Welcome! This is just another blog about someone in Congo. There are ideas and stories of my life in the DRC and elsewhere.
There is no particular objective. Just to share and express myself on the World Wide Web in a space that I call my own – photography, music, travel, ideas, experiences, information and anything else.
I’m a Canadian, Indian, Nicaraguan, French and Spanish speaking Congolese of sorts. Enjoy your visit 🙂
Recent blog posts
Sitting in Kinshasa traffic is tiring
The rain has made it worse. We are waiting for hours to move 1 m. Everybody pushes for an inch. Everybody waits for an opening but there is…
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Congolese folklore storyteller, Roland Verbiest
Roland Verbiest is a Dutchman who arrived to the Democratic Republic of the Congo 15 or so years ago. He has a trucking company called Grand Pousseur in…
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Photographers of the Democratic Republic of Congo
Here is a list and tribute to many great photographers who came to or from the Democratic Republic of Congo and made it part of their lives and…
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Meeting the Pope
My handshake with the Pope. I was somehow invited to meet the Pope during his visit to the DRC.
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Another year in the DRC gone by
Since the 1950s our family has been in the DRC, since the 1950s things have gotten harder for most Congolese. Seeing a country get worse and worse for…
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A city stuck in traffic
Nowhere to go. Stay in your seat. Watch cars squeeze left and right. Watch motorcycles slide between you and your neighbours. You’ve got AC at least Yellow taxis…
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Visiting Jaune Congo, a farm outside Kinshasa
Jaune Congo is not an ordinary farm near Kinshasa. They grow fruits and vegetables and soon, palm trees for oil production in a unique and sustainable way, hand…
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A Kinshasa shopping guide
A quick guide of shops to buy food, electronics, appliances, etc… in Kinshasa
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Rains and rains and rains
Rains and plastics are ruining the lives of millions in Kinshasa
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Discussion on power in the DRC
A quick guide to power generation issues and projects in the DRC in 2022.
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Remote life
Everything is remote these days Remote jobs Remote friends Remote girlfriend Remote dancing Remote life Remote sleep Remote fun Remote families Remote death Remote birth Remote holidays Always…
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Hotel Metropole in Matadi
The Hotel Metropole in Matadi was built between 1925 and 1930. It seems to have officially opened in 1930 according to Wikipedia. It is a gothic revival styled…
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Mama Lufuma, a single mother and child shelter in Matadi
I recently went to Matadi to visit a non profit organisation helping young mothers and their children called Mama Lufuma (Website is in Flemish. A translation to English…
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Israel (Tel Aviv and Kfar Hanokdim)
A complicated place but worth a visit if you can stand the questioning at arrival and departure.
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Kinshasa : Fuel shortages, traffic and wewa godfathers
You wake up and step outside and notice a massive queue of cars around the block at the fuel station next door. You’re not sure what the cause…
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Sunsets from around the world
Sunset pictures from the DRC, South Africa, Nicaragua and Egypt
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Pyramids golf course in Cairo?
A review of the Pyramids Hilton golf course by a 15 handicapper
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Egypt – part 2
Photos of my trip to Egypt in August 2022. Khan El-Khalili Market, Coptic orthodox churches, northern Egypt beaches (Almaza bay)
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Egypt
There is now a direct flight from Kinshasa to Cairo with Egyptair! The flight is around 600 USD. It leaves at midnight and takes 5 hours and 50…
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Emilio in Italy
Sometimes it’s nice to get away. Living in Kinshasa is a bit intense. Getting out here and there, if you can, is a good thing to reset your…
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Domestic flights in the DRC
What flying in the Democratic republic of Congo can be like
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Kinshasa botanical garden
I went to check out the botanical gardens of Kinshasa (Jardin Botanique de Kinshasa) (Google Maps link) today. It is one of the only remaining green spaces in…
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A short summary of my family’s history in Congo
Everyone calls me Emilio but my full name is Khalid Emilio. It’s Khalid because I’m of Indian descent and also Nicaraguan on my mother’s side. My father and…
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Childhood memories in Congo
Here are some childhood memories from the 90s I still remember that I’m sure many others can relate to and that I hope I’ll never forget.
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A real commute in Kinshasa
Maybe you wake up at 6am, have a shower, a coffee, a quick toast and a banana, then you get in your car for 10 to 20 minutes…
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A quiet Saturday
There are a lot fewer cars today somehow. I don’t hear the mad traffic, the loud honking or the “wewas” zipping around. “Wewas” are motorcycle taxis. The word…
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Things to do around Kinshasa
So you’re in Kinshasa. What can you do outside the city? Here are a few.
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A day in Johannesburg and Pretoria
I drove around on a Monday to three popular sites: Zoo lake in Rosebank, the Union buildings and the Voortrekker monument in Pretoria. All of them were eerily…
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Emilio in Congo (DRC) 