Travel Blog Posts
September 6th 2009
As I’m drawing toward to the end of my stay here I thought I’d write a list of things I will and won’t miss, to remind me of both the good and bad times! I’ll list the things I will miss last to end on a more positive note! Won’t miss: • Obruni prices. • Major traffic jams. • Risk of falling into an open sewer at night. • The smell of open sewers. • The smell of burning rubbish. • Being harassed by hawkers all the time. • Ghana Man Time • Being proposed to 10 times a day. • Cold bucket showers. • Not being able to flush the toilet. • Lack of running water. • Public toilets (especially pit latrines). • Potholes, bad roads in general. • Yam chips. • White egg yolks. ... read more
Jesus sells? A collection of tro slogans and shop names from Ghana
Published: August 30th 2009Africa » Ghana » Greater Accra
August 30th 2009
I love to read trotro slogans and shop names here in Ghana, lots are religious, lots are funny, some are confusing and some make you think but they definitely make travelling around more interesting! Anyway, so it may be a bit geeky but I thought I'd compile a list of some of the best one's I've seen so far and add a few photos of the ones I've managed to capture (you need to be a bit careful just taking random photos in the street - I've been shouted at a few times! And also don't carry my camera everywhere!) Shop names: - “Only Jah can judge” - auto spares - “God’s Kingdom School of Pastries” - “By His Grace Tea Joint” - “Jesus is my friend Mini Mart” - “Praise be to God chop bar” ... read more
Beyin, the Amansuri Wetlands and Nzulezu Stilt village
Published: August 20th 2009Africa » Ghana » Western » Sekondi-Takoradi
August 14th 2009
On 7th August I travelled to Beyin Beach Resort with four other volunteers - Hollie, Claire, Hugo and Callum, from where we would visit Nzulezu Stilt Village by canoe accros the Amansuri Wetlands. We had a pleasant STC bus journey about four hours west along the coast to Takoradi where we stopped for a nice lunch in a German restaurant (and also got 10% off our bill for paying in cash and not needing a VAT receipt, cheeky) then travelled another three hours along the coach on a cramped but stress-free and unusually uneventful trotro to Beyin. The nice tro driver took us all the way to the beach resort as we were the last passengers to alight (I might start using this word at home, it’s a lot nicer than ‘get off’) and he agreed ... read more
August 3rd 2009
Thursday 23rd July 2009 Me, Fionnuala, Emilie, Seewon and Chidinma set off on the estimated 14 hour journey (it would turn out to be much more than this) to Mole National Park in northern Ghana. We had bought STC coach tickets a few days before, and the bus was supposed to leave at 8am but it didn't even turn up until 9:30 so we were hanging around for about 2 hours. The bus cost the equivalent of about 10 pounds for what was about a 14 hour journey which is not bad at all, but i'm still undecided on whether i'd rather pay more like you do in England and have it leave almost on time, or pay a lot less and have to put up with extremely bad time-keeping. I think Germany must be the ... read more
July 31st 2009
This is list of observations, compiled with the help of Fionnuala, of observations on life in Ghana! I will add to it as time goes by... - Everyone loves Jesus - a lot! - They show this in the form of shop names and religious slogans and favourite Bible verses on the back of tros and taxis. - People will carry anything on their heads. - People will sell anything from the top of their heads. - Toyota Corrollas (of all possible ages) are everywhere! - Most tros and taxis would probably not pass an MOT. We went in one the other day which had no ignition - the driver was hot-wiring the car and had to re-do it every few hundred metres when he stalled. - Everything in a sachet is safe to drink - ... read more
July 19th 2009
When I first came to Ghana I spent everyday in the baby unit, where the children range from newborn to about 3 years old (although we’re not actually sure if the Aunties know the exact or proper ages of all the children because they told us one girl was 3 and a half, but a piece of paper that we saw said she was 1 year 1 month, yet she can walk properly and has a full set of teeth hmmm). To be fair it is quite hard to tell a lot of the children’s ages because they look quite under-nourished and are a lot smaller than they should be anyway. Some of the children who are about 2 wear donated baby clothes that are meant for 6 month olds because they are so small and ... read more
July 14th 2009
We (Aishu, Fionnuala and I) sacrificed a lie-in and got up early on Saturday (11th July) to get a tro to Tema Station in Accra, to catch another one from there to Kofiridua and travel on to Boti Falls. Unfortunately our travel plans coincided with Barack Obama’s visit to Accra,and most of the main roads were closed to traffic (including the road next to ours just off the main Labadi Road, which the Obamas would be travelling down on later on their visit to La General Hospital). We managed to get on a tro to Tema Station, but we hit congestion after only a few minutes. After sitting still in traffic for about 5 minutes, we started moving again only to be stopped again at the end of the road where we had to get off ... read more
July 6th 2009
On Friday (3rd July 09) me, Fionnuala and Aishu left to go Ada Foah, a little paradise on a peninsula of the Volta estuary, which can only really be reached by boat (or a hefty trek from the mainland). We went to Tema Station in Accra to try and catch up with the others (about 10 of them) but by the time we got there they had already got on a tro, so we had to wait for the next one to Ashaiman, and get another tro from there to Ada Foah, where we would be picked up by a guy called Tio, who would take us to the camp on his powerboat. Another tro came along after a few minutes,so we got on it and waited for it to fill up (they don’t leave until ... read more
July 2nd 2009
Hi everyone! Not updated for a few days now, haven't been in an internet cafe for long enough to write much! Some days have been eventful, others not so! As some people may already know, a week ago today, last Thursday, I got mugged! Me and my roomate Aishu were just outside another set of volunteers house, when a guy who was walking towards us came over and said "Hi girls" as many people do, then immediately grabbed the strap of my cross-body bag, my relfex reactions kicked in and I grabbed it too, but he he yanked it again and the strap broke off, so I grabbed the body of my bag but he was determined, and pushed me over on the floor, and eventually got my bag. At the time I thought my camera ... read more
June 24th 2009
On Saturday (20th) I made a last minute decision to go to Cape Coast with 2 other girls, and so had a mad rush to the STC bus station (almost comparable to National Express!) to get a bus ticket before they all ran out, then rushed back home to pack a bag and meet the other 2 girls to rush back to the station to catch the bus (which, surprise surprise, didn't leave on time anyway)! The taxi ride there was interesting though, as we got stuck in bad traffic around the main Circle, but I got chance to see the wide variety of things the street sellers sell, walking up and down and inbetween traffic. Its mad really, you could buy almost anything you need from the confine of a car - water, hot food, ... read more
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