Lome, Togo
On March 22, 2014, I traveled to Lome, Togo. Togo is a small, narrow country squeezed in between Ghana and Benin. Lome (pronounced Loh-may) is the capital of Togo, located on the Ghana-Togo border.
To get to Lome, I had to travel from Cape Coast to Accra (2-3 hours) and then from Accra to Aflao (3-5 hours depending on traffic). In Aflao, I had to go through immigration and exchange my money from Ghana cedis to CFA. Then I walked across the border to Lome, Togo. I was lucky enough to get connected to Justine, a Togolese woman around my age, who picked me up from the border on her motorbike and took care of me throughout the weekend.
I only spent two days in Togo and remained in Lome over the duration of my visit, so I am not by any means an expert on Togolese life and culture. But based on what I saw and experienced, I want to compare Lome, Togo to Accra, Ghana. I feel that this would be the most accurate comparison, as both cities are coastal cities as well as capitals of their respective countries.
First, there are the obvious differences, like language and music. Though Ghana was colonized by the British, Togo was colonized by the French. The official language in Togo, therefore, is French. In Lome, most people speak Ewe, the local language. Ewe is also spoken in parts of Ghana, particularly in the Volta region. Throughout Togo there are around 40 different languages. I met a few people who spoke decent English, and the Togolese were very sweet in their attempts to communicate with me ("How? Fine. Thank.")
As for music, I honestly prefer the traditional Togo tunes to Ghana's hiplife and highlife (two popular Ghanaian genres of music). Togo is also familiar with Ghanaian and Nigerian music (and, as I discovered on Saturday night, American hip-hop and R&B from the 90's).
And the not-so-obvious differences? This is what I noticed during my weekend in Togo:
Motorbikes are very common. I would say more people drive motorbikes than cars. Motorbikes are also a form of taxi service. Half the fun of Togo is riding around the city on the backs of these bikes!
Smoking is much more prevalent in Togo; I never really see people smoke in Ghana, let alone anyone selling packs of cigarettes. It was one of the most popular items for sale.
Lome is so much calmer than Accra. Men don't hit on me as much. Children don't shout at me or follow me around, singing. Sellers don't grab at my arm in the market. People overall are not as aggressive.
Along with not being as aggressive, Lome is also not nearly as congested as Accra.
Things are more expensive in Lome. I enjoyed the markets a lot, but I couldn't really buy much because I know I can get it in Ghana for half the price.
There is more to Togo outside of Lome, and I wish I was able to take more time and explore the more rural parts.
Maybe next time I'm in Africa ;-)
