Wandering North

Africa Burkina Faso Burkina Faso Trip 2016

Burkina Faso Village Hospitality

My final full day in Banfora started as did the day before: roosters and coffee. I made a little coffee at the house once i got over my fear of the gas stove, and then returned to the local corner cafe for an espresso. Today all of the men were filling out their racing forms. There are gambling kiosks here everywhere painted with pots of gold and horses head. People (men) bet on horse races in France hoping to win big. They din’t get to see the races, not even on TV. It seems to be a popular pastime. I was asked to assist with picking horses. The only one that jumped out at me was La Baguette Magique.

My guide picked me up on the moto and we headed on a dirt road through fields of sugar cane for Domes de Fabridougou. Similar to the Sindou Peaks i saw yesterday, but more round and less pointy. Still, it was nice to go on the hike. It was so serene and beautiful and hot, but dry. We hiked and sat on the top of a dome and took in the view and i had a smoke, trying to be in the moment as much as possible. On a dome, in Western Burkina Faso.

We left and, much to my surprise, made a stop in my guide’s village, near the domes. This is where he grew up until he was 15 and where most of his family lives, including his mother and daughters. About 25 people live in the small collection of tiny huts in the middle of the fields under a huge tree. Some smoke French, but all spoke in a local, tribal language (not Moore, something else).

This was some serious, rural poverty. Not all the kids has clothes and those they had were in very poor repair. No water or electricity. No phone, no lights, no motorcar. But they were very friendly and hospitable. They swept off a place in the dirt, clearing it from debris, and laid out a straw mat for me to sit on. Several of the women and children started making lunch for my guide and i. While they cooked i sat and watched women tend to the children and the women and children doing each other’s hair in braids. I tried to make some small talk, but mostly it was a lot of smiling.

After that my guide took me to two more unexpected stops. First was a visit to a ritual sacrifice area for the animists, of which he is one. Around a beautiful pool ringed with ricks and trees the ground was thickly carpeted in white chicken feathers. It looked like snow. The trunk of one tall palm tree was thickly hung with ropes, which were tied on to skulls, jaw bones, goat legs, and what looked like the skin of a cow’s face and head. From other trees and from the rock wall around the pool were more ropes dangling bones, skulls, and rocks. All for sacrifice and offerings or protection.

It was really interesting but it really looked like something out of a horror movie. Like if Leatherface and the Blairwitch collaborated on a little outdoor decorating.

Near the sacrifice area was the waterfall, which is a ridiculously picturesque series of small waterfalls and green, tropical pools. Had i been prepared i could have gone swimming. It was so beautiful it looked like something created for a film or Disneyland.

I usually don’t want a guide because i prefer to do things myself, but this was a time when i really could not have seen everything i did had i just been alone.

The ride back to Banfora from the village was terrifying. It was dusk to dark. The road was so bumpy that at times i bounced off my seat. We dodged small goats, a large lizard, and regular size pigs. We brushed shoulders with herds of cows. Not only was it dark and treacherous, but it was windy and the dirt road coughed up a haze of orange. I was certain that i would die, but was delivered to my lodging safely, and quite filthy.

I spent the rest of the evening chatting with Marion, the owner of the house at which i stayed and playing with the many kittens and puppies.

Banfora was delightful. Full of outdoorsy retreats and adventures. The next day i would return to Ouagadougou.

Africa Burkina Faso Burkina Faso Trip 2016

Sindou et Banfora

My second or third day in Banfora began when the roosters started crowing. I showered and headed out in search of coffee. The main, central restaurant here is McDonald’s…that is, a local restaurant with the name but which otherwise bears no similarities to the chain. I went there, as i had had a yummy vegetable couscous the previous day, but it was closed.

So i walked around looking for some place that looked like it served coffee. Success! A little café, typical in that it is basically just a corrugated tin roof, a wooden counter and some chairs. Different in that it had a TV and and espresso machine (most places just boil water for instant coffee). It was a good spot. Men sat around watching boxing and it was on a corner, good for people watching.

After that, Djubrie, my guide, picked me up on the moto and we headed for the country. I’m getting more comfortable with the no helmet thing, but it doesn’t help that the distance markers on the highway are shaped like cemetery headstones.

We had to stop for the police a couple of times to show ID. Apparently this is a recent thing. This area of Burkina Faso is currently in the “orange zone”, meaning that there is some additional threat of violence. A girl i met in Bobo Dioulasso was there working for an NGO and wanted to go to Banfora but was not allowed to go because of the potential for violence. But nothing here seems threatening to me.

We stopped at a village on the way where my guide knew the people. I was shown around. There were women preparing bissap flowers for boiling to make juice, women pounding rice with big wooden poles to separate the husks and then sifting then to get at the rice. Men shelling peanuts. Children chasing chickens and staring at me with curiosity. I learned that the women live in the round huts and men in the square ones. (I don’t know how this plays out for married couples.) Unlike other villages i have been to, there was no electricity. Lots of goats and a few sheep. They were kind enough to let me try my hand at rice pounding and to take some photos and one man filled my bag with fresh peanuts before we left.

We carried on. It was about an hour or so to the peaks, diverting down a dirt road under a canopy of trees. When we arrived we were the only ones there. It was majestic and peaceful, hiking through the wind worn rock towers.

Climbing up we had a terrific view of the green valley.

After that we went to a little camp of huts and a lunch of cucumbers, tomatoes, green peppers, and onions was prepared. We ate and i relaxed in a hammock with a cigar, watching chickens and goats and children playing with sticks and hoops. Very peaceful.

We then rode back to Banfora, stopping at another village where my guide had some family. I sat with some old men, smiling and not able to communicate (they spoke only Moore), while my guide tended to some business. Then we were on our way again.

Back at the house i slept then ventured out into the dark streets in search of dinner. Rice with peanut sauce. The streets were busy with traffic, women still selling fruits and vegetables and every roadside shack had a fire going, with meat and fish set to grill. I spent the rest of the evening at the house, relaxing under the stars with a book.

Africa Burkina Faso Burkina Faso Trip 2016

Hippos!

I left Bobo Dioulasso at 10:15 am on a Rakeita bus for Banfora. About a 1.5 hour journey. The bus had teeny tiny seats and leg room that made a flight on a budget airline seem luxurious. There was AC, but it wasn’t working. Thankfully i had a seat by an open window and no seatmate. The journey (despite being hot – the temperature on the bus was between 37 and 39) was pleasant. Rural scenery flowed by. Fields tilled by oxen, small villages, cotton fields, women washing clothes and pumping water, children playing with odds and ends. I snapped a few pictures through the window along the way.

We were stopped about 4 times by police road blocks. Police came on the bus and checked everyone’s ID each time, but beyond that it was a smooth journey.

In Bobo, the women who owned the hotel arranged me a guide in Banfora, as the sights here are nature ones and you need a vehicle to visit them. His name was Djubrie and he met me at the bus station. Being the only whole person and only of the only women on the bus, i was easy to find. I had my backpack and i walked with him to his vehicle, which was, as i feared, a motorbike. And of course, no helmets are available. This goes against everything i have been raised to believe. You never ride a two wheeled contraption without a helmet, right? But, there i was and everyone else was doing it, so i hopped on. We zipped through the streets, which were very poor. Only the two main drags were paved. The others were soft, sandy, orange dirt with stones and garbage. More people here walked or rode bicycles than in the previous two cities. More goats and sheep wandering about. But we swerved around it all.

My lodging is a private house from which the owners rent out a couple of rooms.i think i am the only one staying here. The owners are not here now but emailed me a welcome and someone was here to let me in. I have a simple room with a fan and shared bathroom. There is a lovely yard, with seating and a patio, plants, an orange tree, a dog with puppies, a cat with kittens, roosters and chickens.

I settled in and then my guide picked me up (again on the motorbike) and we left Banfora and headed to Tengrela. The countryside was lovely. The corn fields had been harvested, but there were green fields of rice and sesame and the air grew cooler as we zipped along. We left the road and went through the trees, near a village and stopped at a huge baobab tree.

Another man appeared and told me the story of this sacred baobab tree. It was in French, but as best as i could glean the tree is over 500 years old and it has a natural door leading to its hollow interior where a long time ago people from the village hid inside the tree during a war and survived. So now the tree is worshiped and there are sacrifices made there regularly and a festival annually.

Yes, i did go inside the tree and it was very large inside. No cookie making elves spotted.

From there we went to Lake Tengrela. It was late in the day and the lake was golden. A couple of fishermen were out, pulling in their nets.

We walked closer to the edge of the lake and then we hear loud grunting noises and saw a spray of water. Then i saw a hippopotamus leap out of the water. Imagine seeing a dolphin jump out of the water. It was like that, but less graceful and the size of a car. Amazing. There appeared to be three hippos. They mostly stayed underwater, but would poke their noses out of the water periodically and sometimes their whole heads. And periodically two of the hippos would jump out of the water and lunge at each other. From other places in the lake we could hear other hippos grunting and splashing. It was incredible. I didn’t want to stand there staring through my camera and ruin the moment so i just held it up next to my face and snapped pictures every time a hippo popped out of the water. Consequently, i have a lot of photos of water, sky, and blurs. But i did get a few decent pictures. The only thing i can compare it to (because it was totally different from seeing the hyenas in Ethiopia) is: you know the part in Jurassic Park where they first see the dinosaurs? That part always chokes me up. This was like that, but way better.

We then sat at a spot near a house, a bit further back from the lake (there people there have set up tables and chairs and sell water and soda) and watched the lake. Again, we saw a giant hippo jump out of the water. The sun began to set and just before it got dark we set off back for the city.
It was an amazing experience.

In the evening i went with Djubrie for dinner and i had a delicious vegetarian pizza. I didn’t care for riding the motorbike at night with few to no streetlights and off the paved roads, but i figured i would do it that one time. Djubrie does not speak any English at all, but he speaks in French slowly and uses small words so i can understand. I am actually impressed by how much French i am able to recall. I speak slowly and awkwardly, but i know a lot of words and can usually make myself understood. I consider it a success.

A perfect day in Banfora.

Africa Burkina Faso Burkina Faso Trip 2016

Day 2 in Bobo Dioulasso

My second day in Bobo Dioulasso was a delight. I had a relaxing breakfast in the garden with my cigar and got some useful advice from Franka, the owner. I walked to a shop, on a lovely path through a garden / park and across a foot bridge over what at certain times of the year may be a small river, but is now a dusty canal that collects garbage.

The shop is one selling crafts all made by women and which supports women’s education and causes. For the first time on this trip i did a bit of shopping, which was fun. I chatted with the girl working there, en francais, and was amused by her big eyed reaction to learning my age. That is a theme here. I tell someone (when asked) how old i am and their eyes widen in shock. They all think i am a lot younger (merci) and 40 is quite old in a country where the lifespan is only about 50 in most parts.

I then visited L’Institute Française, which is an arts and cultural centre, with a gallery, classes, concerts and a cafe. I took in the sculptures, made mostly of refuse, and sat in the garden cafe.

This was quite a treat. The coming weekend was a festival of circus arts and there in the courtyard i got to watch a troop of acrobats from France performing in the trees, while a band of locals performed music. It was great. And i chatted with a Swiss woman and several local guys while having delicious ginger juice and bissap (a juice made from a type of hibiscus flower). I’m amazed i have not gotten sick yet.

After that, i declined three marriage proposals and then went for lunch, which was an event because i tried “to” (that should have an accent circonflexe). To is a paste made from sorghum, millet or corn, which is shaped into white balls. It is kind of like a gelatinous cream of wheat and looks like a breast implant. It is served with sauce and you break off chunks and dip it into the sauce. It’s ok. Tasteless. I had it with an okra sauce, which was pleasant and slippery.

In the evening i napped in the hammock at the hotel, went for another walk to get some dinner (rice and sauce) and smoked a cigar back at the hotel. Bobo Dioulasso has been so pleasant, i am hesitant to leave, but on to Banfora in the morning, where some nature adventures should await.

A few more random photos from Bobo…

Africa Burkina Faso Burkina Faso Trip 2016

Bobo-Dioulasso

I awoke at 4:30 this morning to catch a flight from Ouagadougou to Bobo-Dioulasso, or “Bobo” as it is called with affection. It is the second largest city in Burkina Faso and while it is definitely a city, it has a small town vibe and is entirely pleasant. I politely declined the friendly advances of airport security, piled into a taxi with 5 other people and their mountain of luggage and was delivered to my oasis of a hotel, the Villa Rose. It really is wonderful, comfortable, and surrounded by gardens and statues. As i sit here now, it is dark, with lights in the trees and a background din of squeaking bats.

Anyway, the hotel is owned by a lovely Dutch woman and her Burkinabe husband and they could not be more welcoming or helpful. I also chatted with another Dutch man who is here helping to establish a school.

Bobo is very manageable on foot. Many streets are the usual chaos of motor bikes, bicycles, cars, carts, and pedestrians all sharing the road, but it is tame compared to other places.

I first visited the market, which i liked a lot more than the one in “Ouaga” (as the cool kids call it). Fried caterpillars seems to be a popular item here, which makes me happy i am a vegetarian. I took more photos and received very little hassle from merchants. I find the women here a bit more outgoing than i am used to. They will actually say hello and chat a bit, which is nice. Usually i find when i leave a country almost all of my interactions have been with men.

After the market, i found the bus station and bought a ticket for the day after tomorrow to my next destination. Every successful transaction, especially in a foreign language feels like a victory. My delight amused the ticket seller.

From there i went to the mosque. It is probably the most famous building in Burkina Faso. It is in a style of architecture called Sunado-Sahaelian which has round peaks and sticks protruding all over the outside. This mosque dates from the late 1800s.

As i arrived the call to prayer was underway, so i waited outside until prayers ended snd then i was allowed to enter, which was a treat, as unmarried Burkinabe women are prohibited from entering, but apparently single foreigners are not.

From there i visited the old city, Dioulassoba. People live there and you can walk right into it, but foreigners must take a guide and pay a small fee, which makes sense, because the area is very poor and the guides can explain the history while keeping the looky loos under control. The area is all low, flat, mud buildings and is divided into quarters: Muslim, animist, musicians, and blacksmiths. I visited traditional houses and the place where animals (usually chickens) are ritualistically slaughtered. (The bigger your problem, the bigger the chicken or creature that must meet its fate, i was told.) we saw a blacksmiths studio, a weaver, a carver of masks, and the place where millet beer is made after bring boiled on a fire for three days. In the streets, people carried on with their days, drying corn, pounding farina, doing laundry.

We also went to the river that borders the village. It would be pretty but for the mounds of garbage tossed along the banks. In the river is a swarm of giant catfish. Hideous things, thrashing about in the shallow water. But these are sacred catfish. Almost magical catfish. (My reference to General Sherman from The Simpsons was lost on my guide.) People worship them and talk to them. Apparently, if you want to live in the village you must offer food to them and if the carps eat it, you can stay. If they do not, you are not pure of heart and must leave.

And that was my visit to the village. After that i returned to the hotel and have been enjoying dinner and the evening air. A great day. Tomorrow i shall endeavour to relax.

Africa Burkina Faso Burkina Faso Trip 2016

Ouagadougou

I ended my day in Casablanca by returning the airport to catch my flight to Ouagadougou. I was excited, feeling buoyed by my successful day, but as it grew closer to boarding, i started to get nervous. This happens sometimes, when i am about to go somewhere strange and i am happy about it but also apprehensive. Like, “What am i doing? Why didn’t i just go to [insert pleasant and easy to visit country]?” I remember having that feeling on the flight to Tel Aviv, the bus to Cairo, the flights to Moscow and Addis Ababa. It happens at times when i realize or believe that i am the only traveler on board, that no one speaks English and my words learned in the local language are totally inadequate. It always turns out great, but in those moments i do feel a bit nervous. I wanted to mention that because sometimes i feel like my travel accounts neglect to mention the hard parts about traveling.

But, as i said, it always turns out well.

I arrived in Ouagadougou at 1:30am, shuffled off the plane, onto the tarmac and into an airport that was on par with a small town 1980s bus station. Got my backpack and spotted a guy with my name scrawled on a piece of paper (i try not to mess around with hailing cabs in the middle of the night) and was at my guesthouse shortly thereafter. Sleep.

The next morning i was able to take in the overwhelming charm that is my accommodations – Chez Giuliana – a guesthouse owned by a friendly, older Italian lady. It is a riot of color, with nooks and crannies housing welcoming seating areas and African art. And there is an excellent rooftop patio for breakfasts and cigars.

At breakfast i chatted with a young woman here from New York doing research for her PhD in theatre (with a special interest in puppetry, which is right up my alley). We commiserated about the Trump election victory.

I then took a taxi downtown to explore on foot.

Ouagadougou is busy, dusty, underdeveloped, and fascinating. The streets are often unpaved and are without sidewalks. Motorcycles, bicycles, and beat-up green taxis are everywhere. Lots of roadside markets, hair salons, cell phone stations, gas stations (read: petrol sold from wine & soda bottles at wooden tables), open fires for cooking chicken, fish being gutted, coffee being sold. Women walk in that eternal magic trick of being able to carry huge bundles or baskets of papaya or carafes of water on their heads. People speak French and Moore, very little English.

I definitely stand out, but there is little of the hassle of other places where everyone wants to sell me souvenirs or act as a guide or ask for money. There just isn’t much of a tourist trade here. In the sprawling market there were some craft and jewelry stalls which I was invited to look at, but there wasn’t too much pressure to buy. There were some nice carvings and textiles. As I left, men had put out carpets and were facing east to pray.

Africa Burkina Faso Trip 2016 Morocco

7 Hours in Casablanca

I had two choices when booking my trip to Burkina Faso: a 2 hour layover in Casablanca or a 7 hour layover in Casablanca. The choice seemed obvious. There is a train from the airport and no visa is required, so with a bit of planning i figured i could pull off a quick visit to the city. And so i did.

Everything fell into place. Bag checked straight through, flight on time, no line at immigration, easily found the train which was just pulling into the station. About a half an hour later, past rural areas and industrial zones, i was at Casa Voyageurs Station. Form there i bought a ticket for the tram and took it 5 stops to the old medina, which was the area which most interested me.

The signs were now in French and Arabic. The weather, thankfully, was in the 20s and sunny. Everything was busy. People bustling about dressed in everything from traditional Moroccan clothes, to American outfits. People were selling nuts, water, coconuts, popcorn, balloons, and a collection of odds and ends. And that was even before reaching the medina. Outside the main gate of the medina was a water seller dressed in the traditional costume, offering brass cups of cold water to passersby. I tried to surreptitiously take his picture, but he saw me, smiled, waved me over, posed for a selfie, and then put his hat on my head. He refused to take any money.

Once inside, i was welcomed by every salesman and would-be guide. People were friendly even when i made it clear i was not buying. One fellow walked with me for a while and we chatted about movies and music and he pointed out some historical sights, which was nice, as he did so even after i said i didn’t want a guide and wouldn’t be paying. A couple of guys weren’t so great and there was a bit of ‘accidental’ groping, but it wasn’t the end of the world; i admonished them harshly and they scurried off. I had a good time, wandering the alleys past people selling produce, spices, clothing, house wears, and carpets. People were gutting fish, tending to chickens, cutting hair, smoking, and drinking coffee. Tucked into the commercial enterprises were mosques, cafes, and doors and passageways leading where i know not.

I tried to keep track of where i turned so i could find my way out of the labyrinth. That was a folly, but eventually (through nothing but luck) i made my way outside the wall and back to where i started. I thought about taking a taxi to see the big mosque but i was mindful of the time, so instead i just wandered around some more and then sat down on the patio of a nice cafe, where i smoked a Bolivar Belicoso Fino and watched the sun set and the rise of what i understand to be some sort of super moon.

Back at the airport, via the same route in reverse, through customs and awaiting my flight. From Brussels to Morocco and now to Burkina Faso. Big day. Posts to follow from Ouagadougou (internet permitting).

Belgium Burkina Faso Trip 2016 Europe

Brussels

I arrived in Brussels at 8:30 pm with my backpack and handwritten directions which were to lead me from the central train station to my hotel, but something went askew (i think a street disappeared. It couldn’t be that my directions were flawed.) so i spent the next 45 minutes making false starts and returning to station to set off again. Finally two young men unloading an art exhibit into a car (or stealing art, i can’t be sure) offered to help and pointed me in the right direction.

First impressions of Brussels. It looks properly European. Cobblestones, old churches, bicycles, men in scarves, accordion players, cigarettes, pretty buildings, and squares centred around statues of men posing nobly. The area my hotel is in (which is about a 5 minute walk from the train station, notwithstanding the 45 minutes it took me to find it) is great. It is lined with waffle shops, cafes, and chocolatiers. The streets actually smell like chocolate in spots. Plus, my hotel is also about 5 minutes from La Grand Place and walking distance to everything else.

The downside to my hotel (le hotel madeleine) is that it is almost sleazy. It’s fine, really. Clean and cheap and the staff are good, but my room is literally an old bed, a wardrobe, which i can’t open due to the proximity to the bed, and a sink. I am sharing a toilet. There is no shower or bath – not even a shared one – there just isn’t one. But there is the sink, so sponge baths it is. As a bonus, under the circumstances, it is freezing in Brussels; it was minus 1 when i arrived, so i can get away without bathing for a couple, days.

I had only two nights and a day in Brussels, so i set off that first night to get the lay of the land. I walked the streets which were busy with young people drinking, smoking, and eating sweet treats. I easily found La Grand Place, which was a glow in warm floodlights, but freezing in every other respect. The square was crammed with people posing with selfie sticks and waffle props.

I kept wandering around and finally gave in to hunger and cold and had a waffle with nutella, which was good, but i couldn’t finish it and i think it literally killed off my craving for anything sweet. There really are waffle shops everywhere. Although apparently proper waffles are served only with powdered sugar, the ones in the tourist area are piled high with whipped cream, chocolate, and fruit. I’m pretty sure you would have to be high to eat one. I have been informed that a proper waffle is 10 squares by 10 squares (someone should tell the people at eggo).

The next morning, i rose early, had a coffee, and took a stroll through a local super market, picking up a small baguette and a small round of cheese for a breakfast. I picked the cheese wanting something i didn’t recognize and something local. It turned out i picked the world’s stinkiest cheese. It was alternately amazing and gag inducing (but mostly good). Unfortunately, despite multiple hand washings, i smelled like that cheese for the rest of the day. Maybe i still do and have just been desensitized to it.

I don’t have a ton of revelations about Brussels. It’s nice. It’s Europe. The coffee is good, the architecture is pretty and impressive. The cafes are historic and beautiful. But i wasn’t in love with it. It isn’t on par with cities like Rome or Paris, Lisbon, or London. But there is enough to see. I went to the comic strip museum, which i very much enjoyed. Interesting, fun, and not too big. I learned a lot about Tin Tin and saw Smurfs represented.

I visited a Catholic church, i bought a ridiculous but adorable toque to protect myself from the cold, and i rode the subway.

The subway ride was specifically to visit Brussels’ local La Casa Del Habano (cigar shop), which was in a posh shopping area of the city where the streets were patrolled by soldiers carrying machine guns and pistols and wearing very snug camouflage trousers and jaunty berets. I half expected that at any moment they would drop their weapons and break into some sort of choreographed dance routine.

Anyway, i made it to La Casa, picked a couple of cigars from their excellent humidor and settled into the comfy smoking lounge. The lounge was busy and every time a man entered, he went around the room and shook each person’s hand and said ‘bonjour’ individually (those people who were known to him got a kiss on the cheek). I am not accustomed to this level of formal politeness. I must say though, my “bonjours” are exceptional now.

Donald Trump’s recent election victory is the #1 news story. People bring it up when when they hear me speak and assume I am American. They share my disappointment and disbelief.

In the evening, i wandered more, had dinner at a nice Thai restaurant (Belgian food is not so veg-friendly – even the frites are cooked in lard) and then i went to a bar. Not just any bar, but a goth type bar called The Coffin (en Francais). It has a cool decor that is right up my alley. Black and graffiti-ed with red or UV lighting, skeletons, bats, and coffins decorate the place and they play rock and metal music. It is almost perfect. As i walked in, dressed in my usual cold weather traveling outfit (all black with army type boots, leather jacket with metal studs, black hair and eyeliner), i felt right at home…except that the place has become something of a tourist attraction and most of the people in there had blue jeans and polar fleece jumpers or khakis and ball caps. So that was a bit disappointing, but it’s still a nifty bar. How often can you sit at a coffin and drink from a skull? Not often enough.

This morning i had coffee on the square. Cold and rainy now. Then i swiftly made it back to the airport for my flight to Casablanca. I passed the time having coffee with a lady from rural Belgium who is traveling to Morocco for a week exploring on horseback with a tour.

Right now i am on board a Royal Air Maroc flight to Casablanca. From there i will fly to Ouagadougou, but first: a 7 hour long layover in Casablanca, during which i hope i will be able to take the train into the city for a quick walk around the old medina and whatever else i have time for. But it isn’t certain. I’ll assess the situation at the airport and make sure i have enough time to get through customs and back without missing my connecting flight. Even if i don’t get to leave the airport…I’m still that much closer to Burkina Faso!
Onwards.

Africa Burkina Faso Burkina Faso Trip 2016

The Journey Begins to Burkina Faso

On board a flight to Brussels, via London. Neither one of these is my final destination, of course. London is just a brief layover. Brussels was to be the same, but having never been there, i decided to turn it into a two night/one day visit on each end of the trip. Just a brief stop to enjoy a bit of Europe before i carry on to the focus of my holiday: Burkina Faso. Since everyone keeps asking me why Burkina Faso (and where it is), I’ll start there.

I don’t have a really good reason for choosing Burkina Faso. I wanted to go somewhere in West Africa and Burkina Faso caught my attention. It is small, off the radar of most tourists, and is known for being a friendly country with a good arts and music scene. Plus, in what really was the deciding factor, the capital is Ouagadougou (“wa-ga-doo-goo” go on, say it. It’s most enjoyable). How could i not go to a place called Ouagadougou? Right? And so off i go.

Burkina Faso is located just under Mali and next to Niger in West Africa. It was called Upper Volta until the 1980s, at which time it received its new name, which means “land of upright men” or “land of honest men” in the local language. It is usually ranked as one of the poorest counties in the world. Low literacy rates, frequent coups, occasional kidnappings, and in January of this year a particularly bad terrorist attack, so these things might keep the tourists at bay. Plus, there really aren’t any sites of note in the country. Some mud mosques i am interested in, sprawling markets, wildlife, and some hiking, but there is nothing famous. Everything i have read about it from past visitors has been positive. I don’t know exactly what i’ll see or do, but i am excited to find out.

But first, a day or so in Brussels, and then i am hoping to make the most of a layover in Casablanca and get to see something of the city, but we’ll see how things go at the airport.

I am so delighted to be off. As i write this i am flying to London. The guy in front of me has his seat all the way back and the girl next to me has thrown up twice, but i am happy just to be here. I shall report again from Brussels.

Asia China Nepal Trip 2016

Shanghai

One of the things i was delighted about in terms of my flights on this trip was that i had a 12 hour, daytime layover in Shanghai. For some reason I’ve never been that excited about visiting China but the pictures of Shanghai that i had seen all looked very nice and i seemed like an ideal spot for a long layover. The really great thing is that China has a 144 hour layover thing where if you have a long layover on the same ticket you can enter the country without a visa. I expected to be hassled at the border, but i was not; i only had to show my ticket onward. The other really great thing is that the airport is connected to the city by the Maglev train – the world’s fastest train, topping out at 301km per hour.

It is more expensive than the slower means of reaching the city, but when time is short, why would you not ride the world’s fastest train? Finding my way and getting tickets was a breeze and before i knew it my train ride was over.

I switched from the Maglev at the end stop to the subway and got off a stop 2 blocks from the Bund in central Shanghai. Success!

The weather in Shanghai was a bit of a shock after blisteringly hot and oppressively humid Delhi. It was cool and raining and the clouds were socked in. It felt like…Vancouver. My first order of business was to get an umbrella. Fortunately the subway ejected me on a decidedly commercial street – high-rises, neon signs, familiar retailers, and less familiar shops all unpleasantly (but interestingly) crowded with shoppers.

Armed with my cartoonishly tiny (child’s?) umbrella i walked to the Bund to get the postcard view of the Pudong district across the river. The Bund is a stately strip along the river, lined with a pleasant pedestrian walk and large, European looking buildings. Across the river is Pudong, which is notable for its conglomeration of modern, almost futuristic looking buildings. Unfortunately, my view was obscured by the clouds, but it still was a pleasant sight.

On a nicer day i might have walked longer along the Bund, but in the rain i decided to take my pictures and head elsewhere. Following my now-soggy map, i easily found my way to Yu Gardens and the surrounding neighbourhood. It was a good walk. I passed through a park, past a bamboo ‘forest’, past small shops, down narrow lanes which were not picturesque, but were filled with interesting dingy eateries and lines of street vendors grilling up meat, fish, tentacles, and tofu.

Exiting the temple complex i found my way to Yu Gardens. At this point it was still raining and everything was so crowded that the gardens didn’t have the serenity i imagined, but they were very beautiful, even as I was constantly assaulted by umbrellas.

From the gardens I was ejected into a super busy area filled with shops and restaurants, super crowded, and surrounded by traditional style buildings. It was a fun area to wander around in. I was starving at this point though so I didn’t linger too long in any shops, but tried to find a place to eat. This proved difficult, as I speak no Mandarin or Cantonese (and for the layover I hadn’t learned anything aside from hello and thank you) and i could not determine what, if anything was vegetarian. Almost every place I went into sold dumplings, which are a vegetarian’s nightmare – doughy mystery bags of (likely) meat. Or there were vendors selling things on sticks that might have been fish, meat, tofu, or gluten, but I couldn’t tell.

Finally i found a place that was buffet style, not as in ‘all you can eat’ but as in i could walk around from station to station and help myself to plates of pre-made food, so i could select identifiable tofu cubes, broccoli, and mushrooms. None of it was particularly good or cheap, but it was filling.

After that i wandered aimlessly. Had i had more time there were other areas i would have checked out, but i started to get nervous about missing my flight (and it was getting dark) so i walked a bit (still in the rain) before heading back to the airport. Shanghai didn’t strike me as a place i would want to purposely holiday in (it just didn’t capture my imagination), but it was a great place for a layover and i would love to have another there (hopefully with better weather). I am aware that some of my lack of enthusiasm for Shanghai was likely due to the weather and the fact that prior to arriving i had gone without sleep for a night, so i was exhausted. A rested me on a sunny day might have had a more favourable account of the same visit.

And with that, another trip concluded and planning for the next to begin.