Health tourism is big business for Ghana

by Sean McLachlan on

Ghana is not a big tourism magnet. Unlike other African countries that offer wild safaris and impressive archaeological remains, this West African nation has relatively few attractions to offer international visitors. But that’s changing under a new plan to promote health tourism.

As the name implies, health tourism involves more than recharging your batteries on some serene beach. It’s a chance to get medical treatment while getting away from it all. One place to do that in Ghana is the Holy Trinity Spa & Health Farm. Set along the Volta River, it’s a cross between a resort hotel, ranch, and hospital, where you can take a dip in the pool, ride horses across African countryside, and have a physiotherapy session all in one day.

Their honeymoon packages are reasonably priced by Western standards and offer the usual things like candlelit dinners and sports activities along with treatments such as facials, manicures, and massages. Other treatments include some rather mysterious-sounding procedures such as the “Super Ozone Hydro Bath” and the “Detoxifying Infra Red Sauna.” If you want to get a bit more serious about your health and well-being, the spa offers dental and medical care as well as cosmetic surgery. Many of the guests are from African nations looking for medical procedures they can’t get at home. Most of the staff were trained in Western medical schools.

If getting a face lift is not your idea of a vacation, Ghana does offer some interesting sights, although it can’t compete with heavy hitters such as Kenya and Egypt. The Mole National Park offers safaris and elephants and the Wli Falls offer stunning views of waterfalls through thick jungle. There’s also the intrinsic interest of being in a vibrant part of Africa with a rich history and culture, and the added advantage that English is the official language, so you’ll be able to say “no liposuction, please, just a massage.”

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Do solo adventures break up relationships?

by Kraig Becker on

Outside Magazine has an interesting story on their website entitled Never, Ever Let Her Go (On a trip overseas. Alone. Especially to Africa.) The article begins with author Eric Hansen recounting a tale of a married couple who were friends of his, and seemingly had an idyllic marriage. But when the wife went off to Botswana on a volunteer trip for a month, she returned home and announced that the marriage was over, and she now longer was attracted to her husband.

When telling this story to others, Hansen discovered this wasn’t an isolated tale. He uncovered similar stories from a number of people who had their significant others go off on a big, adventurous trip, only to have their relationship end once they came home. Even more confounding was the fact that many of the travelers were women and many of them had been traveling in Africa. The article goes on to get quotes from several guide services and travel companies, who say that this is indeed a common tale that they encounter on a regular basis themselves. A marriage counselor also weighs in on the topic, saying he sees at least one marriage per month break up after an adventurous solo trip.This of course begs the question as to why this occurs. The story speculates that it is due to the person traveling expanding their horizons and having a life altering experience on their journey, something we can all relate to from our own travels I’m sure. The same counselor mentioned above says that generally the issues were there before the solo adventure, but the travels bring them more the forefront.

Outside‘s article concludes with the advice that you don’t let your significant other travel alone. Go with him or her. Experience the life changing moments together, and share the journey. If you break up when you get home, at least you got a great trip out of it, right?

So, has anyone experienced this phenomenon first hand? Have you been the dumper or the dumpee?

Night Safari for all you nocturnal animals

by Annie Scott on

The first Night Safari in the world is in Singapore — it’s a 40 hectare property with over 120 species of animals; most of them nocturnal and best viewed at night.

You take a zebra-striped tram ride deep into the forest, past the dimly lit habitats of all kinds of animals. Once your eyes adjust, you might just find that you are actually being watched by thamins and Malayan tapirs — that’s before you get to the elephants, tigers, hippos, lions and even rhinos (above right). What’s really special about the night safari is that some of these animals just lie around all day, and though you may previously have thought the ones at the zoo were “boring,” or even “tame,” at night, it’s a different story. I mean, even the sioth bear was busy. And you get really, really close to the animals. No glass.

There are also the options of several walking paths, which are really not for the faint-hearted. Not only are you wandering around paths, winding amongst the lairs of some very dangerous animals, but you start to worry that the local fauna might jump out and attack you at any time, too. There is glass on parts of the walking paths (and really, how close did you want to get to that wide-awake leopard?), but you also have the option of entering several enclosures for an up-close experience with giant flying squirrels (that’s their name; I didn’t add the “giant”) and even — I shudder to recall it — bats. (warning, creepy bat photo coming …)

Yes, you can walk, unguarded, down a path surrounded by bats just like this one at left. I personally have no fear of heights; bats are my thing. They strike terror into my soul. I think I walked like a stage-hand trying not to be seen by the audience, my arms curled up like a t-rex’s. They were just as close to me as your computer screen probably is to you now, dangling from the trees on either side of the path. Some of them were like, dog-sized. And in case I might have felt lulled into any sense of security, they had no qualms about flying directly in front of me across the path. I could feel the wind from their young greyhound-sized wings.

It’s the kind of moment when you wonder just what insurance is like in Singapore, and why this is the only place that has a “safari,” or basically a nighttime outdoor zoo, like this.

In any case, what an experience. The Night Safari is absolutely not to be missed if you are in Singapore — you’ll probably never see anything like it.

The zoo to which it’s attached, Singapore Zoo, is no slouch, either. You can even have breakfast with free-roaming orangutans — just ask Michael Jackson, who, after having the Jungle Breakfast, famously invited the orangutans back to his suite at Raffles for tea. And they accepted. There’s also the affiliated 600-species Jurong Bird Park, but the Night Safari was one of the most exceptional and unforgettable tours I’ve ever taken.

As a bonus for experience junkies out there, you can also get your feet nommed at the Night Safari by garra rufa fish, or, as they’ve come to be known in exotic spas around the world, doctor fish. You literally stick your feet in a tank of water and a swarm of fish eats the dead skin off. It’s amazing. Here’s a video I took of a woman getting the treatment (about $7.09 for 5 minutes).


I had the treatment too, but I’m not about to post a video of myself screaming like a little girl. Puh-lease.

This trip was paid for by the Singapore Board of Tourism, but the views expressed within the post are 100% my own.

12 great safaris from Nat. Geo.

by Kraig Becker on

Thinking of heading to Africa on your next big trip abroad? Planning on going on safari while you’re there? Then you’re in luck, because National Geographic Adventure has a list of the 12 best safaris on the continent, with some amazing suggestions on where to watch wildlife in East and Southern Africa.

Most of us already know what Kenya and Tanzania have to offer. Both countries are home to the classic safari experience on the Serengeti. That trip still gets a tip of the hat from Nat. Geo., but there are plenty of other great places to encounter Africa’s diverse wildlife. For example, traveling to Uganda gives you the chance to visit Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, home of the mountain gorillas. That safari is unique and life-changing, and every visitor contributes directly to the preservation of those noble primates.

For a completely different experience, the article recommends you head to the iconic Kruger National Park in South Africa, and go on a self-guided safari. Visitors to Kruger can rent their own vehicle, sleep at designated camp sites, and even get out of the car and trek through the wilds. Those treks do require that you go with an armed ranger however, as there are still plenty of wild animals that would gladly have you for lunch.

If you’re considering a safari in your near future, then this article is definitely for you. There are plenty of great tips on where to go and what to see, and even who to travel with.

Wild animal travel: Where the hunter becomes the hunted

by Katie Hammel on

There’s nothing quite like seeing a wild animal in its natural habitat. It’s why people go on safari in South Africa to see lions and elephants, trek through the jungles of Borneo in search of monkeys, and submerge themselves in steel cages off the coast of Baja California to swim with Great White sharks. But it’s important to remember that despite the precautions taken by tour guides and rangers, these are still wild animals and getting close to them in nature carries some risks. In other words: there’s a reason that safari guide carries a gun.

Forbes Traveler has put together a list of “10 Places Where Animals Eat You”, a collection of destinations where the danger of visiting wild animals in nature is greater. Among the spots that made the list are Khao Sok National Park in Thailand, where cobras kill several hundred people per year; South Luangwa National Park in Zambia, where aggressive hippos have been known to flip boats and even eat people; and Ranthambhore Bagh, India, where around 100 people are attacked by tigers each year.

The article goes on to detail other encounters with wild animals, like when the girlfriend of a Tanzanian guide had her sleeping bag dragged 30 yards by a lion, while she was sound asleep in it. It seems animal attacks can happen almost anywhere though, and the danger certainly won’t stop most people from visiting these areas to see wild animals up close. You may just want to think twice about wandering too far away from your guide.