When 'Accra by Day&Night' Was Airborne

Back when we were in Belgium, I always looked forward to coming home to Accra. I always also knew when we were almost home.

After connecting to Amsterdam with KLM from Zaventem in Brussels, the contrast was magnificent. Whereas Zaventem by day was orderly from  the air, six/seven hours from Amsterdam to Accra was met with darkness...and serious patches of light throughout the capital.

Never mind that a gush of hot/humid Accra air would meet us every blessed time, what increasingly amused me many a time was just the above. And despite all that, I would not trade it for any other country.

This is a shot I took landing in to Accra back in March. It is of no less than the Tema motorway. From up high and during the day, one gets to appreciate the beauty a bit more.

Thirteen Curves on the Accra-Cape Coast Highway

Every 1 July is Ghana's Republic Day. As such, it is celebrated as a holiday, affording many Ghanaians working in Accra to trek back to the village/town to see family.

Whatever the motive might be, the travel bug is always alive around this time--and this time it hit my family, prompting us to go to the lush, verdant Central Region--some two hours away from the capital--to attend to family matters.

Getting back--never mind going there--was hair-raising, on account of the so-called "13 curves" on the Accra Cape-Coast Highway. Never mind that many drivers driving like bats out of hell may be oblivious to the inconspicuous signboard of "13 curves", the notice is there!

In between hilly and undulating roads that can beat what I have seen of San Fransisco in TV shows anyday, these 13 curves are not to be sneezed at.

As to whether police are ensuring that drivers slow down before and after these curves is a moot point. They are stationed on the highway alright, but there are clearly not enough  to stop thirteen curves from leading to reckless driving which will lead to "thirteen ghosts"!

A view from a Tro-tro!

I took this earlier this year. I'm no ace photographer, but I kind of like this one as it is able to depict both speed and purpose.

The purpose being the need to travel home fast!;-)

Have a great weekend!

A Veritably West African weekend...

What does it take to have a truly West African weekend? A meal at Tante Marie in Accra Mall, or a Sunday evening with Blood Diamond? How about seeing a close relative off to the neighbouring West African country of Benin, by way of Accra.?

I might not have been sufficiently privileged to eat at Tante Marie, but I most definitely got my good share of West Africa.

It all started with Saturday morning, when up very early, my Mum and I accompanied my Dad off to Nigerian-based ABC Transport, near Caprice. At the time of morning we woke up--circa 4.00am, traffic was bound to be quiet and slow.

Some twenty minutes later, we were there at ABC Transport premises, curious, yet pleasantly surprised about how the Black Man can manage his own affairs. I felt especially proud when, after departure formalities (checking-in of passports at a till labelled "Lome-Benin-Lagos", weighing of suitcases to ensure when they passed the standard 25kg, a small yet reasonable fine would be paid; and finally lining up in not-so-single file to the buses to board (all against a backdrop of DStV) ) I spotted a Westerner, who looked rather confused at this kind of organised chaos.

But if to the Westerner, it looks like chaos, to the average ECOWAS-ian, it looks like a very decent attempt to travel West Africa at a reasonable rate. The trip from Ghana to Cotonou and back goes for around GHC100. For now, it is only four countries--Togo; Benin; Nigeria and Ghana--the ABC transport plies. I live to see the day when it can go westwards towards Cote d’Ivoire and maybe Senegal?...

Welcome to Ghana's Intercity Bus

I do believe that now is a great time to remind both visitors--especially them--and our ECOWAS neighbours in the country for Ghana2008 that if they want to travel to Kumasi, Tamale; Sekondi-Takoradi or stay right here in Accra, they can check out the website (caption below) of that site, get the contact numbers and get there. Travel in INTERCITY is safe, albeit sometimes slow.

Feel free to check out the website here: http://intercitystc.com/

Spintex Road Traffic at Night

It's already bad experiencing Spintex road traffic, which I can only describe as "legendary", but it's especially worse this time of the year, when the whole world is a whisker away from festivities of Christmas...

Accra by Night: Night Traffic...with a Twist!

The combination of speed, and headlamps of oncoming cars produced these fancy and funky lights by this white Nissan Terrano travelling southwards.

Ghana Petrol Prices Increase...

The increase came yesterday--very much to the chagrin of consumers.

As someone who commutes with taxis off and on, I was shocked to learn that a short distance that would attract a cost of GHC1.00, or $US1.07, now is GHC1.50! Ofcourse, that might have been an arbitrary price--as taxi drivers are wont to fix--but what's clear is that the price increases are real:

New Petrol Prices Announced

General News - Thu, 01 Nov 2007

THE NATIONAL PETROLEUM Authority (NPA) has announced new prices for petroleum products effective today November I, 2007.
The new prices show an increase in the cost of petrol by 4 per cent.

This means that a litre of petrol will now sell at 97.78Gp from a previous price of 93Gp.

The upward adjustment has become necessary because of the hike in crude oil prices on the world market. The price of crude oil on the world market continues to surge. As at last night, a barrel of crude was selling for $93.38 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
http://www.modernghana.com/GhanaHome/NewsArchive/news_details.asp?menu_id=1&id=VFZSUk1rNVVVWG89

Too bad for the Ghanaian pocket?

Wanna See Accra by bus? Try ACCRA TOURS...

Here's the news item announcing Accra tours in January this year:

Accra Tours Project Launched

By Times Reporter

Saturday, 27 January 2007

SOME school children boarding a bus after the launch yesterday of Accra Tours, a new tourism project.(Inset): Mr. Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey, Minister of Tourism and of Diasporan Relations, performing the launch. With him is Mrs. Stella Appenteng (left), president of the Tour Operations Union.

Accra Tours, an initiative of the Tourism Ministry in collaboration with the Tour Operators Union, Tour Guides Association and Metro Mass Transit, commences operations on January 31. It will be a professionally-run guided tour service aimed at promoting domestic tourism.

Enjoy!!

The Length and Breadth of...

...a Mass Metro Transport Bus!

You can visit the website here

Other links on this blog:/

http://accradailyphoto.blogspot.com/2007/02/inside-ghanas-mass-metro-buses.html

http://accradailyphoto.blogspot.com/2006/10/heres-almost-how-packed-i-was-in.html

No Way to Get Lost in Accra...

With one of these fortified pillars explaining to you how far you are away into and out of the centre of Accra, how can you possibly get lost?;-)

Yet Another View from a Taxi: Northbound Towards "37"

Seeing as this is my most common form of transport, you will have to indulge me as I bring you--today--another view from a taxi.

This time, a more close-up view, where you can see(as in the sticker) that it's a taxi (see the orange sticker). The location is the other side of the road, where I took the Silver Star Tower picture a while back.

Yet Another Accra at Night Post

Not that it bothers me; far from it! It's just that I am confident that a year from now, I can bring here a picture of Accra by Night...with streetlights!;-)

I've said it before that there are many parts in the capital, where streetlights abound, but I am usually not travelling in those parts with a camera unfortunately! I'll do my best to bring you some of those of well-lit parts of Accra, even if with my mobile phone.

For now, this is a picture, taken from a strategic point on the Spintex Road, where I get to see cars coming and going.

Some are taxis; some private cars; some trucks.

I love the picture of headlights contrasted against a picture of the dark capital at night.

Accra--From a Car Rooftop

Life is dull if we habitually ride within the ambit of convention. That's no quote! It's yours truly speaking, and I do believe that.

There's a quote, from the Jerusalem Talmud, that acts as my screensaver for my mobile, and it reads:

"A person will be called to account on judgment day for every permissible thing that he might have enjoyed but did not."

Here are no stunts, but simply me having some fun with my POLAROID digital camera. I stuck my hand out of the window, being very careful not to drop my camera, given the speed my Dad was travelling, and took a shot of the capital of Accra behind us..as we left it for the Central region some two weeks ago.

That strap is from my camera, and I'm sure you can probably see some cars behind us;-)

Good and Straight Ghanaian Roads Invite...

Well, they invite pretty much anything, but, like, the proverbial straight road anywhere, it invites speed.

We all know speed kills, but motorists need it drummed into them that a road this beautiful, and replete even with greenery on both sides is as bound to kill you if you fail to--as they say in Belgium--lever le pied, or lift that foot off the accelerator!

This picture is a snapshot of the Accra-Cape Coast road that links the Greater Accra Region to the Central Region of the country. It also forms part of the Trans West African Highway Network, which I referred to yesterday

Travelling Safely on the Ghanaian Roads, Onetouch Reminds Us to Drive with Care

My absence from here was due in part to a funeral I had to attend in my maternal grandmother's home town. Now, this town is some 1.5 hours away from the capital by road, and forms part of what has now become known as the Trans West African Highway Network, supposed to connect some of the West African countries together

[- Damane (Liberia border) 26 km in Côte d’Ivoire ;

- Bloloquin-Toulepleu-(Liberia border) 64 km - Côte d’Ivoire

- Ganta-Tappita-Douanes Tobli-Blay (Côte d’Ivoire border): 15 km in Liberia ;

- Bandajuma-Zimmi-Mru Bridge (Liberia border) : 97 km, in Sierra Leone ;

- Freetown-Pamelap (Guinea border : 126 km, in Sierra Leone;

- Boke (Guinea) - Quebo (Guinea Bissau) : 206 km

- Akatsi/Dzodze (Togo border): 31 km in Ghana ;

- Noepe-Hilla Condji (Benin border) : 80 km, in Togo. ]

In effect, the so-called Trans-West African Highway Network has been comprehensively completed since last week, prompting joys that the ECOWAS link-up is becoming more of a reality.

Sadly, it's coming at a cost, as exemplified by last Thursday's eerie accident that involved two articulators travelling at top speed in opposite directions; the helping of Ghanaian motorists of passengers of an overturned bus (comprising West Africans from Cote d' Ivoire, Liberia, Benin, Nigeria and Togo) resulting in their deaths as the second articulator hit them at top speed (after having lost control). Altogether, seven vehicles were involved in the very sad loss of lives that claimed 40 people.

The road on which this happened goes to one of Ghana's premier tourist regions--the Central Region, where there is much more greenery than in the capital of Accra.

The roads are so good and so speed-inducing it's not funny. Regrettably, badly-educated and opportunistic (not to mention tired) articulator truck drivers take advantage of these good roads and act as death merchants.

To remind Ghanaian motorists of the importance of preserving lives, my favourite network, Ghana's mobile network--Onetouch--has erected billboards throughout the highway that spans several kilometres, reminding drivers not just they can connect to ONETOUCH in the area they have passed, but that "life is precious, drive with care".

A publicity stunt, notwithstanding, it's important to read that as you cruise from one region to the next.

(May those West Africans who lost their lives, as well as those Ghanaians who stopped to help them, ending up killed, rest in perfect peace)