I'm going to Ghana in a month and was thinking of doing a daily report on DU.

[Paradoxical]

I'll be studying government there for a few weeks and then I'll be interning with a local business.

I'll also be touring the country side and hopefully meeting the heads of state.

I have a week set aside after the trip to travel. I cannot decide whether to be cliche and spend a week in London and Paris or the other option. The other option is travelling to neighboring countries of Ghana.

Which is not safe. And the only reason I'd do it is if something productive came out of it. Maybe some sort of unofficial reporting. I'm not sure.

Any advice DUers have for such a trip would be excellent.

[Rhiannon12866]

1. I can't say I have advice, but it sounds fascinating, clearly the trip of a lifetime.

I went to school with a guy from Ghana. He was probably the smartest guy in the school. He was also entertaining, took anthropology with him, and he would tell us about all the wild animals he would regularly in his yard at home. :D

My best advice, though I've never been to that part of the world, is to ask questions and be prepared, know what to expect for anywhere you go. And never go anywhere alone, always have at least one buddy. And I always bring kleenex, LOL. I'm looking forward to reading about your experiences. Just stay safe! :hi:

[PufPuf23]

2. FYI Ghana is a country that has been influenced by "Christians"

out of C Street in DC and Ghana leadership associated with the Coe organization.

I am not up to date on current situation in Ghana.

[LooseWilly]

3. Safe is a cliche

It's also an illusion. You can be stabbed and killed as easily in London or Paris as anywhere bordering Ghana. Even easier still in many cities in the US.

I'd say keep an eye out for places in Ghana that might be interesting to visit — without any heads of state being involved.

You know... meeting some locals who aren't rich and powerful politicians. Maybe someone you meet will be willing to take you to visit family/friends in the country (I met an odd Guatemalan family that way, after meeting a girl on a bus). It'll give you a chance to see what the people really think... and maybe you'll learn some local card games and drink some local liquor... (I doubt Ghana is any more unsafe now than Guatemala was at the height of the Zapatista uprisings in Southern Mexico, blamed on Guatemalan revolutionaries, back in '94.)

Or you could go and see the London Bridge and some pubs that close at 10 p.m. ... or get a crepe from a cart beside the Seine in Paris (which doesn't taste significantly different from a crepe anywhere else)... or sit on a Paris park bench covered in pigeon shit—cultured pigeon shit I'm sure... but white and green lumpy pigeon shit none-the-less.

[Bragi]

4. I'd caution against any solo travel

Most reporters working in Africa are trained in how to stay safe in places such as Ghana, and they travel with local fixers to help them stay safe. So I'd be very careful, and get myself a fixer before exploring the back roads.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

7. Ghana is plenty safe, provided you aren't terrified of the worlds most aggressive jehovahs witnesses

The only place in Africa you might feel safer is Namibia,

[struggle4progress]

5. I hope you plan a daily report about Ghana for DUers, not a daily report about DU for Ghanians

I'd love to hear about your trip to Ghana -- but I'm not excited by the prospect of informing Ghana about our flame-wars here

[Paradoxical]

8. lol. I'll try to keep the locals off DU.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

6. Stick to flying, the trains are a fucking disaster - if their even running

Citylink is as safe as any western airline,