Monday, August 30, 2010

port gentil vs pointe-noire

I realize I've never written about Port Gentil (POG) as a city. This is mostly in relation to my time in Pointe-Noire (PNR). Port Gentil is a much smaller city, only about 80,000 people total compared to PNR's three-quarter of a million. On average, it's wealthier city, has better infrastructure, and even has working stoplights! It's far from perfect of course as everything other than our clients' demands, moves at a less-than-urgent pace, the city seems filled with half-completed construction, and the government acts like it has little better to do than, well, I'm not sure what it does here. Mostly, I try to not get involved. Except for customs. I need my stuff.

The small size of Port Gentil also limits what's available to do. I'd say there are less than five places I'd go out to at night and only about 15 restaurants I'd care to eat at on any regular basis. I constantly run into co-workers, clients, or people I recognize from other service companies at the store, at the club, and generally when I'm out and about. Keep in mind, out and about means either eating dinner or going to a bar/club afterward. The local Barnes & Noble has yet to install couches to sit in to allow for hanging around. Actually, it's yet to open. Or be planned. Hmmm.

6 comments:

buickguy said...

Didn't you hear? B&N operations are so last year. It's all e-book now. So, go home and enjoy your bandwidth. Ha.

mere said...

I am sure you can get French cuisine, any Chinese and Thai restaurants? Dim sum? Country clubs? Tennis, swimming, golf, basketball, soccer? There won't be any snow skiing, how about water skiing? Sailing & boating? Am I asking too much?

Anonymous said...

B&N is for sale

It doesn't look like B&N will install any couches soon. Borders is dying. B&N is breeding heavily and no rescue is in sight.

Brian said...

Re: restaurants and activities
Yes on French and Chinese. No on Thai. There is some sort of golf course and/or country club, but I have no reason to go there. There is jet skiing available, though people seem to own their own as opposed to rent, but I'm not sure. I have not actually seen anyone water ski. Lots of boating and sailing.

Brian said...

Re: e-books
I would not be so quick to jump into the e-book bandwagon yet. I will say that they can be a good value and convenient for serious readers who consume several books a month. However, not all e-books are cheaper than their printed fore-bearers, the cost of the reader itself, and likely issues with format obsolescence make physical books a better value for casual readers for the time being.

Anonymous said...

Correction from Anonymous: B&N is bleeding heavily!