I am on my plane to Togo, and apart from a few bits of information, I realized a few weeks ago that I didn't know much about this country. For me, it was a journey into the unknown.
I knew that it was a former German colony located in West Africa. The official language is French and the capital is Lomé.
That was the only information I had before planning my trip, and it was rather superficial.
I don't like planning my trips day by day. But I don't like leaving without a minimum of knowledge. That's the best way to make a cultural faux pas, get ripped off, feel lost, and ruin your trip.
The internet and social media give you easy access to information. It would be foolish not to take advantage of that.
How did I come up with the idea of going to unknown territory?
I had longwanted to explore sub-Saharan Africa by motorcycle. After traveling independently in Vietnam and Sri Lanka, I was determined to have the same experience in Africa. It's the best way to get up close and personal with the locals.
As this continent is less touristy, I had trouble finding reliable information that would help me choose a particular country.
I found a Facebook post in the "backpackers"group:
Over a year ago, Ugo was looking for information to plan his motorcycle trip to Togo. I replied to his message and asked him if he had been able to go on his trip and if he could give me some advice. He didn't expect to see this post resurface. The good news is that he was able to go on his trip and stay in Togo.
We then exchanged private messages. He explained to me that it was very hot, that he was drinking 10 liters of water a day "without peeing," that traffic wasn't very good, and that the police were armed with machine guns.
He also offered to put me in touch with the person from whom he had rented the motorcycle. In short, he convinced me to go to Togo.
How did I organize my trip to Togo?
When I plan a trip using my own means of transportation, I don't look for a flood of information. Traveling by motorcycle means freedom. I don't need to plan an itinerary or know in advance what there is to see .
What interests me is traveling freely, meeting people along the way, with a minimum of knowledge about the country's customs, so I can do so without too much danger.
I simply need answers to the following questions:
- Do I need a visa? Vaccinations?
- Is it legal for a foreigner to drive a motorcycle?
- Can I easily buy a motorcycle, and is it easy to resell it?
- Otherwise, can I easily rent a motorcycle?
- Is it easy to find gas?
- Is water readily available?
- Is the police corrupt? If so, how much do they charge to leave you alone?
The rest—the itinerary, accommodation—I've traveled enough to know that I can improvise on the spot depending on who I meet.
Visas, vaccinations—the answer is easy to find on the website of the travel advice of 
Ministries of Foreign Affairs.
For other answers, the only sources of information are bloggers or travelers and locals on site. Ugo was able to answer my various questions. So I know that it is legal to ride a motorcycle with an international driver's license.
Buying a motorcycle is possible, but it's expensive (€300 for a used one). The country is not very touristy, so it's impossible to resell it to another traveler in an hour, as you can in Vietnam. He has a contact who can rent me a good motorcycle at a good price.
Ugo assured me that water and gas were available everywhere. He told me that the cost of living was low. He had lived for a month on €400. Finally, the police are honest.
This last question may seem silly to you, but during my trip to Kyrgyzstan, I traveled part of the way by car. Our contacts there had warned us that the police would try to extort money from us for no reason, but that we could get away with giving them the equivalent of 50 cents.
We always got away with paying less than €1, but the haggling sometimes started at €50...It's always reassuring to know how much leeway you have when dealing with corrupt law enforcement officers in an unfamiliar country.
Ugo also explained to me that he had not traveled outside southern Togo on his motorcycle because he had left ona humanitarian trip with his association, Yananga.
Following his suggestion, I was able to attend a meeting of the association before my departure.
Having no knowledge in this field, it was a very interesting encounter that allowed me to learn a little more about Togo and discover this community that I had never really been involved with before.(If you want to get involved in humanitarian work, don't hesitate to contact them, they are always looking for volunteers.)
How did my trip enable me to meet people before I left?
As I explained to you, what interests me most about traveling is meeting people. While preparing for my trip to Togo, I realized that the journey and the encounters begin during the preparation stage.
After meeting Ugo and attending his association's meeting, I devoted myself to preparing for the rest of my adventure.
For this trip, I also had the idea of taking a tent and camping in villages. I imagined it would be easy to do since people speak French. Which, I admit, is a very basic line of reasoning and not very reliable.
So how could we find out if it was really possible?
I started by asking my friends and family. Ugo had visited the country with his association. So he didn't really have any idea about the possibility of getting by on his own in Togo.
Loïc, a longtime friend who has traveled extensively, had traveled to Ghana on his motorcycle on his own and lived and traveled in several African countries (that's when I wondered why I hadn't asked him for information earlier, and to this day I still don't have an answer to that question) reassured me by telling me that Africans were the friendliest and most welcoming people he had met during his travels.
It was reassuring, but it didn't really answer my question. In the meantime, the people Ugo had put me in touch with offered to pick me up at the airport and put me up in Lomé.
This confirmed what Loïc had said. By learning a little about the country and thanks to the encounters that followed, I now have people to welcome me and help me take my first steps in this unknown country. Nothing beats a local host to get your trip off to a good start.
Then I bought the clever little Togo guidebook. It's the only travel guide devoted exclusively to this country. I didn't find the kind of information I was looking for in it, but it's always interesting to have this type of book.
Even though I rarely use them to plan my trips, I find that guidebooks provide a comprehensive overview of a country and its traditions. This is essential before arriving in unfamiliar territory.
The guidebooks are interesting, but for more specific information, I find thatthe best information can be found on blogs.
They have the advantage of being easily updated, you can ask bloggers questions, and you can often find lots of additional information in the comments. I searched and searched, but found nothing. I was a little disappointed, but I told myself that my article on Togo, upon my return, would fill this gap.
Finally, I turned to a wider community. Since Facebook had allowed me to meet Ugo and make significant progress on my journey, I went back there and also browsed the forum.
I found the answer to my question on Voyage Forum, in a discussion about motorcycles and itineraries in Benin and Togo. I left a message and Thibaut, who had participated in the discussion, contacted me by email. We exchanged messages and then spoke on the phone.
Thibaut is passionate about Africa and divides his time between France and Benin, where he develops community-based tourism activities. He has traveled several times by motorcycle to Togo and Benin and explained to me that it is easy to camp in villages. All you have to do is talk to the village chief, ask him for hospitality, and leave him a gift when you leave. It can be summed up in one sentence, but it's incredibly useful. Now I know it's doable, and I know how to do it.
I had all the answers to my questions, but the preparations for my trip and the meetings were not over.
Three days before my departure, I ran into a friend by chance. We chatted, and I told him about my upcoming trip. He told me to stay with him. A Togolese friend of his was coming to visit, and he was going to take the opportunity to introduce me to him.
His friend is cool and will be happy to give me information about his country. Carmel arrives and is indeed super friendly. We chat for a while, he gives me his number and tells me that if I need anything, he has lots of contacts there. He gives me some advice on something I hadn't thought of: currency exchange.
He advises me to take €100 notes and exchange them on the street. The rate is better than at the ATM. Finally, he gives me 50,000 CFA francs left over from his last trip, so that I can relax when I arrive, and tells me that I can pay him back when I return. My friend was right, Carmel is really cool.
Finally, on the plane, where I am currently sitting, I find myself next to a very friendly European man in his fifties. We talked quite a bit, and I told him about my motorcycle trip. Denis explained that he has been living in Africa for 30 years, where he has set up several companies, but above all, he is a motorcycle enthusiast who has completed the Paris-Dakar rally four times.
So he just suggested I stop by his place tomorrow sohe can give me some maps with all the most beautiful trails in Togo.
As you can see, doing a little bit of preparation for my trip allowed me to meet some very interesting new people, who also gave me a good impression of Togo. It's a safe country with welcoming inhabitants and an affordable cost of living. "You'll see, the Togolese are incredibly kind" was the phrase I heard most often.
I'm about to land in this country that isn't very touristy and that I know almost nothing about, but I'm really excited. You never really know what a place is like until you get there. But I have a pretty good idea of what to expect. I have local hosts who will welcome me. I know the main rules that will allow me to enjoy my trip with peace of mind.
Traveling to a country you don't know, stepping outside your comfort zone, can be scary. But doing a little research and talking to other people can help alleviate that fear. It's not about planning every day of your trip, but simply learning about your destination: a prepared and informed traveler is a better traveler.
I still have everything to learn about Togo. But now I can do so with what my new friends have taught me and those who are waiting for me at Lomé airport.
My plane has just landed, I have to go. My adventure continues. I can't wait to meet my Togolese friends and set foot in this country I know nothing about.
Have you ever traveled to a country you knew nothing about? How do you prepare for your trips?