Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Welcome back part two! The Beach! (Cholera?)

Right I am back from my rest and I have decided to continue (very briefly) about the rest of my first few days back in Accra. I have just been to a local sports bar to watch Arsenal play with Yan. We lived the life of a gentleman club and were given our own room, with A/C, Pool Table and Flat screen TV. Along with wonderful service and good food!

 On Sunday I thought it would be nice to go to the beach, fortunately I was able to persuade a (nameless) friend to come along and join me for a bite to eat. We had avery nice Chicken and Chips meal (the chicken and pepper is amazing at Tawala!) The only annoying thing was that once we were seated the next people moved their table so close to us that I thought she was going to sit on my shoulder! They wanted to use our umbrella evidently, but when our food came I decided to take our umbrella to a different table (I was a little worried about food thieves being so close to us!)

Anyway, after eating we decided to go for a (romantic) stroll along the beach. This was very lovely and we enjoyed it very much until.........An unassuming man came down, pulled down is trousers, squatted and then (very relaxed!) took a shit!! Wonderful, here I am trying to create a fun romantic scene and this guy has come along and spoiled the whole thing! To be fair the beach is quite messy but it was going well until that point!

As we strolled along the beach I couldn't help but notice that there were certain areas had been used as toilets! I wish  had been wearing Wellington boots and not sandals! (I felt like Princess Diana walking through a minefield!) Any way, we decided to persevere and we came out on the other side without losing any limbs!

It was good we did because I stumbled across to local spots where people were having a lot of fun! I plan to go back there and chill out down there soon because the other beach resorts are so full of Westerners and it gets a little boring. So it was refreshing to see these places.

To cut a long walk short we walked all the way round and back in to town and had some very nice ice cream before we parted ways with a hug and I cam back to the house! (alone) I then decided to go for a jog (this made the ice cream a bad idea!) It was a good starter jog, but to be fair we walked quite a long way! Motivation was hard to come by, but on the up side we came across a lot of really nice little bars to go check out!

Anyway, now I am sick, (again) as I have mentioned. This time is not really different (or worse) than other stomach bugs, apart from the fact that 3 other people in the house have been violently sick recently. It may be a coincidence but today I read about an outbreak of cholera in Accra today. Lets hope it isn't that.  For all those that are worried about cholera (or me maybe having it!) its ok. All that is needed is to keep hydrated and be careful and death shouldn't occur! (dramatic?)

I've Gone and Come! (England says Goodbye but Ghana Welcomes me with open arms)

Well, I am finally back in the place I am determined to make a success in. I must say that the welcome back was wonderful, but before I get to that let me take a couple of paragraphs to talk of my trip home.

The festive period in the UK was very pleasant. It was actually nice to see the stresses and strains of a fmaily Christmas. (My main issue was whether the Christmas Roast potatoes would be good enough!) It was great to see Mum, Dad and Roseanna (Sister, Rose, Rosey) and I must thank them for a nice time at home. Unfortunately with my vibrant social schedule (Or my Laziness) I didn't get to see them as much as I would have wanted but by all means I shall see them all soon. It was also good to see my dear old Grandmothers who were in fine form. Was good to see them joking about like old times and I really hope they remain in good health for a long time to come!

Nothing out of the ordinary really happened on my trip back. A few nights out, a couple of trips to some of my old pals houses. (Craig, James, Dami and Lara, Sylvia and Korichi (my former housemates) Ade and so many more) They all showed me wonderful hospitality and I thank you all for all the enjoyment. I must say though it was quite a disappointment that I didn't get to see some of my friends. Sure, some of this was my fault but im sure some people could have made a little more of an effort to see me? I have heard the complaint before from other people returning home thousands of miles expecting people to make a little effort to also get across and see them, and then they rather have to get a car and travel all over the country to see everyone. (I'm back to complaining right?) Anyway, its all good, I just will have to bear this in mind in the future when I get a chance to welcome someone from a long trip and who, when they leave, I may not be able to see for some time to come in the future!

Right anyway, I will stop my rant and get back to Ghana. My flight was quite nice. I had a seat next to me so I could stretch out and the TV actually worked! (Watched Salt and the Social Network, which were both great!) I was greeted at the airport by a colleague from my new job (I haven't yet mentioned that I will be starting a new job but I will get to that sometime!)

I then came back to my new room (next door to the old one!) and had a little sleep.  And then I got back to what I do best! (eating and Drinking!) Olga (my dear housemate who is leaving :( ) and I went for a nice sandwitch and then went to a new (to us) spot for a couple of beers.... 4 beers later we returned home to open the ol' Mandingo up and then head into town.  The night was fun and good to catch up with Ghana again.

The next night was a little mad! I ended up at a spot with people I didn't know, including a gold toothed former firm member from Hackney. Was fun and a little different but very late! I got back at 5am after going out for 1 drink!

Anyway right now I will have a little rest (Ghana has rather annoyingly welcomed me with a stomach bug!) and then I will continue to write about my romantic walk along the beach in the next installment!!