West Coast Connection Forum

Lifestyle => Train of Thought => Topic started by: TraceOneInfinite Flat Earther 96' on October 29, 2008, 09:25:25 PM

Title: West African Travel Log Daily Updates For Trip 2008 (including pics)
Post by: TraceOneInfinite Flat Earther 96' on October 29, 2008, 09:25:25 PM
I'm leaving for West Africa again this year.  I will leave in two days and spend the whole month of November there.  I kept a log here last year and will do the same this year.  I'm also opening up a keystyle log in the keystyle section of the forum with some rhymes inspired by the trip.  This year I'm bringing my camera phone and will try to include pics in my posts (I can upload my entries, updates at internet cafe spots while I'm there).   So check back here and holler at me with any questions, etc.  Appreciate any feedback. 

Short recap of my visit to "Roots Island" during last years trip.

Juffereh James Island  (Roots Island)

(http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg39/Abdul-Infinite/12-13-2007-02-1.jpg)

Back when I was in the 5th grade we watched the movie Roots in school.  Roots is a story losely based on the history of Alex Haleys family.  He begins with Kunta Kente, an African tribesman living in Juffereh, Gambia.  Kente is later captured and sold into slavery in America.  I remember the movie had a profound affect on me at age 11.  There was only one black student in my class and he was crying so much during the movie his parents were called to take him home early.  I think at first I didn't realize how special this movie was.  All the opening scenes in Africa I paid little attention too.  It wasn't until  seeing the conditions of the slave ship, until seeing how tightly packed the slaves were that I began watching in awe.

(http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg39/Abdul-Infinite/12-13-2007-03-1.jpg)

I remember the questions we asked the teachers after watching the first video of the series...

"Why were they having the slaves dance?" was one of them.  The teachers of course responded that they had to get exercise.

"Why did that woman jump in the water"..."because suicide was preferable to many over a life of slavery" they responded.

Then in the later episodes detailing life on the plantations, our teachers were asked, "why were the slaves nice, then suddenly mean to eachother.

The teachers explained that the stress of slave life they often took out that stress on each other.

I think the lasting affect the movie had on me after that day was it made me root for black people, it made me want to see blacks have success in life.  I did see some truth to the black nationalist claims of "post-traumatic slave disorder".  many scoff at this idea in America but I saw some truth to it.   The people I had met in Gambia were the most sensitive, softest, nicest people in the world.  Gambia's nickname is "the smiling coast".  When I got back to America I watched the movie again.  And Alex Haley must have noticed the same thing I did, because you see much more pleasant and well-mannered exchanges amongst the blacks in Africa.  More peace, ease and free flow in their interactions with one another.




Title: Re: West African Travel Log Daily Updates For Trip 2008 (including pics)
Post by: Rugged Monk on October 29, 2008, 09:47:11 PM
interesting i shall peep
Title: Re: West African Travel Log Daily Updates For Trip 2008 (including pics)
Post by: LONDON!! on October 30, 2008, 09:06:48 AM
good luck wit your trip
Title: Re: West African Travel Log Daily Updates For Trip 2008 (including pics)
Post by: Þŕiņçë on October 30, 2008, 11:54:05 AM
Taking a wild guess here, your the white one?
Title: Re: West African Travel Log Daily Updates For Trip 2008 (including pics)
Post by: .:DaYg0sTyLz:. on October 30, 2008, 08:01:14 PM
Orlando Magic?
Title: Re: West African Travel Log Daily Updates For Trip 2008 (including pics)
Post by: TraceOneInfinite Flat Earther 96' on October 30, 2008, 10:49:15 PM
Taking a wild guess here, your the white one?

lol... bingo!
Title: Re: West African Travel Log Daily Updates For Trip 2008 (including pics)
Post by: TraceOneInfinite Flat Earther 96' on October 30, 2008, 10:50:46 PM
good luck wit your trip

thanks.. I will need it, but I do feel that luck is on my side, I just have to do my part.
Title: Re: West African Travel Log Daily Updates For Trip 2008 (including pics)
Post by: TraceOneInfinite Flat Earther 96' on October 30, 2008, 10:52:04 PM
Orlando Magic?

you know I never even noticed that hat until you said that.  That was my friends hat, not mine.
Title: Re: West African Travel Log Daily Updates For Trip 2008 (including pics)
Post by: Þŕiņçë on October 31, 2008, 10:32:19 AM
Have fun im sure it will be a blast. My parents went over there before they had us kids and had fun. And my uncle just recently spent a month in Australia rented a like van type shit and drove all around. Yeah, traveling runs through my blood. I myself am a traveling performer!
Title: Re: West African Travel Log Daily Updates For Trip 2008 (including pics)
Post by: TraceOneInfinite Flat Earther 96' on November 07, 2008, 05:46:23 AM
I'M just checking in from africa, i'll post something later... peace
Title: Re: West African Travel Log Daily Updates For Trip 2008 (including pics)
Post by: virtuoso on November 08, 2008, 04:21:19 AM

Stay safe infinite  8)
Title: Re: West African Travel Log Daily Updates For Trip 2008 (including pics)
Post by: TraceOneInfinite Flat Earther 96' on November 08, 2008, 04:29:12 AM
11-8-08


The computers here wouldn't recognize my camera phone so I will have to post up the pictures when I get back and give descriptions of the things I was doing.

More later.. peace

Title: Re: West African Travel Log Daily Updates For Trip 2008 (including pics)
Post by: Ali Tha Great on November 17, 2008, 01:24:41 PM

Stay safe infinite  8)
Title: Re: West African Travel Log Daily Updates For Trip 2008 (including pics)
Post by: Doggystylin on November 17, 2008, 01:59:41 PM
Infinite is the shit, keep at it dogg
Title: Re: West African Travel Log Daily Updates For Trip 2008 (including pics)
Post by: TraceOneInfinite Flat Earther 96' on November 29, 2008, 06:09:26 AM
I just got back into America yesterday.  I am working on getting my pics organized along with a journal of my trip.  I have nearly 200 pics and 100 short video's.  Here's just a couple of the pics, I will continue posting more throughout the month as I get organized...

(http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg39/Abdul-Infinite/Part%202%20Africa%20pics/IMAGE_007-1.jpg)

1rst day in Senegal, dropped my bags off at a friends house, ate lunch

(http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg39/Abdul-Infinite/Part%202%20Africa%20pics/IMAGE_023-1.jpg)

1rst day, hanging with some Rasta's at Senegal's historical Goree island





 
Title: Re: West African Travel Log Daily Updates For Trip 2008 (including pics)
Post by: jeromechickenbone on November 29, 2008, 10:07:40 AM
Thats really cool man.
Title: Re: West African Travel Log Daily Updates For Trip 2008 (including pics)
Post by: Jared Taylor on November 29, 2008, 04:19:07 PM
Africa...the only place in the world where people hack off each other's hands:

(http://lh5.ggpht.com/_2N6c3Hqq-GI/RnKRB8QzudI/AAAAAAAAA3s/-gsUmTjgCwI/Copy+of+mohamed+showing+his+chopped+shot+sleeve+hands.jpg)

Note that whites never do shit like this.
Title: Re: West African Travel Log Daily Updates For Trip 2008 (including pics)
Post by: Nat Turner-reincarnated on November 29, 2008, 04:36:55 PM
^^^ you got to be fuckin kidding. the holocaust..........plus all that shit with Bosnia and Serbs of whatever, WW1 and 2......... and aint nobody instigating that shit. or caused that shit indirectly. now on the other hand.......we know who are the real culprits to the bullshit going down over in Africa. from hotel rwanda to South Africa ( eye mean what more evidence do you need to prove that you motherfuckers are the physical manifestation of the devil himself) you crackers went to South Africa and had the nerve to keep Mandela locked up??? and got the  nerve to act like you belong there. fuck out of here
Title: Re: West African Travel Log Daily Updates For Trip 2008 (including pics)
Post by: TraceOneInfinite Flat Earther 96' on November 29, 2008, 08:47:11 PM
I'm going to be making ongoing modifications to this thread.  I resized all the photos, they were much too big before.
Title: Re: West African Travel Log Daily Updates For Trip 2008 (including pics)
Post by: Jared Taylor on November 30, 2008, 09:21:59 AM
^^^ you got to be fuckin kidding. the holocaust..........plus all that shit with Bosnia and Serbs of whatever, WW1 and 2......... and aint nobody instigating that shit. or caused that shit indirectly. now on the other hand.......we know who are the real culprits to the bullshit going down over in Africa. from hotel rwanda to South Africa ( eye mean what more evidence do you need to prove that you motherfuckers are the physical manifestation of the devil himself) you crackers went to South Africa and had the nerve to keep Mandela locked up??? and got the  nerve to act like you belong there. fuck out of here

Wow, sounds like you got really angry for a change at hearing someone actually express "racism" towards your people (which, contrary to what you believe, doesn't happen enough these days).

I don't know if whites "belong" in Africa, but things sure were better when we ran the place. Also, considering that blacks tend to be more anti-semitic than whites nowadays, it's odd you'd criticize us for the Holocaust.
Title: Re: West African Travel Log Daily Updates For Trip 2008 (including pics)
Post by: TraceOneInfinite Flat Earther 96' on November 30, 2008, 05:23:15 PM
Pics from my first day in Senegal on Goree Island.  Goree Island was one of the first settlements built by the Europeans in West Africa.  The Porteguese were the first to make use of the island in the 14th century.  Later the Dutch captured it, and gave it its name.  But over the last few hundred years it has mainly been a possession of the colonial power of Senegal, the French.

Slavery is dramatized in great detail on the island.  Although it has been disputed that the tales are greatly exaggerated by the 1,000 or so locals who live on the island and benefit off its tourism.  Studies have shown that it was a major settlement and trading post, however human slaves were only a minor commodity on the island compared to the other goods being transported, such as beeswax, hides and grain. 

However it has been so well-preserved over the years, in comparison to other European settlements in Africa, that it is still considered one of the  best locations to visit for people seeking to better understand the history of the slave trade.  The slave house located on the island is very well-preserved as you can see in the following picture...

(http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg39/Abdul-Infinite/724212-R1-040-18A_013-1.jpg)

^^^The top floor is said to be where the slave masters lived, while the bottom level is said to be where the blacks were divided up by groups.  Then in the back is the place they call "point of no return" where they say the slaves were tragically shipped off to America, and "goodbye Africa".

(http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg39/Abdul-Infinite/724212-R1-050-23A_018-1.jpg)

This is the ferry ride over to Goree island, behind me you can see the whole width of the island off the coast of Senegal, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean.

(http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg39/Abdul-Infinite/724212-R1-032-14A_009-1.jpg)

This is one of the beautiful local girls on the island.  The locals are known as some of the nicest people you will find, many of them have lived their whole life and never even been off of the island.  The small island has it's own economy, some people have homes deep inside bunkers that were originally built by the European slave masters to defend the island from other competing European Nations.

(http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg39/Abdul-Infinite/Part%202%20Africa%20pics/IMAGE_017-1.jpg)

Here is just some of the beautiful artwork they create for sale on Goree island.

(http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg39/Abdul-Infinite/Part%202%20Africa%20pics/724212-R1-028-12A_007-1.jpg)

This is a canon that was built around the 17th Century and used by the slave traders in defending the island from other European rivals.

(http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg39/Abdul-Infinite/Part%202%20Africa%20pics/724212-R1-038-17A_012-1.jpg)

Here's a Rasta spot we found on the island where we sat down for some tea (ataya).


...The first day I was just happy to be there, and get as far away as I could from the stress and monotony of American life.  Even after an 11 hour plane ride I still couldn't sleep for the first day and a half in Africa.  I was just so eager to get out and start seeing a different life.  I was pretty close to euphoria during my first couple days in Senegal.

The first thing I did was went for a walk. I walked to the beach and I looked off into the ocean and tried to realize how far I was from America.  At the time it felt America was very close, but with every day that passed America became farther and farther away as I looked off into the ocean. 





Title: Re: West African Travel Log Daily Updates For Trip 2008 (including pics)
Post by: Ali Tha Great on November 30, 2008, 09:24:14 PM
tight pics bro...definitely looking forward for more pics...+1 8)
Title: Re: West African Travel Log Daily Updates For Trip 2008 (including pics)
Post by: TraceOneInfinite Flat Earther 96' on December 01, 2008, 04:58:05 AM
tight pics bro...definitely looking forward for more pics...+1 8)

thanks brother... I noticed a sharp spike in my karma, I am up to -455!
Title: Re: West African Travel Log Daily Updates For Trip 2008 (including pics)
Post by: .:DaYg0sTyLz:. on December 01, 2008, 10:22:58 AM
tight pics bro...definitely looking forward for more pics...+1 8)

thanks brother... I noticed a sharp spike in my karma, I am up to -455!

make it -454.....good shit homie.
Title: Re: West African Travel Log Daily Updates For Trip 2008 (including pics)
Post by: Þŕiņçë on December 01, 2008, 11:08:50 AM
If i could rep i would, nice pics man i would like to travel over seas and dammmmn that island look small.
Title: Re: West African Travel Log Daily Updates For Trip 2008 (including pics)
Post by: Rugged Monk on December 02, 2008, 03:57:09 AM
yeah this is rad and interesting good shit Infinite.
Title: Re: West African Travel Log Daily Updates For Trip 2008 (including pics)
Post by: The Phoenix on December 03, 2008, 09:36:54 AM
Africa...the only place in the world where people hack off each other's hands:

(http://lh5.ggpht.com/_2N6c3Hqq-GI/RnKRB8QzudI/AAAAAAAAA3s/-gsUmTjgCwI/Copy+of+mohamed+showing+his+chopped+shot+sleeve+hands.jpg)

Note that whites never do shit like this.
I know, the whites just commit hate crimes against non-white groups.  I think you guys get a rise out of it.  Ain't that right Bisco.
Title: Re: West African Travel Log Daily Updates For Trip 2008 (including pics)
Post by: Jared Taylor on December 03, 2008, 04:22:11 PM
Africa...the only place in the world where people hack off each other's hands:

(http://lh5.ggpht.com/_2N6c3Hqq-GI/RnKRB8QzudI/AAAAAAAAA3s/-gsUmTjgCwI/Copy+of+mohamed+showing+his+chopped+shot+sleeve+hands.jpg)

Note that whites never do shit like this.
I know, the whites just commit hate crimes against non-white groups.  I think you guys get a rise out of it.  Ain't that right Bisco.

The Holocaust is an exception. When whites have wars, we don't genocide other groups like in Rwanda or Sudan.
Title: Re: West African Travel Log Daily Updates For Trip 2008 (including pics)
Post by: TraceOneInfinite Flat Earther 96' on December 04, 2008, 10:53:09 AM
MUNGO PARK

This is another famous historical site in the upcountry of Gambia, where Scottish explorer Mungo Park began his journey across West Africa in the 14th century.  He started at approximately this location.  The goal of his journey was to track the course of the Niger river and he was successful.  He came back a second time and was attacked and killed by locals during his second journey.

(http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg39/Abdul-Infinite/Part%202%20Africa%20pics/724212-R1-010-3A_001-1.jpg)

I actually went to this location twice.  The first time I had told my friends I wanted to ride the canoe up the river.  So one of the locals offered to take me.  We went for a mile or so up the river.  We stopped and began walking through the woods.  I was barefoot but enjoyed seeing the nature.  We walked for about a mile through the woods till we reached this monument.  On the way back we passed some rice farmers.  They were all women, and they were interested to see a foriegner coming through, they playfully asked me to join them in their work.  Maybe if I hadn't been barefoot I would have joined them for a little while to see what it was like.  On the way back the guide who took me there explained to me life on the farm, as he was a farmer himself.  He also asked me if there "was anything I could do for him" and "not to tell the others that he had asked me".  But I mentioned it to my friend as soon as we got back and he advised me "not to give him anything" because there were not available ATM's in the upcountry and we needed all the money to make sure we got back okay.  The jeep was leeking oil and we had spent more than we expected.  We even spent time at a mechanic shop in the upcountry.  Here are a couple pictures of the upcountry shop where we received maintenance for our jeep...

(http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg39/Abdul-Infinite/2008%20Africa/Part%202%20Africa%20pics/IMAGE_086-1.jpg)

No child labor laws here....

(http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg39/Abdul-Infinite/2008%20Africa/Part%202%20Africa%20pics/IMAGE_087-1.jpg)

That's our jeep behind us being repaired...

Anyway...so as I was saying I went canoeing up the river to visit Mungo Park.  Then after reaching back to the location where we were staying that night.  My friends also said they wanted to see Mungo Park.  So this time we went by land taking a donkey ride through the villlages out to see it.  The donkey carried about 6 of us on a wooden board with wheels.

(http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg39/Abdul-Infinite/724212-R1-012-4A_002-1.jpg)

This is the means of transportation for many living in the villages.  The night before I had passed through a local village but it was pitch black, as there is no electricity.  So I couldn't see anything, I was just following the others.  But that day I passed through a few villages in route to Mungo Park, now in the daylight.  On the computer I have seen old drawings by Mungo Park of 14th century Gambia, then called "Mandingo".  The drawings in his travel journals are nearly identical to the way that it still looks today in those villages. 
Title: Re: West African Travel Log Daily Updates For Trip 2008 (including pics)
Post by: Þŕiņçë on December 04, 2008, 11:40:18 AM
damn cool pics man... and lol @ that donkey haha sucks for him
Title: Re: West African Travel Log Daily Updates For Trip 2008 (including pics)
Post by: TraceOneInfinite Flat Earther 96' on December 04, 2008, 01:29:16 PM
damn cool pics man... and lol @ that donkey haha sucks for him

Yeah, that donkey was gettin beatin pretty badly, every few seconds he gets whipped in the back to speed up or slow down.  I asked if on the way back maybe the donkey could ride and we could pull (but nobody really got the joke).
Title: Re: West African Travel Log Daily Updates For Trip 2008 (including pics)
Post by: OchoCinco on December 04, 2008, 04:00:22 PM
i thot u were black...trippy
Title: Re: West African Travel Log Daily Updates For Trip 2008 (including pics)
Post by: Chief on December 06, 2008, 11:43:17 PM
looks like a unique experience
Title: Re: West African Travel Log Daily Updates For Trip 2008 (including pics)
Post by: Now_Im_Not_Banned on December 08, 2008, 03:40:00 AM
G shit...Infinite doin it big. 8)
Title: Re: West African Travel Log Daily Updates For Trip 2008 (including pics)
Post by: TraceOneInfinite Flat Earther 96' on December 13, 2008, 06:09:35 PM
My Good Friend In Africa, Idiboy "Silver". 

Many of the younger boys like to have nicknames, my friends nickname is "Silver" because one of his many trades is making and selling silver.  But even his regular name "Edi-boy" is actually a nickname combining his first and last name.  They even told me "Edi" is a shortened Africanized version of the Muslim Prophet name "Ibrahim", which makes sense because often they shorten and Africanize Islamic names in West Africa.  West African's are very different from East African Muslims.  East African Muslims are very into Arab culture and have incorporated many Arab words into their daily conversation, while West African's are Muslims who don't really embrace the Arab customs that have seamlessly attached themselves to the religion.  You find much more African pride amongst West African's, as opposed to East Africans who tend to prefer to emulate their Arab neighbors.

(http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg39/Abdul-Infinite/Part%202%20Africa%20pics/IMAGE_002-1.jpg)

This picture was taken from the first day in Senegal.  I was worried about the Senegalese airport.  As soon as a tourist gets off the plane he is hassled by dozens of hustlers.  But before I even got outside my friend was there waiting for me, and it put me at ease.  This dude knows his way around Africa.  I can let me mind be free if he's around. 

Here are some pics of his families home in Gambia....

(http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg39/Abdul-Infinite/2008%20Africa/IMAGE_050-1.jpg)

That's my friends step-father in the picture.  You also see broken down taxi's in the driveway.  Nearly 12-20 family members live in that small group of homes.  As the family expands they build onto the house little by little.  The family is struggling now, because Idiboy's brother was previously earning income as a taxi driver and mechanic but with his cars broken down for good, he is now out of work.  But those taxi's were never really in good working condition, he got them like that broken down and tried to see if he could fix them to get use out of them, but has given up trying to repair them now.

(http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg39/Abdul-Infinite/2008%20Africa/IMAGE_047-1.jpg)

You see pictures on his walls of Reggae artists, along with a picture of a famous Islamic Sufi Shiek named Ibrahim Nayass.  His branch of Sufism known as Tijani is the most popular practice of Islam I found in Senegal and Gambia.  Although my friend wasn't really practicing Tijani himself, his mother and some other family members were more into it.  Traditional Tijani Sufi's will gather on Friday's for "wassifa" where they will form circles and call out the names of Allah in unison till the energy biulds into a euphoria that is said to bring them closer to Allah.

Another picture you may notice is actually of Muammar Quadafi.  I had to ask who it was because I couldn't tell just by looking at the poster.  It appears to be a younger version of Kadafi.  Kadafi tried to form the African United States and unite the whole continent of Africa, so he has one favor amongst black African's for being a Pan-African, African pride symbol-figure.  Although ofcourse he is very controversial in other parts of the world, but regular locals in the Gambia seem to like him.

(http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg39/Abdul-Infinite/2008%20Africa/IMAGE_049-1.jpg)

Along with the Reggae/Rasta posters you can also see a poster of 50 Cent.  What was interesting to me about this, is that sometimes they don't really even listen to the music.  But they love the idea of blacks in America achieving great power and wealth.  So 50 Cent's image of power and wealth is something black Africans are inspired by.  Anybody from 2pac, Suge Knight, to Barack Obama, Snoop, Michael Jackson, these are all inspirational figures for them.  However, some do actually get into the music, you will even see Eminem t-shirts around the city, so it's not just about them being black, but they also love hip-hop culture and admire it.


Title: Re: West African Travel Log Daily Updates For Trip 2008 (including pics)
Post by: TraceOneInfinite Flat Earther 96' on December 13, 2008, 06:44:55 PM

(http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg39/Abdul-Infinite/2008%20Africa/IMAGE_053-1.jpg)

As I explained before, the Rasta culture is huge in Gambia.  And they don't call Gambia "the smiling coast" for nothing.  Marijuana is a part of daily life in the country.  It goes along with battling the elements such as digesting the food, the hot weather, mosquitoes, crowded streets and hustle of city life.  Somehow the ganja blends beautifully with the life there.  They have adopted Jamaica's Rasta culture in Gambia and ofcourse ganja is a big part of the Rasta way.  Even strict Muslims and proffesionals engage in it's use in Gambia.  People may pass by, see friends, have a seat, drink some tea, and pass around some ganja with their tea.  The most popular song in my time in Gambia was a song called "Ganja Farmer".  The songs lyrics go like this...

"Some ganja plant-a...
call me the ganja farmer...
it's a million ways (somethin somethin) ganja
Babylon comes to put my farm on fire....

...I'm a ganja planter....
...Call me the ganja farmer!"

I took this article about marijauna from a travel website about Gambia

http://www.accessgambia.com/information/ganja-drug.html

Ganja is the name for Marijuana (Pot), and seems to be more prevalent than liquor given the Islamic restrictions on alcohol consumption. Be aware that partaking and possessing Ganja is illegal in The Gambia. "Cannabis" is also used to describe the substance.

WARNING:
Never engage in illegal drugs. Penalties and prisons in Gambia are harsh.

Cannabis grows naturally in The Gambia and other parts of Africa and has been used as a recreational drug for centuries but its abuse is now widespread in both rural and urban populations in Africa (United Nations, 1989). The potency of cannabis varies widely geographically, with reduced levels of the major active principal, delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) found in plants grown in cold climates; cannabis in West Africa is likely, therefore, to be highly potent. In The Gambia there are three cannabis harvests per year and its low cost, and ready availability favour its widespread use. The cannabinoids are highly lipophilic and accumulate in body fat, leading to a long half-life in chronic users (Harvey, 1985).

British Journal of Psychiatry (1993) 163, 798-801
Title: Re: West African Travel Log Daily Updates For Trip 2008 (including pics)
Post by: Now_Im_Not_Banned on December 14, 2008, 06:29:16 AM
^I'm all down with the Rasta, homie, but that ganja looks fuckin dirty...
Title: Re: West African Travel Log Daily Updates For Trip 2008 (including pics)
Post by: TraceOneInfinite Flat Earther 96' on January 05, 2009, 06:48:49 PM
This was my second trip to West Africa.  I had spent the month of November 2007 there, and I had again planned to spend the month of 2008 there.  Back in 2000 I had began making close friends with Gambians living in the United States.  I would ask many questions and they would tell me a lot about back home.  Often they would invite me to come to their country, but I don't think they really expected me to take the offer seriously.  They would tell me they were going "next year" then when the "next year" would come they would say "no, next year"... Then again the next year would come and still they would say "next year".  Finally after 7 years of this I told my friends I was just going to go by myself.

They told me "no, you can't go by yourself, its not safe, you need to wait till I go next, Im going next year".

I insisted that I was going to go by myself so at that point they gave me names and numbers of their family members living in Africa and told me to contact them if I needed anything during my trip.

So with little planning, and little money I was off to Senegal.  One of my friends had told me that in the Gambia, "everything is so cheap, it will be hard for you to even spend 500 dollars in one month".

But what he failed to mention was that it is possible to spend only 500 on just myself in a month in gambia, but that a great deal of money would need to be spent on others.

For example, if you go in a taxi ride you pay for your friends to, if you eat you pay for yourself and everyone else eating, if you stay with friends they will say its free but at the end you may be asked to give "something from you heart" which can be a very high amount.  Any favor anyone does for you no matter how small it is curteousy there that you may give them some money for it.

My first trip to Senegal and Gambia I stayed the families that my friends from back home had linked me to.  And while I am grateful for their hospitality I think many wrong assumptions may have been made.  They maybe thought that their primary goal was to keep me safe on the trip, or to impress me with the life there, or make me comfortable enough that I wouldn't feel like it was a struggle being away from America.

But I was there for the opposite.  I was there for adventure.  I was there to see things and do things that could not be found in America.  So while I was taying with the families I started going out on my own, making my own movements, making my own friends.

I learned that often the wealthier families didn't know their way around much.  They had most of their things at home and had attatchments to family and friends living in the West.

One good friend I met while out on my own was Idiboy. His nickname blah blah blaj yada yada yada.

So this time I put my trip into his hands.  He picked me up directly from the aiport blah blah blah yada yada yada.

I spent much of the trip just trying to keep up with him, he moved very fast, wheeled and dealed for me, blah blah blah yada yada yada.

The first day in Senegal we spent most of our time at Goree island, Goree island blah blah blah yada yada yada.

We set out to travel from Senegal to Gambia.  It was a long trip and we spent some of the time conversating with the others on the bus.  One girl on the bus sparked conversation when she said that "all men are bad".  The boys and the girl started debating whether it was boys or girls that "fake on you".  Supposedly showing you one face and then showing another.  I was interested in the conversation but part of it was in Wolof and part in English.   After a long exchange in Wolof I had asked for an explaination of what they were saying.  So the assistant to the bus driver tried to explain...

"See our way, in our culture here is that you can date someone or you can have a girlfriend.  You have to to find out what you like.  But the problem is when some people take it too far, and they will be with somebody for years and years and never marry, then maybe after 9 years they leave eachother or something.  Muslim and Gambian way is to get married".

So that gives you an idea of what the conversation was like on the bus.  There was one point on the bus ride when everybody started laughing at my friend.  He had held everyone up cause he had to stop to use the restroom (#2).  So he went off into the bushes and people laughed about how long he took or complained he was holding everyone up.  When my friend came back he said, "Yeah, they want to laugh, but one day they will have to go, and they will have to do the same thing, you can't help".

Often whether travelling or in the city you have to pee or poop just on the side of the road.  Even at the point of immigration, after getting my passport stamped I remember peeing on the side of a biulding outside.

In America we have the luxury of privacy and locking all our doors and hiding ourselves away from the slightest discomfort.  However, in Gambia that luxury is not there, the people are congested and learn to get along one way or another.  So its no surprise the people end up being very open people with nothing to hide.

Infact then when I finally got into Gambia we went to a home along the way.  My friend said we might be able to stay there for a few days, just to introduce myself to his cousin that stayed there.  When we got there the main house was locked with nobody home, yet they had a makeshift guesthouse, where my friend said he stayed at times.  We went in there and I took a shower.  There was no towel so I put on some boxers and sat outside just a minute to airdry.  There was nobody there but my friend and I.  Abruptly his cousin showed up, I went to rush to put some clothes on, yet my friend was like, "ohh its okay, just introduce yourself".

So anyway, it was kind of strange to me that I began introducing myself to this man while sitting outside in his front driveway(inside a gated property) in nothing more than my boxers, asking if it was cool if we stay there.

I tell this store just to mention how things are out in the open in Gambia.  You see women breastfeeding in public on buses and cabs, people urinating out in the streets, occasional nudity at the beaches, and even sometimes you can be at someones house people may change clothes in front of you only making slight considerations for privacy.

Eating is a group affair.  You hardly ever go get food on your own, but rather wait till everyone is eating and join in eating out of the same bowl.  When you try to leave and say your finished they will always try to encourage you to eat more.

Well maybe my introduction didn't work out so good after all.  Because after at first being told I would probably be able to stay there for free as long as I wanted, I ended up with a 500 dollar a month offer the next day.

So we only ended up staying with my friends cousin for two days.  It wasn't that bad of an offer but we wanted to stay closer to the beach anyway.  While there I was given the main room of the house.  My friends cousin moved and re-arranged his things right away.  The room was very much like an American teenagers room might be.  A big stereo system, pictures of his family and girlfriend, and posters on the wall of American musicians like Eminem, Britney Spears, and so on.  He was playing a music station that was nearly identical to most urban stations in the US. 

My friend and I both agreed that it wasn't really our style.  I was looking for different style, perspective and atmosphere in Africa, and my friends cousin was too much into America for our taste.  And what's the point of travelling if your just getting more of the same.

Next we went and visited some of Idi-boy's friends.  We sat in a circle and chatted, passed around tea and things.  Idi-boy asked if I liked the vibe there.  The discussion was a lot about Obama and the election.  They were mostly Rasta's and their style was a reggae-African pride look.  The guesthouses were shaded by large trees, there was a big water well, open space, bushes and hamack in the middle of the property, and the owners home was designed on the outside with colorful African artwork.


So there we would stay and it worked out well.  The owner of the property was Sidi, he charged us just 350 for the whole month.  He had a set of 4 guesthouses.  Basically he had biult the first, started renting it out, eventually biult the second, then third, and was finishing up the fourth as I was there.  His whole family and friends had their own spot also inside the property and they all worked together tending to the property.  I ended up spending a lot of time with these people and getting to know them during my trip. 

The name of the city was kololi, it was walking distance to the Palma Rima beach, but it wasn't a short walk.  It took me about 3 days before I got down all the twists and turns on the way to the beach that I started making the walk on my own. 

I would spend a lot of time walking during the trip.  My friend bragged to me that he knew his way around better than anyone else, that others didn't know the backroads we walked and that he was saving me hundreds on taxi fares. 

I enjoyed all the walks.  It was a great break from the confinement I experience back home in America.  To be out, walking around, going place to place, having dozens of friends, sweating in the sun, swerving around in the dark of the night, were all things that reminded me of being a kid again, before I was 16 and had a drivers liscence.

The walks at night were quite an experience.  At times it was pitch black, as many area's either didn't have power, or the power had temporarily gone out.  There are temporary power outages that last about 2 hours every few days.  This is an improvement from the nearly daily power outages I had experienced the year before.

Upcountry trip.

My last night at the guesthouse they threw a big going away.
Title: Re: West African Travel Log Daily Updates For Trip 2008 (including pics)
Post by: IslamInevitable on August 11, 2009, 04:09:57 PM
Nice man... it takes a lot of courage to get up and enter a completely different culture... but they seem like cool peoples man... make me wanna go there soon
Title: Re: West African Travel Log Daily Updates For Trip 2008 (including pics)
Post by: LAXCENTRAL on August 12, 2009, 07:08:46 AM
DAMN.... IN FINITE
PLAYER IS ALL G-ED OUT
Title: Re: West African Travel Log Daily Updates For Trip 2008 (including pics)
Post by: LAXCENTRAL on August 12, 2009, 07:08:58 AM
THOSE TRIPS ARE GOOD
Title: Re: West African Travel Log Daily Updates For Trip 2008 (including pics)
Post by: LONDON!! on August 12, 2009, 09:24:38 AM
^I'm all down with the Rasta, homie, but that ganja looks fuckin dirty...

thats bush weed dawg, thats how it looks, its dark, the bush weed you get in z(zambia) in southern africa is light green and very potent, but its mostly dark looking bush weed in the motherland, for real

big up infinte, you did your thing, salute player, do your thing blood
 
Title: Re: West African Travel Log Daily Updates For Trip 2008 (including pics)
Post by: LAXCENTRAL on August 14, 2009, 12:23:37 AM
^I'm all down with the Rasta, homie, but that ganja looks fuckin dirty...

thats bush weed dawg, thats how it looks, its dark, the bush weed you get in z(zambia) in southern africa is light green and very potent, but its mostly dark looking bush weed in the motherland, for real

big up infinte, you did your thing, salute player, do your thing blood
 
Title: Re: West African Travel Log Daily Updates For Trip 2008 (including pics)
Post by: Nutty on August 14, 2009, 01:33:45 AM
^I'm all down with the Rasta, homie, but that ganja looks fuckin dirty...

thats bush weed dawg, thats how it looks, its dark, the bush weed you get in z(zambia) in southern africa is light green and very potent, but its mostly dark looking bush weed in the motherland, for real

big up infinte, you did your thing, salute player, do your thing blood
 

Yep, bush.....outdoor, doubt there any hydro set up there, lol.
Title: Re: West African Travel Log Daily Updates For Trip 2008 (including pics)
Post by: LAXCENTRAL on August 14, 2009, 07:43:46 AM
^I'm all down with the Rasta, homie, but that ganja looks fuckin dirty...

thats bush weed dawg, thats how it looks, its dark, the bush weed you get in z(zambia) in southern africa is light green and very potent, but its mostly dark looking bush weed in the motherland, for real

big up infinte, you did your thing, salute player, do your thing blood
 

Yep, bush.....outdoor, doubt there any hydro set up there, lol.
haha
Title: Re: West African Travel Log Daily Updates For Trip 2008 (including pics)
Post by: The Phoenix on August 17, 2009, 05:16:26 AM
^I'm all down with the Rasta, homie, but that ganja looks fuckin dirty...

thats bush weed dawg, thats how it looks, its dark, the bush weed you get in z(zambia) in southern africa is light green and very potent, but its mostly dark looking bush weed in the motherland, for real

big up infinte, you did your thing, salute player, do your thing blood
 

Yep, bush.....outdoor, doubt there any hydro set up there, lol.
haha
Title: Re: West African Travel Log Daily Updates For Trip 2008 (including pics)
Post by: IslamInevitable on August 18, 2009, 09:26:10 PM
^I'm all down with the Rasta, homie, but that ganja looks fuckin dirty...

thats bush weed dawg, thats how it looks, its dark, the bush weed you get in z(zambia) in southern africa is light green and very potent, but its mostly dark looking bush weed in the motherland, for real

big up infinte, you did your thing, salute player, do your thing blood
 

Yep, bush.....outdoor, doubt there any hydro set up there, lol.


i'm sure they get that morrocan hash though...

hash vs weed? tough choice, depends if u like cigarettes too
Title: Re: West African Travel Log Daily Updates For Trip 2008 (including pics)
Post by: LONDON!! on August 19, 2009, 02:46:37 AM
^I'm all down with the Rasta, homie, but that ganja looks fuckin dirty...

thats bush weed dawg, thats how it looks, its dark, the bush weed you get in z(zambia) in southern africa is light green and very potent, but its mostly dark looking bush weed in the motherland, for real

big up infinte, you did your thing, salute player, do your thing blood
 

Yep, bush.....outdoor, doubt there any hydro set up there, lol.


i'm sure they get that morrocan hash though...

hash vs weed? tough choice, depends if u like cigarettes too

yeah no question, i forgot all about morrocan ash(hash), i'm more into green though, you get me, i ain't really into ash, but if its there and nuthin else is around, i'll bun it anytime of the day, trust me on that, ha ha

Title: Re: West African Travel Log Daily Updates For Trip 2008 (including pics)
Post by: LAXCENTRAL on August 19, 2009, 07:36:10 AM
^I'm all down with the Rasta, homie, but that ganja looks fuckin dirty...

thats bush weed dawg, thats how it looks, its dark, the bush weed you get in z(zambia) in southern africa is light green and very potent, but its mostly dark looking bush weed in the motherland, for real

big up infinte, you did your thing, salute player, do your thing blood
 
i like weed...

Yep, bush.....outdoor, doubt there any hydro set up there, lol.


i'm sure they get that morrocan hash though...

hash vs weed? tough choice, depends if u like cigarettes too
Title: Re: West African Travel Log Daily Updates For Trip 2008 (including pics)
Post by: LAXCENTRAL on August 19, 2009, 07:36:32 AM
id take weed over hash any day...
Title: Re: West African Travel Log Daily Updates For Trip 2008 (including pics)
Post by: The Phoenix on August 19, 2009, 07:41:43 AM
id take weed over hash any day...
Right
Title: Re: West African Travel Log Daily Updates For Trip 2008 (including pics)
Post by: LAXCENTRAL on August 19, 2009, 08:01:42 AM
id take weed over hash any day...
Right
does hash get you high???
Title: Re: West African Travel Log Daily Updates For Trip 2008 (including pics)
Post by: The Phoenix on August 19, 2009, 08:41:39 AM
id take weed over hash any day...
Right
does hash get you high???
never messed with it.
Title: Re: West African Travel Log Daily Updates For Trip 2008 (including pics)
Post by: IslamInevitable on August 19, 2009, 02:35:24 PM
i think its a lifestyle question... cuz hash is not prevalant here like it is around the hindu kush or north africa etc...

i'm from kashmir and we only deal with hash there and its always mixed with tobacco cigarettes... and no question it'll get you blown

ofcourse nothin like that homegrown 20% thc content roll it up and hasta manana...

just depends on the lifestyle you're around
Title: Re: West African Travel Log Daily Updates For Trip 2008 (including pics)
Post by: Low Key on August 19, 2009, 09:53:20 PM
id take weed over hash any day...
Right
does hash get you high???

Um, yeah. It's basically pure THC.
Title: Re: West African Travel Log Daily Updates For Trip 2008 (including pics)
Post by: Now_Im_Not_Banned on August 20, 2009, 11:36:28 AM
id take weed over hash any day...
Right
does hash get you high???

Um, yeah. It's basically pure THC.


not even close
Title: Re: West African Travel Log Daily Updates For Trip 2008 (including pics)
Post by: LAXCENTRAL on August 22, 2009, 05:50:11 PM
i think its a lifestyle question... cuz hash is not prevalant here like it is around the hindu kush or north africa etc...

i'm from kashmir and we only deal with hash there and its always mixed with tobacco cigarettes... and no question it'll get you blown

ofcourse nothin like that homegrown 20% thc content roll it up and hasta manana...

just depends on the lifestyle you're around
the reason i say this... a few times... co-workers and i rolled up hash in a cigarette
that shit didn't do anything... maybe there was an amount difference...
Title: Re: West African Travel Log Daily Updates For Trip 2008 (including pics)
Post by: LAXCENTRAL on August 22, 2009, 05:51:38 PM
id take weed over hash any day...
Right
does hash get you high???

Um, yeah. It's basically pure THC.
see the thing is another instance where i had brownies cooked with 2 G hash oil
and that shit gave me body high for up to 8 hours...
so many times...
-------------------
smoking it didn do jack shit
Title: Re: West African Travel Log Daily Updates For Trip 2008 (including pics)
Post by: LAXCENTRAL on August 22, 2009, 05:52:13 PM
id take weed over hash any day...
Right
does hash get you high???

Um, yeah. It's basically pure THC.


not even close
sccits cuzins in ISRAEL SMOKE THAT SHIT ALL THE TIME HA?
Title: Re: West African Travel Log Daily Updates For Trip 2008 (including pics)
Post by: LONDON!! on August 23, 2009, 06:29:48 AM
id take weed over hash any day...

co-sign this

ash does get you high people, leaner than the great tower of pisar, but its a diffrent high, like a headache buzz or sumthin, its as potent as commersh(commercial weed, bush weed)
Title: Re: West African Travel Log Daily Updates For Trip 2008 (including pics)
Post by: TraceOneInfinite Flat Earther 96' on August 23, 2009, 04:51:58 PM
i think its a lifestyle question... cuz hash is not prevalant here like it is around the hindu kush or north africa etc...

i'm from kashmir and we only deal with hash there and its always mixed with tobacco cigarettes... and no question it'll get you blown

ofcourse nothin like that homegrown 20% thc content roll it up and hasta manana...

just depends on the lifestyle you're around

Word....

I think the Hash of Kashmir/Hindu Kush is world famous.  Other places I've heard have great hash is in Turkey, people travel from all over the world just to get bombed out there.

Title: Re: West African Travel Log Daily Updates For Trip 2008 (including pics)
Post by: TraceOneInfinite Flat Earther 96' on August 23, 2009, 04:54:50 PM
^I'm all down with the Rasta, homie, but that ganja looks fuckin dirty...

thats bush weed dawg, thats how it looks, its dark, the bush weed you get in z(zambia) in southern africa is light green and very potent, but its mostly dark looking bush weed in the motherland, for real

big up infinte, you did your thing, salute player, do your thing blood
 

Word.. that bush weed st8 from the motherland is the bomb, props for postin the info on it.. RESPECT  +1
Title: Re: West African Travel Log Daily Updates For Trip 2008 (including pics)
Post by: LONDON!! on August 24, 2009, 05:30:17 AM
^I'm all down with the Rasta, homie, but that ganja looks fuckin dirty...

thats bush weed dawg, thats how it looks, its dark, the bush weed you get in z(zambia) in southern africa is light green and very potent, but its mostly dark looking bush weed in the motherland, for real

big up infinte, you did your thing, salute player, do your thing blood
 

Word.. that bush weed st8 from the motherland is the bomb, props for postin the info on it.. RESPECT  +1

no question
Title: Re: West African Travel Log Daily Updates For Trip 2008 (including pics)
Post by: LAXCENTRAL on August 25, 2009, 07:37:06 AM
propz to london