Looks like I'm going Ethiopia after all...

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Forgot to update that I got my Visa to Ethiopia yesterday! yay.. went down again to the embassy in the morning at about 11am.. then they tell me the consul-general will not arrive till 2pm.. so i walked out and found an internet cafe to kill my time.. 130pm i was back at the embassy.. at 230pm, the guy that asked me to wait for teh consul general asked me into the office and told me to fill in the visa form.. and pay USD 20.. hey.. no need to see consul general already.. Embassy Letter of Recommendation rocks! 240pm.. they asked me to wait 30mins for my visa.. wait wait wait.. the 30mins became a full 2 hrs.. only got my passport back with the ethio visa at 445pm.. luckily they have BBCWorld on the tv there.. watched the speech by the Iranian president.. very theatrical performance by him.. well played..

This morning.. i got out of the camp at sunrise again.. and went in search of the Kenyan Embassy.. according to both Bradt and LP, the Kenyan Embassy is at Sharia 1.. but i walk around there for 30mins cannot find.. asked the locals and they pointed me to every possible directions.. then i saw a soldier with a shoulder flash that said Kenya in a UN vehicle.. i ran after the vehicle, and asked him where the Kenyan embassy is.. he told me it has moved to a place pretty far away... so.. i gave up.. maybe i'll just get my kenya visa at Addis.. so went internet cafe.. blogged on Wadi Halfa.. and went to meet up with Dave.. and Dave was adamant about me getting my kenya visa today.. so we went to a nearby hotel and asked for the directions again.. this time, we had transport.. so we found the kenyan embassy after just a few wrong directions...

The consul general at Kenyan embassy was real nice.. he was like, actually you no need to get visa.. you can get visa at the border.. but since you are here.. ok.. we can issue you a visa.. no wait time.. went to the cashier to pay USD 50, by the time i come back with the receipt, my passport was ready with the visa stamp in it.. cool! Looks like we can set up for Ethiopia early tomorrow morning!

had the whole afternoon free now.. decided to go see the sights in Khartoum.. The White and Blue Nile merges together to form the Nile at Khartoum.. so we went to see the confluence of the Nile.. suppposedly, the 2 rivers flow together side by side for a distance before finally merging into one.. cos blue nile flows much faster and white nile is slower.. you can indeed see the 2 colours of the nile coming together at the confluence point at the tip of Tuti Island in the middle of the nile.. but ok lah.. not too bad.. but not that spectacular either imho..

then went over to the omdurman district.. which is much like the Islamic Cairo.. but this is Islamic Khartoum.. it has the biggest market in Sudan.. and once we arrived there, wow.. traffic is crazy.. lots of shops.. lots of people.. and rickshaws.. motorcycles.. donkey carts.. horse carts.. giant trucks.. all fighting for space on the same road.. pretty chaotic.. haha.. i was enjoying it but dave seemed a little frustrated about driving there.. so i asked him to drop me off and i can walk on my own...

It's a fun experience to get lost in that marketplace.. i just turned into whichever corner or alleys that looked interesting.. and lost my way before long.. so anyhow turn and turn again.. and eventually got tired and asked for a direct way out for a bus back to downtown.. haha.. can't find the camel market.. but not that interested either.. since we saw some camel herders herding a big herd of camels (haha.. interesting sentence) in an oasis we passed by on the way from Dongola to Atbarra.. will give that a pass then..

TRAVEL PLANS
So! Will set off tomorrow early morning for Gedaref.. and read on papers that the Gedaref-Gallabat (Sudan's border town with Ethio) is now tarred.. cool.. maybe we can arrive at Metema (Ethio's border town) tomorrow night.. and stay overnight there instead of at Gedaref.. and drive to Gonder the next day (less then 4hrs drive i think).. I will split up with Dave at Gonder.. cos he's going up to Axxum, and I'm thinking of going to Bahir Dar and then up to Lalibela. will give Axum a miss this time, cos the road's tough.. travelling takes long.. and i dun have much time.. most likely i may just spend an extra day in gonder to just enjoy the individual time i have now.. hehe...

I may join Dave again at Addis.. maybe about 10-14days later.. for the drive down to Nairobi.. see how..

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Photos

Morning walk to the souq
Walking on a new road that's yet to be tarred..

A not so busy road at the Omdurman Souq
Forgot to take a photo of the chaotic roads... too busy dodging donkeys and horses and trucks and people and whatever else..

A view of downtown Khartoum
The tall building is Hotel Merdien.. where i lost my momobay.. !@#$%.. they're constructing a new business centre near the Nile.. that will be the new downtown, with very tall buildings.. Sudan's growing FAST

Downtown Khartoum 2
Mum wanted to know how Khatoum is like...

Soft drinks
Coca Cola in arabic.. the other 2 are local soft drinks.. quite good.. especially Stim.. an apple drink.. drink already sure stim..