A Traveler's Impression of Africa
Published: 7 November 2013 By Ken Allen
From the time I was a child, I had always wanted to make a trip to the African continent. I was around ten years old when my dad began telling me stories of his journeys to some of the countries he had visited there. My dad was in the Navy and had visited six countries in various parts of the continent. His stories and eye witness accounts were always amazing, funny and full of enchantment. From the way my dad told these stories to me, he made me believe that Africa was the land of Oz. It also helped that he was a natural story teller and made the continent come alive.
Whether it was Tanzania, Djibouti or Sierra Leone he was talking about, dad told his tales in 3-D and made the peoples, the landscapes, the wildlife and surrounding environment come alive. It was since those days that I made it my lifelong mission to one day visit the continent and see for myself what wonders the African continent held.
In February 2011, I made a journey to the motherland as I like to call it. This was a lifelong journey for me. It took me ten years to make this trip and it wasn’t easy. I had many setbacks over the years. But 2011 was the year that everything just clicked. The entire process from beginning to end was pretty difficult. I mean, you had to save money, and I mean lots of it. I needed to take ample time off from work and the research required from everything to the visa to my lodging was painstaking. It should be noted that I consider myself an afrocentric African-American, therefore the entire process was a labor of love. Everything from taking a yellow fever vaccination shot, to applying for a visa took much time and planning. But as said earlier 2011 was my year and the culmination of ten years of work and it paid off wonderfully for me.
Ghana
In February 2011, I first visited the country of Ghana in West Africa. That was my first stop on what would be a four country tour. Ghana was a logical choice for me and made a lot of sense to me as an African-American. Firstly, It is an English speaking country so that would help enormously with the communication. Second, It is democratic and quite stable economically. Third, Ghana has a good reputation for hospitality which I can attest to. Fourth, many African-Americans share a related ancestry with people in Ghana. And last, I must say that the people and the vibes made the trip memorable and rewarding. Ghana and the several other countries I visited including Togo, Benin and Nigeria were all amazing and the best vacation journeys I ever had.
Ghana was the first country I visited in West Africa, and it was an unforgettable journey. When I first arrived at Kotoka Airport in Accra,the capital, the magic began even before I left the airport. I had done a lot of reading and research for a long time on Ghana, but even my research didn’t prepare me everything that I encountered when I arrived. It seems that bribery or “tipping” goes a long way here in Ghana. And that isn’t just Ghana I’m talking about. It seems to be the case in Togo, Benin and Nigeria as well. And don’t even get me started about Nigeria. Now that’s a place with corruption and bribery running amok. When I was in the airport, there of course was a line for foreigners and for Ghanaian citizens. After going through the migration process and getting my passport stamped I needed to go to the baggage checkout.
The Line
The line seemed a thousand miles long. There was easily several hundred people in front of me and from what I gathered, I was going to be there for a long time. This came with the territory as I had read nightmare stories of baggage checkout and what some travelers said it could be like. However, my initiation process began right there at the airport. A man approached me as I waited on line and asked me if I wanted to get out of all that mess. You know, the long wait and everything. I told him of course. He was a decent looking guy in his early 20’s and looked pretty genuine from what I could see. He didn’t look crooked in any way, so I trusted my instincts and took a chance with him. He steered me away from the long line and went to the side of it near the exit point. The exit point wasn’t the exit out of the airport, it merely was the exit point for the baggage check. There he told me that for 30 dollars I could bypass the entire bag check and walk away free. All I needed was to give him 30 US dollars which at that time was about 45 Ghana cedis. And looking at the amazon river of a line I gladly took a chance. So I gave him 30 dollars which I actually had in my pocket. I had about 300 dollars on me along with me debit card. He smiled and took the money and then went to the gate officer. He spoke to the man in the Twi language which I could recognize, but not understand.
Bribe
The officer looked at man and then spoke to me in English and asked to see my passport. I gave it to him and he looked me up and down. It was funny to me, as the officer looked liked he wanted to laugh and then just let me go free. Yes! Just like that. I had skipped the line entirely for a mere 30 US dollars. Of course, my guide helped me with my two suitcases and I then proceeded to the waiting area for my friend to pick me up. A friend of mine back in New York had his cousin come to escort me around the country and be my tour guide of sorts. So that was my first little informal lesson which was “tipping” goes a very long way in Africa. It may be a form of corruption but sometimes in the African countries you just can’t escape it. Whether it’s a line, or being stopped by police while driving, these tips, or “dash” bribes are endemic here as I witnessed it many times. So I would like to say to anybody planning a trip here. If you are traveling alone to any of the countries in West Africa, do not be surprised if you have to pay a bribe for something like driving a car if you’re stopped by police. Actually, this wasn’t a problem in Ghana, but in Nigeria, it happened to me several times. So that was my first fun encounter. Of course there were many more, many many more.
Normal Life
I need to point out here that my trip was also a bit of field journalism in that I wanted to see if the places over here contradict what often appears in western media. Western Media hasn’t been kind to Africa generally speaking. But my trip shattered all the stereotypes and negativity that I used to read and see in the news media. The countries I visited were pretty normal and in many ways resembled a lot of what I see here in America. People are living out there lives and trying to make ends meet. Some are struggling and just trying to make it. Others are doing very well. So my trip showed me that for the most part, the these emerging economies are doing ok. This is not to say that I didn’t encounter poverty or that all African countries are the same, I’m merely saying that what I encountered was 99% positive and wonderful, especially the culture in many of the places that I visited. I also want to say that West Africa isn’t a safari escapade, which I already knew. Safaris and the big wildlife reserves exist mostly in the eastern region, the central region and the southern region of the continent. My trip was a people and cultural extravaganza full of language, rhythm and soul flavor.
Whether it was Tanzania, Djibouti or Sierra Leone he was talking about, dad told his tales in 3-D and made the peoples, the landscapes, the wildlife and surrounding environment come alive. It was since those days that I made it my lifelong mission to one day visit the continent and see for myself what wonders the African continent held.
In February 2011, I made a journey to the motherland as I like to call it. This was a lifelong journey for me. It took me ten years to make this trip and it wasn’t easy. I had many setbacks over the years. But 2011 was the year that everything just clicked. The entire process from beginning to end was pretty difficult. I mean, you had to save money, and I mean lots of it. I needed to take ample time off from work and the research required from everything to the visa to my lodging was painstaking. It should be noted that I consider myself an afrocentric African-American, therefore the entire process was a labor of love. Everything from taking a yellow fever vaccination shot, to applying for a visa took much time and planning. But as said earlier 2011 was my year and the culmination of ten years of work and it paid off wonderfully for me.
Ghana
In February 2011, I first visited the country of Ghana in West Africa. That was my first stop on what would be a four country tour. Ghana was a logical choice for me and made a lot of sense to me as an African-American. Firstly, It is an English speaking country so that would help enormously with the communication. Second, It is democratic and quite stable economically. Third, Ghana has a good reputation for hospitality which I can attest to. Fourth, many African-Americans share a related ancestry with people in Ghana. And last, I must say that the people and the vibes made the trip memorable and rewarding. Ghana and the several other countries I visited including Togo, Benin and Nigeria were all amazing and the best vacation journeys I ever had.
Ghana was the first country I visited in West Africa, and it was an unforgettable journey. When I first arrived at Kotoka Airport in Accra,the capital, the magic began even before I left the airport. I had done a lot of reading and research for a long time on Ghana, but even my research didn’t prepare me everything that I encountered when I arrived. It seems that bribery or “tipping” goes a long way here in Ghana. And that isn’t just Ghana I’m talking about. It seems to be the case in Togo, Benin and Nigeria as well. And don’t even get me started about Nigeria. Now that’s a place with corruption and bribery running amok. When I was in the airport, there of course was a line for foreigners and for Ghanaian citizens. After going through the migration process and getting my passport stamped I needed to go to the baggage checkout.
The Line
The line seemed a thousand miles long. There was easily several hundred people in front of me and from what I gathered, I was going to be there for a long time. This came with the territory as I had read nightmare stories of baggage checkout and what some travelers said it could be like. However, my initiation process began right there at the airport. A man approached me as I waited on line and asked me if I wanted to get out of all that mess. You know, the long wait and everything. I told him of course. He was a decent looking guy in his early 20’s and looked pretty genuine from what I could see. He didn’t look crooked in any way, so I trusted my instincts and took a chance with him. He steered me away from the long line and went to the side of it near the exit point. The exit point wasn’t the exit out of the airport, it merely was the exit point for the baggage check. There he told me that for 30 dollars I could bypass the entire bag check and walk away free. All I needed was to give him 30 US dollars which at that time was about 45 Ghana cedis. And looking at the amazon river of a line I gladly took a chance. So I gave him 30 dollars which I actually had in my pocket. I had about 300 dollars on me along with me debit card. He smiled and took the money and then went to the gate officer. He spoke to the man in the Twi language which I could recognize, but not understand.
Bribe
The officer looked at man and then spoke to me in English and asked to see my passport. I gave it to him and he looked me up and down. It was funny to me, as the officer looked liked he wanted to laugh and then just let me go free. Yes! Just like that. I had skipped the line entirely for a mere 30 US dollars. Of course, my guide helped me with my two suitcases and I then proceeded to the waiting area for my friend to pick me up. A friend of mine back in New York had his cousin come to escort me around the country and be my tour guide of sorts. So that was my first little informal lesson which was “tipping” goes a very long way in Africa. It may be a form of corruption but sometimes in the African countries you just can’t escape it. Whether it’s a line, or being stopped by police while driving, these tips, or “dash” bribes are endemic here as I witnessed it many times. So I would like to say to anybody planning a trip here. If you are traveling alone to any of the countries in West Africa, do not be surprised if you have to pay a bribe for something like driving a car if you’re stopped by police. Actually, this wasn’t a problem in Ghana, but in Nigeria, it happened to me several times. So that was my first fun encounter. Of course there were many more, many many more.
Normal Life
I need to point out here that my trip was also a bit of field journalism in that I wanted to see if the places over here contradict what often appears in western media. Western Media hasn’t been kind to Africa generally speaking. But my trip shattered all the stereotypes and negativity that I used to read and see in the news media. The countries I visited were pretty normal and in many ways resembled a lot of what I see here in America. People are living out there lives and trying to make ends meet. Some are struggling and just trying to make it. Others are doing very well. So my trip showed me that for the most part, the these emerging economies are doing ok. This is not to say that I didn’t encounter poverty or that all African countries are the same, I’m merely saying that what I encountered was 99% positive and wonderful, especially the culture in many of the places that I visited. I also want to say that West Africa isn’t a safari escapade, which I already knew. Safaris and the big wildlife reserves exist mostly in the eastern region, the central region and the southern region of the continent. My trip was a people and cultural extravaganza full of language, rhythm and soul flavor.
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