Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
BY PLANE
here are some
scheduled internal flights
,
but
tour operators tend to charter planes
to visit parks and reserves, and this limits
their frequency to the number of tourists
wishing to make a trip. Suriname Airways
(
W
www.slm.irm.sr) offers organized
tours to Kasikasima, Palumeu and
Awarradam through its tour division
METS (see p.665).
from rustic (a place to hang your
hammock and shared facilities) to the
more luxurious (en-suite rooms with
mosquito nets). This is usually on an
all-inclusive basis and bookings are best
made through tour operators.
FOOD AND DRINK
The food in Suriname is fairly
inexpensive, tasty and influenced by its
ethnically diverse population. Informal
Indonesian eateries known as
warungs
(in the Blauwgrond area) and Hindustani
roti shops
sit alongside Chinese,
European-style and Creole restaurants.
Meals cost around SRD15-25.
Kip
(chicken) is very popular and
typical Surinamese dishes include
moksie alesie
(rice, beans, chicken and
vegetables) and
pom
(chicken baked with
a root vegetable). Indonesian specialities
include
saoto
(chicken soup, beansprouts,
potatoes and a boiled egg),
bami
(fried
noodles) and
nasi goreng
(fried rice). Two
tasty peanut soups are
pindasoep
, made
with tom-tom (plantain noodles), and
petjil
, made with vegetables.
Bakabanna
(plantain slices, dipped in a pancake
batter and fried) is an established
crowd-pleaser.
Traditional Dutch
favourites like
bitterballen
(breaded and
fried minced meat balls) and
poffertjes
(sugared pancakes) are plentiful. If
travelling in the interior, you may well
get to try various game dishes.
BY BUS
Brightly decorated, crowded
private
minibuses
are numbered and run along
assigned routes both between the capital
and smaller cities near the coast, and to
Paramaribo's various neighbourhoods.
These display their prices on the door and
do not leave until they are full, but are
more frequent than the scheduled
state-run services and stop wherever you
want along the road. Getting on board
is a bit of a free-for-all, so shared taxis
(see below) are a better option if
travelling long distances with a lot of
luggage. The plainer
state-run buses
(
staatsbus
) have a dedicated bus station,
follow a schedule and use bus stops. See
W
7
nvbnvsuriname.com.
BY SHARED TAXI
Shared taxis (essentially private vehicles)
run to Albina and are far more
comfortable than minibuses (your
guesthouse can recommend a reliable
operator).
DRINK
Suriname has its own
rum
industry
and both Borgoe and Black Cat are
worth a try; the lethal 90 percent proof
stuff is usually used to mix cocktails.
Imported and local beer (
Parbo
is the
very drinkable local tipple of choice),
soft drinks and bottled water are widely
available, as is
dawet
, a very sweet,
pink concoction of coconut milk and
lemongrass. In Paramaribo you can also
find decent
coffee
.
ACCOMMODATION
Accommodation in Paramaribo consists
of
guesthouses
(including the closest
thing Suriname has to a youth hostel)
and mid-range hotels. Almost all rooms
will come equipped with running water,
fans and/or air conditioning and
mosquito nets. Outside the capital,
besides a couple of hotels in Nieuw
Nickerie, accommodation is rather basic,
unless you count several resorts. A
comprehensive list of guesthouses can be
found at
W
suriname-tourism.org.
If you travel into the interior, you're
likely to stay in
lodges
in Suriname's
nature parks and reserves - which vary
CULTURE AND ETIQUETTE
Suriname's diverse population is 37
percent Hindustani (the local term for
Search WWH ::
Custom Search