Is the Africa trip over now? I find it funny that this is probably one of the only blogs on Benin on this website, it appears on the frontpage, and it is a worthwhile, entertaining read. Yet it gets so few views, probably people are more interested in reading about Ko Pha-Ngang for the 87686234823rd time, especially when it's written by gutless vanilla couples from the US. It could be that most people don't know that Benin exists. Maybe they're too busy leaving sycophantic comments like "Oh, I wish I could do that one day!" or "Good for yoooooouuuuuuu..." on the rich-folks-show-off-blogs aka "Fine wining and dining/Life is beautiful/Happy-family-look-at-us"-blogs. In any sense, blogs like yours deserve more attention.
Your guide probably kept saying 'Esperez', which means 'Wait', formal version. Too bad your French wasn't up to scratch enough to communicate with the locals in a more satisfying manner.
So what happens now? Back to Australia, or onwards to another trip?
Cheers,
Jens
Why I chose to travel there Because when you discover there is a country you never knew existed and its on the way to a place you want to go to. How can you say no. I can't see tourism picking up there any time soon. I did that with the guinea's in South America too. I enjoyed them more so than here.
Congratulations! 100 countries, wow! I'm a little jealous. I've been following your blog ever since our little adventure in Congo climbing that fire mountain and will sure continue reading it until you reach your second century...it's really very entertaining.
All the best!
Markus
THE DOUG WALTERS STAND SALUTES YOU A fine innings for his country...the Dribbleman reaches his maiden ton...so some advice from "the Hill":...when the fielders move in looking for a soft snick...do what Clive Lloyd did in his maiden innings at the SCG...went for the slog with a half bat & snicked over Marshie for four...six times! Keep those runs coming...your country needs you!
Congrats on a fine century Well done mate on getting to a hundred countries - I've got the same goal although I still got a way to go.
Love the humour and the blogs - as a cricket fan myself I quite liked the cricket analogy of this entry. Now you've got to go on and make a big score!
Cheers,
Derek
Thanks Dancing Dave I thought I'd leave you in suspense. I really enjoyed it but the heat ... man that was too much after 10 months or whatever it was on the road. It was really struggling for tourists when I was there. Shame.
OF COURSE YOU VISITED DOGON COUNTRY So thedribbleman did not miss out on Dogon Country...of course you didn't...why would you...the more bloggers like us that proclaim Magnificent Mali the better for the economy of that poor country...rich in heritage & culture...we also walked on the same rock before descending to Kani Kombole (Photo 15)!
haha thanks mate Funny you mentioned the rent I just used that last night. I also use that I chose to travel instead of other perks. Actually I've used inshallah a couple of times with the shop owners too. That shuts them up... for a bit.
West Africa is exhausting the hardest of the regions to travel. If you are doing a big trip like I am best to do West Africa first not 8-9 months in. French will come in handy.
Wealth is Relative Looks like we use similar arguments on wealth and cost of living, when people comment about how much Westerners (or Australians) earn, I state how much my rent is per week, which always leaves the listener open mouthed. Meal comparisons are another good one - "See this meal here, if this was Australia it would cost...." which always gets a surprised response. The other one I receive is the belief that every Westerner has a car, and when giving them the reasons for my non-ownership of one (due to cost, it is a choice between car or travelling) it clarifies things somewhat.
I'll be borrowing your ideas of using family stories to illustrate the point: my father was youngest of 10 in rural Victoria, and my mother was a post-war immigrant from Germany whose family was separated and stripped of almost everything - tough times for a little girl.
As usual, love reading your blogs - Mali (with Timbuktu, Inshallah) and other parts of West Africa is on my itinerary for next year, and your current travels are providing a real incentive to travel there.
"There’s no mission to explore the whole world. I don’t need to tick everything off even though it may appear so."
Nice one and indeed agree with you traveling is not about reaching the highest number of country or UNESCO sites visited...Interesting adventure you had in Mali & love all those annecdotes you are using throughout this blog, well done! looking forward reading your next blog, cheers
PS: and yes...sandstorm and 45+ degrees...same in Baghdad..
DANCING IN TIMBUKTU Enjoyed your blog...magnificent Mali...you just touched the surface...next time I suggest you visit Dogon Country & the Festival in the Desert at Timbuktu...music for the soul...you might even get married there...I did!
Sierra Leone Thanks mate for your kind words. I think you'll be safe in 3-4 years but maybe in 10-20 years. The best untouched beaches I've seen outside Australia.
Pretty good entry, I've been interested in going to Sierra Leone for a while now, but unfortunately I think it won't happen until 3-4 years. Probably it won't be that untouched anymore then. Your journey is one of the craziest I've seen on Travelblog, hope you keep it up for a while. Enjoy!
Fair Game I watched that movie one week after I left Freetown I couldn't hold the laughter back. I think I have about 10 separate atm failure stories from this Africa trip. Thanks for the comment.
Thanks for the insights Loved your reference to Fair Game. It can be a pain getting the ATM to provide enough to live on.
The chimp sanctuary sounds interesting....sounds like you've got to pay attention all the time and be ready to duck for cover.
Guinea location Hey mate,
Guinea is a country in West Africa north of Sierra Leone, west of Mali and south of Senegal. It's quite big, poor and pretty hardcore traveling its killed me mentally a bit. Not entirely still in Africa. My next blog gets into more of that detail. Thanks for the comment.
Isn't that the truth! When we were in Peru we flew two hours to a location and later learned that it was a 17 hour bus ride. From the folks who took the bus we learned there was not much to look at on that road. Normally, that is the route we would have taken but our time was short.
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Is the Africa trip over now?
I find it funny that this is probably one of the only blogs on Benin on this website, it appears on the frontpage, and it is a worthwhile, entertaining read. Yet it gets so few views, probably people are more interested in reading about Ko Pha-Ngang for the 87686234823rd time, especially when it's written by gutless vanilla couples from the US. It could be that most people don't know that Benin exists. Maybe they're too busy leaving sycophantic comments like "Oh, I wish I could do that one day!" or "Good for yoooooouuuuuuu..." on the rich-folks-show-off-blogs aka "Fine wining and dining/Life is beautiful/Happy-family-look-at-us"-blogs. In any sense, blogs like yours deserve more attention. Your guide probably kept saying 'Esperez', which means 'Wait', formal version. Too bad your French wasn't up to scratch enough to communicate with the locals in a more satisfying manner. So what happens now? Back to Australia, or onwards to another trip? Cheers, Jens