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Suriname :: Culture and Food
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LanguagesLanguages Spoken: Dutch (official), English (widely spoken), Sranang Tongo (Surinamese, sometimes called Taki-Taki, is native language of Creoles and much of the younger population and is lingua franca among others), Hindustani (a dialect of Hindi), Javanese.

ReligionReligions: Hindu 27.4%, Muslim 19.6%, Roman Catholic 22.8%, Protestant 25.2% (predominantly Moravian), indigenous beliefs 5%

People and CulturePeople and Culture: Surinam has a remarkable ethnic mix. French, English, Spanish, Portuguese and Dutch colonists all played a part in the architecture of the towns. The people are European, Indian, Indonesian, Chinese, African and Amerindian. All of these are in the smallest country of South America!

A resident or national of Suriname is called "Surinamer". The Term used to describe things from here is "Surinamese". For example, "Surinamese food".

Tipping and BargainingTipping and Bargaining: Tipping may be observed if you feel it is deserved, but Hotels and restaurants usually add a 10-15% service charge.

Restaurants: 10% if no service charge
*Porters: none
Taxi: round up

* Try to use local currency. Foreign coins cannot be exchanged and will be useless to the person receiving them. Foreign paper money requires a trip to the bank for exchange. However paper US dollars are accepted almost universally.

FoodFood: With such an exotic mix of people, there is bound to be a great selection of dishes. The list of cuisines includes, Chinese, Caribbean-style Creole, Hindustani, Javanese, Dutch and native Amerindian. You should try an incredible Dutch/Indonesian meal called rijstafel (rice table) a multi-course feast of steamed and/or fried rice and a number of spiced side dishes. Less-known local dishes include patja (sometimes called kokor or npopo) which is a soup of fish or meat with cassava and peppers and pom root, which is baked with chicken and tomatoes. Beer and rum are popular alcoholic beverages.
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