Now this is the Anthony Bourdain I know. The one who will eat all the crazy food. He ate a barracuda for crying out loud. And raved about it!
In tonight's episode of Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, Tony is visiting The Republic of Ghana in West Africa. This is the type of place I will probably never actually go to. But the secret backpacking wanderer inside me knows this is the type of place I would really love. Wide open markets with people selling their wares. Lots of wonderful colors. Lots of SPICY food.
Honestly, I love watching it all on TV, but I'd be kind of scared to go there. But with the language barrier and the Ghana markets being so crowded, fast-paced and confusing, I'd just get frustrated. And with my red hair I'd stick out like a sore thumb which is as good as having the word 'sucker' written on my forehead. At least that is the problem I always ran into when visiting the Caribbean or Eastern Europe. They see "rich female American" and I always get scammed. But in my dreams I wander around markets like Tony does, touching all the fabrics, watching the local people, listening to the music, smelling the foods cooking and stopping to taste a few different treats.
Once he got out of the city, he went to one of the most amazing places in the world: Ghana's Mole National Park. Over 800 elephants live there and they are just beautiful. Tony's sacrine dialogue voiced over all of this wonderful nature and it was quite funny as he was describing a New Yorker's uncomfortableness around wild animals. He even let his viewers know that "you do not want to be anywhere near a farting elephant."
Ghana is a beautiful country and we got to see it all through Tony's eyes. River villages, national parks, uniformed school children, wild marketplaces, beachside communities, and of course a lot of interesting cultural food.
Next week Tony comes back to the States: Portland, OR in the Pacific Northwest.
7 comments:
Hi, I caught a glitch in your post: English is one of Ghana's official languages. It was colonized by the english, unlike it's neighbors who were mostly colonized by the french. So it's one less thing for you to worry about if you ever do visit Ghana. :-)
Wow! Thanks for correcting me. It totally seem like Anthony needed translators while he was visiting.
Rachel, english is the official language of Ghana. People are taught in schools in english. I watched the show and Bourdain didn't really need translators. The guys who brought him to the chop bar, the lady (auntie rose) at the market etc..they all so spoke english...Maybe it was their accent that made it difficult for you to understand but he did perfectly...Also there are so many Americans, Lebanese, Viets, Chinese in Ghana...Visit Ghana you will like. The people are the friendliest ppl in West Africa. And as everywhere being a stranger can facilitate scams just be careful...Take care
Hey Rachel,
Nice post! To enjoy Ghana without having to worry about getting scammed(which can happen anywhere), etc, make sure to visit with a group. Doing so drastically reduces chances of getting scammed. And the best deal you can have is actually a Ghanaian friend who's lived in the US(attended college here, etc) for a good amount of time. Someone you know personally or through friends. Case in point, a few of us will be visiting Ghana this summer with my best friend who is Ghanaian and who came to the US on college scholarship, etc. So far so good, everything is planned and we are very excited. There's nothing better than going with an insider. Feel free to join us...we're in Texas ("of all places" :-P)
P.S. Ghana's official language is English(UK), albeit with it's own accent and flavor.
i am from the states but live in the uk know i whent to ghana and it was so lovely i have even planed to to go and live the soon the food and restaurants are beautiful next time you go ask a taxi to take you to osu it is the most bupelar street in ghana with lots of restaurants from there you will enjoy your self and tast the true food of ghana
No offense or anything, but Osu has about the least Ghanaian food in Ghana. Visit the northern sector for some very traditional experiences; hell, stay out of Accra entirely.
Don't worry about the language, don't worry about being a red-haired american girl.
Ghanaians are.. friendly! Many of them show a genuine interest and actually want to help you.
I've been there once and someday I'll go back!
Best!
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