A Tale of 2 Cities

Ghana is a country divided. The wealth and excess is concentrated in the south, near the capital Accra. It shows all the indicators of Ghana now being classed as a Middle Income country. Being in the North is like being forgotten. I did not really notice this until, after 5 months living in Tamale (in the north) I visited Accra for work. Things of note;

• Traffic!!! If you ever come to Accra you will notice the traffic. Work colleagues leave home at 4am to get to work on time. This is the norm. I ride my bike 10 minutes down the road and think that is hectic! Everyone drives in Accra, it is apparently a status thing, the train services have shut down because no one was using the rail system, everyone wanted to show they could afford a car. Even if it means congestion to the point of such delays.
• Fancy cars; The most expensive cars you can think of are in abundance in Accra, colleagues telling me that the import tax for these cars is almost the same as the actual cost of the car. Who is buying them?
• It is as good as being different countries – many people in Accra have never been to Tamale, and I’m not sure why. I guess there is no reason to sacrifice good food, the coast and interesting things to do for the near-desert. We are talking about a large town that is 600km away – less than Newcastle to Brisbane! This included the Ghana High Commission in Canberra!
• Jungle! There are banana and coconut trees everywhere. Beats the burnt fields of the north. If only Ghanaians had used coconut in their cooking – some sort of flavour?
• Scammers; never a positive thing unless it means cheaper wares in the long run (in which case this was not happening), they are everywhere in Accra. From taking your hand on the street and never letting go, to asking your name and coming back with something embroided ‘just for you’ it is relentless and sure to make someone snap over time.
• Car window shopping; you can buy anything you want when you stop at a traffic light. There are thousands of random things that people will shove through the window when you are simply wondering what lane we are supposed to be in. back massagers, santa hats, toilet paper, eggs, maps, you name it, it’s sort of like shopping at Aldi but without detouring.

In Accra you can get anything you want. I stocked up on some delicious foodstuffs, and gorged on cheese while I could. Mmmm cheese. I did amazing things like see a live band, eat interesting and new food (fried eggplant with goats cheese and honey!?!?! Amazing), saw the ocean, got hassaled every time I sat down, caught taxis, and was overwhelmed. Oh, and did some work. It’s a great place to visit, and made me so happy to come home to Tamale with quieter streets, no (or fewer) scams, slightly more anomimity, a single main street, and only a slow burn through the wallet rather than the bushfire it ravaged down in Accra.

Tamale - burning everything during Harmattan!

Accra - gourmet food..... aaaahhhhhh