Chad: Around Ndjamena

Before starting to explore Ndjamena and Chad, you have to register at a police department (airport passport stamp and a visa in advance is apparently not enough). So you waste another 2-3 hours going to a heavily militarized police unit to get another stamp and pay another $10 fee… and then you are off to explore. Well, sort of – photography in Ndjamena is strictly prohibited, and military and full-fatigue and armored-jackets-clad police is everywhere. President’s palace is guarded by 48 military personnel (and that’s just on one side that I counted) – with automatic weapons ready and some behind armored outposts with heavy caliber machine guns. So I didn’t feel like facing 50mm with a camera and a smile. Other then this – Ndjamena is a very clean city with large avenues and modern buildings in some parts, many mosques, and boxy government buildings, but seemingly a bit tense with all the military presence (the president has been in power since 1990).