Chinese conversation with a Ghanaian, trouble in supreme court and chaos at the border, a day in Lome Togo

Togo Flag

A German kid (I call him kid because he is 19 years old), Bruno and I are heading to Lome, Togo for a day trip. Bruno speaks German, French and English, all fluently, crazy, huh? I'm so glad I went to Togo with him because I found out later that there aren't many English speakers in Togo. Bruno is a freaking smart kid and he claims he is an experienced traveler, but the kid needs to work on his personal and communication skill. A bit hostel gossip here, but not many people in the hostel liked him, I was politely warned about him on my first day by fellow travellers, I can understand why. First time I met him, he asked me how long my Ghana trip is, I said two and half weeks, his response was, well, that's not enough time to travel. Mmmmm, kid, someone needs to work and pay for the mortgage. You will understand when you are at my age. Did I sound like my parents? 

Busy 6AM in Accra

Anyways, 6AM, Solomon drove us to the market to take  a bus to Lome, but all of them are full, so we end up taking a taxi with 2 other passengers, 15 Cedi per person, almost double what the bus charges, but it is faster and less crowded. I sat in the front passenger seat so I was comfortable, but Bruno was cramped in the back with two other passengers, sometimes it is an advantage to be a bigger size person, don't you think?

Ghana and Togo border

3 hours later, we are at the Ghana and Togo border. Ghana side is very orderly, we fill out a form and an officer stamped my passport and asked me where I was from, I said China. He started speaking Chinese to me! For real! We were having a conversation in Chinese, in Ghana with a Ghanaian! He explained that he went to TianJing to receive training and that's where he learned Chinese. Yes, he does have an accent, but I have no problem understanding him. Unbelievable, I never thought I could have a Chinese conversation in Africa.

On Togo side, Bruno to the right and the guide to the left

Crossing over to Togo is bit chaotic. There were two lines, one for Togo nationals and another for foreigners. A wooden stick divides up the two countries, at the Togo national line, the guards doesn't check for passports (we found out later that most of Togonians are street vendors and they cross everyday so the guards know them). Foreigner checking point is just as simplistic, the officer wrote our entry information on a ledger type of notebook, I paid 15,000 CFA while Bruno paid 10,000 CFA. We were followed by a Ghanaian who is acting as our guide going through custom (it is confusing but nothing that we couldn’t handle ourselves) Bruno being so young didn't know that we have to pay him. The guide claims he is a Ghanaian college student, although I didn't 100% believe that, what are you doing here during school year? But he is very well spoken.


After lunch and parted way with our guide, Bruno and I decided to walk around the  main street. The street connects Togo with Ghana with an ocean view. If this is anywhere else in the world, it would consider prime real estate, not so in Lome, there is only one hotel with ocean view, two abandon government buildings, the presidential palace and national assembly, we couldn't figure out why they were abandoned.

Motorbikes are the main transportation

Presidential Palace

National Assembly

This area must be the political center before; we walked by the Supreme Court! Since the door wasn't locked and there was no one inside, we decided to go in and see what the Togo court is all about. After 20 mins taking turns to take pictures, the security guard walked in. He was very upset and yelling at us in French. If I was traveling by myself, I would just play dumb and walked out. But Bruno is trying to talk to the security guard and explain that we are just tourists, etc. The security guard claims that we shouldn’t be in here, we will get in trouble, it is his duty to guard this place (well, then why is the front door unlocked, and the place had about 10 inches of dust?), Bruno was just going on and on and trying to make friends with him etc. The guard asked for 5,000 CFA and Bruno talked him down to 2,000 CFA, since he doesn't have the change, I end up paying for it. 

Togo Supreme Court

My 2,000 CFA picture

Few things I noticed:

-          A lot of Chinese companies in Togo, more than I expected. I found out later that Togo port is very efficient (better than Ghana's port), so when Ghanaian go to China to buy stuff (for trade), they ship to Togo port, someone will pick it up for them and meet them at the border, pay the duty and on their way back to Accra all in one day. Ghana port would take few days or longer to clear the custom.

Look! I found China Town! China Town restaurant!

-          In both Ghana and Togo, people gets your attention by making the Ssssss sound, it would be considered very rude in U.S, but it is normal here in Ghana and Togo. 

A kid Ssssing at us while getting coconuts

After the court fiasco, we headed to the Grand Machet or Grand Market, it is a street market that sells everything from shoes to matches. Bruno decided to buy a football jersey while I sat and watch him negotiating. It was funny watching him trying to explain to me how good of deal it was.

Grand Market

After Grand Machet, we had our dinner at De Che, an upscale restaurant, and decided to tour our last destination of the day, taking a motorbike ride to the port. I haven't ride a bike in ages and it was fun! Wind in my hair and weaving through traffic. After the motorbike driver dropped us off, he wants to take picture with me, doing various posts, it was quit amusing.

Wheeeeeee!

My favorite pic

Good buddy post

Walking post

After circling around the port for 30 mins, it was getting dark, we decided to head back to the border. I asked Bruno to confirm the price before we get on the bike, he said he did. Well, when we get to the border, the driver decided to charge us 5,000 CFA each! A taxi ride only costs 1,000 CFA! Bruno again, being young and naive, decided to bargain with them and started counting his money in public! More people started circling around us, and one guy who is “trying” to provide a compromise solution, took the money from Bruno, before I can stop him, someone trying to open Bruno's bag, people then start yelling and pushing each other. We rushed to the other side of the wall without realizing that the guy still has Bruno's money. We paid the drivers (2,000 CFA) and then Bruno get into the panic mode and started counting his money in public again! I was hurrying him to cross the border with help of two other Ghanaians (they were telling him isn’t safe here). Finally we rushed crossed the border, took a deep breath, whewwww! What a rush! I still can’t believe that Bruno counted his money in public, in a crowded market when it was getting dark! Bruno did his final count, he lost about 10,000 CFA. I felt so bad for him that I paid for his taxi fare. 

After waited 30 mins for a 4th passenger and no one showed up, I decided to pay for the extra seat just so we can get home before midnight. There were lots of security stops on the way to Accra at night, one point we even have to step out of the car to get our ID checked. The driver told us that it is because there are lots human trafficking activities between Togo and Ghana. Around midnight, we finally arrived in Accra, what a long and exhausting day!

Last note of the night, before I left, Solomon asked me to call him when I get back in Accra, since I don't have a cellphone at this point, I asked Bruno to call him, but Solomon didn't answer, so I just went to bed. Solomon was very upset the next day because he thought something happened to me and he stayed up waiting for the call. I felt really bad but in the same time, I felt warm and funny inside knowing that someone actually cared about me. =)