Good To Be Back!
Nairobi, Kenya is one of my favourite cities in Africa. Her cozy climate reminds me of a town I grew up in Ghana. It feels so good to be back in Nairobi. Now I feel enabled. With that said, let me go and get some stuff done.
Happy New Year
Using this blog to wish everyone a Happy New Year. Twenty twelve, let’s see what you have to unveil.
My mantra this year is to write more. So be it!
Google Maps Team Launched Driving Directions For Africa – Awesome
The Google maps team finally launched driving directions for Africa. This is something I have been waiting for, for sometime now. Finally its here. :-)
http://google-africa.blogspot.com/2010/04/google-maps-for-africa-gets-better.html
I like this part of the post about the launch.
So the next time you are in Ghana driving from Kotoka International Airport to Hotel Novotel in Victoria Borg, Accra or you just want to drive from Nairobi to Kampala, visit Google Maps and allow us to help you get to your destination.
Now no more clumsy directions, like we usually do here in Ghana, which goes like, Yeah, go left( its not far ), turn right, you will see a plantain seller at the corner, then go further down the street, there is a house painted black, by pass it and go further until you see a “shoe shine” sitting on the other side of the street. Ask around if anyone knows Mr. Pee Jay. He is popular. Once someone says yeah, I know Mr. Pee Jay, that means you are at the right neighbourhood. Then start looking for a house painted red with yellow gate and green walls. Oh gosh, this kind of directions gives me a migraine. By the time the direction is done, you’ve even forgotten where to start from.
To satisfy my curiosity. I tested the map direction. Work so well. I can see the direction form Kotoka Airport to Dansoman where I live. Super cool.
Kudos to Google Maps team for bringing this to us. It will save some of us tons of time.
Away From Home
Kumasi road
I got really tired of Accra because of the scorching sun and the unbearable humidity. So I decided to geek out at a different location and headed straight to Sunyani, Brong Ahafo. Also I have had this pending motorcycle trip to Sunyani for a while, so I decided to do it this time.
Me on the motorcycle
On Wednesday morning, I packed up my backpack, took my camera and G1 Android powered( courtesy Google Ghana ) phone and rode all the way from Accra to Sunyani. It was my longest motorcycle trip. The distance about is about 383.01 km (238.0 mi). Made few stops on the way for photos. I saw lots of accidents on the road, even saw a fresh accident, involving two vehicles, veered off the road into the bush. This got me a bit scared but I was so determined to get to my destination safely.
Linda Dor
My first stop was at the famous Linda Dor restaurant on the Accra – Kumasi road. There, I rested for about 15 minutes, stretched , peed, jumped back onto the bike and headed straight to Nkwakwa. On the Nkwakwa road, I saw this huge mountain with masts on it. Caught my eyes so I decided to document it.
Nkwakwa
From Nkwakwa rode about half an hour to a fuel filling station to top up the tank. From there, I rode straight up to kumasi where I rode through Kejetia finding my way to the Sunyani road. I rested in Kumasi for about an hour, drinking and socializing with the local people I met at the bar. I also charged up my dead phones to get them back to function.
Kumasi
After resting in Kumasi, the second trip started. I rode into the night to Sunyani. I made it to Sunyani about 2 hours. On the road, I got high way night riding experience. Riding in the night wasn’t fun at all if you ask me. Vision wasn’t so clear ,so riding became extremely dangerous. There were lots of insects on the road. They got tricked by the headlights, thinking they have got a place to linker on but rather got busted on the helmet and the riding jacket. If you are very sensitive to slight pains, then night riding isn’t for you. You might scream and if you don’t take care, you might lose your balance.
I documented my trip on Google maps using My tracks to record the journey.
View Sunyani Trip in a larger map
The trip was a good one. Worth the effort and the money spent on the journey. Sunyani’s weather was much bearable. It was a bit colder compared to Accra’s and I managed to touch base with a long time friend. She was really happy to see me after 3 years not seeing each other. The only issue I have in Sunyani was the poor connectivity but hey, better than nothing. I managed to get down at work. I’m going to do this again but a different location.
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