Quick note on Ghanaian Languages
[QUOTE=Goshawk;1687355] .... When I asked what a guy like me, definitely NOT a young guy, would have to shell out, they giggled, talked in Twi among themselves and came up with anywhere from $200. - to 100 Cedis. Yes. They admitted, $200. - is an "obroni" price. We laughed, and one said that she would be more than happy to go with me to my hotel for a short time for 50 Cedis or all night for 100 Cedis.
....[/QUOTE]For those of you staying for a prolonged time in Accra, you can follow a basic Twi course at Goethe Institute or some other place. There is also a Pimsleur Twi audio course which you can download (among other Twi course material) at a (ny) torrent site.
A little bit of Twi gets you 'far' if you dear with Non-pros Also Twi is 'almost' spoken 'anywhere' in Ghana most tourists travel (Kumasi, Takoradi, Cape Coast ect).
Probably the other and most dominant language in Accra is Ga. Unfortunately, there are no easy to find or easy to use language methods for Ga. Basically you need to learn it from a friend. But Ga has almost zero value outside of Accra (in Accra there are about 600 k Ga speakers). BTW, if you are new to this, I posted several months ago (maybe a year?) a 'sexual Ga- English' list of words and useful expression.
Take care all.
7 weeks in Ghana Feb. March 2015
If only 5 star hotels and 5 star girls with fancy underwear are good enough for you, then you prolly won't get much info from this. But, if you like to find pretty and very friendly girls cheap and you are not a Ghana expert, then you might find some useful updated info (of March 2015). And, alas. No pics. Sorry.
Ghana is full of pretty girls 18 - 19 years upwards with (by western standards) a loose moral, and any foreign guy who resembles more human than orangutan and wears clothes that have not been worn over two weeks without a wash, can score some 70 - 80 % of them. And if you enjoy a little bit extreme (small towns and small hotels), it can be a minor Klondyke for you girl-wise.
Well, Accra is LARGE and excitingly anonymous. So, you can find dozens of separate hunting grounds without any fear of running into your yesterdays' date. People don't move around a lot in Ghana. A taxi ride from one suburb to another may take 2 hours. And a couple of days' salary (say, 30 cedis) - so locals won't bother doing it.
I myself enjoy outdoor joints. Fresh and tasty tilapia meal for 15 cedis and bottle of decent red wine for another 15 cedis (and actually in Madina there is a shop where you can get genuine Italian wines for 11 cedis a bottle). It is not too hot in open air places after sunset, and usually also not too many flies or mosquitos around. Close to a paradise to me. My experience is also that in those places which are popular among the locals, food is mostly fresh and cooked with care and expertise. The same can't be always said about the hotel restaurants or other western style joints, which have usually only a few clients around. In the present day Ghana with its daily electricity cuts the frozen ingredients may have melted and re-frozen numerous times. However, there are, of course, western style food places with plenty of customers and good quality food, too. Like in the malls (which I hate myself for sentimental reasons). Or try Baritas in Adenta, close to the naughty Jessies' night spot. Good food with air con for a decent price (not a paid ad).
What is more, there seems to be no hostile attitudes towards foreigners at all in Ghana. People are very well behaving, friendly and polite, and no, it is not those fake smiles like in many places where tourism is a bigger industry. And in Ghana it is totally normal to talk with strangers. So, even if there are up to half a dozen tribes in Ghana, there are little hostilities between these groups, except in some rural areas in Norther Ghana.
Police won't bother you also. In 6 weeks I haven't been asked for my passport once. I wouldn't still rent a car and start driving in Accra myself. Traffic is not as bad as e. G. Dacca or Manila, but it is different enough, and I would not fancy ending up in a police station to explain what went just wrong in the street corner. I do know that police here acquires extra salary by hunting minor mistakes in the traffic, such as talking to mobile phone even if you are queuing up somewhere. For local drivers 10 cedis will make up the "crime", but if you are foreigner, the price might be a lot higher.
And how to find a girl? It is very easy. No need to get contacts beforehand through internet dating sites. And most of the girls in the popular sites are fakers anyway. They just want your money, giving a no-show in return. You will have 10 times more chances to find nice company in the streets than using the net. Ghana is still a country where almost half of the young folks don't have even email address, too. If you want to score effectively, forget the sites. And get to the grass root level.
But if you enjoy chatting, you can of course hit a jackpot also through the dating sites. I did. She is a college girl, 20 years, with pretty face and a beautiful, firm body. She has been staying with me for a few nights now. I feed her and give taxi money. Today 30 cedis (she had to buy something.) Just went to school and left me with my 3 cedi breakfast. Giving me a chance to write this report. I don't like reporting about intimate details. So I just tell this: she is a temperamental girl (and red wine is NOT the drink with her). Usually she rejects me for about hour and a half, but finally she gives in. And when she gets into the mood, an average 50 years old chap like me would need probably two assistants to make her happy all the way. I have managed to make her thoroughly satisfied a couple of times, using all the equipment I am furnished with, and after that she sleeps, or rather passes out, in about 15 seconds, without saying a word or moving any muscle. There is absolutely nothing fake or untrue about her when we meet. And I don't care who she meets when she is not with me. Life is beautiful.
I contacted through net maybe a dozen girls. Half of them were total fakes, the rest were looking for a real date, but of course mostly with economical interests. And it is totally ok, of course. My own interests weren't any more noble.
Back to the street level. I was very, very lucky to find a 100 % reliable taxi driver with a naughty mind and countless contacts. He has one official and maybe 3 - 5 unofficial wives in Accra alone, and probably more than 100 girls' telephone numbers in his mobile. If he sees someone that catches his eye while driving, he blows the horn, waves for the girl, opens the window, and starts chatting. This happens daily even if we are not on a particular "hunting mission". And in 4 / 5 cases either the girl gets into the car (which I sometimes don't be impressed about, because I do have a work to do here, too.) or he gets her number. They are perfectly ordinary girls, looking for some fun and some extra income. Most of them have a boy friend, of course. But I'm not of the jealous type.
You can also go into a beauty salon to have your nails cut for two cedis, or to local shop, or hang around on a bar desk. Most waiters are pretty girls. Just start a polite conversation. Say something original like "good evening. How are you?" - Yes, people use these very formal phrases here. First I thought they were joking, but good morning, good afternoon and good evening are almost the only greetings here. People just don't say "Hello, but I guess you won't get stoned even if you do.
I have not heard any unpolite reply from girls, even if it is plain and clear that you are about to ask her to visit your room after the two, three obligatory phrases. Even if you are turned down, you won't get any "f you" or even "get lost". So, no worries. Just get down to it.
How much? - Hmm, it is so much easier to say what is too much. For me 200 cedi (50 USD) is too much. Even for the whole night. Actually girls here usually don't mind staying over night anyway. Especially if there is any hope of a working shower and free breakfast. Only the hard boiled pros want to slip out after the deed is done. Lesson one: avoid hard boiled pros. Unless they are exactly the ones who turn you on, of course!
In Accra 100 cedis is enough for most of those girls who I want to meet. Some may ask more. And considerably more. But just smile (as if you knew everything here) and ask her mobile number for the next meeting. She will take it happily. School teacher's monthly salary maybe only 300 cedis here. So 100 cedis is not bad at all for a one naughty night.
Lesson number two: Don't lie to the girls. Don't pledge your ever lasting love. It is VERY unfair. And it can give you a lot of trouble. I can guarantee you don't want to end up in the situation where you are just about to start a pleasurable discussion with your newly found love, and your yesterday's date comes banging on your door. She might just happen to know the hotel reception guy, and he might have just told her that now you are with a new lady. Ghanaians may not be famous for their temperament, but take my word for it. You don't want to experience the cat-fight scene.
The girls are sleeping around too. You have no real reason to lie to them. Just say, you are a lonely boy in this city and need some comfort. You don't need to be looking for a wife to make them willing. They are quite willing anyway. Some more than you can take. And, yes, there are a lot of girls, also in Accra, who will never ask you a dime. But please, use your common sense. Everybody needs money: just give them the 50 cedis as taxi money. They need only 10 of it for the taxi, and can live a couple of days with the rest of it very nicely.
The other day, we visited Hohoe, in Volta region. It is one of the poorer areas. We went to a cheap guest house with only fans in the rooms (and the last days with no running water too) - it was less than 100 cedis for three rooms per night. We had a little party in the local out door night club (Obama Gardens): 7 people, some 20 - 25 bottles of beer and other drinks plus some snack, 94 cedis in total. And the girls. Up to you, really. First night we paid 60/40 / 20 (sic) cedis for the over night visits. Next evening we made it to the local hot spot (Malezia, only half open air joint). Only a little bit more expensive (wine tends to be pricey in the smaller towns, close to 20 cedis a bottle). There were us three guys (two locals and me) and five girls buzzing around the table (and drinking for our bill.) - the total damage was around 140 cedis. We decided not to take any of the girls to the guest house, and turned down even the offer-you-can't-refuse we got at the club door. One pretty girl offered herself for 10 cedis all night. Yes, 10,00 locals. There was nothing wrong with the girls. Most of them are a bit of the chunky side, but hot and friendly all the way, no doubt. We just had so many drinks each of us that none fancied the bedroom exercise any more.
Most of the girls. Especially in the smaller towns. Won't make the first contact. That doesn't mean they would not be interested. It just seems to be more customary that a man takes the initiative. Again, I guess the pros maybe different. Anyway, you need to be a little bit sociable and active when hitting the streets or other hunting areas.
So, after 7 weeks here in Ghana I sometimes feel tired, but never regretted this journey. It takes some time to find your own circles in a new environment. To learn how to avoid the schorzing afternoon sun, long taxi rides, and over priced "western" joints. I never got sick of the street food. Kebab (chicken, sausage, gout) for 1 cedi a piece, rise with chicken or beef for 4 - 5 cedis a portion, etc. - good value, compared with say 25 cedi pizza or some 12 cedi glass of orange juice in East Legon.
I also became quite a connoisseur on fans. If you can choose, take the big slow one, avoid small fan with the lowest speed of some 200 miles per hour. It gave me a head ache. Get up early. At around six the light starts coming on, and the weather is fresh and cool for a couple of hours. Nine o'clock you will already be sweating while sitting on the porch. And look for a bar with wooden chairs. Fear for the plastic ones! Cold drinks are nice, but they make you sweat like a pig. .
And: Don't do the unprotected thing. Most girls are ready for it, but just don't do it. OK?
This is a true report of distinction
Boogyman,
What a fantastic report, you have covered so many topics with great simplicity, kudos.
My recommendation to admin is that this report be put in the hall of fame, link to reports of distinction.
Cheers.
[QUOTE=Boogyman1;1695274]If only 5 star hotels and 5 star girls with fancy underwear are good enough for you, then you prolly won't get much info from this. But, if you like to find pretty and very friendly girls cheap and you are not a Ghana expert, then you might find some useful updated info (of March 2015). And, alas. No pics. Sorry.
I also became quite a connoisseur on fans. If you can choose, take the big slow one, avoid small fan with the lowest speed of some 200 miles per hour. It gave me a head ache. Get up early. At around six the light starts coming on, and the weather is fresh and cool for a couple of hours. Nine o'clock you will already be sweating while sitting on the porch. And look for a bar with wooden chairs. Fear for the plastic ones! Cold drinks are nice, but they make you sweat like a pig. .
And: Don't do the unprotected thing. Most girls are ready for it, but just don't do it. OK?[/QUOTE]