Living the Beach Party Lifestyle in Lome

When you think of Africa, do you think of picturesque palm-tree lined beaches? If you do not, you should. Though with an African twist.

There are beautiful beaches here, some of the best in the world. But you have to be careful what to expect. Despite the guidebook hype, I learned first-hand that Nungwe ain’t much really. Yet I’ve always loved a Labadi Pleasure Beach Sunday. At the same time, none said much about Togo, but it has a rocking beach.

The entire capitol city of Lomé faces a palm-lined boulevard with a sandy beach and deep blue sea beyond. The sound of traffic is quieted by crashing beach break waves and the thump of reggae from the many beach bars.

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Togo Bound with Efex Executive

A person not know to me might ask why I would leave Accra, Ghana at some very early hour, for a four-hour journey to another African country, just to experience it for a weekend. In asking me “Why?” they would be met with a blank stare and the quick response of “Because its there, and I can!”

See, three years ago, when I was in Ghana last, I learned that Lome, the capitol of Togo, was just a short bus ride away. And Togo is a country I’ve never been too, and honestly, not really heard of before. Have you ever heard of Togo?

Intrigued by a country I didn’t know about, I was all set to visit it in 2005 when, to my dismay, there was a coup the weekend I wanted to go. It seems that President Gnassingbe Eyadema had the misfortune of dying the week before, and his son was in the midst of taking over.

From then on, with a visit denied, I promised myself that the next time I was in Ghana, I would go to Togo. I am in Accra, Ghana now, and Togo again calls.

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Dry Cleaning Adventures in Africa

When I could not get though to confirm my next appointment, I decided it was time to dry clean my pants. After two weeks in Africa, these dress pants had become, well, not so clean, and so I headed back to Asylum Down, the neighbourhood where I was staying in Accra.

The day before, I had asked around at Busy Internet, and heard of a reputable dry cleaner, Morton Dry Cleaning. Yet on Friday, when I asked to go there, the taxi driver didn’t know where the dry cleaner was – he didn’t even know what dry cleaning is! He kept offering to have his wife wash my pants, so when I got to Asylum Down, I started walking, looking for Morton’s by asking people as I went.

It turns out that few Ghanaians know about dry cleaning.

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Omatek Smartbook: Local 4P Computing Innovation

Earlier this month, I had the luxury of inspecting a new Omatek Smartbook at the Ministry of Education in Ghana. The Smartbook is a low-cost laptop aimed at the education market, and with one look, you’l know its an XO laptop derivative:

It also happens to be one of the many
4P Computers that are coming out of the developing world. Not content to leave the 4PC market to Asus, these local computer manufactures are making their own low-cost, highly-portable, power-efficient, and performance-relative computers for local and regional markets.

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African Go Slow Gifts

While trapped in an African Go Slow, you have the opportunity to see many things. Besides the colorful scenery of cars stuck in traffic, there are waves of street hawkers trying to sell all manner of consumer goods.

Everything from drinks and snacks to bathroom fixtures and even condoms and porn. But I’ve never seen this odd little thing I bought in an Accra Go Slow:

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