Suriname, a country that few know about and even fewer have visited. A rich oasis of greenery with a national population less than most major cities. The perfect place for TravelWithVik to go.

This trip actually was for a work assignment (yes, I have a job). When the proposal was made, I jumped on the opportunity as I had met colleagues there and this was my chance to see a relatively unknown country from a tourism perspective.

The first order of business was to get a yellow fever vaccination. It is required for entry in Suriname, and several other tropical countries as well. The effects don’t hit until about a week after the injection, but they are far better than actually catching yellow fever itself.

Getting to Suriname is no easy feat. There are no direct flights from the US and the only connecting flights are via Panama City or Port of Spain. I chose to fly to Panama City, stay overnight, and fly in the next day.

The capital of Suriname is Paramaribo, a mish mash of cultures with some historic Dutch wooden architecture. Suriname only became independent fifty years ago. Before that, it was a Dutch colony since 1667. The Dutch exploited bauxite, which is used for aluminum. Surprisingly, the rainforest was left relatively intact: Suriname is 90% rainforest. At the time of independence, Dutch gave the Surinamese the one time option of Dutch citizenship, which about half the population took. There is a significant Surinamese population in the Netherlands as a result.

My hotel in Paramaribo was the Eco Resort, a humble lodging with daily breakfast. The majority of people there were from the Netherlands, which makes sense as there is a daily nonstop flight from Amsterdam. I arrived in the afternoon, and took a walk to nearby Palmtree Garden.

Palmtree Garden

Just past the garden is the Presidential Palace.

Presidential Palace

On the way back to the hotel, there was the common I love (insert here) sign seen all around the world.

Finally, I took one last snap, of the Jules Wijdenbosch Bridge, which goes over the Suriname River to neighboring Meerzorg. It was inaugurated in 2000. I can only imagine what the commuting situation was before this.

Jules Wijdenbosch bridge

This was the end of my first day in Suriname, and now it was off to work. The weekend would bring new adventures, however.