I have panicked unnecessarily in all four corners of the globe. - Jon Ronson

14 December 2019, Monrovia to Gbah, 54.9km
Timothy Jones’ Guest House 15$ (R213)

WhatsApp: Last night... Very grubby foam mattress, one pillow, no towel, no loo paper, no basin, no key to lock the door (we used one of our locks). But nice man running it and elec to power the fan. We negotiated him down from 20USD to 10.
Video is returning to our motel after dinner last night; photos from today's run to Gbah. Tomorrow night should be our first in Sierra Leone. I often complain about prices in Africa. If we camped and ate only street food, we would be saving money. As we hotel and eat expat food whenever possible, our daily budget is pretty tight. In Vietnam, we lived really well on R400 per day. In poor Africa, we live considerably less well on nearly double that. For R100 in Vietnam, you get a clean aircon en suite with satellite TV. For R225 tonight, we have a musty room with shared bath. Normal rates here are R750. Last night we shared a single meal. With drinks, we paid R450. At home we eat out for two for under R150. And I've mentioned that the Whopper meal in Abidjan was twice the price of the same meal in Jnb.
The reasons for the (relatively) high prices are unclear. IF Burger King imports everything, then high import duties and tax could be the issue. IF (government) energy costs are exorbitant, then high hotel prices can be explained. In some places, they cater exclusively to the international community who are spending company or taxpayer money and don't complain about the high prices as it's not their money...

For today's route see below photos
For overview route, click on ROUTE tab above…