TOURING ACCRA The Scene: Forecourt of La Palm Beach Hotel. An air-conditioned bus sits waiting. A group of American tourists tumble out of the hotel and clamber into the bus, loud, brash and in Hawaii shirts, straw hats and shades, looking as pink as flamingoes. Bemused driver takes off, bemused. Tourist A: So, driver, which tourist attractions are you taking us to today? Driver: Ah, sir, it’s a little secret. You would love it. Just sit back and enjoy the ride… Tourist B: I know, I know, you naughty driver. I have heard it on the news. It is the Circle Interchange Project, non? Heard it on CNN, man. Tourists Exclaim in Unison: Yeah Yeah!! Take us there! We’d love to see this !!! Driver: Alright alright, my secret is out, let’s go. Tourists giggle excitedly as bus moves along the Ring Road and they take in the sights of Labone Junction, Osu Danquah Circle, Paloma etc. Finally the bus hits the crest of the small hill at BusyInternet and begins to descend towards Circle Overhead. The Interchange Project looms into view ahead. Tourist A: Oh my Gawd, look at that! This must be it!!! (yanks out his camera and snaps away rapidly) Others follow suit, until bus comes to a stop underneath the old overhead. Tourists clamber out and gaze in admiration at the cranes and concrete pillars jutting into the sky. Clouds of dust swirl around. Iron rods lie on the ground, as men in hard hats winch things into place, twisting metal bits here and there. Tourists from Japan, Singapore, UK and Germany mill around, taking pictures and marveling at this engineering feat as they follow a tour guide taking the large group around. Soon they arrive at the Odaw River bridge close to the Neoplan Station. Guide: Ladies and Gentlemen, flowing beneath this wonderful bridge is the Odaw river. As you can see, it is rendered vibrant and colourful by bits of polythene bags and other waste material. You can see in the distance a man squatting with his trousers removed as he deposits organic bodily material into the river. All this ensures a perfect ecosystem and ensures Accra remains at the top of the tourism hotspot list. Tourists pose for selfies and then load them unto social media and send them to friends. Then they go back to exploring the interchange, yapping excitedly and taking photos. Three hours later they are done, coated in a film of fine dust and spluttering as they climb back into their bus. Tourist C: Wow, what an experience! Gee, I have never seen anything like this before, y’know? Am definitely coming back next year. Driver, do you know if any more interchanges are to be built? Driver: Oh yes. Under the Better Ghana Agenda, the government intends to build one in every district every month, so there is plenty to see. Tourist D: Ah. Lovely. Where is the next one? Driver: Bole Bamboi Tourist E: That’s cool. Y’all coming back next month? All: You bet we are. How about Cape Coast Castle, Elmina Castle, Kakum National Park etc. Don’t you want to see that? Tourist F: Wharrever! Not interested. The interchange is da bomb, you know? Tourists break into clapping and singing the NDC anthem composed by Jewel Ackah as they make their way wearily back to their hotel. THE END
Posted on: Mon, 22 Dec 2014 18:32:56 +0000
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