Welcome to Kinshasa

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« Describing what 'to do' in Kinshasa is difficult; this is a city low on sights, but high on atmosphere. It eludes the average tourist because it is generally bereft of historical monuments or formal cultural institutions, yet it is in many ways the real heart of central Africa, an immense social force in its own right. It is a city to be experienced; a city to hang out in; a city to speak to the locals; a city to have a drink; a city to get harassed by prostitutes and pestered by street kids. Take some taxis around, witness the vast night markets, blown speakers blasting Kinshasa’s latest beats, and see where it all begins and ends in the Congo. Trying to ‘do’ Kinshasa is a fruitless effort, as it often defies description: while academics, journalists and politicians describe it as a dead city, it is very much alive - in a different way. It is like a refugee camp with an infrastructure, an ever-shifting mass of people without an absolute centrepoint of purpose. Kinshasa is not dead by any means: it is the quintessential African city, created out of happenstance by Europeans and overrun by circumstances of conflict. It is a large disorderly mass; witnessing it, and being a part of it, is what Kinshasa is all about.”
Brandt Travel Guide, Congo

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