We leave early the following morning, the hotel security guard clearly sniffing around for an unwarranted "tip". It's more than a thousand metres above sea level here, and I have to wear my fleece until the sun rises, at which point the temperature rockets and I'm soon sweating. The road is possibly even worse than before. Patrik has seemed an independent, self-sufficient, type, and has said that this trans-Africa crossing has been a dream of his for a while, but I decide to offer to share the driving just for manners' sake. I'm surprised when he immediately accepts. I haven't done much driving for years, and certainly not in a Landrover locked in 4WD on a bumpy, skiddy surface, which becomes apparent just seconds into my stint when an overenthusiastic burst of acceleration sends us slewing ... read more

The landscape as the bus continues south is plains with a patchy covering of trees, which I know will continue into Kenya. I see a small tortoise crossing the road, which the driver expertly navigates around. At the breakfast stop, a man shouts "China!" at me, which I can only laugh at - it makes no sense to me that with so many people here fans of Premier League football, which features players of every colour and shape, I can be mistaken for Chinese. A couple from the bus invite me to share breakfast with them. They are Ethiopian but have been living in South Africa for the last decade. Even so, they don't have South African citizenship and the man complains that they have to jump through bureaucratic hoops in order to get back into ... read more

As I wait for the minibus to take me to the airport, I chat with the gate boy, who has been eager to please throughout my stay. In fact, I'm fairly sure he has been stalking me, as he has always been within five yards of my door whenever I've opened it, including when I poked my nose out of my room the previous night during an impressive thunderstorm. He repeats the story he had regaled me with then - that he comes from a village 36km away with such poor access that approaching on foot is the only possibility, that he is paid B150 (~$14) per month for working 24 hours a day, and that his parents are too old to work so there is little family income. Despite these unpromising circumstances, he wants to ... read more

I have difficulty determining whether the bus to Aksum will be departing at 5AM or 5:30AM so decide to get to the bus station for 4:15AM to be on the safe side. Even at this time in the morning, there are plenty of tuk tuk drivers whizzing around, who all shout at me from distance to offer their services. I see many people asleep at the roadside, wrapped in sheets. The very faintest of silver linings for the homeless here is that it's not cold even at night. I find that the bus station doesn't open until 4:30AM, at which point I am let through the gate and locate my bus. There is no-one else there. Shortly after, the conductor arrives and points me to one of the better seats inside. This is the same model ... read more

The journey to the border with Ethiopia is much simpler and shorter than I expect, and it is a pleasant surprise to arrive there as early as mid-afternoon. Sadly, after 3 weeks of 99% honest treatment in Sudan, my defences are ill-prepared for the onslaught of a pair of Ethiopian hustlers (detailed in the Dull but possibly useful info section). My mood is darkened by the scams that I sidestep (and would no doubt have been darker if I'd spotted all of them), not to mention the fact that I will have to spend a night in the boiling, airless border town of Metema before I can catch a bus out. After my experience with the scammers, I walk away from their cluster of hotels, plodding sweatily down the road in a town where I know ... read more