D tells me this is not how media normally acted back in Canada. I guess the fly on the wall concept has yet to take hold here.
 |
| Media: front and centre. Where's the kid playing piano? |
Friday, December 28, 2012
Fly on the wall
This week, we had the opportunity of sitting through a four hour piano recital (without an intermission), and one thing that became abundantly clear to us again is that the media here are not as discreet as we were used to in Canada.
D tells me this is not how media normally acted back in Canada. I guess the fly on the wall concept has yet to take hold here.
D tells me this is not how media normally acted back in Canada. I guess the fly on the wall concept has yet to take hold here.
Togo-Benin Border Crossing
If you've read our blog, you know that we have a special dark place reserved for crossing the Ghana border.
It's just not fun. Even when things run smoothly, the guards are unfriendly, abrupt and sometimes just plain mean.
We recently witnessed a Togolese border guard at the Aflao crossing (Ghana) demanding 15,000 CFA ($30) from a traveller because he made an error on the customs immigration form. That's the normal form handed out freely like candy.
But having just crossed the Togo-Benin border with a vehicle we can confidently say it is much easier to cross.
The layout at the border is a lot more straight forward for and follows a relatively straight line!
Show up, park the car under a shady tree, get exit stamped out of Togo, show yellow fever vaccination card, cross border to Benin, fill in Benin paperwork, get entry stamp into Benin, get car paperwork. Hit the road!
Time: approximately 30 minutes.
Not bad, not bad at all.
There were no people insisting they be our guide or trying to be 'helpful' by grabbing our hand bags.
The only place where guides exist is by the Benin car paperwork post, which they will run and fill for you for a small fee (1000 cfa or less). They can sometimes be helpful, as the location of the paperwork post is not always as advertised! (We found the border guard hanging with his buddies in a different shack.)
The only visible sign of corruption was rather benign and also helpful, should you have forgotten your yellow fever vaccination card!
If you forgot your yellow fever card it costs 500 CFA ($1) to pass without it, though the European (Yovo) price may start higher.
We should note that our visas were processed before arrival. If you get your visa at the border, it will take longer! On some days, border officials may run out of visa forms, or simply not want to process them unless a 'gift' is given.
It's just not fun. Even when things run smoothly, the guards are unfriendly, abrupt and sometimes just plain mean.
We recently witnessed a Togolese border guard at the Aflao crossing (Ghana) demanding 15,000 CFA ($30) from a traveller because he made an error on the customs immigration form. That's the normal form handed out freely like candy.
 |
| Lorries waiting to be processed by customs near the Togo-Benin border. |
But having just crossed the Togo-Benin border with a vehicle we can confidently say it is much easier to cross.
The layout at the border is a lot more straight forward for and follows a relatively straight line!
Show up, park the car under a shady tree, get exit stamped out of Togo, show yellow fever vaccination card, cross border to Benin, fill in Benin paperwork, get entry stamp into Benin, get car paperwork. Hit the road!
Time: approximately 30 minutes.
Not bad, not bad at all.
There were no people insisting they be our guide or trying to be 'helpful' by grabbing our hand bags.
The only place where guides exist is by the Benin car paperwork post, which they will run and fill for you for a small fee (1000 cfa or less). They can sometimes be helpful, as the location of the paperwork post is not always as advertised! (We found the border guard hanging with his buddies in a different shack.)
The only visible sign of corruption was rather benign and also helpful, should you have forgotten your yellow fever vaccination card!
If you forgot your yellow fever card it costs 500 CFA ($1) to pass without it, though the European (Yovo) price may start higher.
We should note that our visas were processed before arrival. If you get your visa at the border, it will take longer! On some days, border officials may run out of visa forms, or simply not want to process them unless a 'gift' is given.
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Impromptu Guides
For those of you who would like to visit West Africa someday, one of the first things you will notice is that you stick out like a sore thumb.
And as you go exploring, it is inevitable that a few men or youths hanging around the neighbourhood will casually accompany you.
They may not speak English or French, but will attempt to point out an interesting building or a strange tree.
As you continue walking, you may find that you know more than them, simply because you read Lonely Planet.
However, as you explain to them the significance of the building they attempted to point out to you, they will ask you for money. Since they are your guide.
How they became your guide, you will never find out. Well, actually, you never asked for a guide.
Once, we visited a picturesque abandoned Portuguese fort in Ghana. Lonely Planet tells us that the difference between the renovated and abandoned forts is quite striking and well worth a look.
We packed a picnic lunch, and planned to enjoy the lovely views.
The gate to the fort was locked, and once we found the woman with the key, we wandered inside. A few moments later, a very drunk man attached himself to us.
His less-than-helpful comments included:
This is a door.
The floor is wooden.
The walls are stone.
This is where a cannon was.
The ocean is there, and people go fishing for fish in boats.
Boats are made of wood.
While we had point-blank told him we had no money to give for a tour, he persisted. So, to try and assist him in his attempt at tour guiding, N kept prodding for deeper answers by asking what type of fish locals were looking for. (answer: big ones.) What type of trees were used in the construction of the flooring? (Answer: wooden ones.)
After 10 minutes of this, we decided this would not be the calm, relaxing picnic at the fort we envisioned. And we decided to leave once the man turned to me and asked for a ridiculous amount of money.
And when I declined his offer, repeating my earlier statement of 'we have no money for a tour today,' he suggested that our wedding bands would be a good form of payment.
Naturally, that did not impress N, who knew more about the fort than this 'guide.' So we gave money to the woman for opening the locked gate, and suggested the drunk man learn a bit more about the history of the fort before trying any more guide attempts.
And as you go exploring, it is inevitable that a few men or youths hanging around the neighbourhood will casually accompany you.
They may not speak English or French, but will attempt to point out an interesting building or a strange tree.
As you continue walking, you may find that you know more than them, simply because you read Lonely Planet.
However, as you explain to them the significance of the building they attempted to point out to you, they will ask you for money. Since they are your guide.
How they became your guide, you will never find out. Well, actually, you never asked for a guide.
 |
| Tourists visiting a slave castle in Cape Coast, Ghana. |
Once, we visited a picturesque abandoned Portuguese fort in Ghana. Lonely Planet tells us that the difference between the renovated and abandoned forts is quite striking and well worth a look.
We packed a picnic lunch, and planned to enjoy the lovely views.
The gate to the fort was locked, and once we found the woman with the key, we wandered inside. A few moments later, a very drunk man attached himself to us.
His less-than-helpful comments included:
This is a door.
The floor is wooden.
The walls are stone.
This is where a cannon was.
The ocean is there, and people go fishing for fish in boats.
Boats are made of wood.
While we had point-blank told him we had no money to give for a tour, he persisted. So, to try and assist him in his attempt at tour guiding, N kept prodding for deeper answers by asking what type of fish locals were looking for. (answer: big ones.) What type of trees were used in the construction of the flooring? (Answer: wooden ones.)
After 10 minutes of this, we decided this would not be the calm, relaxing picnic at the fort we envisioned. And we decided to leave once the man turned to me and asked for a ridiculous amount of money.
And when I declined his offer, repeating my earlier statement of 'we have no money for a tour today,' he suggested that our wedding bands would be a good form of payment.
Naturally, that did not impress N, who knew more about the fort than this 'guide.' So we gave money to the woman for opening the locked gate, and suggested the drunk man learn a bit more about the history of the fort before trying any more guide attempts.
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Best Restaurants: Chez Fanny
How many restaurants are worth driving over 100 kilometres for?
Well, we've found one in a lovely mountain town, Kpalime, which lies just over 100 kilometres north of Lome.
In our opinion, it's one of the best restaurants in all of Togo.
Chez Fanny, which is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, also has a selection of excellent (SPOTLESS), air-conditioned rooms.
While rooms do cost more than other hotels in Kpalime (18 000cfa+) the whole compound is meticulously clean -- enough to satisfy the scrutiny of any German oma. Beds also have springs, and pillows do not feel like hardened sacks of concrete.
The French-Togolese couple who own Chez Fanny are warm and welcoming and their menu boasts scrumptious selections of beef, lamb, chicken and fish as well as a set of daily specials.
Wines are chilled, tablecloths are clean, waiters are very attentive and often bilingual and the cost-per-plate is reasonable compared with your other options in Kpalime. (Entrees range between 4000 - 6000 cfa)
We recommend the avocado shrimp salad as an entree starter and the chicken brochettes, ginger shrimp or lamb as your main course. For those who like steaks, they're supposedly really good. And while we have yet to try it, the French Onion Soup is supposedly amazing.
It's worth noting that they serve something other than plain omelettes or 'petit dejeuner complet' for breakfast. Tuna, ham and cheese or chicken sandwiches can be had as well as a variety of other egg based dishes. We highly recommend the Bacon and Eggs. While crepes are technically on the dessert menu, they can be had for breakfast as well!
Additional notes:
Chez Fanny is located at the south edge of Kpalime, on the right hand side of the street if you're coming from Lome. Look for a compound wall covered in flagstones.
Phone number: 24 41 05 79
Chez Fanny closes for the month of June.
Well, we've found one in a lovely mountain town, Kpalime, which lies just over 100 kilometres north of Lome.
In our opinion, it's one of the best restaurants in all of Togo.
Chez Fanny, which is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, also has a selection of excellent (SPOTLESS), air-conditioned rooms.
 |
| Avocado Shrimp Salad |
While rooms do cost more than other hotels in Kpalime (18 000cfa+) the whole compound is meticulously clean -- enough to satisfy the scrutiny of any German oma. Beds also have springs, and pillows do not feel like hardened sacks of concrete.
The French-Togolese couple who own Chez Fanny are warm and welcoming and their menu boasts scrumptious selections of beef, lamb, chicken and fish as well as a set of daily specials.
Wines are chilled, tablecloths are clean, waiters are very attentive and often bilingual and the cost-per-plate is reasonable compared with your other options in Kpalime. (Entrees range between 4000 - 6000 cfa)
We recommend the avocado shrimp salad as an entree starter and the chicken brochettes, ginger shrimp or lamb as your main course. For those who like steaks, they're supposedly really good. And while we have yet to try it, the French Onion Soup is supposedly amazing.
 |
| Beef, ham and cheese roulade special. I wish this was always on the menu! |
It's worth noting that they serve something other than plain omelettes or 'petit dejeuner complet' for breakfast. Tuna, ham and cheese or chicken sandwiches can be had as well as a variety of other egg based dishes. We highly recommend the Bacon and Eggs. While crepes are technically on the dessert menu, they can be had for breakfast as well!
Additional notes:
Chez Fanny is located at the south edge of Kpalime, on the right hand side of the street if you're coming from Lome. Look for a compound wall covered in flagstones.
Phone number: 24 41 05 79
Chez Fanny closes for the month of June.
Saturday, October 27, 2012
The Shortest Performance Ever
As a music director at the school a big part of my job is organizing performances and concerts.
Unfortunately performances don't always go according to plan and when this happens one tries to adapt or modify what has been planned.
Here in Togo one can not always rely on the weather to co-operate as was the case this past June with the last major performance of the year.
Unfortunately performances don't always go according to plan and when this happens one tries to adapt or modify what has been planned.
Here in Togo one can not always rely on the weather to co-operate as was the case this past June with the last major performance of the year.
Some days the rain here may last a few minutes, other times it may last hours.
The afternoon of the final performance everyone could see the dark storm clouds looming in the distance. We all hoped and willed the clouds to stay there on the horizon, and they did.
However, a problem with weather here is that it can move very fast and sneak up on you.
As the concert started, a few drops began to fall but we carried on hoping that it would pass quickly.
The two year olds marched on stage for the second number of the night and began singing their little hearts out. Their parents may have heard 10 seconds of singing before an absolute deluge of pouring rain drowned out the rest of the song.
And thus the shortest performance came to an end.
The afternoon of the final performance everyone could see the dark storm clouds looming in the distance. We all hoped and willed the clouds to stay there on the horizon, and they did.
However, a problem with weather here is that it can move very fast and sneak up on you.
As the concert started, a few drops began to fall but we carried on hoping that it would pass quickly.
The two year olds marched on stage for the second number of the night and began singing their little hearts out. Their parents may have heard 10 seconds of singing before an absolute deluge of pouring rain drowned out the rest of the song.
And thus the shortest performance came to an end.
Friday, September 14, 2012
Best Restaurants in Lome: Lalibela
What are the best places to eat in Togo?
To date, one of our most favourite places to go for a scrumptious meal in Lomé is Lalibela, an Ethiopian restaurant in the Forever neighbourhood. (That's on the same road as Plan Togo's new office, Av. de Kondona.)
Pros:
We were introduced to the restaurant by some friends of ours, and have yet to stray from their recommended dish: the vegetarian platter. It consists of injera with a variety of vegetarian dishes -- cabbage, bean, salad, etc.
It's huge and cheap (approx. 3,000 cfa) and it is easily shared if you're not too hungry.
And if you desire some meat, the tibs are a decent addition to the vegetarian platter.
Cons:
Power goes out quite regularly in this neighbourhood, so be prepared to sit in darkness as a waiter tries to get the generator going.
Slow. You will likely wait 45 minutes for your food, or longer if there's a few dishes being prepared.
Notes:
Phone number: 22 35 45 91
Closed Mondays
To date, one of our most favourite places to go for a scrumptious meal in Lomé is Lalibela, an Ethiopian restaurant in the Forever neighbourhood. (That's on the same road as Plan Togo's new office, Av. de Kondona.)
Pros:
We were introduced to the restaurant by some friends of ours, and have yet to stray from their recommended dish: the vegetarian platter. It consists of injera with a variety of vegetarian dishes -- cabbage, bean, salad, etc.
It's huge and cheap (approx. 3,000 cfa) and it is easily shared if you're not too hungry.
And if you desire some meat, the tibs are a decent addition to the vegetarian platter.
Cons:
Power goes out quite regularly in this neighbourhood, so be prepared to sit in darkness as a waiter tries to get the generator going.
Slow. You will likely wait 45 minutes for your food, or longer if there's a few dishes being prepared.
Notes:
Phone number: 22 35 45 91
Closed Mondays
Saturday, September 8, 2012
Hello Togo, We're Back
Wow. Where did summer go?
It seems like we blinked and June, July and August vanished. Poof.
It was a whirl-wind end to the school year and then a crazy jam-packed summer of visiting friends and family across North America.
And before we knew it, we were standing in the customs queue at Kotoka International Airport being hassled by a customs guard who insisted our year long visa, which we got last November, was no longer valid. In August.
Ahhh, welcome home!
Believe it or not, getting back to Togo was remarkably uneventful! No massive breakdown in the hired car, no hassles at the border, nothing. It was wonderful!
Incredibly, all our luggage arrived in one piece and not one bag had been opened, searched or rifled through.
Togo feels a lot more like home now. We know the people, the place.. It's familiar.
N walking April the dog on a lovely cool September evening.
It seems like we blinked and June, July and August vanished. Poof.
It was a whirl-wind end to the school year and then a crazy jam-packed summer of visiting friends and family across North America.
And before we knew it, we were standing in the customs queue at Kotoka International Airport being hassled by a customs guard who insisted our year long visa, which we got last November, was no longer valid. In August.
Ahhh, welcome home!
Believe it or not, getting back to Togo was remarkably uneventful! No massive breakdown in the hired car, no hassles at the border, nothing. It was wonderful!
Incredibly, all our luggage arrived in one piece and not one bag had been opened, searched or rifled through.
Togo feels a lot more like home now. We know the people, the place.. It's familiar.
N walking April the dog on a lovely cool September evening.
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Moment of the Week
With secondary school exams going on right beside the music room we have turned the shoe room and area around the music room entrance into a 'whisper area' to cut down on excess noise. This has worked out quite well but I need to remind students of the change on a regular basis. At the end of a class I give out a merit sticker in the whisper area to the person who has done an outstanding job during our music session.
Today one of my kindergarteners (who has spent a fair share of time on the red time out chair this year) received a merit sticker for excellent behavior. He was so ecstatic he did a cute little happy dance and then whispered my name quite loudly. To hear him I moved closer and he gave me a big kiss on the cheek and skipped out the door loudly yelling 'I got a merit sticker and I kissed Ms.K. Today is the happiest day of my life!'
It's moments like this that brighten a dreary and cloudy day.
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