Roadtrips in Africa... Quite the experience

Last weekend (like not the one that just passed, but the last one), my friends and I decided to go on safari.  There is a national park called Mole (pronounced Moh-lay) in the north of the country.  So we arranged for some drivers to take us.  On Thursday morning we all piled into our big white van and set off.

Our first stop was Kumasi which is located in Ghana's Ashanti region.  I believe Kumasi is the second largest city in Ghana after Accra.  However, its a little more laid back.  Doesn't seem to be as much hustle and bustle as Accra.  It was very green and quite beautiful.  When we were headed there, people told us, "the people in Kumasi love funerals."  Um... what??  Well, within about 2 hours of getting there I think we saw about 3 funerals taking place.  Everybody wears red and black clothing and we saw one where there was dancing and drumming.  I don't think its so much that they love funerals (I mean, who loves funerals?) but its just that they really celebrate the person's life.  And they do it big.  One of my friends told me that people actually take out loans to finance funerals (sometimes of people they don't even know)... they even hire professional mourners... hmmm... Well, anyways, enough about funerals.  Except, I have one more story.  As we were driving, there was an ambulance in front of us with its sirens on.  I asked our driver why no one was letting it pass.  He said, "oh, the person is already dead.  Look..."  When I looked, there was people in the back with the dead body wailing and mourning.  Um... oh.  So yeah... interesting, right?

Anyhoo, once we arrived, our friend Bill (he's a member of parliament) arranged a lunch for all of us.  There was something which looked like a grilled cheese sandwich that you make in one of those at-home sandwich makers.  But when I bit in, there was nothing inside.  It was just fried/(grilled?) pieces of warm, doughey bread.  Um, yummmm.  The moral of the story, I ate like three of them.  Yes that might make me a fatty, but they were delicious and worth every calorie.  (*Sidenote: Bill's party's campaign slogan is "So far, so good."  Clearly the best campaign slogan of all time).

Okay, so after lunch, Bill brought us the the place where they make Kente.  Kente is a cloth native to the Akan people of Ghana.  It was originally worn only by very important people at sacred and important times.  Now, it has become more mainstream.  However, it is still considered a symbol of status.  All the designs and colors have different meanings and if you see a guy wearing a certain style or a certain amount (i.e. head to toe) you know that he must be a very important man.  It is made by a master weaver using a loom.  Traditionally, only men were allowed to make it as there was a myth that it made women infertile.  And in fact, the "factory" we were at, was all men (though they say that it is now recognized that the myth was indeed just a myth).  So anyways, the men took us through the process of how they make it (which is very intricate) and then you could walk around and purchase things as well (this mostly consists of people asking you very persistently to buy from them).  All in all it was very interesting and there were some very beautiful pieces (most of us got at least a little something.. kente is also very expensive).  After our outing, we went to our hotel... the Golden Tulip.  Very fancy and nice.  And the best part... they had hot water without having to switch on a hot water heater or anything... it was amazing!!  My friends and I settled in, had dinner, had a few cocktails and headed to bed.  The next morning, we were off again.  Next stop Mole National Park!  (Okay guys, I'm going to make Mole a separate post because this has become quite long and I want to include pics with that one... so, coming soon, ok?)