Shopping in Suriname

Shopping in Suriname, for groceries, souvenirs or whatever, is quite an experience. First of all, every little shop that carries any food products at all calls itself a supermarket. So there are lots of supermarkets listed that are no more than your typical mom and pop corner store. If the floor space is large, they call it a warehouse, even if the shelves are not stocked. It took us awhile to find Tulip, a bona fide first-world kind of supermarket for stocking the larder. The prices are relatively high here since most everything is imported from the States or Europe (Holland). I was amazed at the number of American products on the shelves … from Celestial Seasonings teas to Skippy peanut butter to Campbell's Chunky Soups and Velveeta cheese (really?). There was a rather large display of Old El Paso Mexican products and Pillsbury dominated the cake mix section. Even Newman's Own products have made it to Suriname. Lay's potato chips were available in mouth-watering flavors such as bolognese and paprika.

We were shopping for basics … canned tuna, rice, pasta and looking for exotics like Surinamese coffee or local specialty items. The only Surinamese products we saw were Parbo beer, Borgoe rum and Paloma rice. Rice is obviously a starch staple here, available in sizes from 1 kg to 50 kg. We'd already tried Parbo beer, but bought some rum and rice to support the local economy.

The selection of fresh produce was not impressive. The lettuce and grapes looked pitiful. Of course, they'd come all the way from California, so what can you expect? Nothing looked appealing. We'd rely on the Central market and roadside stands for our freshies.

We were a bit surprised at the check-out when we found that credit cards were not accepted here either. Once again, only cash. We had enough on hand, but really, trading in cash is mighty cumbersome.

We headed back downtown to the Central Market area. Along the road, several vendors had set up shop and were offering crops from their gardens. Melons seemed to be in season.

There were also several flea markets going on and business was brisk.

The Central Market was a bit of a disappointment. Not because of the quality, but rather the selection. The locals obviously sell what they grow and root vegetables and leaf vegetables seemed to be the prevalent offerings. Manioc and starchy tubers are not on our best buy veggies list. We gave them a pass. Little Surinam bananas were tasty and we picked up a watermelon. Hardly enough for a couple of days.

We wandered through a couple of souvenir shops that offered local Maroon carvings, baskets and all-things-marked-Surinam imported from China.

Fashion ranges from fancy Indian saris to high end men's shops to sportswear in Suriname's national colors of green, red, yellow and white.

The American influence is so noticeable, it's embarrassing ... from Angry Bird and Mickey Mouse to neon lighted Coke signs. We heard American music (old stuff, not current … think Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass). We saw old sit-coms and soaps and sports events on the flat screen TVs in restaurants.

Walking in Paramaribo is challenge. Where there are sidewalks, there are usually cars parked unless the sidewalks are in too bad a shape in which case they're left to the pedestrians.

We managed to get what we needed other than freshies. We'll ferret out some other options or settle short term for the tinned veggies we have aboard. As always, shopping is an adventure in and of itself.

Dutch word for the day - winkel - shop or store

Bird Singing - Parbo's Unusual Pastime

It's early... just before 7am on Sunday morning and the coolest it will be all day in Paramaribo. Church bells chime in the distance. The grass on Independence Square glistens, still wet with dew. The Presidential Palace and the clock tower of the Ministry of Finance building stand as prominent sentries overlooking the park. Men begin arriving on foot, in cars, trucks, SUVs, vans, HumVees, motorcycles, and mopeds. They're well-dressed businessmen in casual clothes or burly, tough-looking guys with scruffy t-shirts and their baseball hats on backwards or just regular looking fellows … all with one thing in common … they're all carrying little birds in cages. We rose extra early to be here to witness Paramaribo's most unusual pastime … a bird singing competition.

We'd noticed that men regularly walk around with their caged birds. Bird cages frequently hang outside shops and a birdseed stall was always busy in the fresh market. We didn't realize it was quite as competitive as it is. We were unable to ascertain the origins of the bird-singing competition or why it has become so popular in Suriname. Some say it was brought to Suriname in the early 20th century by Chinese immigrants; others say it comes from the jungle. We were told that similar competitions occur in Belgium. The formal contests here were established in the 1950s. There is now a league of 17 bird-singing clubs in the Paramaribo area and they all compete regularly.

This is a man's sport; few women participate. In some places, guys get up early to go fishing or to play golf. Here in Paramaribo, they display their birds and coax them to sing. We'd read about the competitions, but found it hard to gather specific information. After milling around a bit and asking questions of other onlookers, we found out that today was not an actual competition. It was a training session, but we were content to watch anyway.

Men of the Suriname Whistling Birds' League greeted each other cordially as they walked onto the green and chose places to stick in stakes that would support the bird cages. Some men had one bird; others had two or three. They hung the cages near other birds and the birdsong became increasingly louder. It's a territorial thing. Sometimes they use a favorite female to get the males in the mood.

Have a listen...

Though it wasn't a competition day, I researched what a contest entailed. It involves birds competing in pairs to see which can sing the most melodies in 15 minutes. A "melody" is a sequence that includes at least two tones. Two bird cages are placed 18” apart in the middle of the green. Next to each cage stands a referee at a chalkboard . The clock starts and the referees lean in to concentrate on the birds' songs. What sounds to the untrained ear like twittering is in actuality, a series of well-defined songs. Every few seconds a stroke is added to the tally as each referee identifies a melody. In an average round, we're told a good bird will sing between 100 to 115 melodies.

Most of the birds come from the rain forests, purchased from AmerIndians or captured by the trainers themselves. The competing birds are all male. Their owners work diligently to teach them new, complex songs. Teaching is done by whistling new songs to the birds, an arduous process that requires at least two hours of daily effort.. The owners constantly play CDs for their songbirds to aid in the learning process. The tiny black picolet or the twatwa, a canary-size brown bird, are typical choices and they can be sold for as much as $3,000 each.

After an hour or so, the men collected their birds and began to wander off. We went searching for a cup of coffee. Enough excitement for a Sunday morning in Paramaribo.

Dutch word for the day – vogelgezang – birdsong

Celebrating Birthdays and Fine Dining

This is my (Marcie) birthday month. Yes, I'm a Scorpio and proud of it, though obviously I had little to do with it. Unlike many people who shun birthdays, I love mine...not the aging part, just the celebrating part. In fact, I enjoy it so much, I celebrate for the entire month. David's a good sport about it and calls it Marcie's birthday season. Each time we head out in November to explore, we count it as part of my birthday celebration. A weekend in Parbo? Yup, part of my birthday. Walking tours, zoos, butterfly parks … definitely part of the birthday package. Gifts, birthday cakes and candles? Not so much. Well … maybe a few gifts.

It's a fine time for culinary exploration. We've been eating out at roti shacks and warungs (Javanese food stalls). We've had our fill of curries and nasi and bami for the time being. After all, at some point during this month, I felt entitled to a grand birthday dinner. A bit of research and we settled on The Garden of Eden, a highly rated Thai restaurant.

From the moment we walked in, I could tell it was going to be a fabulous evening. We were all “duded-up” or at least as finely dressed as possible considering our sketchy wardrobes. We were greeted at the door and seated outside at a table with an umbrella. Tiki torches burned. The ground was covered in white sand. Thatched cabanas offered private seating areas. Flowering trees, shrubs and plants bloomed. Bamboo and palm trees formed a pleasant, airy canopy overhead.

A hint of jasmine mingled with delicious food smells emanating from the open air kitchen. It really couldn't have been more lovely or romantic.

It was one of those evenings when everything meshed. Our server, Elliot, was attentive, but not obtrusive. Chilled water with an herb sprig came first. We ordered cocktails. I had a pina colada made with local coconut, pineapple and Borgoe rum. David tried a Hazelnut Absolut martini … served chilled with whole hazelnuts and described on the menu “like angels pissing on your tongue”. How could he pass up that description? It was so good, he ordered a second.

There were so many fine little details of the restaurant and the service that added to the overall ambiance. The menus, displayed in three languages, were inserted in rattan folders with a fan inside each one. Rattan napkin rings encircled red linen napkins. Fresh flowers adorned the cocktails and the meals.

We ordered different menu items to share. An appetizer of Thai Sate Gai (chicken in a spicy peanut sauce) and Tom Kha Gai soup (chicken and vegetables in a tangy, rich coconut milk broth). David tried Homak Pla (sea bass in red curry wrapped in banana leaves) and I tried Yam Sam Krob which they described in English as “inkfish” with mango and roasted peanuts. It was, of course, squid, i.e. calamari and it was fantastic. All served with jasmine rice. We ate and sampled each other's dishes until we could eat no more. Doggy bags, please … a Thai breakfast for tomorrow morning? We lingered and savored the evening.

A ginger flower was my parting gift.

The only negative? The lighting was so dim, David couldn't count out our taxi fare. He had to rely on a torch at the exit.

All in all, a wonderful birthday dinner. But, of course, there's more to come. It's only mid-November … another half month to celebrate … and then there's Christmas.

Dutch word for the day – verjaardag – birthday