Days 3 and 4
The group did not have any activities scheduled for our fifth and last day in the CAR. A few of us grew increasingly bored and dissatisfied with being confined to the hotel grounds. Online search showed that Bangui has at least one museum and a shopping mall. We decided to explore Bangui on our own and asked the hotel receptionist to call a taxi for us.
The Boganda National Museum, or Le Musée National Barthélemy Boganda, was established in 1966 and named after the country’s first president. It said online that the museum was currently not open to the public. It was closed after a major rebel attack on Bangui in 2013, its collections were partially looted or destroyed, but we told the driver to take us to the museum anyway. The museum staff did not expect visitors. After the initial shock, they sold us tickets and even did a tour of the museum for us. I cannot say if the museum was open or closed. Perhaps, the staff simply did us a favor.
One room tells the story about Barthélemy Boganda’s life and his political activities. The other rooms display musical instruments, ritual masks and everyday traditional African objects.
After the museum, we went to the local mall. It turned out to be one big store, or rather a hypermarket, filled with all kinds of goods from food to electronics and clothes. It was surprising to find out that this poor country actually has everything that one needs for comfortable living.
On the way back to the hotel, we spotted a bar called Moodbucks and asked our driver to stop by. The bartenders spoke fluent English. They assured us that Moodbucks was the coolest place in town for drinks and it was always packed in the evening. Delighted with our successful outing, we returned to the hotel for lunch.
Later that day, the three of us – one Canadian guy, one American, and I – became restless again. We got tired of eating the same bland hotel food which was pizza, sandwiches, French fries, and hamburgers. We remembered Moodbucks and decided to go the bar for dinner and the promised fun. Again, the hotel arranged for a taxi for us to take us there.
The bar was empty. Perhaps, all fun happens there on weekends and we came on a weekday. Nevertheless, we enjoyed our meals and talked until it became dark outside. It was time to leave. A girl from Moodbucks got us a taxi. We were not far from our Ledger Plaza hotel. Bangui is a small place, everything is within a short drive, but walking back was not an option.
Just when we almost reached the hotel, we found the road ahead blocked by gendarmes and a boom gate. We did not see the gate on the way to Moodbucks. Perhaps, the bar was up and we did not notice it. Now, it was lowered and we could not pass it.
The gendarmes asked for our passports. The Canadian had his passport with him, the American and I had only photocopies. The night patrol insisted on seeing the originals. Well, we did not have them, we said and suggested to follow us to the hotel where we left our passports. The gendarmes ignored what we said and repeated their request for our passports several times. When we could not produce the originals, they stopped paying attention to us all together as if we were not there. The three of us sat in the car for a while discussing what to do. We had a flight out of the country in the morning that we did not want to miss. Eventually, the Canadian asked how much. “A fine”, or rather a bribe, was 2000 franc per person (about $7). We paid and the patrol let us go. Two minutes later, we were at the hotel.
