Time to go

Today began as slow as yesterday, but it’s been well deserved. This was my final opportunity to either totally relax, or pick up anything that I needed to for gifts or myself. Akilah and I decided to walk around the area to see the Le Meridien Hotel and the Foyer du Marin. Meridien was not far from the Ibis so we went there first.

I now understand why this hotel begins at 89000 CFAs per night; this is obviously the choice of corporate personnel that frequent the country. If I remember correctly they even have a golf course somewhere; the sight of an American with his clubs in the lobby reminded me of that.

We took a walk around the lobby, stopping in the bookstore and gift shops. While Akilah picked out a gift item, I kind of walked around and marveled at the sight of this place. I don’t need to see the rooms to know that they must be nice. The lobby alone told that story, and most often than not, it does not lie. We even glanced at the menu thinking there may be something good to eat, and though there might have been, once we saw the average price of 7000 CFAs per plate, we figured it wouldn’t be worth the expense unless we came there for dinner.

After finishing there we walked across the street to the Hotel Sawa to see if there was a restaurant there that might be more affordable. The Sawa wasn’t bad either, but I’d probably place it a half star under the Ibis. What I did notice about these two hotels, however, is that the Sawa is affiliated with the Lion’s Club, and the Meridien is associated with the Rotary Club. Guess that would explain why both appear to cater mostly to westerners, eh?

As we walked back to the Ibis area, passing a basketball and tennis courts, we passed a Chinese restaurant. After speaking briefly to a woman who must be affiliated with the ownership, we decided this is where we would return for dinner. If all else failed, we knew this restaurant would have something we could eat that did not contain meat.

Douala is probably the only city in this country, Yaoundé included that is as westernized as any place in the southern part of the states. Could it be because they’re the economic capital of the country? Or could it be the fact that someone here seems to have a little vision?

Since we’ve been here, neither of us has been stained by red dirt. Why is that? What happened to it? We know it exists, because it’s just outside the city where Binam is located, but as soon as you enter the Douala limits, it appears to disappear. What’d they do with it? Where’d they put it?