A comprehensive guide to having an astronomical amount of fun in Cameroon

Happy March everyone. I can't believe it is March already. 2012 is wheeling through the calender like a jet. As promised, here is my comprehensive guide to having an astronomical amount of fun in Cameroon. Oh Cameroun, tu me manques, enormement. I flew into the Douala International Airport two weeks before Christmas. I'll be blunt, I hate the airport: it is hot, humid, stuffy, chaotic, disorganised and oh, did I mention hot? However, I always end up dragging my luggage through its dusty floors because it is the closest airport to my hometown. After hours of waiting for my luggage, it finally arrived. I stormed through immigration et voila! I was in Cameroon.


Oil rig
Limbe

Limbe is a coastal city in the South West region of Cameroon. It is without a doubt, one of my favourite cities in the country: the people are laid back and it has a vast array of pristine beaches.


Roadside procession
Limbe


Solar energy device
Balcony of my parents' house
Buea

Buea (pronounced BO-YA) is home to Mount Cameroon, the highest peak in West/Central Africa. It is also home to the only English speaking University in the country, University of Buea.


Front yard of the house


Living room


Wine rack
My favourite location


Anone fruit
Delicious




Bobolo


I always travel with my bow-tie




Having a drink in the city of Douala.
Douala is an amazing city but the traffic is unlike anything you have ever witnessed in your life. It makes New York City congestion look like child's play. Yes! it is that bad. The best way to navigate Douala is hiring a private chauffeur to take you around; it won't cost you a lot of money. The last thing you want to experience is being stuck in Douala traffic, sitting in a crowded taxi without an air conditioner. Trust me on that one. Besides, taxis are always stopping to pick passengers so it takes forever to get to your destination. With a private chauffeur, you have an air conditioner, you are safe and the vehicle moves quicker.


Rod Point, Douala.


le Boj, Douala
Their pizza quality is unmatched. They unequivocally have no rival in that department, simply the best. They also make cocktails, which is rare in Cameroon. Definitely my number 1 hang out spot.


En route to Yaoundé,
the capital city


Visited an Auntie and she served classic roasted fish, Cameroon style with a dash of Calvé Mayonnaise.



After sampling a few bars, we made our way to down beach to eat roasted fish.
Down beach is one of the popular places in Limbe for fish-eating. It is on the beach and servers walk around serving roasted fish and beer. The fish is allegedly always fresh but make sure there is always someone in your group watching the ladies who roast the fish. I've heard stories of people getting served "sleeping" fish and by sleeping I mean "old" fish. You are going to have a hellish date with diarrhea if you eat "old" fish so you definitely don't want that. As long as you monitor the ladies roasting your fish, you should be fine.


The city of Buea

The day after Christmas, I picked my friend up from the airport. He was visiting from New York City and this was his first time in Sub-Saharan Africa (he has visited North Africa before). It was so surreal to see him in Cameroon. The last time I saw him, we were in New York City and before that South East Asia. The first thing we did was pay a visit to Rue de la Joie in Douala. The ladies who work on those streets roast the best fish known to mankind. I am sincerely not exaggerating. Rue de la Joie is always bustling with festivities 24/7. A Sunday night is no different from a Friday night. There's always music, booze, fish, obscenities, booze and more booze. It never stops.


Devouring our fish
Rue de la Joie, Douala

We got back to Buea, rested, met with some friends and got ready for the next adventure

To be continued...