8th - hangin with the locals

---

---

I tried to get up early the next day and failed miserably, I was as lazy as
the guy making my shake and pancake that I ordered before starting to write
this! I was never going to get out of my dump of a hotel if I didn't get up.
No windows, noisy fan, the shower was in a huge manmade tub you had to climb
into to have a shower, and at 208,000 cedis (£14) a night, terrible value. I
went for breakfast and then took a taxi down to Osu, which was a busier area
than I was staying in, had a pint in the Irish pub, and then went for a look
around. wow, western shops, internet cafes, pizza etc etc. Much more action
down there. Some guy stopped me to try to sell my some beads, normally I just
keep walking, but I stopped for a look. He said his name was Mark, 'me too!'
I said, possibly as a huge mistake, because then he had me! I sat with him
while he told me Ghanaian history and how it related to the stuff he was
trying to sell. Possibly a load of rubbish but he did have some nice beads. I
bought quite a few, certainly over priced, but I made the mistake of letting
the guy befriend me and paid the price. I managed to escape before all his
friends managed to sell me more crap i didn't need and went off for a bad
plate of noodles at a Chinese restaurant. There was no escape though and he
tracked me back down, so said we'd go for an evening beer, with him and his 2
friends. They gave me some good tips on local music to buy though and were
friendly enough. No prizes for guessing who picked up the tab though, but
beer is cheap over here.
His friends bailed and Mark took me down to the art center, closed. Walking
back up to the main strip he said he needed to get changed and did I want to
come back to his to smoke some weed. I told him no and he kept going on and
on about it. I sat in the darkened alley way with his neighbors passing by
as he changed, there was no way I was going down his tiny alley way, just him
and me. The we took a taxi up to Abaraka but I'd already been there since it
was near my hotel. Judging from the amount of local girls walking around in
very short skirts (most Ghanaian girls are quite modest) and the fact that the
guide book has it down as 'a pick up joint', I didn't really fancy going into
the Waikiki club, so one beer at a street bar and I went off home.

---