Getting Around the City

Transportation is extremely cheap and easily available. For a city as small as Georgetown, the number of mini buses and taxis is unbelievable. The cost for a taxi is G$300 which is approximately US$1.50 to travel to anywhere within Georgetown. There is a fare schedule for different zones but the cost is still very reasonable. Occasionally, you may run into a taxi driver asking for more but it is good to know what the going rate is.

The mini buses are very popular with the locals and have taken the place of the yellow buses I used when I was growing up in Guyana. The cost per person is G$60 which is the equivalent of US$0.30 cents. Because it is so cheap to ride on these buses, the operators tend to overload the buses to get the most for every trip. They are fast and aggressive and have been linked to many of the fatal road accidents in Guyana. The most recommended form of transportation when in Guyana is the taxi. However, if you are looking for a thrill ride, hop on a mini bus.


 My Return to Guyana

Some Places to Eat in Georgetown

Most visitors to Guyana will always remember the warm hospitality of the people and, of course, the food.  Almost everywhere you go you will find good, palate-pleasing food.  Here are some of the restaurants we patronized while in Georgetown:

1.  Cara Lodge Bottle Restaurant:  Offers a wide range of both local and international cuisines.
2.  Oasis:  Managed by Europeans and attracts an international clientele.  The lunchtime buffet is very popular.
3.  Buddy's Restaurant and Night Club:  Mainly Chinese cuisine.
4.  New Thriving Restaurant:  Very famous Chinese restaurant.  Food is authentic. Has an extensive bakery.
5.  The Pegasus Hotel (Old Browne's Cafe):  Offers both a lunch and dinner buffet seven days a week.
6.  The Roti Hut.  Serves local dishes and a wide variety of cakes and pastries.
7.  Popeyes:  Fast food with customized flavors for the local palates.
8.  Kentucky Fried Chicken:  Standard - no deviation from the norm.

Pegasus Hotel, Browne's Cafe

New Thriving Chinese Restaurant

Cara Lodge, Bottle Restaurant

Guyanese cuisine is spicy and flavorful. There are loads of places to find good food in Georgetown.  Opposite the El Dorado is the Cara Lodge.  Their Bottle Restaurant is very popular with tourists as it offers a large selection of local and international fare.  On several occasions, we found ourselves wandering over to the Cara Lodge, especially at night, because we knew that we would be able to find something that we could eat and not be disappointed.  

Getting Around the City

Things to do in Georgetown

Georgetown is a hive of activity. The markets (Bourda and Stabroek) are running over with vendors selling everything, including gold.  Since we are not clubbers, I cannot comment on the night life but I was told that the clubs are thriving.  Most of our activities were done during the day.  The National Zoo, the Botanical Gardens, the National Museum are very interesting places to visit.

The Zoo is home to many exotic birds that can be found in the the remote areas of Guyana.  We spent some time here viewing the animals and we feel sure they were suffering from the sweltering heat as much as we were.  There were visible signs that every effort was being made to maintain the Zoo but the Botanical Gardens was somewhat disappointing.  I searched for the water lilies that used to be in abundance in the ponds at the Gardens but could not find any.  I know that they were in bloom because I saw them in other areas of Georgetown.  The Promenade Gardens has a lot more exotic flora and is better maintained.    
One evening, we attended a show at the Cultural Center. The show, "Scandalous" was extremely enjoyable and was highly supported by the locals.  We were impressed by the discipline and hard work of the performers.  The caliber of the show, in our view, was of a very high standard.

The National Museum offers a wealth of information on the history of Guyana and the various rare animals that are unique to the region.  There is also a giant sloth on display at the museum.  The giant sloth, thought to be one of the largest mammals that walked the earth, died during the Ice Age. It is believed that it originated in the tropical rain forest in South America and carried a height of about 15 feet and weighed approximately three tonnes. Megatherium was a gigantic ground sloth that weighed as much as an African elephant with huge claws, much like tree sloths.  The sight of this creature is awesome.  We were very impressed by the life-like reconstruction of this huge mammal.

Recently, the Princess International hotel (formerly Buddy's hotel) opened the first casino in Guyana.  Although locals are not permitted to enter the casino, patronage is not lacking.  Visitors with funds to spare and Guyanese returning home on vacation make up the clientele. 

Out of curiosity, we decided to visit the Princess Hotel to see how the "foreigners only" admittance to the casino was being implemented. Upon arrival, we were required to show either our passports or any similar document that confirms foreign resident status.  It will be interesting to see how long this lasts as it is rather time-consuming. It is my view that within the not too distant future, locals will be allowed to visit the casino.

Although we decided not to stay at the Ariantze Hotel, we felt that we should still patronize the hotel in some way so we went there one Thursday evening for their Jazz night.  There was a group called "The Untouchables" playing that evening to a very full house.  Jazz in Guyana is wonderful and has a 30s sound.  The musicians use the trumpets and saxophones a lot and for most of the 50+ Guyanese, these sounds are truly nostalgic.  We enjoyed the music - even though the event started one hour later than the time advertised.  They called this GT time.

One of the highlights of our trip was the Annual Hat Show at the Promenade Gardens.  The Inner Wheel Club hosts this show every Easter and we were lucky to be there to experience the excitement and the creative talents of Guyanese - young and old.  Hundreds of people flocked the breezy , shady and breathtaking Promenade Gardens on the afternoon of April 17.  As usual, the event did not begin on time but the Guyana Police Band entertained the waiting crowd until things got moving.  The parade was a tropical mix of colors and the age of the contestants ranged from 3 months to 85 years.  It was truly a delight to see.

Besides the Hat Show, patrons were invited to partake in the garden tea party where many mouth-watering delicacies were served such as cheese straws, patties, sandwiches, cakes and ice-cream - to name a few.  Of course, all for a price.
 
The children, especially, had a great time running freely through the Gardens before and after the show.  There were several photographers capturing the highlights throughout the event and it was especially nice to open the Kaiteur News at breakfast the next day and see the event in vibrant color.  This made for a very interesting conversation with other guests at the El Dorado.




Some places to eat in Georgetown

My Return to Guyana

On April 6, my husband and I arrived at Cheddi Jagan International airport in Georgetown, Guyana.  This was my husband's second visit to Georgetown and my fifth return after my first departure on April 17, 1974.  This time, I wanted to spend a longer period than in the past but as I got off the plane, and felt the heat and humidity, the memories of my last four visits came flooding back.  How will I survive this heat!

This was, I soon found out, the least of my concerns.  After waiting for what seemed like eternity, we realized that our luggage did not arrive with us.  United Air did not transfer our luggage to Caribbean Air in New York and there was no knowledge of when we could expect to receive our luggage.  We completed the necessary documents to report the missing luggage then proceeded to our waiting cab which was sent by Ariantze Hotel to collect us.

The luggage-less drive to Georgetown was comfortable in the fully air-conditioned taxi. We finally arrived at the Arizante Hotel which, I must say, was not what I expected.  Nevertheless, we proceeded to the registration desk as we observed the bright orange-colored walls in the lobby.  The receptionist was extremely helpful and friendly but I kept looking at my husband for a comment which I could normally see on his face.  There was none.  I then asked whether we could look at the room that we were assigned. To our surprise, there was no water.  That did it.  We could not stay here.

I must say that the staff were very nice and apologetic.  They offered to get us some buckets of water to help us freshen up until the water was restored.  Of course, there was no way we would want to use the bucket brigade so we asked them to recommend a hotel nearby.  To our pleasant surprise, the receptionist recommended the Cara Lodge and the El Dorado Inn and booked a taxi to take us there. 

I give Arizante Hotel credit for making these recommendations.  Between the two hotels, we chose the El Dorado Inn.  The ambiance at the El Dorado is welcoming and the staff are exceptionally efficient and friendly.  As we walked in, the receptionist greeted us with a wide smile.  We liked what we saw in the lobby but decided to view the rooms before making a firm commitment.  We were not disappointed.  Our room was very comfortable, equipped with two air conditioners and a fan. It was such a relief to finally find a comfortable spot where we could stay put for a few weeks.  We were very pleased.

Our Stay At the El Dorado Inn

The staff, coupled with the general surroundings at the El Dorado,  truly contributed to an enjoyable stay in Guyana.  Every morning,  breakfast was served in the intimate dining room on two elegantly dressed round tables with combined seating capacity for about 8 guests at each seating.  This worked well because most of the guests did not turn up for breakfast at the same time.  If, for any reason, there were more guests than the seating could accommodate, one could always read the newspapers in the the wicker furnished lounge area until there was availability or opt to have breakfast outside on the terrace.

Breakfast was always a surprise.  During our stay, we were served salt fish and bakes, toast, danishes, brownies, omelets, sausages, fish stew, bacon, tea, coffee, and always a variety of fresh fruit juices, pineapple and water melon.  Most mornings, we would sit with the other guests and recount what we had done the previous day.  This was a truly hearty start to our day.

The staff is very small but they are all dedicated and hard-working.  Our room was always immaculate.  The bathroom was spotless - they have a serious love affair with bleach.  We had no problem with the bleach because we know that bleach kills germs.   It was always a pleasure to come back to the El Dorado after a jaunt in the sun to find our room ready and waiting.  Added to this was the free high-speed Internet access and cable TV. Besides the local channels, we had the option to view US channels.  The other big hotels charge a fee for Internet access so this was a great advantage since I had my laptop with me.  If I felt like sitting on the balcony to get on the Internet, there was a hard wire provided there just in case I could not access Wi-Fi.  The one caution I would give is to make sure that if you use a laptop and need to charge the battery, do not plug the charger directly into the wall, use a surge protector at all times.  I learned the hard way and had to buy a new battery charger from Stars Computer on Brickdam.

Unfortunately, Georgetown still has periods of intermittent power failure.  Businesses and some locals do have generators that kick in when these interruptions occur but this can also damage electrical equipment when there is a surge in power.

By now, you must be wondering where all the mosquitoes were.  Luckily, mosquitoes do not survive in cool areas so we were fine at the hotel but outdoors at nights posed a huge challenge - especially for folks who are not accustomed to fanning the little pests away.  We did very well and came away with just a few bites.


Things to do in Georgetown