Drive-by shopping in Accra

Much of our time in Accra was spent either trying to get visas whilst we were parked at the swish Accra Mall or in traffic. One of the things I started to notice was what you could buy when stopped at traffic lights, what I am calling ‘drive-by shopping’. I worked out that you could actually buy an entire outfit whilst driving around town: shirt, shorts, belt, underwear and shoes. How you would try these on whilst stopped at the traffic lights still baffles me though.

Here’s a full list of what we saw for sale when stopped at traffic lights in Accra (some appropriate and others questionably so – I mean why would you suddenly think ‘gosh I really need a tummy tucker’ whilst stopped momentarily at some traffic lights?!):

Key hooks

Personal scales

Powerboard

Shaver set

Drinking yoghurt

Water packets

Mineral map and road map of Ghana and a map of Accra

Shoes (thongs and covered toes – selection of 5 pairs)

DVDs

Phone cards

Plastic tambourines

Air freshener

Mentos

Dog collars and muzzles

Toilet paper (in bulk – about 16 rolls in each pack)

Shirts & shorts

Plantain chips

Superglue

Oranges

‘Greeting from Ghana’ wood carvings

Scrabble and Monopoly

Hand towels

Paint brushes

Bread rolls (brown and white)

Ab workout machine (tummy tucker)

GI Joe army man toy