Surreptitiously Senegambia

Dearest readers,

Last night Dan, Jamie, Annie and I decided to hit up the touristy area of the Gambia...Senegambia. It is also frequented by wealthier Gambians, but it seems to be very far removed from what the Gambia is, and from what most Gambians know. Anyway, Rachel called a cab driver to pick us up. The driver, Esa used to drive Mr. Femi around before he bought a car, so he is a regular St. Mary's student driver. He also drives Rachel because of the connection with Femi. Anyway, the driver doesn't speak much English, as he is Senegalese, so Jamie hit it off with him in French. Rather than negotiating for prices like with most drivers, he tells us he can't set a price for us because Femi is his God Father(I imagine in the Gambian sense)...very interesting.

Senegambia is designed for Western tourists, and is isolated from Gambian Gambia. I usually avoid it, but it was nice to go there last night. Yellow taxis are not to drive in the area to cut down on traffic, and to allow the over priced green tourist taxis to do business in that area. Esa had a friend in the immigration office at Senegambia, so he got a pass for his car to drive us directly to our bar of choice: The Green Mamba.

We had been there before for a Peace Corp party. The setting is very nice, a stone walk way lined with palms leading back to the thatched roof bar. It was almost like we were in a Latin American country, especially since they were playing Spanish language music on the surround sound while were there. Anyway, I have been talking about being extravagant lately, so I ordered a drink called the Black Adder. I highly recommend it to all of you who will never be over here to try it, although it costs 175D, the equivalent of about 8 bucks. Dafa seer. It is a blended mix of ice, tamarind, lime, ginger and of course rum. It is very refreshing. After one drink there we left and walked to The Kora. The Kora was a very interesting place. First of all, the tables, bar and floor were a dark hard wood, making it reminiscent of an American rustic bar with barn rafters. It also had a flare of city and a European retro vibe going on at the same time..and remember the name of the place is the Kora. There is also a pool table where Dan challenged and eventually lost to a group of mid-twenties Lebanese men. It was interesting, the place had some British tourists, some Spanish tourists, and a copious amount of Lebanese Gambians.

It makes you wonder though what the tourists think when they come to the beaches of this "tourist paradise." The isolated wealth and club vibe of Senegambia is not the Gambia. It is tourist central. I wonder if they ever venture outside of their bubble to really see the place, and to get to know the culture. I doubt it. For the record this was only my second time to Senegambia.

From the Kora we walked to an Indian Restaurant. Outside of the restaurant we ran into Dan's friend Roxy a VSO (Volunteer Service Overseas). She invited us in and said it was an open bar. Apparently the restaurant was having a night where they could show the people how good their food was, and then according to Roxy, "make them forget the food altogether." The menu looks very good, I will have to go back a splurge sometime. Inside there were Indian music videos being projected on the wall and music being blasted from the surround sound. Because it was a special night for the restaurant, I suppose all of the owner's family and friends were there. There were lots of Indian men and women dancing, and a few old British Expats. I ordered a Martini, as I saw there was Bombay Sapphire, but the man thought that I wanted chocolate gin instead for some reason. There was no regular Martini and Rossi gin, so I suppose since I said martini he assumed the brand. I guess that I forgive the fact that he didn't know I wanted a martini when Indian music was blaring so loudly that I had to shout to make half of a syllable audible. And it was free. The Indian restaurant has a very cool Westernized Indian environment, but again it doesn't seem like the Gambia. After a short stay, we called Esa, and I retired to Kanifing Estate.

Cordially yours,

Mr. Nuha Sanneh of Kanifing Estate

PS: I am on my way upcountry for the next four days.