Since this big event, the 6th of March is a national day of celebration.

Independence for Ghana – briefly explained

Before colonial presence, the country consisted of a number of independent empires, with the Ashanti being the most powerful one. Because of its abundance of natural resources (gold, fruit, ivory, etc.), European countries had many interests in claiming the land for themselves. And so, after much resistance by the Ashanti, they did. The British rule came to an end after the Second World War when the colonizing country had weakened and lost its overall strength. This and the Convention People’s Party in 1949 are the main reasons that led to the independence of the Republic of Ghana. The Convention People’s Party was led by Kwame Nkrumah (first Prime minister and President) and had the goal of more self-governance for the native people.

Of course, their way to independence was much more than what’s stated in this short article. Like historian Adu Boahen says “Independence was not given on a silver platter but won by blood”.

On the day of independence, Kwame Nkrumah gave an encouraging speech to the people of Ghana, of which his words are still celebrated today. The full speech can be found here.

The flag and its meaning

A new flag, as we know it today, was introduced as the country finally became free from colonial rule. It was created by Theodosia Salome Okoh: a Ghanian artist and introducer of hockey in her country.

The Ghana flag is full of meaning: the black five-pointed star situated in the middle of the flag signifies the emancipation of Africa and unity against colonialism. This star-symbol was introduced by Marcus Garvey during the Pan-Africanism movement. Just like the black star, the colors carry their own meaning too:

In the following video Youtuber Bianca from Bee’s Corner tells you 5 facts about Ghana, including more information on the black star

A message to my readers

This article is merely a brief summary of Ghana Independence Day. There is so much more to learn. Please consult our friend Google to get to know more about the history. I’d also like to emphasize that the country’s history pre-colonization is equally interesting and important to know. Unfortunately, this history is not taught in western schools. Educate yourself

Cheers!

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Messengers of God

The Tafi Monkey Sanctuary was built in 1996, but even way before that the monkeys have had some sort of protection from the harmful practices of humans. The ancestors of the community believed that the monkeys served as messengers of God. Even today, the Mona Monkeys live in a free environment and they are in no way encaged. They are wild. Wild, but friendly when you offer them bananas. I mean, who doesn’t like juicy fruit, right?

Of course, the area has much more to offer. The quiet and safe environment is also home to thousands of butterflies and other insects. Also nature-wise, there is a lot to discover. Just like the animals, the area also benefits from the protection and is, in that way, able to flourish freely.

The sanctuary offers tours in the area as a source of income to sustain its business. Just like the monkeys, the local community benefits from the visitors too. Revenues from these tourism practices have brought electricity to the village, as well as improvements to the school and the local clinic.

So overall concluded, the sanctuary has passed my ‘is this the type of tourism i want to contribute to’ test!

Practical

Location	Tafi Atome (Volta Region), Ghana
Entrance fee	25 Cedis per person
Time to spend	About one hour. Perfect to combine with another stop.
What to bring	Don’t forget your bananas!

Planning on traveling to Ghana? Contact Emo Foundation, they will take care of all your needs Cheers!

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January 11th –  Lalibela

Another day in Ethiopia! After our very delicious and filling breakfast we walked to the bus station we were dropped off at the night before and we got tickets for a minibus to Gashena which is more than halfway to Lalibela. The distance from Dessie to Gashena is 225 kilometers which took us about 5 hours to get there. Once we reached Gashena we had a minor altercation with the bus drivers because they were trying to get away with not giving us our change back and also trying to charge us more to get to Lalibela from there. After that was sorted out we had our lunch and we were yet again on our way to Lalibela. It was quite a bumpy ride. From Gashena to Lalibela it is 64 kilometers, which took us about 3 hours to get there.

Once we got at our location we met three young gentlemen who guided us to our hotel free of any charge (we made sure to let them know that it was not necessary and that we could find our way, but they insisted and they seemed friendly enough). I got to admit they were a bit of a distraction because they engaged us with conversation and we couldn’t really concentrate on our surroundings, which is something one wants to do in a new location. They also told us a lot about themselves and that one of their birthday is tomorrow. They invited us to a get together the next day. Not sure if that is something they tell every tourist or not and at this point it was irrelevant. Just wanted to let you all know to just be aware. We found our hotel and got all settled in our room. It was time for dinner.

We went out for some food, found a small restaurant packed with people; not for the food but for the soap opera that was airing on TV, and it was for a dubbed one. We went into the other room, had our dinner and left. When finally back to our hotel room, we were tired and ready to sleep.

January 12th – Lalibela

Woke up and went for breakfast at the hotel we were staying. The hotel was quite the hotel with really beautiful designs, pleasant staff, and nice outdoor scene.

After breakfast, we decided to head on over to the Rock Hewn Churches of Lalibela, aka the reason we came which also happens to be a UNESCO World Heritage Site. After a short walk up we found the office to buy tickets, they charged me 10 birr, while they charged Meg 50$ for entrance. They suggested we get a tour guide to walk us through it all. We got a price of 500 birr.

Our tour lasted for a few hours. The tour guide tried his best to elaborate and explain each and every church we went to. We had a lot of questions, came to a point where our tour guide couldn’t answer them. We happened to be at one of the churches known as Beite Denagel (House of Virgins), there was a priest there (FYI every church has a designated priest), and so our tour guide directed the question at the priest. Our question was “Who is in charge of labeling or deeming one person as a saint?” This question came up because he was telling us how the churches came about, and how King Lalibela was considered a saint. What had happened was, after King Lalibela was born every inch of his infant body got covered in bees, which was understood as being covered in angels and or a sign from above. And when he became king, he slept for three whole days, people thought he was dead but his body wasn’t cold so they refrained from burying him. After three days passed King Lalibela arose and was determined to build the churches, New Jerusalem. As the pilgrimage to the actual one was getting complicated due to the Muslim conquest that was taking place. He also continued to say that it was King Lalibela with the help of angels that built all of the churches. We weren’t sure if the angels were a metaphor or not at this point but needless to say, there were more than angles helping. Which brings us back to why we asked the question we did. After some time spent trying and sort of failing to answer the question, the priest resorted to saying that we have no faith, and one must have faith in order to understand. The closest answer to our question came when the priest said, saints are considered saints based on their actions, or what they have accomplished. Which we can all relate to I think, like the saying says, “Actions speak louder than words!” saint or otherwise.

The other thing that I will mention about the tour is that the churches that symbolized heaven and hell.

For more information about the Rock Hewn Churches of Lalibela please click here.

We checked out of our hotel that afternoon to try and get the bus to our next destination, Gondar. We got to the bus station and must have waited about three hours in hopes to find transportation but to no avail. They informed us that the buses direct to Gondar leave at 5 AM, and we didn’t want to take a bus to Gashena (that location that is 3 hours away from Lalibela) and have to be stuck there over night, as it seemed to be a little town with no hotels in sight. But what we did do is eat three servings of this delicious plate of food, pic below at this home/restaurant that was across the station.

With our bellies full we headed back to the same hotel to check back in. That evening there was a beautiful full moon hanging in the skies, so we decided to grab a beer at the hotel bar and unwind.

Lella Misikir, 木兰

Like her writing? More articles of her coming & definitely check out her blog too!
Interested in being a guest writer too? contact me!

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January 10th, Addis to Dessie 

On the morning of Tuesday, January 10, I met Meg at our favorite juice place located at Bole Dildey (Bole Bridge). If one ever goes to Ethiopia, one does not simply leave without trying the juices at the juice places. They are scrumptious. We had juice, I had ‘sprice’ (a mix of all the fruits available) and Meg had an avocado one. After we had our juices we headed to the bus station known as Menahariya, which was a few kilometers away from Bole Dildey. 

Menahariya is a pretty crowded place, people coming into town, people going out of town, and people not really going anywhere but are there for the sheer buzz of it all. It can be quite hectic. Not to mention the fact that me being local and having to travel with Meg, a foreigner, is a completely different experience than just two locals traveling. So it was one local and one-foreigner woman. We drew a fair amount of attention to ourselves just because of the above-stated fact. The drivers of the buses and their assistant drivers were all suggesting locations on where we should go and why their bus was the right one for us, and that it is going to fill up in no time and that we should hop on as soon as possible. They also have a tendency of using their hands to herd me and Meg like cattle to their vehicles which we obviously didn’t stand for. Confronting them with “Hey, don’t touch me!” doesn’t bode well for them and won’t end well for us… after all we are trying to take their buses, it is best to not have an attitude for they will assume that you think you are better than them and so forth. In the end, all you can do is just try to keep some distance. One thing when communicating with them is to be as friendly and as chill as possible. Down to earth. But not too down to earth. Because they will try to take advantage in terms of making you pay much more than the actual price. There is a fine line I tell you, finding that might be a little tricky but once you do it is going to be a sweet ride.

We found a guy who looked legitimate enough and was selling tickets to Dessie, we wanted to go directly to Lalibela but there were no direct buses there at this time (around 11 AM). Usually, the direct buses leave at 5 am and also tickets are purchased a day before. So, we decided to buy the tickets to Dessie and off we went.

From Addis to Dessie it is 387 kilometers, and it took about 8 hours to get there. After driving for a few hours we stopped for a late lunch, they rushed us off and on the bus within 30 minutes. Lunch was decent enough, nothing to brag about really. Below are sceneries and goats that caught my eye on the way to Dessie.

January 10th, Dessie 

We got to Dessie around 7-8 pm. Meg and I looked for a hotel, found one that claimed it had Wi-Fi, and when we got to the room the Wi-Fi signal was too weak we couldn’t even connect. I informed the staff that one of the main reasons we are in this hotel is because they have Wi-Fi and if there is something they could do so we can connect to the Wi-Fi, such as give us another room. They said they couldn’t offer us any other room because they have one bed, and two women aren’t allowed to share a room that has only one bed (company policy he says, wtf right?). Finally, the owner comes and says how he isn’t the service provider as in the Wi-Fi service provider and that he cannot construct us another line just for us. And that was our queue to get the hell out of that hotel. Right across there was another hotel with cheaper prices and also claimed that they had Wi-Fi. We booked a room… no Wi-Fi but really sweet staff, which is all you need when it comes down to it. Once we got our shelter for the night sorted we decided to get some food. We grabbed some food, again not much to brag about. I have to mention how cold it actually was, coming from China winter season I was not expecting this type of cold when I returned back home. It was 1 degree Celsius. We were coooldddd and not prepared well for it. We went back to our hotel and called it a night.

January 11th, Dessie

Woke up next morning, Wednesday, January 11. I had forgotten to buy a toothbrush the night before so I went out to get one to realize the view from our room’s hallway was amazing. Photos below.

We got ready, checked out in search for some breakfast before we continued to our original destination. We walked around for a bit and found this cute little place that looked like it had some decent food. Now, this is definitely something to brag about. Meg and I had ‘ful’ not sure how to spell it, but it is basically beans seasoned with some butter and spice (we had the fasting version, but as delicious, yummyyyyy!!). I had to take photos of the menu and also the cute little place.

Lella Misikir, 木兰

Like her writing? More articles of her coming & definitely check out her blog too!
Interested in being a guest writer too? contact me!

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January 7th – January 17th, Ethiopia 

This particular trip back home was by the far the least expected, least planned and yet the most anticipated one. I have been back home every year since I moved to China 5 years ago. I have lived in Ethiopia for 18 years of my life before I went abroad. But for the life of me I have never actually traveled in and around Ethiopia. Not sure why, but maybe because it is my own country, and took it for granted. Typical.

Recently before my travel, I had what I like to call ‘a better understanding of life‘ than ever before so I decided I needed to see my own country, find out more about my roots, and about the country itself. Living abroad for a while now you meet people who sometimes know more about your country than you do, and that is something I wanted not to have in my life anymore. I know very little. So it doesn’t even take much in-depth knowledge to know more than I do. Another reason why was; where can be the best place to test out your new self but home with family (I got nothing but love for them though). Not to mention the last but never least reason was my superwoman friend Meg was also going to be in Addis same time I was for her East African trip. So I obviously packed my bags and left.

My flight was Jan 6 from Chengdu and landed on Jan 7, 6 AM in the morning also known in Ethiopia as Christmas Day Morning. That reminds I was also on a mission to have meat free Christmas with my family hence the timing of the trip. Needless to say I failed. Failed as in if had I really wanted that to happen I should have planned my trip at least a week earlier as opposed to the morning of Christmas. Perhaps failing isn’t the right word.

After spending Christmas day eating and making merry, me and my friend who is visiting decided that our travels in and around Ethiopia should start January 10, Tuesday. Our plan was to go from Addis Ababa (our current location) to Lalibela, from Lalibela to Gondar, from Gondar to Bahir Dar, from Bahir Dar, to Addis Ababa, a total of 1,767 kilometers in a time frame of one week.

Lella Misikir 木兰

Like her writing? More articles of her coming & definitely check out her blog too!
Interested in being a guest writer too? contact me!

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I remember that flight very well. Oh man, what a nightmare. Here is our story. The distance from Brazzaville to Johannesburg is actually not that far. A direct flight would take approximately 4 hours. Unfortunately, we booked our flight quite late (my bad!) so we missed our chance to buy an affordable ticket with this convenient itinerary. It was out of our budget.

Solution? Fly from Brazzaville to Johannesburg with a transfer in Ethiopia. The Republic of Congo is located in Central Africa. Ethiopia is in the ‘horn of Africa’, situated in the east. And then there is Johannesburg. Which is obviously in the south… (For the not so smarties among us: Johannesburg is a city in South Africa. South Africa is a name of a country, not the whole Southern region of the continent.) Ok, we had to spend more time commuting but at least we made it. Off we go!

Brazzaville 1:10 PM (UTC+1h)
Challenge number one: going through passport check. The lady behind the counter was bitching about our passports. No idea why… I do speak French but this time I really couldn’t understand her blabbing. We were lucky enough to have an expeditor to help us through. It was the same guy that helped me to find my lost luggage when I arrived. Read about my arrival and stay in the Republic of Congo here. He got the whole situation figured out. The lady got even more pissed. You should have seen her face. Hehe. Was pretty funny.

Brazzaville 1:45 PM
Got through customs, did another passport check and figured out our gate. Ready to get on that plane and leave! Ha, Nope. Delay of 40 minutes. Shit. There is absolutely nothing do to at Maya Maya airport. One little duty-free shop where they just kept on bothering us with ‘est-ce que je peux vous aidez?’. Nope, just trying to make the time go faster, mademoiselle.

Brazzaville, 3:00 PM
We claimed our seats and made ourselves ready for taking off. Sadly, Ethiopian Airlines added another 30 minutes delay once all the passengers were boarded. Drama wasn’t over yet! It was surprisingly hot in the airplane. The air conditioning wasn’t turned on until we were up in the air. The first 10 minutes of that delay were bearable. The other 20 minutes were just miserable. Sweat was running off our faces.

Somewhere in the air from 3:00 to 7:00 PM (UTC+1h)
Flying. Reading. Sleeping… The air conditioning was turned on! Yes! Turned out to be a flight to not brag about. Loud neighbors, crying baby, etc. You know, the annoying stuff that happens on a flight.

Addis Ababa, 8:40 PM (UTC +3h)
We arrived at our transfer in Ethiopia and had about 3 hours to find the way to our gate. Did some stretching, walked by all the cute souvenir shop and duty-free stores, went through customs, etc. Everything went very smoothly. If you ever travel to or make a transfer in Ethiopia make sure to buy a bag of 100% Ethiopian coffee beans! Just delicious!

Somewhere in the air from 11:45 PM to 5:00 AM
Unlike our flight earlier that day, the plane to Joburg looked super nice. Comfy seats too, by the way! We totally were ready for our last flight. Once again we were flying with Ethiopian Airlines. What a relief! Gotta say: good food on the plane, yummy!

HELLO Johannesburg!
Yes! We made it to Joburg! Going through immigration was simple. Belgians and Americans do not need a tourist visa for SA (if you leave within 90 days). And hey… guess what? This time my luggage didn’t get lost! What a miracle.

I prepared a little summary of the things we did during our short stay. Short, but awesome. We didn’t get to visit all of what the city offers… unfortunately! There’s much more to do in Joburg for sure! I got sick the first few days so didn’t really had to energy to travel that much.

• SAFARI BABYYYYYY

Definitely. Do it. Lots of people have this at the top of their so called ‘bucket list’. I can only truss that.  It was seriously an unforgettable adventure. We booked our tour with Viator. The guide picked us up at the hostel, drove us through the park and drove us back. Here is a tip: When you decide to go, don’t go during the weekend. There will be too many people and it will scare the animals away. We went on a Tuesday morning (Valentine’s day!). Perfect timing.

Don’t forget that it will take you the whole day to see everything. It’s a few hours drive from Johannesburg. The distance depends on the park you choose of course. We’ve visited Pilanesberg. This one is generally recommended since it’s the nearest one from the city AND you have more chance to see the animals.

• DON’T do the hop on and off bus

We tried. It sucked. We spend most of the time in traffic. Got a flat tire. Just a waste of time. Better rent a rental car and do the drive on your own. Make sure not to do it during traffic hours.

• Have dinner at the Grill House

I get water in my mouth even thinking back. The food is delicious and affordable. What do you need more?

• Lion and safari park

Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see any lions at our safari so we decided to check out the Lion and Safari park. It was definitely worth it. There’s lots to do. You could go for a ride between the lions, feed giraffes, etc. Pretty cool!

• Rosebank Art & Craft Market

There are lots of markets in Joburg. Food markets, craft markets, … I recommend you to check out the Rosebank Art & Craft Market. It’s in the city center. Very close to the Grillhouse. Would be a good idea to combine those two in one afternoon!

• Angel Guest House

We stayed at a guesthouse. It wasn’t too expensive and the staff was really nice. We had a great experience there. You’ll get a fridge and freezer in the room so always a good idea keeping some ice-cream there for a late night snack. The hostel was located at Randburg, a very nice neighborhood next to Johannesburg.

Just like I said earlier: Joburg offers way much more than my small list.

Cheers! 

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So… the Republic of Congo!

There are some geographical things you should know about the country. There are two Congo’s: The Democratic Republic of Congo (capital: Kinshasa) and the Republic of Congo (Capital: Brazzaville). The two countries are separated by the Congo River, which is listed as the second-largest river in the world. GEOGRAPHY 101. Just making clear once again, I traveled to Brazzaville, the Republic of Congo.

Once landed I got through immigration smoothly. A usual check. I was so ready to just run through immigration, grab my luggage, and see my travel partner on the other side of the airport. Get this adventure started. Unfortunately, my luggage got lost and the adventure had to wait a bit. My luggage must have taken off the plane when we had a stop at Point-Noire. Yep, pretty annoying. My flight started in Brussels to Casablanca to Brazzaville with making a one-hour stop at Point-noir. But hey, all was solved by the next day so all good!

Spend your time in Brazzaville: tips

Walk along the Congolese River
Just recently they build a big, impressive bridge near the Congolese river that lights up at night. It’s always a good idea to visit during the night.

Bike through the city
One morning we got some bicycles and biked through the city. From the center to the suburbs. It was pretty nice to make that ride in the morning. The temperature was still low and there was not a lot of traffic to spot. AWE-SOME.

Spend Thursday nights at Bodega
The place to be on Thursday nights is definitely at ‘Bodega’. Congolese live bands will perform and you get to watch some really cool dances on the dance floor. Grab a beer. Or two.

The Burger Truck
If you would travel to or through Brazzaville make sure to try the Burger Truck. Just like the name says… it’s a truck and it has burgers. THE BEST BURGERS EVER! I’m not lying if I say that the best burger I ever had was in Brazzaville. (2020 Update: I was not yet vegetarian when I wrote this post)

La reine de l’ile Faignond
We took a day trip to a little island. Had to drive all the way out of the city and walk through some forest. It’s totally different from city life: children playing and people bathing in the river. After waiting for about 20 minutes our boat finally arrived. It was made out of a tree and was pretty scary! Once we got to the island we got to see beautiful nature, see some animals, and got bbq food. Worth it! By the way: be sure to discuss the prices before you say yes to food.

Other Tips & Tricks 

• Before traveling to the continent of Africa make sure you get an appointment with your doctor to talk about vaccinations and maybe other medication such as malaria pills. Also, make sure to plan everything on time. From my experience, it wasn’t so convenient to get a travel visa for my destination. Make sure to do enough research.
• Dress appropriately.
• Learn a bit of French. Just a little bit. You should be able to ask for the bill, to ask for the price, etc. It’s hard to find someone that speaks English.
• Wear long pants and long sleeves: mosquitoesssss everywhere!

Cheers!

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