Ximai Global Travel 154th Country - Togo
Togo's entire territory is long and narrow, with more than half consisting of hills and valleys. The south is a coastal plain; the central part is a plateau. The country stretches over 600 kilometers from north to south and is 50-150 kilometers wide from east to west, forming a corridor shape. Its coastline is 56 kilometers long. The southern part has a tropical rainforest climate.
💗Transportation: From Accra, the capital of Ghana 🇬🇭, a chartered car to the Ghana-Togo border costs 2000 Cedi, taking 4 and a half hours. A bus for 80 Cedi is enough. There are buses at 6 AM and 6:30 AM. Filling out forms at the Togo customs is very detailed and time-consuming.
For taxis, download Gozem; it's very cheap.
💗Visa: Agent service costs 550, takes 3 days. The entry port is shown on the visa and must be strictly adhered to. We entered via a land border. Upon arrival at Togo customs, a large stamped visa page 📄 was issued. Only after arriving in Togo did we learn that there's also an agent in Lomé who can process it for 500 (XOF) in one day, requiring only a photo and hotel booking confirmation.
💗Hotel: Since we arrived very late, we randomly searched for Hotel Gold Coast 🏨. It's newly opened, directly opposite the German Embassy, and very close to the beach. It costs 457 (XOF) per standard room. They include breakfast. Dinner (rice with toppings) costs 5000 CFA francs. It's actually very close from the border by taxi, at most 1000 CFA francs, but we were ripped off and paid 2000. Ah, the hotel's internet hasn't been great these past two days, often disconnecting, but other services are good, and the rooms are new and spacious.
💗Internet: The hotel sells SIM cards for 2000 CFA francs, including 10GB of data.
💗Attractions: Met jasmine flowers at Palais de Lomé 🌺
1️⃣Lomé Grand Market, next to the cathedral. Saw many peanuts packaged like this, which was a bit unique.
2️⃣Monument de l'Indépendance (Independence Monument)
3️⃣National Assembly, directly opposite the monument.
4️⃣Sacred Heart Cathedral
5️⃣Palais de Lomé, entrance fee 7000 CFA francs. It's very beautiful, somewhat like a museum.
6️⃣Akodessewa Fetish Market, entrance fee 3000 CFA francs, 2000 CFA francs for photos.
7️⃣Togo Village, entrance fee 3500 CFA francs, boat ride 10000 CFA francs.
The weather was good 🙂 but extremely hot. I couldn't do without my Anessa sunscreen spray and my beloved umbrella. In Lomé, I met Dada, a local who speaks Chinese. He's very gentlemanly and excellent with languages. I plan to start learning French from him online. This was my only gain in Togo.