Missive from the Congo 009

Originally posted on Mon, 18 Dec 2006 08:16:25 +0200

Today’s missive will be a short one since I have chosen to talk about rest and relaxation in Kisangani. Simply put, there isn’t much. There are no movie theatres, no golf courses or sports centers, no bike paths or skating rinks. There is not even a mall to walk through. Having said that, there are some things we can do as a R&R activity. Chief among these is O’Donnell’s. This a UN club within the logistics “base”, right next to the river. The really nice thing about O’Donnell’s is that it is within a secure perimeter and only UN staff can go there. Therefore you can really relax. You don’t have to worry about being attacked or have to fend off beggars. Service is Congolese however, but you just learn to order things earlier than you might otherwise and it works. Despite being right by the river, there are no bugs to speak of at nice. That too is nice.

The pool at the Palm Beach Hotel in Kisangani

There are two tennis courts at the Hawaii restaurant. Don’t ask me why but they are there. I haven’t played tennis since my first semester in CEGEP and don’t care to brush up but it is a recreation facility of sorts.


There is also an outdoor pool at the Palm Beach Hotel. They charge $5 USD to go swimming but it is money well spent. It feels so good to jump in there. It is a facility that is open to the public but given the cost, it is not affordable for most residents. Though I suspect there is a Congolese price and a “mosungu” (white man) price. Nonetheless, you see a fair number of Congolese families there enjoying the water and sun. You can order drinks and they cook some goat brochette on a fire pit. Ummm… goat.

Finally, we have satellite TV at the house. It is a South African service provide so the selection is interesting. There are about 150 channels though we watch about seven (CNN, BBC, Discovery, National Geographic, History, MTV and sports). There are about ten sports channel with all the soccer, rugby and cricket you can handle. We don’t watch that much but it is nice to know what is going on in the outside world. I might even figure out how rugby is played by the time I leave but I’m not even going to bother with cricket.


Anyways, have a good week. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.


John