Most of the vehicles in Ghana have arrived here from somewhere else, after they ended their ‘useful life’ there. This one is clearly from Korea based on the stencilling.
Using older vehicles is a good form of re-use, and is cost effective, but it also means breakdowns are common. Repairs commonly occur along the side of the road, although I did see one tow truck a few days ago.
As you can see from some of the earlier photos, main roads in Ghana are often quite good, paved with asphalt,. Holes and cracks are common though, and are often patched with dirt rather than asphalt. Seeing a steamroller being used to tamp down dirt patches is a bit surreal, but I’m guessing some road engineer did do some analysis on this at one point. We have seen it in more than one place anyway…
Many of the side roads are considerably worse, without a proper road-bed, drainage or grading.
Ghana is a very religious nation, with many Christian churches present, especially evangelical and charismatic denominations. Many businesses names have religious connotations, which can make for some interesting advertising.
I’m not entirely sure what this business is selling, but it sure sounds interesting.
As with other tropical countries we’ve visited, markets are on the streets, with small huts at the roads edge used for more expensive merchandise, and mobile vendors walking around and hawking their wares.
At stop lights, toll booths and other stops, vendors approach cars offering anything from food and produce to shoes, coat racks and sun glasses.
Outside of town, people set up along the road, either in permanent stands or just sit with their goods. This was one stand among many selling identical looking clay pots and wooden mortars along one stretch of highway.
In areas growing lots of palm trees, palm oil was popular at the roadside too.
There are many more taxis on the road in Ghana, if you see a car, there’s a good chance it will be a taxi.
Some taxis are packed with more interesting goods than others.
And even with all the taxis, hand carts are still frequently used for larger goods.
Painting a house is expensive, and companies will offer to paint the house as long as they can decide on the color scheme, then use it for advertising.
Fan makes yummy frozen treats which are sold by bicycle with a freezer compartment on the handlebars. My favorite is the Fan yogo, Becky likes the vanilla ice cream better.
And yes, the kids are cute in Ghana too, with many of them waving or shouting as we pass by.