This will be my last posting as I'm off to the airport shortly!!
Have a great Xmas everyone and I'll be thinking of you on Xmas Day as I'm sipping cocktails by the pool 
Hope Santa brings you eberything you want :santa:
See you all in a couple of weeks
Julia - if life was meant to be easy Michael Angelo would have painted the floor....
Abhishek Reddy posted this at 11:22—15th December 2003.
He has: 3,284 posts
Joined: Jul 2001
Have fun!
disaster-master posted this at 11:37—15th December 2003.
She has: 2,152 posts
Joined: May 2001
Have fun Julia. Sip one for me.
Busy posted this at 21:53—15th December 2003.
He has: 6,148 posts
Joined: May 2001
have fun, take plenty of photos, but none of those ones
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Some people are like slinkies, they dont really serve any purpose but they still bring a smile to your face when you push them down the stairs ...
Megan posted this at 14:21—16th December 2003.
She has: 10,066 posts
Joined: Jun 1999
LOL! Have a great time!
necrotic posted this at 01:59—17th December 2003.
He has: 296 posts
Joined: May 2002
Have fun wherever you're goin'! Get a cocktail for me
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DU-Squid posted this at 03:48—17th December 2003.
They have: 58 posts
Joined: Nov 2003
Have fun and merry Christmas.
spor posted this at 16:20—17th December 2003.
He has: 207 posts
Joined: Apr 2003
Hope you have a great time, merry swealtering hot xmas
Cymru am byth
The Webmistress posted this at 15:17—27th December 2003.
She has: 5,587 posts
Joined: Feb 2001
Well, I'm home with a great tan and certainly wishing I was back by the pool sipping cocktails rather then sitting at my desk while the rain hits the window!
The holiday was fantastic and the Gambia is certainly a place I would recommend. It's a great culture shock at first as you realise that it really is a 3rd World country and with a population of 1.3 million only the 0.3 have jobs and the rest live in poverty but the absolutely amazing thing is that everyone is so friendly and smiles all the time. There is no resentment towards the tourists and wherever you go you get a hello and a wave.
I thought that there may be more of a resentment from the hotel staff, who see wealth around them all day and earn an average of £20 a month and then go home to their villages of mud huts, but even they are greatful to have a job and you couldn't ask for more friendly and efficient service. They take so much pride in what they have and it is really hard to get your head around the fact that they work all day at the hotel and then go back to their homes which are really just a one room mud hut with a tin roof, in which their entire family live!
We went to visit a school and it was heart breaking to see the little children working from old tatty books and sitting on broken chairs. But they all have a school uniform and they were so happy to see us, wanting to hold hands with us and thank us for the pencils, notebooks and crayons we'd taken for them. Then when they saw the sweets we had for them it was like we'd just given them the crown jewels.
You do get hassled from the locals when out walking (they are called bumsters) and they are basically beggers but they don't just sit there with a begging bowl expecting money like they do here at home. They talk to you, walk with you and they are so friendly that you do end up giving them a small amount of dallasi, which they are genuinely thankfull for.
We got to know a couple of them quite well and we did buy some things for their families, went to see their homes and gave them some money for Xmas. Then the day we were leaving they waited for us outside the hotel (they are not allowed in) and they'd bought us some fruit and jewellery to take home out of the money we'd given them! If that had happened here you'd have never seen them again once they'd got your money!!!
We are hoping to go out there again next Christmas but stay for 3 weeks so that we can go further off the tourist tracks and we'll certainly be taking out more books, pencils, etc for the children and maybe even arrange to take out some old PCs for them as the schools are desperate to get technology labs into the schools to improve facilities for the children.
It has opened my eyes to what life is really like for these people but what still astounds me is just how much pride they take in everything they have and the things that they do. You do wonder who has the better life - us with money, cars, nice homes, etc or them with a simple life, no stress and living longer, many families/villages are still run by the elders who are into their 90s!
I get the photos up online over the day or so.
Julia - if life was meant to be easy Michael Angelo would have painted the floor....
Renegade posted this at 03:38—28th December 2003.
He has: 2,944 posts
Joined: Oct 2002
Welcome back Julia
Sounds like you had a great holiday
Can't wait to see the photos.
Cheng Eu Chew - Renegade
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Megan posted this at 15:21—5th January 2004.
She has: 10,066 posts
Joined: Jun 1999
Glad to hear about your trip! It sounds very similar to experiences people around here have in Cuba. Unfortunately the customs people have started to crack down on what you can bring in for the people. My parents used to bring little things for the hotel staff - even simple things like playing cards or a little globe they had never seen before!
Nice to hear that you were able to interact with the people there. Seems like so many vacationers stick to the resort areas...
Megan
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