Backpacking in Africa Jonny Blair
** THIS IS MY REAL ARTICLE. DO NOT ACCEPT FAKES LIKE VANESSA LEE (FAKE NAME FROM “TUMBLR”) WHO HAS STOLEN IT. YOU ARE GOING TO POLICE AND THEN TO COURT. Burundi baby! We stayed at the Urban Lodge Hotel in Bujumbura in Burundi and during our short time there, we also visited the gorgeous Lake…
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Togoville is a lakeside town in southern Togo, lying on the northern shore of Lake Togo which we visted as part of our trip to Togo and Benin in 2018. It was originally known as Togo, then Togoville and later of course is how the country of Togo took its name. Togo took its name…
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“It really really really could happen” – Damon Albarn. One of the most remarkable sights in Togo is Lake Togo. It is a natural lake in the east of the country. While staying in Coco Beach Hotel just East of Lome, I organised a guided tour with well known tour guide Jeremies. Jeremies and our…
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On my latest west Africa trip, we visited Togo and Benin while also veering across the border (yet unvisiting) Ghana. In Benin, we visited 4 main cities – ee toured Cotonou in some detail as well as backpacking the UNESCO world heritage site at Abomey, the slave history at Ouidah and the capital city of…
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“Fly me down to capital city in the sun”- Noel Gallagher. It came as more of a shock to my travel friend Malina than me that the muddy, agricultural hub known collectively as Porto Novo is the capital of Benin. I guess I kind of expected it. Having witnessed some unusual capital cities on my…
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“You’re turning every modern theory on its head” – Super Furry Animals. Travel is a journey that takes us to many different places around the world. Not all of them are inspiring, some of them are painful memories, some are bad timing, some bad luck, some bad judgement. Many of them are surprising places that…
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“I bless the rains down in Africa” – Toto. I toured the vivacious capital of Togo with my Polish friend Malina. It was my first time in Togo, my 7th time in Africa and it was a whirlwind trip where we also toured Lake Togo, Coco Beach and Togoville. On the same trip, we border…
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“Under neon loneliness; motorcycle emptiness” – Manic Street Preachers. Benin’s largest city, Cotonou is a sprawling fast-paced affair drenched in predictable West African mayhem. There is no exit door, once you’ve dumped your backpack in this monster. Don’t even think about it. Despite not holding capital city status, it’s the blood sucking beast of the…
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“We sat and watched the sun go down. We picked a star before we lost the moon. Youth is wasted on the young; before you know it’s been and gone too soon ” – Robbie Williams. Togo is for sure one of the world’s hidden gems. It’s a country which inexplicably loses visiting numbers to…
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I’m posting this not just to tell our story but to help fellow tourists who visit Benin. There are scams, liars, cheats, frauds and rip off merchants all over the world but West Africa is notorious for it. We were backpacking in Benin recently and here is just one example of a liar, cheat and…
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