- Overview
- (+ earlier Reports)
- Route Map
- Countries
- New Reports
- (+ new Pictures)
- Reports
- Picture Galleries:
- North America
- (Caribbean)
South America - Europe
Africa - (Indian Ocean)
Asia - Southeast Asia
- (Far East)
Australia - (Pacific)
- Statistics
- Media
- Support
- Archives
- News – December 2015 (Khartoum/Sudan, 12/31/2015)
- Website statistics: 'Webalizer' has been shut down in February 2013. 'Google-Analytics' is now the current counter.
- 'Google-Analytics' showed 20'160 pageviews during December. The visitors come from 235 countries!
- ('Google-Analytics': November = 24'452 pageviews / October = 21'579 pageviews)
- 'Logaholic' shows now the following figures in December 2015: 19'623 visits / 93'817 pages
- ('Logaholic' November = 20'080 visits / 90'915 pages; October = 20'037 visits / 89'120 pages)
- Record day since 12/17/1998 = the birthday of our website: on 11/5/2007 = 13'407 visitors and 787'456 hits ('Webalizer')
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- First of all we wish to all of our readers a Happy New Year 2016, and may all your wishes come true!
- On December 4th, 2015, we left Lalibela, Ethiopia's monolithic place of churches with a status of a UNESCO World Cultural
- Heritage. Although the access – apart from the plane – is only possible by partly bad gravel roads, the somewhat arduous inward
- and onward journey is worth the effort. It's not that the road itself is that "arduous", but – as already mentioned in News October
- and News November 2015 – it's the hordes of stone throwing children. They sit all day long at a road obstacle, which can be
- negotiated only at walking speed. Always they scream for money (jujuju, manni, manni, manni, gimmi, gimmi, gimmi – you, give
- me money). Woe, if we continue: Stones are thrown; rocks are rolled up to the size of a melon to force the vehicle to stop. Well,
- that belongs now to our history – here in Sudan, our 185th country, the people are completely different: Not aggressive – but
- reluctant, not demanding – but helpful, not cheeky – but nice. Abruptly at the border of Metema (Ethiopia) and Gallabat (Sudan)
- not only the landscape is changing (mountains to plains), the temperature (mainly chilly to desert like heat), the religion (Ethiopian
- Orthodox to Muslim), the language and script (Amharic to Arabic), from a country glutted by aid money to a country restricted
- by economic sanctions (NGO's to UN/US/EU etc.), the currency (Birr to Pound), the calendar (Ethiopian 13 months with 365
- days to Islamic 12 months with 354 days), the population density (Ethiopia 251 pop. per sq.mi. [97/km²] to Sudan 57 pop. per
- sq.mi. [22/km²]) and as already mentioned above the character of the population. The contrast could hardly be starker.
- But "all is not gold that glitters". Thus one is compelled to register within three days at the alien registration office in Khartoum, at
- least if the country is entered from the South (Sunday to Thursday N15.59983 E32.51812 – Friday and Saturday at the airport
- N15.59235 E32.54904). Then one has to get a Photo and Travel Permit from the Ministry of Tourism (N15.60194 E32.53243),
- at least when leaving the city of Khartoum. Furthermore there are no ATM's that accept any foreign credit card – subsequently
- there's a black market. And automatically there's a barrier in taking freely photos, because a lot of stuff is classified as a military or
- strategic important target - or could become immediately such a target, if somebody sees it, and finally women and poverty
- shouldn't be pictured either.
- However getting the Saudi Arabia Visa (now called "Road Transit Visa") was relatively easy. It's not anymore done directly by
- the Consulate, but via an agent. We were recommended the agency "Waleed" (N15.57464 E32.54697 – an unlabeled "shop" just
- opposite of the Saudi Embassy), and we can really also recommend Mr. Waleed (he is arranging within 2 days a visa to transit
- the 930 miles [1'500km] through the Kingdom within 3 days, to be used within 30 days). We had to submit a letter of
- recommendation from our Swiss Embassy, as well as a copy of the marriage certificate, the carnet de passages, the international
- driving license and 2 passport photos. Cost in December 2015 SD£ 650 p.p.
- Khartoum itself is just another mega city (min. 5.5 million) at the confluence of the Blue and the White Nile, whereas the first is
- flowing more in a brownish color and the white one does not look less dirty. May be that the color is changing from time to time.
- Although there is a lot of traffic too, the metropolis isn't (yet) congested like Nairobi. We could camp in the garden of the
- "Khartoum Youth Hostel" centrally situated in South Khartoum at the rate of SD£ 70 per day (~$6.35). The Youth Hostel act's
- also as "sponsor" for the registration. Cars wider than 94 inches [2.40m] (= exact opening of the door) cannot enter. Unfortunately
- the ablution leaves much to be desired and the noise from the road and the close-by airport might bother those with a light sleep.
-
- What's next? The Saudi Arabian "Road Transit Visa" can be used until January 15th, 2016. The ferry "Mahabba" of Namma-Lines
- is sailing from Suakin (39 miles [63km] south of Port Sudan) on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and arrives in Jeddah
- theoretically after 14 hours the following day – the vessel needs nearly always more time and is without fail delayed. That means
- that docking at Jeddah is at dusk, which is actually day #1 of the three transit days. But obviously the time of leaving the harbor
- customs is noted, hence there are finally true 3 days (= 72 hours) for the 930 miles [1'500km] lying ahead. This Saudi Arabia visit
- will be our 8th. 7 have been also transits, only back in 1966 we received a 30 days Visitor-(= Business-)Visa that made it
- possible to explore freely the Kingdom, with the exception of Mecca and Medina. It's likely that we shall enter at the latest on
- January 17th, the United Arab Emirates for the 22nd time with our car (including all border crossings between the UAE and Oman)
- – if no unforeseen events are cropping up.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
||
|
 |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
Tongatapu Island |  |
|
 |
|
|
Rarotonga Island |  |
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
||
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
|
||
|
||
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
||
|
Temples, Pagodas, Shrines | |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
| The visit of 6 countries with and 1 island without our LandCruiser | Middle East | |
| The visit of 10 countries with and 1 without our LandCruiser | Southeast Asia | |
| The visit of 4 countries with and 1 islandl without our LandCruiser | Indian Ocean | |
| The visit of 4 countries with and 1 without our LandCruiser | Far East | |
| The visit of 14 Pacific Islands with and 1 without our LandCruiser | Pacific (Febr. 2008-Jan. 2010 + Aug.-Sept. 2010) |
|
| The visit of 13 Caribbean Islands with our LandCruiser | Caribbean (June 2003-Dec. 2004) |
|
| + added from the United Arab Emirates: | Fairytale Wedding in Dubai (March 1999) |
|
| + added from a earlier visit to the USA: | Las Vegas (Millennium change) |
|
| + added from our Arabian Peninsula round trip: | Pictures from Yemen (May-June 1996) |
|
| + Flashbacks of our Worldrecordtour: | Pictures from "all the continents" (Oct. 1984 - April 1997) |
|
|
|
|
|
||
