Ghana - Makola Market

My Kenya Airways flight from Monrovia to Accra

We still board the plane the old fashioned way

After slightly over 3 months of living in Liberia and I was ready for a trip back home to India but before I did that I had to stop over in Ghana to go to the South African High Commission for what I though was to receive my visa to visit South Africa during the World Cup in June. It rather turned out to be quite an interesting trip of Ghana.

The welcome sign at Kotoka
Int'l Airport, Accra, Ghana

Immigration at Accra airport. I was not supposed to
take a picture but still...here it is :)

Sea Food Platter...not a bad first meal in Ghana

Ghanian blackberries

Eating Kenkey-Ground pepper,
tomatoes, onions fried fish & cassava

Independence Arch

As is usual for Liberia we had to walk from the terminal to the airplane and board the plane on foot which is quite an experience even after doing it a few times. I guess it’s just a reminder of how flying by plane was in days gone by.

The service of the Kenyan Airways flight from Monrovia to Accra was pretty decent and just about 15 times better than most of the American carriers (except SouthWest). ok, 15 might be a number I just threw out but you get the point. Traveling in the US, I always got a feeling on the American carriers (especially American Airlines) that the flight attendants felt they were doing us a massive favor by doing what they were supposed to be doing. Weird how customer service works in the country that prides itself on treating its customers right.

Upon arrival at the Accra airport I was greeted by a signboard saying “Akwaaba” which means welcome in the local Akan language. Since one of my main objectives of being in Ghana was to secure my visa, I headed straight to the South African High Commission with the building exciting of getting my visa to visit South Africa in June. It would be a massive understatement if I said that I was disappointed to know that all I was doing was applying for the visa. All along I though that I will be walking out with a stamped visa but it turns out I was only applying for it in person. Once I return back to Liberia I will have to send my passport back to Ghana for getting it stamped.

Ghanian kids (with two love birds)...I had to
oblige with my picture with them as well

Black Star Square with Ghanian flag

Ghana's Coat of Arms

Entrance to Accra's Makola market

Taxi going to Benin and Nigeria

Locally prepared sea food

That was disappointing for sure but I promised myself not to get bogged down by that and instead take the opportunity to explore Ghana while I was there.

As soon as I got done with the visa application I hit the streets to check Accra out. I visited a few souvenir shops and it was quite interesting that the vendors actually offered to share their food with me. The first place I was offered some Ghanaian blackberries (which are different from regular blackberries we know and taste like Tamarind) while at the second place I was offered a traditional meal called Kenkey (ground pepper, tomatoes, onions with lightly fried fish along with cassava which provides the carbs). Walking further I landed at a place called Makola market. It’s the main flea market in Accra and it’s ENORMOUS.

Down below you will see numerous pictures from the market place but they don’t quite do justice to the market so I have also put up a video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zp06R5DgmwU) that I took just walking through the market. It was a surreal experience walking through that place and if I could compare that experience to something then I would say it was very similar to a crowded market place in Mumbai, India and Masaya, Nicaragua but probably on a much bigger scale.

Chaotic streets of Makola market

Money changers from Niger

Snails...a local delicacy

Glum woman selling crabs

Accra mall

The affluent setting of the mall is a world away
from Makola market

There were people everywhere and they were selling everything from snails for eating to household appliances like washing machines and refrigerators as well as travel services to the neighboring countries. There is one picture of a travel service to Benin (which is a country bordering Nigeria to the east) and Lagos in Nigeria. It was like a one stop shop for the poor-middle class Ghanians. People were buying, selling, bargaining, loading, unloading, exchanging currencies, and just about everything you can imagine.

There is also a picture of a guy from whom I got my dollars exchanged to Ghanaian Cedi. I got a way better deal from him that the regular currency exchange places in Accra, however with it being such a crowded place it’s not probably the best place to be carrying a lot of cash. Evidently, most of the currency exchange guys are not Ghanaian, majority of them come from a country north west of Ghana called Niger.

One poignant picture however has left a lasting impression on me. The picture is of a lady selling crabs with her child by her side. I see a lot of sadness and hopelessness in it and every time I look at it I am reminded of the hardships that some people have to go through to make a living. Even though she probably will make a fraction of the money that most of us make, she did not accept the tip I gave her for taking the picture. As I write this story I have the picture open on my computer screen and feel as though I should have gone back and forced her to take the tip, if not for herself they at least for the kid.

Just for emphasis I have included a few pictures from the biggest shopping mall in Ghana. The mall is so good that if it was anywhere in the US, it would not seem out of place. It’s pretty interesting to see that both the Makola market as well as the mall are so similar yet so different. The Makola market is for the poor and middle class denizens of Accra while the mall is for the affluent but they serve the same function of being a place where people buy and sell stuff on a grand scale. This dichotomy also applies to Ghana as a country. It is certainly on par with some of the developing countries I have visited with decent infrastructure and a fairly stable government along with favorable conditions for business while at the same time there is a lot of poverty and issues with the distribution of economic development between the urban and rural areas.


That is about it for Accra. Personally, even though it is a fairly nice city to live in i did not find a great deal on places to visit and see around the city itself. I will continue the blog tomorrow by sharing my travel experience of places I visited outside of Accra.