---

This week has been hectic, exhausting, but overall a success.

Another Night in Cameroon

When I arrived in Douala from Yaounde, I hopped into a taxi directly to the airport. I knew something was wrong when I got to the empty check-in counter. The Camair Co representative told me to go to their office.

“It’s cancelled isn’t it?”

She nodded.

I went through the slow process of getting a refund after I declined the lady’s offer to rebook me on their next flight a week later. No, thank you.

Meanwhile I tried to figure out what to do next. I saw the departure board and just imagined getting on an Air France flight out of here. It would be so easy, but no, I must persevere.

I eventually booked a RwandAir flight leaving the next day direct to Brazzaville. Now I had to figure out where to spend the night.

I contacted Dagobert, a guy I met on Couchsurfing, who was happy to have me. He came to pick me up from the airport and then took me to dinner at a really local bar that had ladies grilling fish on the sidewalk while a man danced for tips. We ordered some fish and beer and had a good conversation about Couchsurfing and how he is trying to start a Douala community.

We got to his home quite late and he showed me the room they prepared. It was very basic but had a bed and a mosquito net. Perfect.

Before I knew it, I was fast asleep.

The next morning after a homemade breakfast, I went for a tour of their village with three of Dagobert’s children.

It was really small and peaceful, which was its main charm. Everyone seemed to know everyone and as it was a Sunday, most were relaxing. The villagers were pretty surprised to see a random Asian guy walking around.

When we got back, I packed up and said bye to the family. Dagobert took me to meet another Couchsurfer in town who wanted to get started hosting people.

Then he took me to lunch at a delicious Senegalese place before dropping me off for my flight to Brazzaville! What a great host!

By now I know Douala Airport well and the process of going through was easy, though for some reason they had a police party with a full buffet and drinks in the immigration hall. People used the counters to fill in your arrival/departure forms as a bar table…

Arriving in Congo

Having secured my visa in Libreville, I didn’t except any issues getting through immigration especially as the Congo Republic has a better reputation than its neighbors for corruption. At the immigration line, the first thing the officer at the front of the line asked me was if I had an invitation letter.

No, I didn’t need one. I already have a visa.

“No invitation letter? Ahh… “

He happily passed me on to another officer and uttered “no invitation letter”.

The officer slouched on his chair and told me that I had to go back on the flight to Douala. I must have look visibly shocked which must have been what they were going after. I argued my position in my poor French and showed him I had a confirmation letter from the hotel. He explained that I didn’t have a stamp on it from their police department, so it wasn’t valid.

He repeated that I need to go back, before lowering his head as if to tell me a secret and motioned me around to his cabin door.

Through the door crack he rubbed his fingers together.

“Combien?” I asked.

He explained that if I pay them the cost of the return flight 150,000 CFA (~$240), they will overlook the document.

When I understood that this was just a corrupt money making scheme, I started to bargain. I offered $50 which he brought to his supervisor then came back, “no you have to go back on the flight”. Then I offered another $20 on top. They argued that the bill quality was poor and they couldn’t accept it. When I took out another bill, they took both bills and took out a calculator and figuring out how much $90 was in CFA. The officer finally handed it to another guy who took it to the boss. While we were alone, he said “Something for me? I bargained it down for you”. I reached in my bag and pulled out a couple of bottles of shampoo and lotion. I handed it over and explained that his would be a great gift for his wife or girlfriend motioning to rub it on his head and skin. He studied the bottles then put them away under his desk.

Eventually the other officer came back and the chatted a bit in their local language. Then he opened my passport and stamped it and waved me away with a loud English “GO!”

Country 157 complete… yay.

Outside I saw my hotel transfer had already left so I asked a taxi driver to use his phone for 200 CFA. As soon as I hung up my call, the price changed to 2000 CFA. At that point I kind of blew up at him in my broken French. “You think it is good? What do you think tourists will say about your country when they go home? Is that what you want?”

The guy was dumbfounded, so I calmed down. He’s just in the same racket to make a buck.

I gave him the 200 CFA and soon the transfer arrived to take me to the hotel. The driver said I should have called him from immigration and he could have gotten me the letter. Lesson learned.

After that disappointing experience, it was great to settling into a beautiful suite at the Radisson Blu Brazzaville. This would be my home for the next few days.

Angola visa in Brazzaville, Congo

In Brazzaville, one of my main objectives was to obtain the Angola visa.

My strategy was to book a flight with Angola’s national carrier TAAG to Sao Tome with a 22 hour layover in Luanda. If I could convince them that I needed the visa so I could fly through their country to my final destination, I might have a chance.

On Monday morning, I was at the embassy with all my prepared documents. There was a small room with several people seated around and a security guard among them. They all faced a glass windowed room where a grumpy secretary sat.

I explained I needed a visa as I already had firm travel plans. She explained that it was impossible as I was not a resident. Then I showed that it was only for transit. She glanced at my paperwork and told me to come back tomorrow when my photocopies were in color.

A couple of blocks away was a small travel agency that did color copies. I prepped all the documents necessary to tackle it again.

Tuesday morning and I was back at the embassy. She took my paperwork and then looked through it. She did not give me a form to fill and with a handful of applications, left the room to present them to her supervisor.

About 20 minutes later she returned holding only my documents. Not good. She handed them back and said it was impossible. Then recommended I go back to Gabon where I got my visa for Sao Tome and get my Angola visa there. Not sure what their logic was.

I pleaded and explained that everything was set and I really needed to get on that flight as I had plans in Sao Tome. She wasn’t budging. Then she told me to leave so she could serve others. I sat back down and waited until the room cleared. She noticed I was the last one in the waiting room, so she left.

Eventually another two people came in and when the receptionist got back, she served them before disappearing as I approached the desk. I sat back down and waited.

About an hour later, she came back snacking on something and was surprised to find me still there. She seemed upset and said “I told you no already, now leave!” When I asked if I could speak to the consular to present my situation, she refused and told the guard to kick me out before leaving her box again.

The guard who I had been chatting with while waiting must have felt bad and explained that I should try somewhere else. He didn’t want to kick me out, but I could tell that he was uncomfortable that I was there. Usually I can’t wait to get out of an embassy, but with limited chances to get my Angola visa I wanted to make sure I exhausted all hope at this embassy before moving on. Staying around at this point would not help my case, so I decided to come back in the afternoon.

On my return, the lady was back in her chair and was definitely not pleased to see me. Before she got too upset, I apologized for coming back and explained that I really didn’t want to be in this position which is disturbing the embassy, but I was really out of options would really appreciate a chance to speak to the consular. She said I couldn’t because everyone left for the day.

And that was that.

Angola visa attempt 2: Fail

Chad Visa in Brazzaville, Congo

While going to the Angola embassy in the taxi, I passed by the Chad embassy which I didn’t know existed. I decided to go and give the visa a try.

Going with limited documents and no concrete plan, I wanted to see what the atmosphere was like. The guard let me in and pointed to the office.

I walked into an empty waiting room and went to the secretary’s office. She was doing something on her computer and seemed surprise to see me. I explained that I needed a visa and she immediately handed me a form. I filled it out and handed it back with two photographs and a copy of my passport and vaccination card. I said it was an emergency and asked if I could have it back today.

She said that it was possible, but the consular was not in, so I should come back in a couple of hours.

When I returned at 1 p.m. as she requested, she wasn’t there. The security guard let me wait inside and thirty minutes later she returned. She asked me into her office and explained to me that the express visa is very expensive. I asked how much.

“150,000 CFA ($240)”, she said gauging my reaction.

I raised my eyebrows and smiled. “C’est beaucoup! J’ai pas 150,000!”

Playing the good cop, she nodded and said that she will see if the consular could come down a bit. She soon came back and said that it was that price because we are doing it in a day.
I said I only had 100,000 CFA ($160) with me. Would that be acceptable?

She disappeared in the back room again. I heard them chatting and when she came back, she sat in her chair and said softly “Ca va.”

Then she proceeded to stick the visa into my passport and fill it in. She must not have checked my application, because she would ask questions like “How many days?” and “Oh, you’re a tourist?”

After some more small talk, she took my passport into the back to get it signed. Then more chatter and she peaked her head around the door.

“Where is your resident card?”

“Oh I don’t have one, I’m just transiting through Congo.”

She looked dismayed and went back to chatting with her superior.

Uh oh…

After awhile she came back and silently sat in her chair and continued to stamp the visa in my passport. She then collected the money and wrote me a receipt. The consular finally showed his face and gave me a friendly handshake before disappearing in the back room again.

Then the secretary showed me her map of Chad and the best tourist destinations to visit. When I mentioned Lake Chad which is swarming with Boko Haram right now, she shook her head.

Strange and unexpected, I got my Chad visa within a couple of hours of applying in Brazzaville. A great experience with a friendly secretary that even gave me some touring suggestions which was a first.

Chad visa attempt 2: Success!

Sightseeing Brazzaville

Brazza has several sights but the city isn’t known for its attractions. I went to visit the Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza Memorial, the Italian-French explorer that the city is named after.

The building is well kept, but there’s not too much to see inside besides the tombs and some displays serving as a small cultural museum. Outside is a statue of Brazza and a book.

A mosque with green topped spires stood out from the road. I did not try to go in and just admired the architecture from the outside.

Saint Anne Basilica is quite impressive with huge vaulted ceilings. When I went to visit, it was closed but a guy let me in for a donation of 2,000 CFA. Then I took pictures and he showed me a ladder that goes to the bell tower. He said I could climb it. Okay then! The ladder seemed to be more of a utility ladder and definitely not for tourists. I crawled up the first one which led to an opening with a view of the church interior. Up some stairs another ladder led to the bell tower. This room was interesting and all the bells are electronically set up. I checked my watch to make sure I wasn’t going to be surprised by a loud ring and fall in one of the openings.

Parc Marien Ngouabi
There is a park with a statue of the military president, Marien Ngouabi of Congo. It is a green area with quite a few people hanging around. Across the street is the former resident of the president which is now a military zone.

I took a couple of pictures and as I was walking away, a soldier from behind the fence came up to me. I thought I was getting in trouble for photography, but he just wanted to be friends! He asked my name and where I was from. And then asked if I could give him a job explaining that his salary was very low. He was a sergeant and when I suggested we take a picture together, he excitedly ran off to get his hat and then ran around the gate to meet me at the entrance. Then he led me into the park so we could take a picture in a better setting.

After we sat and chatted a bit. Another officer walked by and he introduced me as his Congolese friend and mentioned “He’s not an Arab!” Strange. After our conversation we exchanged information and I bid him farewell.

Marche Total
I went to this market to find my tourist shirt. Of course they only had football shirts, but I wasn’t complaining. Like most african markets, it was a messy maze of stalls and shops. What was interesting but not surprising were the Chinese shopkeepers tucked away in random alleyways. The Chinese are really everywhere!

Ferry from Congo to the DRC

Though I had an annoying start to Brazzaville, I took a liking to the calm capital city. Walking around during the day time was safe and people were very friendly and helpful.

On Wednesday morning, I was off to the DRC by ferry. The process wasn’t that straightforward. At the Congo side, first you buy a ticket (11,000 CFA) and then go through immigration, where they check your documents and give an exit stamp. Then you wait for your boat, which is written on your the back of your ticket. I had to wait for two boats departing before it was my turn. When your boat arrives, they collect your passport and have you sit in a small waiting area where they check your vaccination card.

Eventually once all passengers are accounted for, they hand back your passports and you need to pay a departure tax and a port fee. Then police check your documents one last time and see if you have any gifts for them.

The boat was of good quality and passengers are given life jackets. The fifteen minute crossing is quite pleasant and presents an opportunity to get some scenic pictures.

On arrival in Kinshasa, I saw police officers peering to see under the canopy of the boat and pick out their targets. As soon as I disembarked, an officer called me over. I was his mark.

He checked my passport and on seeing my visa asked, “Do you have a resident permit for Cameroon?”

No.

“Well then it is illegal to get a visa there.”

Ugh.

Of course I explained that I spoke with the consular and they understood my situation and granted the visa. I had to wait as his coworkers finished up with their respective passengers. Then the officer chatted with me as we walked toward the immigration office. I was told I had to pay an arrival tax. I didn’t have DRC currency so I ended up overpaying 2,000 CFA which much more than the 1,200 CDF written on the receipt.

The officer showed me to a small room down a corridor. He said he wanted to work in Australia and I should invite him. “I’ll see you after,” and he left me with two plainclothes police officers.

They started questioning me about what I was doing, where I was staying, etc. When I explained I was in transit and showed him my departure ticket, that seemed to appease him. After stalling awhile, he left the room. The other officer said he was thirsty, so I pulled out a can of cola from my bag. He seemed surprised and said he doesn’t drink cola. He asked for money so he could go buy something he likes to drink. “Sorry sir, I don’t have DRC currency yet!”

Eventually the first officer came back and gave me my passport which had a stamp in it… He also photocopied my ticket and that was it. The whole process only took about forty minutes.

Country 158 complete!

From the port, I caught a taxi straight to the Angola embassy. My flight was leaving tomorrow, so getting this visa was going to be tricky.

Angola Visa in Kinshasa, DRC

The embassy is on a main road next to the Congo embassy. I arrived with my two bags and entered a small crowded reception room that only had standing space. I organized and took out the necessary documents from my bag. Then I spoke to reception and said I was there for a visa. He asked why I brought two bags. I explained I came straight from Brazzaville and he thought I wanted to go to Congo, so he directed me to the other embassy. Eventually I got a tag for my bags and entered the waiting room.

The room was packed with over 50 people sitting around. There were two counters serving people in a numbered order. I looked at my luggage tag that read “26”. They were calling numbers in the 50s and counting up… I had a long wait ahead of me.

I went to the window when one person finished up and explained I had an emergency and needed to get a visa. He said I had to pay 1,000 CDF for the form and he wouldn’t take CFA. So I left to get money changed across the street.

After I filled the form I stood there waiting.

The guy saw me, but continued to call numbers. After about an hour, he pointed at me and called me up. I showed him all my paperwork with the completed visa request form. He reviewed it and I asked if I could get the visa today because I’m traveling tomorrow. He said it was very difficult. Then he talked to the guy next to him who shook his head. The chatted some more and he mentioned my flight ticket. Then he turned to me. “OK, pick up Friday.”

I then explained again that my flight is tomorrow, Thursday. He said the minimum time for a visa to be issued is 48 hours. I requested repeatedly to speak to the consular and eventually after checking, he called me in.

In my broken French I explained that I was very grateful for the chance to present my situation to the excellence consular and went on about how I didn’t know I needed a visa before I bought my flight and that the flight is not refundable.

He said this was impossible. I just continued to plead and said I just wanted to get my flight to Sao Tome. Eventually he said I needed a print out from TAAG with their stamp on it and a verbal letter from the Australian embassy. Once I had that, I could come back.

I thanked him for his time and left.

From the embassy I grabbed a taxi to the Kempinski Hotel Fleuve Congo, the best hotel in Kinshasa. After I checked in, I went online to find where the embassy was.

Apparently the Canadian embassy provides consular support for Australians in the DRC. So I took a taxi to the embassy which was closed. I showed my Australian passport and explained that I needed emergency services. They let me in and I talked to a representative in English. The guy took my passport copy and asked which embassy needed the letter. Then he said he would call and find the lady in charge of issuing the letters. I asked if I could come back to pick it up and hurried to the TAAG office to get the flight ticket.

Their office was a 20 minute drive away.

There were two guys sitting at desks in an air-conditioned room. They seemed to have no interest in helping me book a ticket. I gave the flight details and he told me it was $670 and they don’t accept credit card. I had to find a money exchange to get USD to pay for the ticket. I definitely did not feel comfortable walking around with that type of money on the streets.

The ticketing process took over an hour. Talk about efficiency. I also got the receipt with the company stamp on it as requested.

Then I hurried back to the Canadian embassy to pick up the document before getting to the Angola embassy. I arrived just after 2 pm and it was closed.

Chatting with some people outside, they said to come back tomorrow morning because all of the staff went home already.

The next morning, the day of my flight, I had one last chance. I was at the embassy at 9 am and there was already a long line. I tried to go directly into the room but was told off by the guy for not putting my bag away. After registering and taking a number I sat in the front of the room and waited. After about an hour, the guy that processed me yesterday called me up. He took me directly into the consular’s office and I gave him the documents, explaining that I came back yesterday but the embassy was closed. He looked through it and just signed the visa request form.

He told me to come back later today. I thanked him and shook his hand saying that he’s done me a huge favor.

That afternoon at 1 pm, I went back to the embassy, paid $35 and picked up my passport. The transit visa was in place, valid for 5 days, and stated that I was transiting to Sao Tome.

Wow… I did got one of the most difficult visas!

Angola visa attempt 3: Success!

Sightseeing Kinshasa

With very limited time in the city I only saw a couple of the attractions.

Mausoleum of Laurent Kabila

This mausoleum of the country’s first president was my favorite site in Kinshasa. This heavily guarded area is home to a statue and the tomb of the president set under an artsy communist styled dome with fists representing the countries that helped the DRC achieve independence.

On entering the area, you must leave your passport to some soldiers. At the tomb, there were half a dozen soldiers resting. One came to attention and gave a little bit of info on the site. He also allowed me to take pictures freely stating that this was a tourist attraction, which surprised me. After I gave a small tip which was expected. The soldiers holding my passport also wanted a tip.

Academy des Beaux Arts and National Museum

The National Museum is located on the university grounds. When I went, they were closed because one of the ladies went to the bank. The other lady had the key but said she couldn’t open it unless all three of them were there. Policy.

The university has quite a serene green campus, with a sculpture garden you can walk through. Students were sitting on the lawn drawing a posing lady.

Marche Central
This market is more of a district, with several blocks of shops selling basically everything you can imagine. I was only interested in the shirts and found a decent RDC football jersey as my tourist shirt.

When I arrived, a guy tried to lead me to a dark hallway inside a random building saying the shirts were there. No thanks, I did not want to be mugged.

DRC to Angola

With my visa in hand, I returned to the hotel and had a quick coffee with the sales manager, Saada. She was very friendly and also worked in the Kempinski Djibouti Palace which I recently visited.

I checked out and had arranged for a car to take me to the airport. About ten minutes in, he pulled over to get some air in this tire. I didn’t factor in this extra time, so it was cutting it close.

After the tire was pumped up, we continued for about 15 more minutes until he had to pull over again. He obviously had a flat and was just trying to pump it up on the way to get me to the airport. I got out and paid him half the fare ($10) and waited on the side of the road for another taxi. Near the port area, there weren’t many available taxis, so I signaled to a kid on a motorbike who pulled over. I said “airport” and he said “hop on”.

We shared an intimate motorbike ride for thirty minutes, under bridges, on the highway, and through dirt roads. He got me there reasonably fast as he could weave through traffic, though was overtaken on the highway sections. I paid him $10 which he was happy with.

At the terminal I followed the signs for international terminal, which happened to be the domestic one… A police officer lead me to the other terminal and showed me where I had to pay the $51 airport departure fee. The Kinshasa airport looked brand new and was extremely clean and well organized. I can see why the airport tax is so expensive.

Then I went through a checkpoint and got to line up to get my passport checked by TAAG. They questioned my visa for Sao Tome and even asked where I was going after. When I said Cape Verde, they asked for that visa. I told them it was none of their business and the lady told me to step aside.

Eventually she gave me back my passport and told me I could check in. I got my boarding pass and managed to get my two bags through as hand luggage.

At immigration control, the officer noticed that I had my visa from Yaounde and asked if I was working there. This time I said yes and he had nothing else to go on. He passed my passport to someone else who took it into a back room. A couple of minutes later he came back and gave it to the officer who stamped me out!

At the security check, the four bored police officers went through my entire bag taking everything out. A lady advised that my toiletries couldn’t go through as hand luggage, unless perchance I happened to give some money so they could buy something to drink. Then maybe they would let me pass.

I packed everything up and checked my luggage in.

The TAAG flight with a 737-700 was decent and offered a meal with alcoholic drinks.

Arriving in Luanda airport, I tried to get to the front of the line by walking ahead of other passengers. Everyone had to show vaccination cards and get their temperatures checked. Immigration was quite efficient, with several counters open and an officer directing passengers to the correct window.

I was asked how long I was staying and where I was going. After those were confirmed, he took a picture and sent me on my way.

The arrival hall of the airport was crowded, messy, and full of taxi drivers and fixers. I went to get some cash at an ATM which was in the departures hall before looking for a taxi.

I eventually went with a black cab with no meter for $20, to Baia Hotel. There I waited in the lounge to meet with Angelica, my Couchsurfing host of Luanda.

She came with her husband to pick me up and take me to their apartment in an upscale neighborhood.

Their home was lovely with modern decor, a flat screen TV, and wifi. This was surprising as the building seemed very basic. The lights in the hall way didn’t work and they powered their home off of a generator!

Angelica warmed up a dinner for me and we sat and chatted a bit. She works in HR while her husband is in IT and they have a four year old daughter.

As it was getting late, we called it a night and I retired in the private room they had arranged.

The next day after a shower and breakfast, I met their driver who they asked to take me around town.

Luanda Sightseeing

Angola is notorious for not being tourist friendly. “If they see you taking pictures, they either take your camera away or they take you away.” This is likely the way for police to get a bribe. So, most of my shots were taken from my iPhone to avoid attention.

In the city center there are police officers stationed at almost every corner or couple of blocks. Many of them had their fingers on the triggers of their uzi submachine guns.

Someone told me, “There are two things you need to know about Angola. The first is that the current government is corrupt and terrible. The second is that the largest party against the current government is even more corrupt and more terrible.”

If the visa process wasn’t clear enough, this was not a welcoming country.

Ilha Do Cabo
We drove around this peninsula with a stretch of beach where many bars and clubs are located. This is the popular nightlife area.

I couldn’t speak Portuguese with the driver, but we managed to basically communicate with a mix of Italian/Spanish/English. We took a walk along the beach and saw the container ships pulling into port.

Luanda Center
We drove through the main road where government buildings were located and I noticed lots of new construction.

The Mausoleum of Agostinho Neto, a communist looking icicle dedicated to the first president of Angola, is hard to miss and towers over the coastline.

The Museu das Forças Armadas (Museum of the Armed Forces) is currently set up in the São Miguel Fort overlooking the city.

I asked the driver where I could find a tourist shirt and he took me to one of the main markets of Luanda. This one clothing market was set up in an abandoned amusement park with a creepy ferris wheel.

The main market was full of people and stalls. Here I found a perfect tourist shirt with a flag of Angola.

Later I went with the driver to pick up their daughter from school. We walked right in passed a dozen security guards and found the cute little girl. She even wanted to take my hand to walk to the car which was funny because teachers saw her and asked “who are you going home with?”

Back at the apartment, we went for a local Cuca beer at the bar downstairs while the nanny made lunch. I ate while Luana tried to show off her toys.

After lunch, it was basically time to head to my 5:30 flight. The driver took me to a cafe where I had a chance to thank Angelica and say bye. Then we rushed to the airport through some terrible traffic.

Luanda International Airport was quite professional and the immigration leaving was painless.

I was on my way to Sao Tome!