed a local beer and enjoyed the view of fishermen and the shore of the Democratic Republic of Congo in the distance.

There seemed to be a party at the restaurant for some political group but they were mostly women. A lady called out to me and shook my hand. She introduced herself and her governmental position. I said I was a tourist, which seemed to cause her to lose interest in the conversation.

I took a different route back which passed by the Russian embassy and to some military compounds. The heavily guarded Presidential Palace was off limits so I had to walk around. There was a memorial, the City Hall which I mistook for a hotel at first, and the Treasury. I was freely taking pictures of the Hotel de Ville when I police officer came up to me and asked what I was doing. I said I am looking for a hotel. He amicably directed me to another hotel and was even going to walk me. He didn’t mention the pictures I took.

Then I got a taxi to see Musee de Boganda. This museum apparently was looted and currently closed, but as the main museum of the country, I wanted to have a look regardless. There wasn’t much to see except an old dilapidated building. My taxi driver warned me to be careful with pictures as police were around.

The driver did not want to go to PK5 as this is the most volatile and dangerous area. He was fearful for his life and refused to take me saying it was too dangerous if I took pictures. I explained I wouldn’t take pictures and we could just drive through which he eventually agreed to.

On the drive over he explained they kill people “like dogs” over there and don’t value life. It is even dangerous for him as a non-muslim to go through after hours.

We drove by the fortified and heavily guarded UN compound. Passed that point, the road was eerily deserted. A couple of people walked on the streets, but all the buildings were boarded up.

I saw where the market is set up during the day. All the stalls were closed and only a few people sat around outside. We got to a roundabout and my presence was immediately noticed. People started aggressively shouting “China!” The taxi obviously did not stop.

The driver explained how the Seleka rebels have been fighting with the Anti-Balaka in mostly retaliation attacks and civilians on both sides were getting killed. On the way back to the hotel we had to make a detour around a roadblock which was set up by the Anti-Balaka. Drums and tires were set in the middle of the road, behind which was a group of people standing around chatting.

We drove by the football and basketball stadiums as well.

And that tour concluded the sights of Bangui.

The next day the referendum vote was scheduled and violence did erupt. The Seleka rebels fired rockets and shot at the voters in line then UN troops stepped in. The day ended with 5 killed and 20 wounded.

At this point I was already on my 10 a.m. flight to Casablanca. I arrived early at the airport to go through the process. There were many layers of security including a passport check at the door, a bag check before entering the hall (where money was asked but not given), a passport and visa check before checking-in. Then after check-in, airport tax had to be paid (10,000 francs). A stamp on your boarding pass is the payment receipt. Finally a complete check of documents before going through immigration, security, and customs.

The immigration officer took my pen and I think one of the security officers took some coins from my bag, but overall a pretty harmless airport experience.

I flew with Royal Air Maroc to Casablanca and then had an 8 hour layover which I spent at the hotel they offered before flying to Niamey at 10 p.m.

Niger

We arrived into Niamey airport at around 2:30 am. By the time I got through the slow immigration process it was almost 4 a.m. They only had two or three officers handling the immigration for the entire flight and they were in no rush. I handed my visa letter and no questions were asked. They scanned my fingertips, kept my passport saying that I should get the organization to process my visa, and gave me a receipt.

Country 164 complete!

I took the shuttle to Hotel Gaweye and slept as soon as I got in.

The hotel was quite a disappointment being expensive, with a poor breakfast, no view and awful management. On a recommendation from the tourism department I moved to Hotel Maourey which was great value and a more local experience though it lacked wifi and could be cleaner.

For my visa, my friend Omar helped me organize the process so I left my receipt and 20,000 francs in an envelope at the front desk. His contact would pick it up and return my passport with the visa, though I wasn’t very comfortable being without my passport.

The next day and following morning, I toured the capital city.

Niamey Top Sights

My first stop in Niamey was the National Museum not far from the hotel. Entrance for foreigners is 1,500 francs and gives you access to a zoo, a surprising dinosaur fossil display, a few displays of cultural items and crafts and finally the artisan market where you can watch certain products being made right there.

The zoo was a bit depressing with some sad animals in small enclosures, though if you happen to be there during feeding time the sound of a lion crunching bones between its teeth is mesmerizing. There are also hippos, ostriches, and hyenas that looked a lot scarier in daylight than they did at night in Harar.

Right across the street from the museum is the CCFN (Centre Culturel Franco-Nigerien) which is a community center that also has a theater for live shows. I had a local Nigerien beer at the bar there before continuing up the road to the market.

On the road I saw another artisan market with leather and metal products where I bought a wallet.

Then continued to the Petite Marche where a guy took me to his friend’s place so I could buy my Niger football tourist shirt.

There were plenty of options at the Grande Marche as well. I enjoyed walking through the alleyways which were fairly calm compared to the other markets in Africa. The street section was a bit chaotic. You could find everything here from food and clothing, to gadgets and electronics.

From there I hopped into a shared taxi to the Grande Mosquee. A large open dirt square in front of the mosque leads to the entrance. Inside I found two men sleeping. They woke up seeming somewhat embarrassed and showed me the mosque for a donation for the mosque plus a tip for the guide.

There wasn’t too much to see besides the main room and the women’s prayer area which was outside with open air walls. I wanted to climb to the top of the minaret but it was closed because the key broke off in the door.

Cathedral de Maorey is near my hotel and the main Catholic congregation area. The compound was large and a security guard at the entrance asked what I was doing. I said I was here to pray and he let me in. 

I walked around and eventually found the cathedral which was a bit difficult to spot as it was the same height as the surrounding buildings. There were two kids sitting there and a caretaker burning leaves. The caretaker explained that the front gate was closed for security reasons from Boko Haram. He was named Emanuel and spoke with a big toothy grin.

In the evening, I had dinner and drinks on the terrace of the Grand Hotel which had a great sunset view over the Niger River.

I did some work before heading back to my hotel.

The next morning, I got up around 7 a.m. and grabbed a taxi to the Niger River. I walked along the riverside looking for a pirogue for a tour. I saw a few places that rented boats, but they weren’t open yet. Further down the river I found a small village with mud houses. It was interesting to see this traditional construction so close to the city center. Men washed clothes in the riverbed next to a small farm and even a pungent leather tannery.

I asked several people until I met a man sitting with two kids. He said his friend could take me who has a pirogue and walked me over to the guy’s hut, while the kids curiously stared at me. 

A guy in a suit came out and showed me his pirogue. I asked for a tour around the river and he agreed for 2,000 francs. Unloaded a bale of grass from the small craft, he invited me on.

Then he rowed out to the grassy island in the middle of the river. We went around and spotted quite a lot of birdlife including kingfishers and hawks. There were also a few fishermen rowing around, but the guy said the river was too high for fishing now. He took me around the lily pads and marsh land until we reached Kennedy Bridge.

I disembarked where some kids were washing in the river and made my way back to the hotel. I even hitchhiked with a soldier on his new motorbike which was cool.

Back at the hotel I had breakfast and waited for the my passport to get there. The organizer arrived on time and my visa was stamped and ready to go, just in time for the airport!

I checked out, hailed a taxi from the road and headed to the airport about 20 minutes away.

I went through the check-in process and also wrapped my bag in plastic as I was checking in the bag. Immigration was a breeze and soon enough I was in the lounge waiting to fly off to Australia via Ethiopia and Thailand!

Sitting there waiting for my flight, it was almost surreal that my 3 months in Africa were coming to an end. I really enjoyed Niger which was a relaxed city with friendly and hospitable locals. CAR was stressful, but once I was walking around I felt very comfortable.

Can’t wait to be back to complete the African continent!