roninafrika.reismee.nl

Bamako city-trip

6 december, Bamako, Mali

First restday today. I am really glad i found this hotel, with a comfortable room and a decent restaurant. After sleeping in for a while and a petit french breakfast, Bill, Illka and I went into town.

Thats really a different world again, an african, multimillion people city. Its buzzing all around you, lots of scooters, people walking down the streets and sleeping in dirt. After the taxi dropped us of in the 'centre de village' we first got some money at an ATM which are plentyfull in Bamako. While waiting for Bill to get his money i took some pictures of the local crossing, full with people, cars and scooters. Just an ordinary image of a big city. Suddenly two policemen came up to me and angrily asked me why i took a picture, and if it was normal to do so? I answered that it was indeed normal, being a tourist. and taking pictures is what tourists normally do. Off course all in my best french and since my french vocabulare doesnt go any further than 'croissant' bureaux, and 'troitoir' the conversation was a bit difficult and they werent amused by my answer. In contrary. I must have taken a picture of a very secret and important place of Bamako because they were pretty upset. But once i showed them the pictures and they had a very good look at them they were convinced that i probably missed the secret spot and i was not the international spy after all and went off. I didnt even had to pay a 'fine' for violating local regulations, that is 'take no pictures of secret roadcrossings, with policemen on it looking for people who take pictures'.

After that we wandered around a bit. Bamako is just one big sizzling marketplace, with lots of little shops, mainly selling tires and parts for scooters, lots of sandalshops, batik, clothes, local dishes of BBQed meat, casave, streetsalesmen with hats, sunglasses, peanuts, market stalls, tailors working on oldfashioned, manpowered sewing machines and through all of this cars and scooters ride as if there is nobody in the street, so you have to be carefull not to come under a car or scooterwheel with your feet because they all pass by cm's an do not really take care of your feet.

Its quit interesting to walk through a city like this but after a while you have seen it all, its pretty much the same in every street, so after walking to the Niger River

and the nice building of the Central African Bank we took a cab back to the hotel.
Back to the relaxed atmosphere . This was enough adventure on a restday. Tomorrow the adventure will have to be in my books as i intend to stay the day at the pool... reading.

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Rene

Ron veel succes verder met het fietsen. Stof is daar beter dan de storm die we hier hebben. Op de bank zorgen we voor je voor een nieuwe werkplek voor het Nieuwe werken. Je krijgt een hometrainer aangesloten op je PC zodat je kan afkicken als je hier weer bent.

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