So, it’s now been quite a few days in Luanda and I think I am now able to, may be, perhaps, who knows have overcome the initial shock. Not so sure if the shock was a result of us living in a bubble in HK or if I have been spoiled by life, or if because I had never visited a recent post war Country or if all the above.
The Angolans are very very kind and smiley, the food is great, the products offered at supermarkets are wonderful and of course, they honour women. Housing is almost nonexistent, therefore a huge problem. Traffic is chaotic. Poverty and wealth (serious money going around here) live totally side by side, you rarely distinguish who is who, which is good, I think. It’s interesting to think that in Angola, personal credit is basically non-existent, i.e., everything you see was paid in cash, I mean everything, from a toothpick to a car or a property. Can you imagine buying a car in cash? Everybody walks up and down with loads of money in their pockets and safety doesn’t seem to be a problem. During the night, the city is pretty, specially looking from “Ilha do Cabo” onto Luanda. Some buildings, from the colonial days, survived the war and add quite a touch to the city center.
Today, Joel and I were quite adventurous. He borrowed one of the Company’s car and off we went, from the North part of town where we are staying, “Cacuaco”, all the way to downtown (20 km, +/- 16 mi each way). Had lunch, drove around some neighborhoods and came back to the hotel. Phew, what a fun adventure that was…, not so sure what the Luanda population thought of it though, LOL!
The Angolans are very very kind and smiley, the food is great, the products offered at supermarkets are wonderful and of course, they honour women. Housing is almost nonexistent, therefore a huge problem. Traffic is chaotic. Poverty and wealth (serious money going around here) live totally side by side, you rarely distinguish who is who, which is good, I think. It’s interesting to think that in Angola, personal credit is basically non-existent, i.e., everything you see was paid in cash, I mean everything, from a toothpick to a car or a property. Can you imagine buying a car in cash? Everybody walks up and down with loads of money in their pockets and safety doesn’t seem to be a problem. During the night, the city is pretty, specially looking from “Ilha do Cabo” onto Luanda. Some buildings, from the colonial days, survived the war and add quite a touch to the city center.
Today, Joel and I were quite adventurous. He borrowed one of the Company’s car and off we went, from the North part of town where we are staying, “Cacuaco”, all the way to downtown (20 km, +/- 16 mi each way). Had lunch, drove around some neighborhoods and came back to the hotel. Phew, what a fun adventure that was…, not so sure what the Luanda population thought of it though, LOL!
Looking forward to reading more details of post war Angola. Can you upload some of the amazing pictures that I know you have taken? Thinking of you. I can only imagine the emotions you must be experiencing.
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