Akwaaba!

For some reason Blogger is formatting embedded photos oddly so I will post a couple of pictures separately.

When we arrived at the airport in Accra the weather was warm and somewhat humid but more mild than the weather we left behind in Texas. According to weather reports on the web, Accra warms up to the 80s during the day and 70s in the evenings. Inside the airport was decorated with banners, flags, and football-themed items. Here’s a shot just inside the airport. Notice for example the floor rug in the shape of a soccer field. We were met by a guide from the company who assisted us in getting through customs and out to the waiting car. Everywhere is the word Akwaaba, or Welcome.

Based on what I had read I expected to be hassled outside the airport by taxi drivers and enthusiastic “guides” who wanted to carry my bags in exchange for a tip. That didn’t happen. Outside the airport there is a large LCD TV screen. Ghana was playing in the World Cup and there were hundreds of people gathered outside to watch the game. There were excited hoots and cheers and drums and even some of those stupid vuvuzelas. No one paid us any attention. I wanted to get pictures but the rep from the company seemed to be in a hurry to get us to the hotel so I didn't get to. The drive to the hotel was very short so we didn’t see much of Accra.

The Holiday Inn in Accra is supposed to be one of the better hotels. They say Obama stayed here when he came to Ghana. As a Premium Rewards member I get a free upgrade to a better room, but looking around I can’t believe the President stayed here. Don’t get me wrong; it’s a decent room. But it’s simple and small and the ceiling in my room drips a little when it rains. Some of the guys want to move to another hotel but I would rather stay and collect rewards points. I have a feeling I will be outvoted but we’re in no big hurry to move.

First order of business after checking in was to get money. In Ghana the unit of currency is the cedi, pronounced “seedy.” The currency symbol looks like a cent mark. The closest symbol I can type is Ȼ. I exchanged US $100 and was given Ȼ120, which was a poor exchange rate. One issue I will deal with is that the overwhelming majority of ATMs in Accra take Visa but not Mastercard. My bank card is a MasterCard. We discovered at least one ATM that will take MasterCard, but the location isn’t very convenient. Cokes at the hotel are Ȼ2 and beers are Ȼ3, which isn't bad considering typical hotel prices.

We learned we would be picked up for our first day of work on Sunday at 10:00 AM. Since we had the evening free and didn’t have to get up too early, we set off to see what Accra had to offer. There is nothing within immediate walking distance of the hotel—as far as we know—so we decided to take a taxi. The hotel recommended a restaurant called Monsoon in a part of town called Osu. I didn't know it at the time but TripAdvisor ranks Monsoon as the #1 restaurant in Accra. We took a cab and I will launch into a diatribe about the taxis in a moment. Along the way we were stopped by traffic and a woman came up to the window begging. When we didn’t give her money she started tapping on the window and gesturing for money. She didn’t stop until the car pulled away, and this was my first experience with Ghanian tenacity. We arrived at Monsoon at about 8:00 PM and the place was empty. We later learned that people don’t even think about eating dinner until after 9:00. Monsoon has some exotic items on the menu, but we were trying to eat on the cheap so we all ordered hamburgers and Star, the local ubiquitous beer. We learned that Star is similar to Heiniken, which I don’t like. The burgers, though, were actually very good. We met the owner, Steve from New Zealand. He was friendly and gave us his views on Ghana from the perspective of an expat who’s lived here a while. He predicted if we gave Ghana a chance we would grow to love it here like he does. By the time we had finished and paid the place was filled with people--mostly expats from around the world. I will probably eat there again and try something more exotic.

After leaving Monsoon we walked along the street a few blocks. There are large spaces within the sidewalks, between the road and the buildings, where people set up outdoor makeshift shops and try to sell you their wares. For example, we saw lots of pairs of shoes laid out for people to buy. Both men and women carry boxes and baskets on their heads. Most people wear Western clothes but you see a few people in the African robes. Sorry I don’t have pictures of the street hawkers. It being our first night, and knowing people might demand tips if you photograph them, I decided not to draw too much attention. There would be chances for photos later. No one hassled us on the street, other than a hawker who invited us to come visit his shop. We didn't; no one was selling anything we would have wanted to buy.

We then took a taxi to Ryan’s, a famous Irish pub where a number of ex-pats hang out. On the way we passed through sections of road where there were street lights that were not turned on, even though it was by this time very dark. The driver explained that the city didn’t have the money for the electricity to run the lights.

We arrived at Ryan’s. Ȼ10 gets you admission and two Ȼ5 drink coupons. Inside the décor is not as dark as your typical Irish pub. It’s unusually well-lit and filled with expats. I tried the Guinness but it’s some odd Ghanian version of Guinness with an extra bitter aftertaste. There is an outdoor patio with a stage. We went outside and waited for the band to start. The band was called “The Obrunis.” (Obruni is a Ghanian word for a white man. No one has called me that yet. They don’t use it as a derogatory word; I guess it’s the equivalent of anglo.) The Obrunis selected good songs to play, but the singing was… well… bad in a way you can't imagine unless you see for yourself. I will try to upload a video but uploads are extremely slow. We may go back to Ryan's on a different night for fish and chips.

So now a word or two about the taxis. The taxis here do not have meters. They make up whatever fares they want. They might tell you the fare is 15 cedis when it should be 5. If you pay for something that cost 5 and you give them a 10 they won’t bring you change. A taxi driver agreed to a rate of 8 and when I gave him a 10 he refused to give me the 2 back in change because that was his tip! I told him that was up to me to decide and not him. He just shrugged and kept the change. Now 2 cedis may not sound like a lot and it isn’t. Ȼ2 is worth only about US $1.40. It’s not really enough to get worked up over. Not to revisit the well of clichés, but it’s the principle of the thing. Also they don’t carry or provide receipts. Ask a taxi driver in Accra for a receipt and you will get a blank stare. If you insist he may scribble on a piece of notebook paper the amount you paid and the date and the driver’s name. Try turning that in to Accounting for reimbursement! Curiously, all drivers in Accra are named Emmanuel. Kidding--but there are a lot of them!