Djibouti is one of the smallest and most expensive countries in Africa. A small glass of beer in a restaurant cost $US7! At that price teetotalism seemed a very attractive prospect! I didn't get out of the capital city during my stay as I was concentrating on trying to get Visas. As a result I at least enjoyed the good (but expensive) cuisine in the restaurants. The good food is a result of the French colonial influence. The journey to Djibouti was an arduous trip. It started with a 3am start from the city of Dire Diwa in Ethiopia with a scrum to try and get a place on the bus. I won't forget seeing the driver chewing Khat - a stimulant and narcotic used by 90% of Somali men. The next day I tried to ... read more

"I would sooner live like a Dervish with the Mahdi than go out to dinner every night in London" General Gordon (who was defeated and killed in the Mahdist Siege of Khartoum, 1885). Sudan gets a lot of bad press, with good reason. But I found the people to be the friendliest and most hospitable I've met anywhere in the world. There were numerous incidents during my time in Sudan when people treated me as an honoured guest. I entered the Sudan by ferry from Aswan. The very slow ferry to Wadi Halfa is the only way to cross the border from Egypt. It was a slow trip in an old, broken down boat, which left when the cargo was loaded. Which meant I had to wait 11 hours in the bowels of the boat before ... read more

"....We landed in the country of the Lotus-Eaters, who live on a flowering food." Homer:The Odyssey. Tunisia was a gentle re-introduction to the African continent. It has good tourist infrastructure, an efficient public transport system and its people are friendly and helpful. After 6 months back in Britain earning some money, I'm traveling again. (See my last blog). I had packed an Arabic phrase book, but found that I didn't need to use it. Everyone I spoke to in the last 2 weeks spoke French. I flew out of Britain on the 7th of January arriving in Tunis late at night. I spent my first day visiting the Bardot Museum in Tunis and the second in the nearby suburb of Carthage. Carthage Carthage, which is only a short train ride from Tunis is now basically an ... read more

Listen to the yell of Léopold's ghost, Burning in Hell for his hand-maimed host. Vachel Lindsay After 5 months back in Blighty working in a call centre for a Debt Collection agency, I decided to take a short trip to Brussels. I've handed in my notice at the company, as I'm going to return to Africa in January 2008. I took advantage of a special offer on Eurostar - a return journey with a nights accommodation. I had 3 days off work. I left my Dad's house in Kineton on the 10th of December, taking the train down to London. I booked into a cheap hotel in Paddington. It had the smallest bathroom I've ever seen. The toilet was angled at 45 degrees so that it could fit into the tiny space. Even so, I was ... read more

"The heavens are high, the clouds are pale, We watch as the wild geese disappear southwards. If we fail to reach the Great Wall we are not true men. We who have marched more than 20,000 li." (Mao Zedong) Beijing (北 京 = Northern Capital) is the cultural and political capital of the most populous country in the world. It's also a major tourist attraction because of its Imperial Palaces and the nearby Great Wall. But Beijing wasn't always the capital of China. In fact it seems a very strange place to choose as a capital. It's too far North of the historic Chinese heartland. It first served as the capital of a unified China in 1264 when Kublai Khan's Mongol forces set up the Great Capital (大都) to rule their new empire. It gave the ... read more