Out of Spintex Road Darkness...

...there can be psychedelic lights!;-D

Somehow, I cannot help wondering how this picture is a bit of a metaphor of Africa--that for all the chaos that exists, there's always a glimmer of hope--somewhere, somehow...

Road Indiscipline...

...of the highest order!

Last week, this JAGUAR car--yes, a Jaguar!--looked to be abandoned on the speed bump on which the car's tyre met its untimely "demise"! Abandoned, because instead of switching on hazard lights to alert drivers coming up the hill that there was a broken-down car, cars had to pass round it in all its glory (do you not see how it has been crowned with a triangle?;-D)

By the end of the day, the car had been moved.

We live in hope for Ghanaian road indiscipline!

Cautionary Tales of ...Ghanaian Taxis!

There I was last evening sitting in a shared taxi (that's a taxi that takes you to a destination with the price split among the number of occupants) of four people almost at GOIL filling station on the Spintex Road, when the taxi blurts to a rude stop.

The reason was a simple one: petrol--or lack thereof! We had to wait some ten minutes before the taxi driver ran up to GOIL, get some fuel, and get back to the car to fill it up.

As you can imagine, I took the opportunity to take a picture to memorialise some of the hazards our taxi-drivers put us through!

A Vignette of Changing Accra Retail Landscape

What do you get when you get no "dresses to impress"...
















...nor any travel agency to enable travel--and all at A&C Shopping Mall?

What you really get is a narrative of how the formidable Accra Mall has consistently been offering serious competition to this localised super-store in East Legon, which started up so successfully in 2005.

Go to A&C Mall these days, and you'll be presented with a sorry sight of one, two, three shops shutting down, because the competition of Accra Mall is too much. At best, they will go to Accra Mall store instead, as the store--a bags/wallets/shoes enterprise--next to the second picture did only last week. Initially, they had a store at A&C and Accra Mall; now they've completely relocated to the latter.

Interestingly, the store that will come to take over the store in the first picture--T.M.Lewin (a shirt/trousers store)--started very successfully in Accra Mall, and has decided to open an additional branch at A&C!

As to whether T.M.Lewin has made a sound business choice, time will only tell!

TGIF!: Accra Mall Busy Internet Beckons!

Another Friday can mean the beckoning of a weekend. And that means usually one thing for many people in Accra--connecting with their loved ones by Facebook or otherwise at any available place. The magnetism of...

...Accra Mall--for all the headaches it induces for commuters and car-owners alike on the cusp of a Friday evening--still means more will likely come here, shop, and, if with a family, have their kids steal time to check their emails.

Enjoy your weekend!

Funny Quote in a Shop @ A&C Shopping Mall

If they were to change the quote every day, imagine the number of customers they'd get pretending to window-shop:-D

It [Ghana Telecom] Can Work in Ghana!

For a continent so used to being the cynosure of occasionally-Western (and Asian) cynics that feel every one of the 900 million members live on trees, it's very interesting to see that despite the culture of impunity that so-often characterises African nations, it is equally goo d to see that there can be a culture of maintenance--as is the case here, where erstwhile Ghana Telecom workers are maintaining the phone lines.

Soul Food: A Beautiful Tree

As part of my soul food series on this blog, I thought it would be great to use this picture, as I am a sucker for nature.

I took this picture just outside the office. I am ashamed to say I do not even know the name. I love how it continues to grow--rain, heat, extreme heat, or cats-and-dogs rain. It's so relaxing and awesome to see it in its majestic bloom...

A Tale of Two Twixes at Accra's Game Shop

Carefully take note of the caption: "If you buy these items anywhere else, you'll be paying too much." Got it? Great.


Now, here's a twix chocolate bar at GHC1.05 (roughly $US 0.80). It's a fine chocolate specimen, that you might assume to be just this price...



That is until you see this same twix some few metres away from the counter (where the former is located), sitting at a slightly cheaper rate of GHC0.90 (roughly $US0.73).

Now, what's going on? I pointed this out to one of the store-keepers, to which they responded something must have gone wrong?

Like, what, exactly?

When Darkness Falls during the Accra day, it's Usually Rain!

This Monday morning brought to an abrupt end a long holiday that started on Ghana's independence day of 6 March, which fell on a Friday. Ghana celebrated its 52nd anniversary and, as such, it was a relaxing holiday that was replete with the usual politics that is so quintessentially Ghanaian.

None of us could have expected that rain would fall so heavily Sunday night. I rushed for a walk with my pet dog, and decided to catch this picture. The contrast of the darkened sky against the road and trees was too inimitable to miss capturing for posterity.

And so it is here!

When Commercial Enterprises in Ghana Assume Corporate Images...

To the untrained eye, this looks like the picture of any corporate office in the country, what with the leather sofa; the table; the artificial plant; the omnipresent cool air-conditioning.

But you might be wrong; it's only the waiting area of no less than a Chinese restaurant located off the Spintex Road. Over the next couple of weeks, I'll be bringing you more of these pictures.

I sense that many erstwhile commercial enterprises (including retailers) are slowly and surely adopting corporate-like images of themselves. I am not quite sure what it means for the country, because I have come to appreciate in this country that corporate image is rarely ever synonymous with quality of service!

New DVLA Plates for Ghanaians!

This post is really in response to a visitor to this blog who resides in Ghana, but wanted to know what is happening with the number plates, now that the numbers have been exhausted.

This picture simply shows that an "09" will be added to the erstwhile number plates that have ceased production insofar as new ones are concerned. Presumably, by 2010, the plates will move from "09" to "10", and maintain regional representation (GR/GT/AS/etc), followed by maximum four digits.

By the way, real life has gotten in the way in a way that has inhibited regular blogging. Thanks for your patronage, nonetheless!