Blogs from Wadi Halfa, North, Sudan, Africa

U Wadi Halfi sam prvi put dobio neki lagani osjećaj da sam u Africi. Wadi Halfa sama po sebi ne nudi baš ništa. Maleni pustinjski gradić, pržen na preko 45 stupnjeva, bez ikakvog raslinja kojem za koji je očito da postoji samo zbog trajekta. Nekoliko dućana, jedan restoran (odnosno bolji naziv bi bila zalogajnica) i nekoliko nastambi koje iznajmljuju sobe. A dotične je kad dođe trajekt jako teško naći. U kombinaciji s jednim Britansko – Jamajkanskim parom smo se uputili u potragu za smještajem i nakon nekoliko odbijenica došli smo na nekakvu recepciju gdje je sjedio dječak od nekih 12 godina. Nakon puno mahanja i tipkanja po kalkulatoru došli smo dogovora i pokazao nam je deluxe sobu. Deluxe soba se sastojala od 4 ne bas cista kreveta na oprugama nasred prazne neožbukane sobe s klimom postavljenom ... read more

Our ferry from Egypt chugged in to Wadi Halfa in Sudan just before lunch. Wadi Halfa is a dusty hot border town, with not a whole lot going down. Apparently we stayed in the room that Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman used during their Long Way Down trip. The bikes hadn't arrived so we headed into town to kill a little time. A large group of young guys in green khaki came striding past us a one stage, then a few minutes later one guy in police uniform came sprinting past us, with the group in hot pursuit. They caught him, gave him a bit of a beating, and then took him away. We found out later that the police guy had arrested one of the army guys for drinking, and this had obviously backfired on ... read more

And I thought it was convoluted getting off the ferry from Italy into Egypt. It's an entirely different ball game In Wadi Halfa. First you need to get your passport stamped, although no-one tells you this until you're woken at 6am by an angry man claiming there isn't much time (we land just 5 hours later). Then you fill out a travel permit, although no one tells you this either, or even hands them out, you just need to scrap and fight for the few remaining ones on baord. This done, you queue. And then queue some more. And then fill out two copies of a second form, which is remarkably similar to the previous form. And then you queue again. And then some more. And then, by luck, magic or bribery, you find yourself at ... read more

The ferry from Aswan to Wadi Halfa in Sudan leaves from the terminal at the High Dam, and I see a sign saying "Wlecome" (sic) as we drive along the dam's wall. My final shafting from Egypt turns out to be the hotel suggesting that I should take a taxi here as coming by train would still leave me a long way from the terminal - needless to say, the station is right next to it. A guard tells me I need to wait one hour before I go through so I sit on the edge of a disused fountain, in the middle of the rapidly-assembling crowd for the ferry. The other passengers are predominantly Egyptian and Sudanese, many with astounding quantities of luggage. I see one man with four TVs, another with a fridge/freezer. Bulging, ... read more

Upon arriving in Wadi Halfa we were immediately reminded that we were not in Egypt anymore when people stopped to greet us without trying to sell us something - how refreshing! After finishing laundry and exporing the town, there's not much else to do here in Wadi Halfa. So we climbed the hill behind the hotel and had a picnic lunch and took some photos. We are here until the Dragoman truck arrives, which ended up arriving almost 2 days after we arrived in Wadi Halfa. Interesting tidbit about this town: it was actually quite the place until its residents were told to relocate due to the flooding of Lake Nasser. Most of the original town is now under water.... read more