Ludo with no back or home kick. Oh Jamaica!

Ghanaians do not need a visa to visit Jamaica. Somehow, Jamaicans do need a visa to visit Ghana.

There is no direct flight from Ghana to Jamaica. If you would like to travel there from Ghana, you need to transit and a transit visa may be required for your route. The most common transit is through the US and we all know the wahala with getting the visa.

Schengen states may be more ‘liberal’ with issuing transit visas because:

• Your visa is issued for the exact duration unlike the US visa
• The border control is very strict. There is almost no way you can exit the Schengen area on a transit visa.

Keep note! When transiting through two Schengen states, you need a short stay visa! This is because, once you exit one Schengen area, you can freely move through the other states. You will no longer be in transit.

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Jamaica is indeed beautiful! The people, the vibe, the ocean (of course!), the fruits, basically everything.

Some of my memorable events

CATCH & COOK FISHING

I’ve never tried fishing. My friend’s dad taught me the basics and  i caught my very first fish. It was so tiny so we couldn’t fry it :(. The fish were also clever (or maybe i was just terrible), you never feel it when they grab the bait.

I can’t see myself too..hahhahah. But that is the fish i caught.

OVERSPEEDING

Jamaicans drive on the left like in South Africa or Namibia. Ghanaians on the other hand, drive on the right and I would say it wasn’t so difficult driving on the opposite side. My friend, Monique, had to guide me a couple of times when turning into another lane.

We took turns driving and there was this time, the police stopped us for overspeeding.  I think i was driving 110km in a 60km zone on a very good and clear road. Before being stopped, i was complaining to my friends why a Mercedes ahead of us was driving so slow. I took it upon myself to show the driver of the Mercedes how to use a clear road using our rented Toyota Yaris.

About 10 or so meters after overtaking the Mercedes, here was the police, waiting for us with their speed gun. We got pulled over and were saved from paying a fine because I was a foreigner. I don’t know how much it would have cost but I’m glad we were not fined.

All speed limits were obeyed after this incident. 🙂

COOKING

I got to cook some Jamaican food!

Playing Ludo

Have you heard of a Ludo game with no back or home kick? Just forward ever and when you are at the same spot as an opponent, you just chill beside them. No kicking! That’s how Jamaicans play Ludo. It was so uncomfortable having the opportunity to kick someone and you just couldn’t..aargh.

The Jamaican ludo game was so frustrating, i couldn’t get a picture.

Ludo (Picture taken in Ghana)

WATER WATER WATER

You can’t go to Jamaica and avoid the sea. I kissed a dolphin, climbed a waterfall and chilled at the beach.

Jamaica reminded me so much of Ghana. The people very friendly, most of the dishes were familiar, fresh fruits, hawkers, windshield cleaners on the street (there was a guy who got mad at us for turning the wiper on. He left our wiper hanging and walked away) and of course the heat!

My friend will be visiting Ghana for the first time where she will learn how to play proper Ludo. She will also find out that Accra traffic is indeed worse than Kingston traffic. 🙂