I had the opportunity to travel thanks to the holiday season in China. During the spring festival, or in other works the Chinese New Year, schools close for a pretty long time. YES! I figured it was a good time to do some traveling. First stop: Belgium. It was time for my visit family and get a visa for the Republic of Congo arranged.
So… the Republic of Congo!
There are some geographical things you should know about the country. There are two Congo’s: The Democratic Republic of Congo (capital: Kinshasa) and the Republic of Congo (Capital: Brazzaville). The two countries are separated by the Congo River, which is listed as the second-largest river in the world. GEOGRAPHY 101. Just making clear once again, I traveled to Brazzaville, the Republic of Congo.
Once landed I got through immigration smoothly. A usual check. I was so ready to just run through immigration, grab my luggage, and see my travel partner on the other side of the airport. Get this adventure started. Unfortunately, my luggage got lost and the adventure had to wait a bit. My luggage must have taken off the plane when we had a stop at Point-Noire. Yep, pretty annoying. My flight started in Brussels to Casablanca to Brazzaville with making a one-hour stop at Point-noir. But hey, all was solved by the next day so all good! ✌️
Spend your time in Brazzaville: tips
Walk along the Congolese River
Just recently they build a big, impressive bridge near the Congolese river that lights up at night. It’s always a good idea to visit during the night.
Bike through the city
One morning we got some bicycles and biked through the city. From the center to the suburbs. It was pretty nice to make that ride in the morning. The temperature was still low and there was not a lot of traffic to spot. AWE-SOME.
Spend Thursday nights at Bodega
The place to be on Thursday nights is definitely at ‘Bodega’. Congolese live bands will perform and you get to watch some really cool dances on the dance floor. Grab a beer. Or two.
The Burger Truck
If you would travel to or through Brazzaville make sure to try the Burger Truck. Just like the name says… it’s a truck and it has burgers. THE BEST BURGERS EVER! I’m not lying if I say that the best burger I ever had was in Brazzaville. (2020 Update: I was not yet vegetarian when I wrote this post)
La reine de l’ile Faignond
We took a day trip to a little island. Had to drive all the way out of the city and walk through some forest. It’s totally different from city life: children playing and people bathing in the river. After waiting for about 20 minutes our boat finally arrived. It was made out of a tree and was pretty scary! Once we got to the island we got to see beautiful nature, see some animals, and got bbq food. Worth it! By the way: be sure to discuss the prices before you say yes to food.
Other Tips & Tricks
- Before traveling to the continent of Africa make sure you get an appointment with your doctor to talk about vaccinations and maybe other medication such as malaria pills. Also, make sure to plan everything on time. From my experience, it wasn’t so convenient to get a travel visa for my destination. Make sure to do enough research.
- Dress appropriately.
- Learn a bit of French. Just a little bit. You should be able to ask for the bill, to ask for the price, etc. It’s hard to find someone that speaks English.
- Wear long pants and long sleeves: mosquitoesssss everywhere!
Cheers!
