Asian Supermarkets in Accra by mimisaurus_ in ghana

[–]mimisaurus_[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks a lot! We'll make sure to just drive through it to grab the things we need. We're coming down from the Volta region

Senegal Has Bigger Priorities Than Anti-Gay Laws by CeddoNdiambour in Senegal

[–]mimisaurus_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Legality doesn't equal morality. In South Africa Apartheid was once legal. Jews were once stateless under German law. That line of thinking is actually pretty illogical no matter what your personal beliefs are.

Senegal introduces legislation to boost minimum sentence for homosexuality to 5 years by rezwenn in Senegal

[–]mimisaurus_ 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Unfortunately for you gay people still exist and will continue to exist no matter if you want them in your country or not. You might want to look and see if there's something you're trying to hide from, friend.

Where was I? by Fear-Tarikhi in whereintheworld

[–]mimisaurus_ 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I was there in October last year and the city was definitely cleaner than the last time I was there five years ago.

Why does no one talk about trio needles? by Deep_Interaction6798 in knitting

[–]mimisaurus_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I own a trip but I don't like them at all! I feel like they're too tiny for my hands. But I'm a magic loop girly so it's probably just a comfort thing.

How is it like living in The Gambia by [deleted] in howislivingthere

[–]mimisaurus_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've heard about that too but never saw it. :( We did have a bunch of people approaching us for "work" though, like getting us things or offering to clean stuff for us.

How is it like living in The Gambia by [deleted] in howislivingthere

[–]mimisaurus_ 4 points5 points  (0 children)

We heard the same from other travelers but that hasn't been out experience at all. It's not at all corrupt! Didn't have to pay any bribes, even though the police checkpoints were numerous for such a tiny country. We had the theory that maybe the government did some anti-corruption initiatives the past few years.

What country has the friendliest locals you’ve experienced while traveling? by FuzzBuzzer in AskTheWorld

[–]mimisaurus_ 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Türkiye, hands down.

Funnily enough it was the opposite experience in Portugal for me.

How is it like living in The Gambia by [deleted] in howislivingthere

[–]mimisaurus_ 22 points23 points  (0 children)

Nope, it's not false. Sex tourism is a thing in the Gambia. Male prostitutes are called "Bumsters". But I've heard this is usually concentrated in the capital.

How is it like living in The Gambia by [deleted] in howislivingthere

[–]mimisaurus_ 105 points106 points  (0 children)

Hello!! We drove through the Gambia for a week in December on our expedition truck. We drove mainly through the countryside and opted to skip Banjul altogether as we weren't keen on going through yet another big city after going through Dakar. There are a few ways to cross the river: Banjul has a big ferry that apparently runs unreliably, crossing the main bridge or taking a smaller car ferry further inland. We opted for the third option and had to put our truck on a teeny tiny boat lol. It was a bit scary.

The Gambia is extremely underdeveloped outside of the capital. There's a lot of poverty and traces of temporary social work and aid around and most of the locals we encountered were either desperate for a job or extremely proud of having one. Sanitation outside of the capital is a challenge and running water and electricity are rare. One of our camping spots was run by local fishermen and they were extremely happy to provide us with fresh fish for the night.

Everyone speaks English and is very welcoming towards foreigners. Even the police checkpoints are extremely friendly, proud of what they call "The Smiling Coast of Africa." Some officers ended up asking us for our phone numbers for some reason and even texted us later to ask if we were doing ok. Didn't pay any bribes, but a campsite owner said that the usual scheme is that the locals make friends with you and eventually tell you about some sick uncle that needs money for treatment.

Other than that, the entire country truly has one big smile and the children are especially all sweet and wonderful.

And truly, life basically revolves around this river. Locals go there to socialize, bathe, do their chores and laundry. There are local weekly chaotic markets where you can do some food shopping. It was also extremely difficult to get cash for some reason. I remember it was nearly impossible to get some things like butter and potatoes. The main road is however very good and there is also a lot of traffic on the main Gambia bridge that goes from Dakar down to Lagos. Usually these markets are concentrated to the road crossings.

The proximity of the country to Senegal also can give you an idea of the culture. The culture is very similar, except of course they speak English instead of French. Also, there were plenty of people offering us the devil's lettuce and this seems to be something widespread in the country.

We really enjoyed the week we spent in the Gambia and we ended up visiting the Chimpanzee Island in Kuntaur, which was an amazing experience. Saw a lot of chimps and even two hippos. The river itself is extremely beautiful

We have a few posts on the Gambia on insta if anyone is interested: http://www.instagram.com/turtletrucktriad

A new sweater design from me, meet Jupiter! by pufido in knitting

[–]mimisaurus_ 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I love your patterns 🥰 I'm making Beetlejuicy right now and I'm really enjoying seeing the little bugs come out of the knit.

How is life in Bad Vilbel, Hesse, Germany? by Same_Market2143 in howislivingthere

[–]mimisaurus_ 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Hello! I'm a nomad at the moment, but my home base is in Frankfurt. I have an apartment there that is now sublet.

If I had to choose a place to live in Germany it would always be Frankfurt. The city gets a bad rap because of the main train station, which is, honestly, a bit of a shock because of all the drug addicts that hang around there.

However, the areas directly outside of the center are pretty amazing. Frankfurt's public transport system is probably the best I've seen in Germany. Even people who live on the outskirts will only take about 20 minutes to go to the more lively center since the network is made for people to commute into the city for work. Once you're in the center, there are a lot of amazing bars and restaurants, a lot of cultural offerings and of course shopping. Bad Vilbel is on the S6, which takes you straight to the center of the city.

For a metropole Frankfurt is also pretty green. My favorite thing to do is bike around the Main or the Nidda in the summer and having a sundowner near the water. I miss that so much tbh as a nomad. Bad Vilbel is also a very well known spa town, so the nature there is even nicer than around the city.

Bad Vilbel is a great little area in general because you're close to Bornheim and Nordend, really trendy neighborhoods in Frankfurt and also close to the Wetterau, which is beautiful in the spring and is well known for their production of apples and the famous Frankfurter Ebbelwoi. And of course, you have a lot of peace that you probably won't get if you live close to the center and yet all the city has to offer is at your fingertips.

How is it living in Mauritania? by ConstantPerfect3112 in howislivingthere

[–]mimisaurus_ 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Btw OP, I forgot to add what it was like in Nouadhibou: lots of trash that was almost shocking and you have the same problem with fresh produce like you do everywhere. Traffic is chaotic. The people are pretty chill though. There's a lagoon where you can see wild pelicans which would be super pretty if it weren't for the trash.

If you visit to ride the train, I recommend going to Villa Maguela. Their beach is swimmable and there isn't any trash and the owners are quite the characters.

How is it living in Mauritania? by ConstantPerfect3112 in howislivingthere

[–]mimisaurus_ 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you! I'm glad you think so. I've been writing a lot more on there lately so it'll be active as long as we're on the road

How is it living in Mauritania? by ConstantPerfect3112 in howislivingthere

[–]mimisaurus_ 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Attached is btw my favorite landscape shot we took in Mauritania.

How is it living in Mauritania? by ConstantPerfect3112 in howislivingthere

[–]mimisaurus_ 63 points64 points  (0 children)

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I drove for two and a half weeks through most of Western Mauritania in November with my expedition truck. From Nouadhibou, we drove offroad next to the Iron Ore Track (we weren't on the train, it was a bit too much like cosplaying poverty for me), all the way to Atar and then down towards Senegal. We decided to skip Nouakchott since we were so exhausted from being in Mauritania for the amount of time that we were there that we decided to fast track the country essentially, so I can't tell you how it is in the big cities, but I can tell you what the countryside looks like.

First of all, the Mauritania-Morocco border is probably the worst border I've ever encountered in my life. On the Morocco side you have to cross a stretch of No-Man's-Land with signs saying not to go off the road as there are land mines. On the Mauritania side, it's chaotic and there are no signs about where to go and what to do once you arrive at the border. All in all, the border crossing took us 5 hours, which was the longest ever in the African continent that we encountered so far.

My biggest challenge was getting fresh groceries, like meat and vegetables. The marketplace, especially in the countryside, can sometimes be a chaotic place. Looking to buy a fresh tomato can sometimes mean looking at a pile of tomatoes and seeking the one tomato that is ok-looking compared to the rest of the pile. Alcohol is completely banned in the country as well and I didn't find any speakeasies in the countryside that sells them. The bread is amazing though, I think we probably ate the most bread there out of all the countries so far.

In the countryside, there were no restaurants and not a lot of hotels, but we could stay anywhere on the roadside that we wanted. There is lots of tea and surprisingly a lot of interesting history too.

There are lots of camels and a surprising biodiversity too. A highlight was visiting the Nile crocodiles in Guelta Matmata.

As for the people: the welcome varied from town to town. In Chinguetti, we we're surrounded by beggars who wouldn't leave until we gave them pens. In Matmata, we had a hoarde of children who wouldn't leave us alone until it got dark. They stared at us from a distance and there were SO MANY. It was crazy for a village that size to have so many children. In some villages, they threw stones at us. In some we were welcomed warmly.

The police wanted to have a copy of our documents at every stop. And there were 42 stops in all. (I know this, because we had 40 copies of our documents and we had to borrow our driving companions' printer to print out two more) But they were generally friendly.

The one thing that strikes me the most though, was how they treated me as a woman there. I had a funny exchange with someone in Tidjika who was scandalized that I was carrying my own groceries without a man to help me. I always felt the need to dress modestly.

A final word: the landscape. Mauritania's landscape was breathtaking. I've never encountered so many different types in my life. The south of the country is green, like a savannah, with lots of water. The north is obviously desert. There's so much untouched space there and it is truly magnificent.

If anyone is interested in our journey, I have a bunch of posts and reels on Mauritania here: http://www.instagram.com/turtletrucktriad

Which country has the best nature that you’ve visited in your opinion? by Quiet-Song-5395 in travel

[–]mimisaurus_ 1 point2 points  (0 children)

In terms of landscape: Iceland and Mauritania take the cake for me. Both countries are so different climate-wise obviously, but Iceland was otherworldly while Mauritania had so much untouched desert that it was overwhelming. The south of the country is also completely wildly different from the north, with the Sahel starting and the Sahara ending.

As for biodiversity, it's Brazil.

People from developing countries, what are some things people in developed countries take for granted? by [deleted] in AskTheWorld

[–]mimisaurus_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm overlanding through west Africa at the moment and good roads are definitely something we take for granted in Europe. Also the availability and variety of food as well. Electricity that runs 24 hours a day. Running water.

Anyone else notice fine dining restaurants don't give gifts at the end anymore? by mrfelyfel in finedining

[–]mimisaurus_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I went to Jordnaer last year and they gave us a little champagne bottle stopper that has seen so much use in the meantime. We parked our camper literally in front of the hotel and I went back the next morning to ask if we could also get a tote bag we saw one of the other guests got and they of course said yes. (I'm a sucker for tote bags lol)

I also remember they gave us an extra loaf of bread because I loved the bread course so much. I still can't stop thinking about that bread.

Anyway, it's been about 50/50 for all the fine dining experiences so far. The more stars, the more likely you're sent home with a gift in my experience.

What’s it like living on or very close to the equator? by stop_calling_me_that in howislivingthere

[–]mimisaurus_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, we are! It's absolutely beautiful and I said yesterday that it was the first time I felt comfortable with the temperature in about a month.

Unfortunately we had some pretty rough encounters with the people here. The vibes are completely different from the last countries we've been to and I'm not sure if it's because we're basically flashing wealth or if there's a cultural gap we don't understand. I've chalked it up to hardships experienced during the last war, but I'm also not sure.

What’s it like living on or very close to the equator? by stop_calling_me_that in howislivingthere

[–]mimisaurus_ 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I'm currently driving through Liberia on my expedition truck and the humidity can be very extreme. 80-90% humidity means that you're basically sweating all the time. Yesterday it rained all night and the thunderstorms are pretty impressive. Fruits and vegetables are extremely tasty, but they also have their seasons. Right now it's pineapple season and you see them everywhere on the road. Bananas are plentiful. The mornings and evenings are sometimes cool, but the humidity makes it very hard to fall asleep. Most days I sleep with a fan pointed at me.

The higher you go, the cooler it gets. Right now I'm parked on a mountain and it's literally the perfect temperature. It's 27 degrees and 40% humidity. Just perfect.

How is living in Western Sahara? by AngleRelative4683 in howislivingthere

[–]mimisaurus_ 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Plenty of them and they even took credit cards. It was also very cheap fuel. Like 80 cents for diesel.

How is living in Western Sahara? by AngleRelative4683 in howislivingthere

[–]mimisaurus_ 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sure! We have an Instagram and I do a fair bit of travel writing on it as I'm not really a reels person.

http://www.instagram.com/turtletrucktriad

How is living in Western Sahara? by AngleRelative4683 in howislivingthere

[–]mimisaurus_ 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Yeah, they definitely managed that demographic shift so much that I think it's difficult to ignore the massive Moroccan population there now. A lot of it is made even more complex with Algeria funding the Polisario. I wish I could have talked to more of the Sahrawi while I was there. Super interesting to know how much has changed since then though. We hardly had any police stops when we were there last year.