For this week’s Stamped, Chef Obubu walks us through her week-long trip to Ghana with her friend. She talks about how she went there for her friend's book launch but ended up doing so much more in the beautiful city of Accra.
This is her story, as told to Chukwunonso Emelumadu, Writer at Backdrop.
In August of 2019, my friend Amara Kanu had a book (Healthy Living With Amara Kanu) coming out, and she had planned to have a book launch in Ghana. She wanted me to go with her because she prefers travelling with a friend; also, I’m usually the life of the party. We stayed there for about a week, and I can only describe the entire trip as the perfect blend of business and leisure.
In Accra, we stayed at Roots Apartment Hotel, a nice guest house that was close to where the book launch was scheduled to hold. We planned our trip perfectly; the book launch was towards the end of our stay, so we had enough time to do all the things we wanted to do beforehand.
We spent the first few days visiting our friends that live in Ghana. We had not seen some of these people for a really long time, so it was really nice to catch up and have a laugh.
I took out an entire day to go shopping because nothing beats shopping in a different country. We also went to a couple of radio stations that had invited us to give interviews — people seem to like hearing me talk about food, and I love doing it.
The book launch was held at House of Makeye, a really lovely interior decoration store. Amara chose that space because of the beautiful scenery, and it was indeed beautiful. The event was an absolute success: the turnout was really good, and it went exactly how we wanted it to go. We got a caterer for the event, and she served the best small chops I have ever eaten. Ghanaians should really redirect the energy they use to push their Jollof agenda to push their small chops agenda because it’s an argument they can actually win.
The day I was going back was probably the most exciting day I had in Ghana. When I go on trips, I usually book the return ticket for the latest flight of the day so I can spend the most time possible there. I also do it because I prefer to land at night and go straight to bed. I don’t like the alternative: landing during the day when there’s light everywhere, and the city is still busy.
So, on the last day, we went to Labadi beach in the morning to have a chill time by the water, but we walked into an enjoyable workout session with the locals. I love being on the beach, and I always look out for where the best beaches are in whatever city I travel to. I’m not an adventure junkie; I would rather be on the beach trying out cocktails than rock climbing or bungee jumping.
When we left the beach, we headed to Moka Restro's Cafe because we had heard really good things about it, and it did not disappoint. There, I had the best pasta I’ve ever had. I am usually allergic to spaghetti, so I try my best to steer clear of pasta in general, but my friend told me how amazing the Chicken Alfredo is, so I had to try it. This turned out to be the best decision ever because I absolutely loved it; it was like creamy heaven in my mouth. I can’t wait to go back to Accra and try it again.
I really enjoyed the trip to Ghana, my favourite thing about it was how organised everything was. Nigerians and people who live in Nigeria will understand why I’m making that seem like a big thing. I can’t wait to go back to Ghana; I’ll probably visit a different city next time so I can really explore the country.
