[By Malcolm Durfee]

Accra has been an amazing city, but when you find yourself doing the same thing every day, life begins to get dull. My experiences in Accra started to be less novel, and although I love being in this city, it was time to switch it up.

This is why I was filled with elation when I discovered we were going on a weekend trip to Kumasi. Albeit, I was not excited to ride the bumpy roads after waking up at dawn to avoid traffic, but that still couldn’t dampen my elation for a change of scenery.

My work was kind enough to give me a vacation day on Friday so I could groggily get up and shuffle onto the bus. This time, I had learned from the previous Cape Coast trip to bring a pillow so I could go back to sleep on the bus.

After a long but much-needed nap, I found myself at a rest stop. This rest stop was notable because it reminded me of Europe in some ways, specifically parts of the UK. They had meat pies there for about $1 USD, something I remember cherishing back home with my rugby mates. They also had many affordable and delectable fruit juices to try.

After this, I went back to the bus to sleep. I woke up at a resort. This resort had a buffet lunch, which is my favorite because I get to fill up on as much food as possible, which helps me avoid my susceptibility to being “hangry.”

After this, we went to the Manhyia Palace Museum. The British built this palace in 1925 for the Ashanti king to reside in. Now, it is a museum. Fortunately, we got to take a tour through the museum, which was split into three sections.

The first section consisted of life-size figures, such as the Ashanti King Otumfuo Osei Tutu II Asantehene and the Queen Mother Nana Konadu Yiadom III. The tour guide explained that the museum had been recently renovated to celebrate Tutu’s silver jubilee, and these life-size figures came with these renovations.

The most interesting fact I learned in this section was that the next king in line was the male relative of the queen rather than the king. This matrilineal system is unlike any patriarchal monarchy that I have ever heard of.

In the second section, we saw a short film about the tools and instruments the Ashanti use in ceremonies. The most notable one to me was called the Apakan, a palanquin used to carry the king. Originally, four Ashanti men carried this palanquin, which looked like a big baby carriage, on their shoulders from Kumasi to Accra. The Queen mother is also carried on an Apakan but on top of the head of other men. Initially, I scoffed at this idea in my head, but Tai brought up a great point later that night– many families in America have traditions that other cultures would scoff at, like leaving out cookies for Santa Claus.

The third section was the most impactful for me. After we walked through what were the Ashantis’ kings’ offices when they lived there, we went into their living room and kitchen. These rooms contained the first television, refrigerator, radio, and ceiling fan in Ghana. It was amazing how the refrigerator and the ceiling fan still worked.

Then came the somber but important part of the tour. We went to the second floor, and within were many Ashanti gold artifacts. The sad part was that they were all on loan from the British Museum.

They were all stolen from the tribe during wars with the British, so none of these artifacts should be under the British’s ownership, yet they are. Additionally, these artifacts have cultural significance to the Ashanti, so it’s an absolute tragedy that the British have not truly given them back.

After a quick picture outside the Palace Museum Sign, we went through the gift shop. Then, we went back to a great dinner at the resort we were staying at. The resort had functional Wi-Fi, so I got to download some shows for later.

I got some good rest that night and was excited to go to a village of Kente cloth makers. In one of the shops, there was a room of men, all with looms weaving the cloth. I bought multiple Kente clothes and even got a shirt in the fugo style, a northern Ghanaian style with stripes and vertical designs.

After getting some custom bracelets with my family and my names on them, we went on the bus. Then, ten minutes into the ride, our bus broke down. Somehow, everyone was still in a good mood as we stayed motionless on this dusty road.

Then, Clement, our bus driver, found a mechanic in the middle of nowhere Kumasi and got us two taxis that we rode to an Adinkra maker. The Adinkra maker taught us a lot about symbols and how they were used to secretly communicate among Ashanti men when outsiders were around.

After this, we crammed into a tro-tro to stop for food. This tro-tro ride was very long, and, as you can see in these pictures, I was energized at the beginning of the ride and ended up sleeping. Yet, I thought my first time riding a tro-tro was still a cool experience. After the quick food stop, we went to the largest market in Kumasi. I didn’t buy anything, but it was cool to see all the sellers.

After dinner at a Chinese restaurant, I got some much-needed rest. Somehow, the bus was fixed in the morning, and we were able to get our pillows and all the stuff we left on the bus back. This trip made me very thankful for our tour guides and everyone who helped us along, even when we encountered obstacles.