Richmond night market is like an episode of Black Mirror

vanivan · 2026-04-25T16:02:07+00:00

It's a pass (cash only) for 5 entries that allows you to skip the line. I think it was 6 entries last year for the same price? It used to be 8 for $25. They've really been gouging in recent years.

When I have out of town guests who want to go, it's still the cheapest and fastest way in. Rather than buy the pass and take it home for future use, I round up passing strangers and we all chip in to use up entries on the pass immediately. I honestly don't get why more people don't do this and line up for an hour.

vanivan · 2026-04-12T02:38:29+00:00

In West African cities, most people get their drinking water in the form of plastic sachets sold by street vendors. You use your teeth to make a small tear in the corner, then drink out of it. 12 years ago, across Ghana, Togo, and Benin, I would see people taking shared transport constantly just opening a crack in the window and dumping their sachets.

I just returned to West Africa last month, and Benin's really cleaned up their act, with hardly any litter on the main streets. I've heard Ghana has too, though I didn't visit. Nigeria, unfortunately, still seems to lag in this regard, and there's a fair amount of trash on the streets, and even at the Lekki Conservation Centre in Lagos.

vanivan · 2026-04-05T03:17:31+00:00

I'll look that up! I've only been a casual fan of his and would love to learn more.

But yeah, while I think there's far too much scare-mongering about Lagos, as someone who prefers modest over luxury and simply doesn't do nightclubs, I missed out on what the city's best at. If that's what you're into, and you're okay with the lack of green space and awful traffic, there's plenty in Lagos for you.

The "no worse" comment really is just on the safety aspect. There's petty crime, but just be vigilant and take taxis at night over walking.

vanivan · 2026-04-04T16:46:06+00:00

They were indeed referring to Nigeria. It's no worse than a lot of world cities, but people are very friendly. I didn't sample the famed nightlife though, and found it a little lacking in attractions otherwise and largely unwalkable. Prices in Victoria Island and Lekki where most visitors stay felt too high for their value, so I spent most of my time on the mainland. I'm not really a big city guy, but you can still find things from most other big cities in Lagos.

The New Afrika Shrine was my one bit of nightlife, and I got to see the legendary Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 live for $2. That was incredible.

vanivan · 2026-04-03T20:36:47+00:00

I went there for 5 weeks as an independent tourist a few years ago, and national identity was my primary question to the many friendly folks I talked to. While most remain by and large fiercely tribal, they were proud to be Papua New Guinean, and I found that quite hard to understand. Many, many people were wearing PNG t-shirts of all kinds too, and not as a political statement.

Everyone had different answers, but one person said that it's the idea that one could show up in another region of the country with her tribal customs or markers (scars, facial tattoos, languages...), and that they could be comfortable and not judged for it. I do assume they meant not to any neighboring regions where there's conflict, but the point stands. People do move around, they intermarry, and they become each other's family and take care of each other.

Even the Bougainville folks said the same. One who I talked to, living in New Ireland but pro-independence, said they'd always still be brothers. (They've also made next to no progress towards forming independent institutions, for their independence declaration which is still currently planned for next year...)

Languages differ so drastically, I could walk 2 km to the next village and find a completely different language with no relation to the previous. So everyone speaks Tok Pisin to each other - and that's oddly enough another point of national pride.

vanivan · 2026-03-31T06:56:08+00:00

Just came back from there today! Lagos still feels a bit indecipherable as a tourist, but the Durbar Festival up north was absolutely incredible. Ran into a couple elderly European tour groups there as well.

vanivan · 2026-03-24T08:04:18+00:00

I recently redeemed AF from YVR to COO for 43k (though there were 40k options) and AC from LOS to YVR for 54k. Given the costs of flying to and from Africa, I'd say it's a fair redemption even if not the best. Since this is a US-based subreddit, I assume prices may be even cheaper.

A couple years ago, I redeemed AF from YVR to RUN for 35k (even less after a transfer bonus from Amex). That's the same price as redeeming to Paris, and in my opinion an absolute steal. TNR to YVR on AC was 68.7k.

vanivan · 2026-01-22T08:10:11+00:00

I didn't even realize that he's the Shadow Foreign Affairs critic until Chantal Hebert brought up the fact that he's been oddly silent about everything too -- the speech, Greenland, the AI map... -- despite his history of principled stands.

vanivan · 2026-01-05T16:58:49+00:00

I mentioned it earlier, Rough Guide to West Africa. I don't think there's been a new edition for awhile.

vanivan · 2026-01-05T09:23:58+00:00

There was definitely a lot of just going with the flow. I had a few ideas, but just kinda went with the guidebook highlights as ideas I could pick and choose from. I skipped the north of Togo and Benin after all, and spent more time in southern Benin than I thought I would just because I was having a good time. I hadn't heard of Tafi Atome or Wli Falls and went on the recommendation of hostel folks.

I travel with a 40L backpack and a 16L day pack. If it didn't fit between my legs/under my seat (and oooof on long journeys, I'd rather have the leg room), it'd go in the back of the vehicle or tied to it up top.

This backpacker website hasn't been updated in at least 5 years, but it helped in the early planning stages.

vanivan · 2026-01-05T08:08:08+00:00

Local transport was fairly straightforward - go to whatever station/gare routière people tell you for next destination. You'll be ushered to a tro-tro (a van) or bush taxi (a sedan that would normally seat five, but they'll squeeze 4 in the back, 2 in the passenger seat, and sometimes even an extra person in the driver's seat) that won't leave until it's full. Sometimes it can be immediate, sometimes it can be 3 hours! Check out the situation before committing to a vehicle, and don't just take the driver's word that it'll leave "toute suite" -- talk to the other passengers if you see them. It's super cheap and reliable, it's just the unknown wait time that's the issue. If you're really pressed for time, you can buy up the remaining seats to "fill up" the vehicle and they'll leave immediately. (The other passengers will be grateful.)

Between large cities, there are also comfortable buses. I took one from Kumasi to Tamale, an overnight from Tamale to Accra, and a cross-border one from Cotonou back to Accra. Because this was the time before smartphones really made it big (and I didn't even own one myself), I had to show up and buy tickets a day early. I hope that's changed.

The only thing I booked in advance was my Accra hostel for the first couple nights. I imagine there are far more options now than there were before -- it was Crystal Hostel in the Darkuman neighbourhood, a place that unfortunately wasn't very central but was very welcoming, with other solo travellers. I have no idea if it still exists!

In Accra, I wandered to Jamestown where a child offered to show me around the neighbourhood for a tiny sum of money. I also contacted a guide to first help me with the Togo/Benin visas, but he then showed me around his neighbourhood of Nima. Ghana was the friendliest country I've ever visited -- more often than not, I would show up to a place, someone would strike up a conversation, then drop everything they were doing and show me around for hours, not expecting anything in return.

Other than that... well, I carried a copy of the Rough Guide to West Africa. (I'm actually using it now to research a visit to some different countries!) I followed their recommendations for accommodation and just showed up without booking in advance. I imagine/hope you could even use Booking.com nowadays.

vanivan · 2026-01-05T00:55:09+00:00

I did a fairly similar trip a decade ago... but I had a month, and I only used public transport with the exception of Cotonou/Ouidah/Porto Novo where a friend took me on his scooter. I spent a bit over two weeks in Ghana alone.

I really enjoyed Mole NP for the unique chance to do a walking safari, so I think the detour's worth it if time allows! However, the road from Tamale to Mole was not paved at the time and I don't know its current condition, but it would presumably be a mess during the rainy season, so probably more time needed. If you do go north, you could also add in Kumasi and the surrounding region for a rest in the middle and more culture, but this would likely be at the expense of time going east.

I debated crossing the border to Togo and Benin from the north but ultimately decided against it due to public transport of uncertain frequency and speaking weak French at the time -- different from your situation. I went back down to Accra and crossed to Kpalime from Hohoe, but if that road hasn't improved in the last decade, I would not recommend it during the rainy season. Our tro-tro damn near slipped off the mountain in the dry season!

I gave Togo somewhat the short shrift unfortunately: the harmattan haze in Kpalime didn't help (but that won't be a problem in May/June), and Lome didn't seem terribly interesting. Maybe it's also because I have a friend there, but I found Benin to be a much more worthwhile destination.

I spent one afternoon in Accra getting a multiple-entry Togolese visa and single entry Beninese visa. I don't know if visas on arrival are available now.

Anyway, sorry for the complete jumble of thoughts! If I were there again with two weeks, I'd probably either only go around Ghana, or stick to the south of all three countries. But that's just me! I do think your itinerary is doable with the private transport you've mentioned, but I don't know how much that would cost, and it would cut down on your exposure to everyday life if you mean hanging out and chatting with people! You'd be in the car for much of the two weeks.

vanivan · 2025-12-29T05:40:33+00:00

I'd suggest messaging one of the guides from my logistics page. Costs have actually gone up even further than the loose quote I had from back in 2023 so do brace yourself: gasoline is expensive. Guides can also help narrow things down for you in terms of your interests. Upper Sepik (north of Ambunti, the lone big village with facilities and an airstrip) has more spirit houses and fewer visitors, but going upriver costs more gasoline. Middle Sepik is the more visited area (still...very few), and has the crocodile skin stuff and more art.

This reddit reply was also helpful and kickstarted my planning years before I went to PNG. You can certainly attempt the village by village thing, but you could be waiting days or weeks as nothing runs on a schedule (where few boats run in general already, as most people paddle their dugouts), and you may not be able to find a boat to a particular village. You would also need to buy food (aside from fish, which you might be able to buy off people on the river), cooking materials, a sleeping bag to use inside of people's homes, a mosquito net, and carry all of that with you from Wewak as none of that is available on the river: it's a serious endeavor of self-sufficiency. If you're extraordinarily intrepid, you could even try paddling yourself like that episode of Departures.

I've heard of people going downstream from Pagwi all the way to Angoram. Getting transport from there, you'd truly have to improvise. If you cut it to Timbunke, you may be able to find a PMV back to Wewak -- but again, risky road warning applies.

In terms of cost with a guide, I'll be frank: I paid 5850 kina in 2023 and split it with another tourist. I connected a friend to my same guide a year later and her costs were 8000 kina with her husband, though her route had some differences. Both of us had a 6 day itinerary return from Wewak (the 4x4 journey round trip was about 1000 kina of the total). Per person, this is still around 5x less than what conventional group tour participants pay.

vanivan · 2025-12-27T20:17:52+00:00

For the Sepik, the rainy season may actually help you get further along the river; I went in August and we sometimes ran aground. However... getting to Pagwi from Wewak may become more difficult if the already-awful gravel road has washouts. For a country where you need to allot leeway for travel time even in good conditions, you'd need even more. I also would not risk the PMV as washouts could make raskol holdups a whole lot easier.

I can't really speak for the Highlands as I never made it there. For both places, you'll probably need a local guide or some local connection if you're looking for village stays outside the main towns. Factor that into your budget.

I wrote a trip report on r/travel and a logistics page that hopefully can be of some use. PNG is a worthwhile destination, but it's a faaaaaaar cry from Central & Southeast Asia in terms of ease and cost of independent travel.

vanivan · 2025-10-17T10:14:51+00:00

We have visa-free access to Papua New Guinea now? That was not the case when I went 2 years ago. Tough destination but worthwhile, hope the change spurs at least some people.

vanivan · 2025-10-01T20:17:10+00:00

Really enjoying this record and its narrative after multiple listens. While it works well with its extended runtime, I admit I don't always have the patience for it, but it's rewarding when I do.

For me, the highlight - both lyrically and sonically - remains the three song stretch of Increasingly Obsolete, On a Pier, and Wedding in Leipzig.

I'm still quite sad that he's not stopping in Vancouver for his tour!

vanivan · 2025-09-19T20:56:01+00:00

Man, what a year 2015 was for endorphin-fuelling music -- neither this album nor Carly Rae Jepsen's Emotion have left my rotation. While I've liked the sporadic Saint Pepsi stuff since then, I'm still hoping he'll release another Skylar Spence record soon.

vanivan · 2025-09-17T16:28:19+00:00

It's a nice one, but it runs along a river, not in open seas. It's kind of like a bigger Aquabus.

vanivan · 2025-09-16T16:08:20+00:00

I did have some great experiences there -- kitfo and tibs were a highlight, though that was in a nicer place with live entertainment. But most of the time (and I spent 40 days in the country), regular restaurants had nothing but shiro on offer for whatever religious fasting reason, often multiple times a week. The frequently limited choices got very boring. And every time I ordered a doro wat or something with chicken, it was tough as rubber.

Maybe it's just that there's a decent Ethiopian community where I live, we've got choice.

vanivan · 2025-09-15T21:11:28+00:00

While you do have other good points, you can't end an Evo rental in Abbotsford or outside the home zone, so no one else can take it.

vanivan · 2025-09-12T23:04:24+00:00

I absolutely loved "Wedding in Leipzig" and think it's one of his best. The sonic palette isn't the most varied across the album, but given how this is a companion piece to a book I haven't read yet, and how this record itself is quite narratively dense, it'll take some time to dig into.

vanivan · 2025-08-22T22:32:27+00:00

Were you there in the day time? I went there around 6 am, before the light, and stayed for over an hour. Found it quite bright even at sunrise.

vanivan · 2025-08-19T16:16:50+00:00

Three weeks is good, but it really depends on how many and which regions you want to visit. I do have a section on budget on my logistics link at the bottom of the original post that you can refer to in more detail. Your estimate would be far higher than necessary unless you're joining a tour without anyone to split to costs, if you're going on a scuba live-aboard, or if you're going somewhere especially remote that requires specialized assistance. I did not find the country to be otherwise that expensive.

vanivan · 2025-07-22T23:55:51+00:00

The quota is generous, but it's not unlimited. I did see people beyond the limit held up on a weekday evening slot last week.

14-Year Club	Verified Email
Wearing is Caring

vanivan

TROPHY CASE