Conakry

25 december 2022

It has been great to be based in one place for a few days getting to know the immediate area around where I'm staying and experiencing something of life in Conakry.

Like Bissau, Conakry centre is being developed with a new road system. This is involving the demolition of old properties, trees and key features to make way for new roads which will connect the main routes to the port. The construction companies are all Chinese and you see Chinese foremen and women managing the teams of local workers throughout the town. The complexities of this partnership are clear. It seems that most of the foremen and women are communicating in mandarin and some French relying on the few Guinea workers who can speak mandarin. The local worker teams are working long hours and achieving a lot each day. The centre is transforming daily.

Downtown is a real mix of businesses, buildings and people. There is a China town and many Lebanese owned businesses. It feels more international than other capital cities I've visited so far. I have been able to frequent a Lebanese owned café with the most delicious pastries, the Turkish café with perfect Turkish coffee and baklava. The chef at the NOOM hotel is French trained and makes the most delicious deserts. A foody treat after days of fish and rice.

I'm actually acutely aware of the extremes of wealth; people sleeping on the street living hand to mouth to families who are spending Xmas in the luxury hotels in the city paying European prices. I observe these contrasts daily.

Getting a Sierra Leone visa
The SL visa can be obtained on the same day as your application. Get to the embassy by 09:00. You will be asked to fill in an application form - use your Conakry hotel address. The price of a month single entry visa is 80 US dollars, a three month multi entry visa is 150 US dollars. You won't be asked to show a COVID or yellow fever certificate. You will be given a bank code by the embassy worker and will be asked to pay the exact amount for your required visa in US dollars cash at a bank at the Prima Centre. The Prima Centre is close by - you can walk or get a motorbike taxi there. You tell the security man at the bank that you need to pay the money in for your SL visa - he will fill in the form for you and take you directly to the cash officer at the bank. Make sure your notes are intact with no tears - he'll reject them if they are not perfect! You'll get a receipt. Take this back to the embassy, hand it in and wait. Your visa will be issued on the same day by 15:00 at the latest. I was lucky and was given a two month single entry visa for no extra cost. All was finished by 13:00