Blogs from Sudan, Africa - page 14

We left hurriedly after the flies start attacking us again.. pttph.. pui.. .dig ear dig ear.. they are going into almost (and i say almost, not all) every hole i have.. We headed for Wawa, supposedly our first stop for the temple of soleb.. and we were aiming for Dongola by night fall.. ok.. sunset.. We passed by a village on the way to wawa, and saw this dome shape building, that looked impressive and old.. so we stopped our car and decided to take a look.. ahh.. another point for taking the 4WD instead of public bus.. my guess is that is some kind of mosque.. with a small cemetery beside it.. note the tombstones are all simple and undecorated.. mostly just rocks and sometimes just a piece of plastic.. i heard somewhere the ... read more

Wadi Halfa is a transit town.. where aeroplanes, trains and buses/trucks meet the ferry going/coming from Egypt.. It is a small town.. dusty.. at the southern edge of Lake Nasser.. the northernmost town of Sudan.. gives me an old western kind of feeling at first.. The ferry arrives in town on Tuesday noon.. and you need to register with the town's immigration office, which closes at 2pm-3pm.. The taxi ride from the ferry terminal to the town itself costs me a bluddy 500SD (Sudanese Dinars, 1 USD = 200 SD) maybe becos i was walking with some ang mohs.. there was Dave (whom I travelled with later) from South africa.. Dave from UK, who's has rode his BMW motorbike across Europe, down to Morocco, and across the north coast to Egypt, and now going to ... read more

There aren't quite enough words to sum up my experiences in Sudan. THe people I met, the things I saw and how much I learnt. Sudan really was an amazing adventure and although I was only threre for a short time, its an experience I wont forget easily. Sudan is a country that has little of poeple would call 'beauty', there aren't pretty buildings or colourful sculptures or anything with beauty. But what makes Sudan are the people. I met some of the kindest and honest peple in the short time in Sudan. SO many poepe would give all they could to help a stranger, even if they didnt have much. As with all counrties, Sudan has its problems but the people and true humanity makes up for all of this. I will miss the kids ... read more

Let me tell you about what a day in the life of Miss Jua looks like. It’s 530 in the morning 'Beep beep, beep beep!’ My alarm tries to wake me up with all subtlety. That is, if the mosque next door hasn’t already. I really wish to respect other peoples’ religions and beliefs, but why it has to be practiced so massively and loudly, I will probably never understand. No mercy on the sleeping souls, who would like to add just a few more minutes to their sweet dream. Everybody has to wake up when it is time to pray. With all due respect….please: sssshhhhhh! I get up for a few stretching exercises to prepare my body and mind for the long day ahead of me. After a quick shower, followed by a fruity breakfast ... read more

This is a short story about how we found Nemo while counting stars and listening to musical crickets hiding between the bricks of a true Sudanese house. On Friday Iss and I visited our friend Haider and his family in Kalakala, only half an hour drive from Khartoum. We were warmly welcomed and made ourselves comfortable. We joined the family for dinner. His mum had cooked a special dish for me, rice and vegetables, so that I did not have to eat my way around the meat, meat and ... meat! Thanks or rather shukran Mama Haider, it was lovely! I had a little bit of a culture shock just before dinner when I was told that I had to eat with the women and that Iss was eating with the men in a separate room. ... read more