"Excuse me," I said politely in my English-accented French. "Do you speak English?"
I had just walked into a travel agent's office in Libreville, Gabon. Large posters of airplanes and exotic islands peppered the yellow walls, many with Africans posing happily in the foreground. Wooden desks that looked unmovable purely based on how chunky and old they were stretched across the front of the shop. Behind two of these desks, a pair of women sat chatting. They hadn't looked up as I walked in.
"No," one of the women said, answering my question while seeming completely disinterested in my presence.
I shifted my feet. I may be Canadian, but my French was similar to my Mandarin; I could wish you happy new year, but that seemed to only go over well one day of the year. The rest of the time I got odd looks.
Regardless, I tried.
"Le passport picture?" I held up my passport and camera, looking hopeful.
The woman frowned. "I don't understand."
Personally, I though it took a special sort of intelligence to misinterpret my gesture. Her expression clearly showed that she understood perfectly and was disinclined to help regardless of my request.
"We don't speak English here," she continue in English. "We cannot help you."
She turned back to her friend and they continued their conversation.
I turned and walked out. They obviously weren't going to help me, likely didn't even want me there. Ironically, I didn't want to be there either. I was hunting for a shop that did passport pictures so I could tag one on a visa application to Congo and get the hell out of Gabon.
For me at least, Libreville was the most unfriendly, pretentious, unenchanting city I had ever visited. Sadly, my experience in the travel agents shop was what I had come to expect from the city.
Conde Nast Traveler recently posted their list of the friendliest and unfriendliest cities in the world. It's an interesting collection, definitely offering some food for thought. Can a whole city really be considered friendly or unfriendly? Should we base our decisions where to travel on personal judgements that would ultimately be heavily biased?
I don't know. I did notice that Libreville wasn't on their list, but just as the ladies in the store ignored me, I would prefer to ignore their glorious capital city as well.
Have a look at the full list here!
I had just walked into a travel agent's office in Libreville, Gabon. Large posters of airplanes and exotic islands peppered the yellow walls, many with Africans posing happily in the foreground. Wooden desks that looked unmovable purely based on how chunky and old they were stretched across the front of the shop. Behind two of these desks, a pair of women sat chatting. They hadn't looked up as I walked in.
"No," one of the women said, answering my question while seeming completely disinterested in my presence.
I shifted my feet. I may be Canadian, but my French was similar to my Mandarin; I could wish you happy new year, but that seemed to only go over well one day of the year. The rest of the time I got odd looks.
Regardless, I tried.
"Le passport picture?" I held up my passport and camera, looking hopeful.
The woman frowned. "I don't understand."
Personally, I though it took a special sort of intelligence to misinterpret my gesture. Her expression clearly showed that she understood perfectly and was disinclined to help regardless of my request.
"We don't speak English here," she continue in English. "We cannot help you."
She turned back to her friend and they continued their conversation.
I turned and walked out. They obviously weren't going to help me, likely didn't even want me there. Ironically, I didn't want to be there either. I was hunting for a shop that did passport pictures so I could tag one on a visa application to Congo and get the hell out of Gabon.
For me at least, Libreville was the most unfriendly, pretentious, unenchanting city I had ever visited. Sadly, my experience in the travel agents shop was what I had come to expect from the city.
Conde Nast Traveler recently posted their list of the friendliest and unfriendliest cities in the world. It's an interesting collection, definitely offering some food for thought. Can a whole city really be considered friendly or unfriendly? Should we base our decisions where to travel on personal judgements that would ultimately be heavily biased?
I don't know. I did notice that Libreville wasn't on their list, but just as the ladies in the store ignored me, I would prefer to ignore their glorious capital city as well.
Have a look at the full list here!
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