From Niger to Burkina Faso

Our 3 days in Niamey were really great and everybody we met, apart from one asshole guide, were extremely helpful and friendly.

We took the bus journey from Niamey with SNTV/STMB company to Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso. A 10 hour trip in a relatively comfortable bus with no blaring music, Nigerian movies, nor blasting air conditioning that usually makes me sick when coupled with the heat outside. We had absolutely no problems getting out of Niamey nor getting into Burkina Faso with La Visa Touristique Entente. It has been great value and has saved us an awful lot of hardship on the borders and in visa extension offices, etc.

If you are coming to any of the countries in Franc-Afrique you really ought to have some basic French or you will find it very hard to get accurate information and will end up paying a lot more for everything - gifts, food, transport, etc. Compared to Ghanaians ability in English, we have found that most traders and ordinary folks speak good French, so it's really great to be able to communicate with them when you don't have much time to learn their own native language.

From Ouga we headed direct to Dori in the North-east so we could get to the highly recommended Gorom Gorom market 60kms from Dori. The trip takes about 5 hours to Dori where you can stay cheapest in the basic but sufficiently equipped Auberge Populaire. To get to the Thursday market in Gorm Grom you need to get to the Gare Routiere before 6am as usually only 1 leaves. We didn't believe the guy who cale to our room in the morning as we thought he was just another 'Sand Dune guide seller', but it ended up true information. A better alternative is to get onto the Gorom Gorom road outside Dori and hitchike. Toyota pickups charge only 500 CFA and you'll get their twice as fast, not to me,ntion for 25% of the taxi-brousse price. Be prepared for Gorm Gorm. It is brutally hot and there is little cover, hardly any pure water. Generally I was really disappointed with the market. It seemed far more Chinese than Sahelian.

To be continued........