Nigeria vs. Benin

So what is Benin Republic (or the Republic of Benin) like? Well, it's a bit like Nigeria, but also not. I guess it'’s inevitable that I make comparisons since its the only other African country I’ve been to so far.

What first? Benin has less people, pollution, noise, and cars. They have more foreigners, so many more (at least in Cotonou) that no-one even took a second look at me. They too, like Nigerians, like their clothes, but are much more fond of beer drinking than Nigerians. This particular custom I applaud them for. On clothes - all around where I stayed in Cotonou were countless clothing makers. Funny thing was all of them used irons that were charcoal powered. You would see them dropping hot coals into these rusty metal things and trying to regulate the temperature somehow I don't know. On beer – there are huts everywhere on each street doing great business especially at night.

I think when someone told the Beninoise people they should sell fuel "by-the-litre" they took it a little too literally. For fuel is mostly sold in 1 litre glass bottles (also available in the sleek contour coke bottle) by the roadside.

Perhaps because of the French influence, the range of GOOD food was very much appreciated. There were several alternate cuisines in town at the restaurants, but I didn't need them, getting the chance to try some excellent street food. My favourite was the ladies selling bread (as baguettes not loaves of course) which you could then get filled with one of half a dozen sauces. Although I normally don't appreciate the two words put together, the best tasting one I think was a kind of fish paste. Then there was one with beans, one hot and spicy one, one with little bits of pasta, onion tomato etc. and a couple others that had who knows what (but they tasted good). In the daytime you can normally just get bread and for a little extra they'll spread mayonnaise on it!

One thing was very different. It felt a lot quieter and safer than Nigeria (than Lagos especially). Yet, Benin is now the first place someone has attempted to rob me. I was wondering around the busy (and incidentally very cool) Dantokpa market on my last night there (ok maybe that wasn't the smartest thing to do), when one distract and grab pair tried to pick my pocket. Luckily I felt it happening so they got zilch. Besides which, the idiot actually only succeeded in taking the toilet paper in my back pocket halfway out. If he'd have done his research he might have realised I keep my money in another pocket.

Of course it sucked not being able to communicate with most anybody. My French is basically nil and their English isn't much better. You have no idea how fun it felt one day when I discovered all these Nigerian money changers sitting in a row and was able to converse with them, chat about Nigeria and get a good rate from CFA to Naira at the same time.

In Nigeria, everyone calls me Oyinbo (white man). That didn’t happen in Benin as only once I heard it. For its only the Yorubas that say it, and in fact it was a Beninoise Yoruba that called it out to me. There (I mean in Benin) they call me "yovo".