Going back to Gambia | Bustling Banjul

Bustlin' Banjul

I spent ten relaxing days on the beautiful island of Banjul, Gambia - over one Christmas period. I was in awe of the amazing beaches, crystal clear waters, and white sands. We chose a cute and comfy 4* hotel to stay in, and the staff were amazing.

I must admit, planning and preparation were not done to the best of my ability like I always do, as I was much more focused on saving for this trip. I knew I wanted to visit an orphanage - (that was one of my many goals), and I'm glad I could say I have finally ticked this off my bucket list!

I packed 32 books, numerous amounts of colouring pens and pencils, notepads and all the toys my son no longer wanted or needed. We found ourselves at SOS children's villages and although I didn't merely have enough books and toys for all the children, I had never felt more proud of myself. We met the gorgeous children and played with them for the rest of the afternoon. There were 70 children at the time, but we were lucky enough to interact with just a few small groups. We managed to take lots of pictures of these beauties and our day went well. We sat in the office and gave the books to the orphanage library.

One proud Mama!

I was very proud to see my son give away some of his favourite toys that he no longer needed, and the children were so happy. At the time, my son was 5, he was aware of the children situations in the orphanage as I had explained to him that they were without their mothers and fathers.

Even though this was a personal goal of mine, it is also a low-cost/ free thing to do when you visit. If you don't feel like buying toys, stationery, and children supplies, the orphanage also welcome cash.

Visits to the markets were always on the agenda as I love buying gifts, but more or so, it felt great to support the local businesses - (even when they asked!) The market stalls have great bits -and -bobs you can purchase as gifts, and one gentleman even gave me a gift just for buying from his stall. It felt wonderful.

We visited the local public beach and left our footprints in the sand. New energy, ideas, and feelings of love and hope ran through my body. I surely didn't want to return home!

Although I had a wonderful time in Gambia, my trip wasn't perfect. But then, what trip is? There were many times I honestly felt borderline harassed. I had read many reviews, where some visitors had mentioned feeling harassed, but everyone was entitled to their own opinion... (I told myself.)

As we stepped out of our hotel, we were harassed over and over again about where we were going, where we were from, and if we needed help. We were followed around and asked questions throughout our 'on-road' journeys, even when we politely rejected any help. We wanted to wander, to get lost, to explore, but most of all, we wanted peace and to do things at our own pace. We felt like we were only allowed to do so when our voices changed from polite to authoritative.

Chilling at the Pool

Yay!! We had finally made a few friends, or so we had thought. They spent the day with us, showing us around and then demanded £40, for a drink they bought us. That was the final straw. I decided to ignore the locals when they used the same lines to get the attention of myself and my family. I went from politely saying "No thanks", to saying nothing at all - even when they asked us questions. We just kept it moving, and freedom was finally upon us!

Breakfast at the hotel was everything I could ask for and more. I was in heaven. I would certainly recommend the Laico Atlantic Hotel based on breakfast alone, but as evening and dinner time came, once again, things took a turn for the worse.

My stomach did to be exact! Dinner at the hotel completely disagreed with me, and every SINGLE night I would spend ages on the toilet with the SCOOP-ADY-POOP-POOOP-POOP! Diarrhoea affected me so badly, I was afraid to go out some evenings. I managed to get hold of a bottle of pink Pepto Bismol, and it settled my stomach as much as it could, but still - my bowels were in overdrive!

So one evening, I decided to eat out at one of the local restaurants to avoid this feeling, which was the best thing I could have done.

A Visit to SOS Children's Villages Orphanage in Gambia

Gambia is a beautiful country, and it is somewhere I would recommend visiting. I would have preferred to visit a quieter and more reserved area, where we could understand a bit more about the country's history, but nevertheless - we still enjoyed out stay.

Reflecting on this holiday, I have a lot of mixed feelings. I'm in two minds about going back. I've never met someone that had a bad thing to say about Gambia, but for the price of my trip - I felt like I could have had a much more luxurious experience elsewhere. I can't say I'll definitely be back, but I'm sure it will be a thought for the far future.

If you want to visit Africa, but you're not yet sold on Gambia, why not check out Mauritius or maybe even Nigeria!