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Go-Go Ghana Tour
At the Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum Ghana
Akinyemi Abiodun My holiday was the much needed impetus to embark on this 'golden experience'. Man, did i need a break! All the lectures and school work had taken a toll on me and it was about time i took some refreshing.The same'ol thing was to travel to the same 'ol places and i was kinda getting fed up with window shopping on the streets of new york and london,so i resolved to travel in a group within mother Africa. I then opted for a dynamic tour operating service, one which will cater to my 'diverse' needs and wants, one that is also flexible and fun crazy.My search for this finally landed me with Climax Tours-a nigerian group of tour operators and the chosen destination-Ghana!!!
Trust me, i was'nt looking foward to the torturous 10 hours travel by road. How wrong i was. For the price of travelling to Ghana, i experienced three west African states(by the way, i was travelling from Nigeria), Benin, Togo and of course Ghana.
The journey could get to you at times, particularly at the border but the company of fellow tourists, dvd entertainment and mind blowing scenery more than made up for the short delays
Go-Go Ghana Tour
Osagyefo-Dr Kwame Nkrumah at the borders.
We arrived Accra (the capital city) in the evening, tired and hungry. We were then transported to the 3 star hotel accommodation provided for us while enjoying the scenery of the city's dawn. It was really nice, i thought to myself as i rushed to shower and dinner came as a sumptuous relief(chinese rice and chicken). The hospitality of the Climax Tours operators really tripped me as they seemed to think of everything, trust me ANYTHING and EVERYTHING.
My alarm clock rang so loudly, i reached for it with mumuring disgust while peeping through the blinds just to be pacified by the beauty of the morning shine. It was something to behold, thats when i got the shocker !it was 5.30 am and it was this bright. I thought to myself the alarm clock must have gone bezerk, Curious now, i hurriedly made my way to the reception to get whoever was responsible to correct the time piece in my room. The reception sensing my adamancy, carefully explained the time difference and some equator stuff to me. man, i felt so embarassed, i quickly dragged my tail to prepare what was to be a swell time in GHANA.
Our first point of call was the Accra zoo where we enjoyed the spectacle of unique animal species. We were warned not to get so close to the monkey's cages because of their mischevious nature. Alas, a friend of mine was stoned with shit while moping at the cunning beasts. He had to be transported to the hotel for an 'acidic' wash.
Then we took a twenty minutes drive to the Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum (opposite the old parliament building) where we paid respect to the father of Pan-Africanism. Many sons of Africa had not lived this greatly.Together with his fellow comrades,
they fought for the first liberation in sub-saharan Africa. He became President in Ghana and co-president in Guinea and set up the AU(former OAU). His life story was told in documents, Photos and Relics. Indeed, he was a great man. Lest, i forget, the marble clad mausoleum was simply breathtaking.We were told it was modelled after the Taj Mahal in India. Its
architecture was dominating and very symbolic of African heritage.Even the inscription and artwork on the wall of the Museum meant something. After a very revealing experience with the Osagyefo(means redeemer, thats what they called him), we took a short walk to the Art Centre. In almost endless display, wonderful African art and crafts fed my eyes.
Be warned here, you could drain your wallet in a blink, so carefully plan not to exceed your budget here.
I bought a couple of wall hangings and some wrist bands with ashanti inscriptions-my favorite being the one carrying the isignia 'except God'.
The momentum had started building up as we journeyed to the famous and vibrant osu road- the luxury shopping centre of Accra.Our journey afforded me the opportunity to really assess the state of infastructure, the roads were clean, Traffic lights were working properly, waste disposal was top notch. Generally, the infastructure present were all properly maintained
-which, for me was a welcome shock, at least in sub-saharan Africa. We then breezed past the Famous Independence square and National stadium (which would be hosting the African Nations Cup). In a short while we were basking in the lavish radiance of Osu road. Couple of international designer brands had a stake here as the most prudent of shoppers was put tothe test. Truth is, in relation to my homeland's shopping delights, things were relatively cheaper. Never been a millionaire?Ghana is the place to be- Practically everything is traded in thousands of cedis(their local currency). The rude shock is that your newly found 'millionaire' status could also be shortlived if you're an impulsive buyer.Famous shops were Frankies, Woolworth, Woodin and Koala.
After the spending spree, we retired back to the hotel, just to discover a huge feast awaited us. We munched away till it was quite challenging to get to our rooms. We rested and some called it quits for the very eventful day as mothernature forced some to sleep, but the night owls amongst us patiently waited for the Climax of the evening.
So it was at 12.30a.m, a handful of us took a 15 minutes drive to the Boomerang night club.It was jamming as we weretreated to a wonderful mix of local an international melodies,Girls dancing in cages, drinks on the house. The result was an instant injection of adrenaline as we grooved till the break of dawn. Tired with excitement we were transported to the
hotel as the day broke expectedly at a sudden pace. Loaded with so much excitement now, i figured i could cheat mother nature for a while and then scribbled some notes on my travel Journal.
It was somewhat scary, this was just 24hours and i had had this much fun, wondering what the next day had in stock for me, mother nature soon caught up with me as i crashed off in my comfy bed.
This is a the chronicle of Olembe, one of the peeps on the Go-Go Ghana Tour 2007.
courtesy Climax Tours
www.climaxtours.net
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