Douala, Cameroon, is a rather dull money-oriented city in Central Africa

The city was bad, the people were generally irritating, the transportation was terrible, the hotels were overpriced, and nearly every girl I met was just interested in money. I consider myself an African veteran, despite my youth, so you can imagine how difficult this position will be for someone with no experience. Unless, of course, you have top dollar for the $200-per-night hotels and fine-dining establishments.

Furthermore, the hotel I had reserved with continental breakfast included told me that they did not have any eggs, fruit, or fruit juice for breakfast today, so they just gave me bread and jam and a coffee. Fantastic! They said they'd buy it the next day. It seems that they did not consider the fact that they could go outside, walk 50 meters, buy all of those products, and return to me in 10 minutes. After all, there were just 5 employees standing in the hotel lobby doing nothing, and I was their sole customer at the time. A little short on egg and fruit purchasing power.

I spent the majority of the day at the hotel, watching sports on TV and reflecting on this adventure. It was going to be my last day here. I had also planned some other trips in the region, but I was unsure if they would be worthwhile. The frontline is where people get hit. About 6 p.m., I decided to give it another shot. I went to L'Orange Metallique, the most famous foreigner disco in town, which is owned by a large Belgian man. I flagged down a cab on the street, which was already crowded with three other girls on their way there. In case you're curious, taxi sharing is the standard in Africa. When we arrived, I walked in and went to the bar for a beer. The girls I was in the taxi with followed me and asked if I was going to give them something to drink as well; after all, we were all together, right? No, thank you. I was glad I didn't fall for that dumb trap when I ordered my local beer and was asked for $8.

The club had a beautiful layout, and the majority of the girls were gorgeous. They danced in a way that only black girls can, and they had all the good meat in the right places. Several of them sat down next to me and struck up a conversation. The only other men in the club were white expats, most of whom were alone or with a local women. It didn't take a genius to figure out that this club was essentially a whorehouse, and all of the girls who came in for a chat with me verified my suspicions. They mentioned that they seldom see younger, decent-looking white men in Cameroon. They informed me that every girl I saw, including the bargirls, was for sale, with prices ranging from $50 to $150 on average. This, however, did not distinguish this club. Other clubs are similar, but the girls aren't as hot, it's a little cheaper, and there are Cameroonian guys around. Almost every girl who goes to clubs in this part of the world is a prostitute. I stayed for a short time, had some more drama with a girl I met who wanted to ‘hang out' for a bit without pay, but in the end, wanted to be paid for food and taxi, and I had to manhandle her out of the hotel.

Observations on Central African culture in general:

On the dynamics of female-male relationships in Central Africa:

The attitudes mentioned in this trip report are very common in Africa in general, but especially in Central Africa. I had no trouble having many non-paid encounters in East Africa, but something about the central region makes it far more difficult than the rest of Africa. Cameroon, Gabon, Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, DRC, and most likely Congo Brazzaville, Angola, Chad, and Central African Republic seem to be the countries most dependent on these money for sex dynamics. I have yet to visit the smaller West African nations.

I spoke to a lot of girls about these issues, and I think I can pinpoint some of the causes of this phenomenon. For starters, many foreigners are seen only as money sources. Since very few of these ladies believe they will meet a European man, marry him, and live happily ever after in Europe, their first goal is to extract as much money as possible from them. The French (and Belgians) are said to have always regarded their colonies as shitholes, so there isn't much shared respect between them and the locals, which extends to any other white people around. Since they speak French and have poor internet access in general, they have almost no access to Hollywood culture. These girls aren't watching 'The Notebook' over and over. In music and film, they primarily adhere to their own local culture. The Nigerian film industry, for example, is huge, and it is not as focused on romantic dramas as we are used to seeing in our cinemas. Since their education is low and there is almost no vertical mobility in society based on actual ability, none of these girls give a fuck if you are smart, artistic, athletic, and so on, because the local guy with those characteristics is still eating fufu every day and cannot support his family.

Second, these countries have almost no decent employment and polygamy is common, leaving an astonishing number of young attractive women as single mothers, particularly because contraceptive use is still in its early stages of adoption. These women have few choices for survival because the economies are in shambles and governed by corrupt elite nationals. They can only survive by selling their bodies because nothing in Africa is free and their children need education, health care, food, and other necessities.

Many of these nations, however, have money, resulting in an insanely wealthy community of elite people who can only marry through family and tribal ties. Of course, these guys aren't going to screw just their already fat wife with 10 kids, but they're all for a scheme in which any hot girl can be picked up for what amounts to pocket change for them. The master-slave dynamic still resonates with these guys, who see their countries as playgrounds for whatever they want. An African corrupt elite's allegiance and concern are not directed toward his fellow countrymen, but rather toward his family and possibly his extended tribe, so they don't care that their countries are shit and underdeveloped, and they have no qualms about using local women as personal toys.

What shocked me the most is that these women regard foreign women as sluts. There is nothing wrong with selling the body for money in their eyes. For them, the only viable choices are to do so or to enter a long-term partnership with the intention of starting a family in which the man provides. There is no middle ground. Local guys interested in the long-term choice will have to swoon these girls for a long time, getting no sex at first (unless they pay) and only when it is proven that they are genuine (by taking them out to dinner, helping with groceries, hair extensions, blah blah, In their eyes, any woman who gives up the pussy for free is a traitor to the system. They get enraged when I tell them I got sex for free from a local girl, because it undermines their survival mechanism. Unfortunately, as a result of this cultural dynamic, many of these girls grow up seeing sex as a business rather than a pastime, and this shows in their success. They are culturally taught not to be aroused by it and instead see it as a monetary favor. A woman who says she enjoys sex for free will be killed by her friends because she is giving men influence. This isn't to say they can't move their bodies and offer a great blowout, but don't expect to see a girl here get emotional about sex.

Finally, I'd like to emphasize the prevalence of underage sex. When a young girl reaches a certain age, older local men will approach her and give her money in exchange for sex. Family pressure and her own material focus will cause her to succumb, resulting in a situation in which girls as young as 12 begin having sex with men as old as 40. If you look at the statistics for aids in both of these areas, you will notice that it is mostly concentrated with girls between the ages of 15 and 25, as well as with elderly men. These men in general have little regard for women, and violence is normal because they are above the law in either case, so it's understandable that many of these women grow up with a dislike for men. Furthermore, a huge number of underprivileged young men are being fucked over because their hottest classmates are being taken by crooked old guys and they are not getting anything in return (unless they go to even younger girls). A greater community of disgruntled men leads to more abuse and rape. As a consequence, men despise women and women despise men, and a large percentage of women suffer from psychiatric disorders (see for instance the new Congo Brazzaville sheet from Mundele where he talks about incidents with Congolese women).

Regarding Pygmee culture:

I had the opportunity to speak with these guys in their village and learned some fascinating things. To begin with, men are hunters and women are gatherers, just as they were in the past. Most of the day, the men leave and go hunting in groups, primarily with spears as weapons. Every village has a tribe leader, but the tribe leader who lives the farthest away in the forest is regarded as the most powerful. He is also a shaman, in close contact with nature, and he has the most detailed knowledge of plant medicine. They say he knows when people or threats are on their way because the forest warns him.

The tribe leaders still have many women, but they sometimes pass them down to their lower ranking comrades. Since they are such a small group, it is often rather incestuous. Standing is often determined by ancestry and age, with some influence from hunting skills. The pigmies lead a simple life. Their houses are barely called that, and they are only for women. The men sleep outside on the dirt floor around a pit. They have sex outdoors in the forest in more comfortable places. Rice, sweets for the kids, whisky, and cigarettes are the only items they buy from our society on occasion. They understand what weapons are and how to use them, but prefer to hunt with spears.

They say that people seldom become ill and that they live to a ripe old age. A woman who was present was said to be 97 years old. The Pigmies have superior health and live much longer than the average Cameroonian, according to the Cameroonian guide. They avoid hospitals and medicines because they distrust them and are afraid of being detained because they lack legal documents. According to them, plant medicine is far superior, and they claim that any disease has a cure in the forest. Warfare between tribes used to be popular, but not anymore because they are less in number and sometimes mix (women going from one village to the other). They have their own language, which is only spoken by six men from outside their society, one of whom was my guide. In general, they seem to lead very simple lives, with simple diets, laws, and hierarchies. Their days are often spent following the same schedule. There was also garbage all over their camp, indicating that, although they are in contact with nature, they do not respect cleanliness, and, according to my guide, they often go a wee.