Friday, January 12, 2007

From the Rough Guide's introduction to Serrekunda


Serrekunda, the largest town in the country, lies just 3km inland from the resorts. Spending a little time here is an excellent way to get close to the heart of Gambian life; the centre of town gives you a strong flavour of modern, urban West Africa – a choking racket of diesel engines, with music blaring from hundreds of cassette players and radios, and streets lined with half-collapsed wooden trolleys and bricolaged stalls selling a riot of dust-covered imports. The focus of all this is the town’s central market – in fact central Serrekunda is effectively just one big market. It’s a lot of fun to wander round here, and not unsafe, as long as you keep any valuables out of sight.