Togo

Buy

thumb|270px|[[Lome Fetish Market]]

Eat

thumb|Fufu Akume is made from corn flour. The "national" dish of West-Africa is Fufu. In Togo, it consists of white yams pounded into a doughy consistency. You will find plenty of Fufu Restaurants in the cities as well as roadside stands. Akume and Fufu are usually eaten with your hands and come with different sauces (from smoked fish to spicy tomato to peanut).

Plantains can also be found in various forms; grilled, cooked, mashed or fried. In the season, mangos, papayas, and pineapples are for sale everywhere.

There are a lot of local fruits sold on the side of the highways and main country roads - pineapples, oranges, mangoes, etc. You can also sometimes see them selling African fan palm fruits (Borassus aethiopum) which look like orange coconuts. Ripe fruit can be opened by removing the top (cap) and then peeling off the skin (using hands or machete) - then people suck on the bright orange fibres as they are quite sweet and reminiscent of mango. Not for everyone but can be fun if you are into trying out exotic fruits.

Drink

Lemonade and Bissap juice are the most popular drinks. There are many bars almost around all corners in Lomé where you will be able to have a beer.

The most popular drinks you will find in common bars are beers and sodas. Here is a list of the beers you may find based on their popularity: Pils Guinness Castel Flag Eku Lager Cocktail de fruit Coca Cola Fanta Pompom (apple based soda) Limonade Sprite XXL (red-bull-like soda) Schwepp's Tonic Pamplemousse (grapefruit based soda) Sodawater Moka Malta Malta Guinness Don't be surprised if most of the bars do not have what you ask. The Togolese are not renowned for their organisation and tight management, except one small motel called "Auberge London" in the northern suburbs of Lomé called "Agoe" where you will have all the possible drink listed above.

Stay safe

thumb|Aného Beach As a rule, stay away from public beaches, where tourists find themselves mugged any time of day or night. Most of the country has little crime, but Lomé is a clear exception, and is a good deal more dangerous than any city in Ghana or Benin. If going somewhere at night, take a car taxi, and get the numbers of a few trusted taxi drivers if you plan to stay for a while.

Driving is atrocious in Togo, with fatalistic overloaded speed demons chancing it on curves and hills, capital streets swarming with motorcycles throughout the black of night, and worrisome accident scenes along the main roads. The hilly north-south road north of Kara is particularly dangerous. If you are skeptical, take a day trip, and marvel at all the husks of buses and trucks that weren't there on the way out! Traffic is the single biggest danger to travelers in Togo.

Stay healthy

Drink bottled water such as Volta or sachets of "Pure Water". Bissop juice is also fairly safe as it is boiled, and avoid the lemonade "citron" despite its delicious appearance. Stay away from roadside meals if possible. People relieve themselves in the streets in Lomé, so be aware of that.

In rural areas you can sometimes see vendors on the side of the road selling the Ackee fruit, the trees of which are quite abundant throughout Togo. While locals cook this fruit or eat the yellow arils of it, it is recommended to avoid eating it altogether, as black seeds and red fibrous rinds contain hypoglycin A - a toxin which can cause a "Jamaican Vomiting Sickness" (severe hypoglycemia) and can result in coma or death.

Respect

Greetings are a little more elaborate in Togo. Say hello to everyone when coming and going. Handshakes are key. Also, maybe if you try to get to know them, you will fit in. Make sure you make yourself feel like you are at home. Don't make it too homey, though, because you don't want to get on their bad side.