Jaunted - gh

Medical Tourism Booms In Ghana, Of All Places

amandak — 2009-11-03T08:59:21-05:00

The west African country of Ghana hasn't been too high up on our list of wanna-visits, although its position improved a lot when we heard Ghana is the second highest producer of cocoa - maybe that chocolate bar we just downed came out of Ghana. Anyway, Ghana is actually going for a different target now: the health tourist.

It turns out that quite a lot of Ghanaians get medical degrees overseas, and one way of enticing them back to Ghana has been to open a bunch of top-class medical clinics. Sadly, of course, the average Ghanaian citizen can't afford to visit such a clinic—but a tourist can, and for a normal tourist, the prices are bargain basement while the care is excellent.

Cosmetic surgery is high on the list of tourist-wants, although simpler treatments like massages and detox are popular too. So far, the foreign visitors seem to be mostly the wealthy from other African countries, but when celebrities start getting boob-jobs in Ghana, you can say that you read it here first.

Related Stories:
· Ghana Targets Health Tourism Boom [BBC]
· Ghana Travel Guide [Jaunted]

[Photo: bagaball]

The Obamas Make A Solemn Stop At A Ghana Slave Castle

JetSetCD — 2009-07-13T13:34:17-05:00

After a happy few days in Italy, making gelato and visiting with antiquity, the Obamas headed south to Ghana for President Obama's first official visit to Africa. It was a solemn trip, and Obama chose Ghana over Kenya—where he has family ties—because of Ghana's dedication to democracy.

The whole family made the trip along with Barack, and Michelle and the girls even accompanied him on a tour of Cape Coast Castle, which, in the 1600s, "served as Britain's West Africa headquarters for the trans-Atlantic slave trade, which saw European powers and African chiefs export millions in shackles to Europe and the Americas." It's not exactly a tourist attraction either, unless you're set on re-tracing your own family history through the slave trade.

Obama's visit not only to Ghana but to the slave trading headquarters is poignant; it illustrates, in one stop, how far the world has come in shedding racism and taking up equality.

Related Stories:
· Obama's visit to fort a 'full-circle experience' [MSNBC]
· Dear President Obama [Globe and Mail]
· The Sort-of Return of the Prodigal Son: President Obama Arrives in Accra, Ghana [Obama Foodorama]
· When In Rome, It's Gelato And G8 For The Obamas [Jaunted]
· Presidential Travel Coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: AP via HuffPost]

Back-Alley Bites

AVB — 2006-02-01T14:29:59-05:00

Coverage of African cuisine here on Jaunted isn't limited to Nigerian pepper soup. Today's New York Times samples Ghanaian street food. As restaurant culture has yet to take hold on much of the continent, street food remains the most accessible way to sample the local flavors of many African nations. According to the article, here are some rules of thumb:

Head for places where Africans are eating on the run, like bus stations and markets, since that's where selection is widest. More customers means the food will be fresher.

After that, examine the vendor--if their hair is braided, are the rows nice and neat or messy? Nervous nibblers might want to avoid the sketchier looking vendors, but more adventurous gastrotourists are free to sample everything.

The food on offer sounds quite tasty. Kebabs are dusted with a rub of peanut flour and hot peppers before they are grilled, and stews are served inside banana leaves. Sure beats a dirty water hot dog.

Got a tip for good street food, in Ghana or anywhere else? Send it in to tips@jaunted.com

[Image via Demele/Flickr]