Congo. The heart of Africa. A tragic, wartorn country that's never able to live up to it's potential. Due to it's turbulent past with brutal colonization by the Belgians under King Leopold, and also it's more violent recent history involving it's African neighbors, Congo is very wary of outsiders. It's extremely difficult to enter the country -- and also expensive. Something they don't tell you in any guidebook is the amount of money you need to prepare for bribes on the border.

Maybe I wasn't ready for the Congo DRC. I had always wanted to visit. I knew the country was home to beautiful jungles, mountains and rivers, and much of it was unknown. It's Africa's superstate: the country stretches from Tanzania in the east, almost to Nigeria in the west, and Zambia in the south. And it was on Congo's curiously shaped southern border that I decided to enter the country. I wanted to go to Lubumbashi, Congo's second largest city and a megacity in it's own right.

I had no idea just how insane the experience was going to be once I got there.

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Need a place to stay in Lubumbashi? Ornel has the best Airbnb in the city: airbnb.com/h/maishahouse


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