Unfortunately There is not yet a Rough Guide covering Suriname. Suriname is an amazing country. The rainforest is spectacular (the best I've ever seen). And the people are very friendly. We went down south in direction of Brazil by "Korjaal" (large dug out canoes made from tree trunks). We have slept 4 nights in hammocks. This is the territory of the Maroons or Forest Negroes as they are called in uriname. These are direct descendants of African Slaves who live in tribes. They live in small sheds made from wood and leaves. Their languages and dances are related to African languages with some Portuguese influences from Portuguese Jews and if they would drop you of by helicopter blindfolded, you would think you where in Africa. Everywhere women are doing laundry and dishes in the river, they fish and swim with the children and the move around by small canoes. The older women do not cover their breast and the men are allowed to have several women if he can support them financially. We also went to Indian villages near French Guyana and crossed the border river illegally. French Guyana is a French province and there are many French people (some weird ones, adventurer types) in the streets. In several other towns of Suriname many people are of Javanese and Hindi descendant. They where brought to Suriname by the Dutch after slavery was abolished. When you walk or cycle its like being in Indonesia: Warungs, Javanese food and rice fields everywhere. There are also many Chinese, who often own shops or supermarkets in Paramaribo. Many of them are Indonesian Chinese, but there are also "Chinese Chinese". Furthermore there are still 400 or 500 Jews in Paramaribo, some white "Boeroes" (descendants of Dutch farmers), Brazilians (often gold miners) and some Lebanese and Colombians. There are 16 languages spoken in Suriname! Dutch is the official language but Sranantong is also widely spoken: this is a national English based Creole language with many Dutch and Spanish words.

Most websites about Suriname are in Dutch. Some are in English and a few in German. The purpose of this site is to make it easier for English or German speaking people to find the right information. This site has a page with links to Dutch, English and German Internet pages about Suriname.

If you can't find the information in your own language, there is a combined list, where all links are put in logical groups/subjects. With this page you should be able to find the riht pages which are in Dutch or German. You can translate pages with Alta Vista World.

There is also a Google Maps/Earth section, which helps you to find some important Placemarks for Suriname. The site also has a Suriname n YouTube page and a page with a nice selection of pictures. Finally, there is a Suriname FAQ for travellers in English and Dutch (sofar)

Suriname Dashboard, information in Dutch, English and German

http://surinamedashboard.googlepages.com/suriname_all.html

I hope this is usefull.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: SleepingDutchman,