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contains useful information and advice for an overland trip trough East-Africa…
8. Sudan (1.6 – 7.6.2011)
Getting a visa for the unknown Sudan is not an easy affair. One of the best places to get a visa, if you intend to enter the Sudan via the overland route is Cairo. I paid $100 in Cairo which is the standard fare for most nationals. A letter of recommendation from your embassy and the obligatory passport photos are required. Since the Sudan referendum of partition, the German embassy does not issue any more such letters. I made my own letter of ‘no recommendation with the help of my laptop, and it did work! I heard that the Sudanese consulate in Aswan, apparently charges only $50 and does not even ask for such stupid letter! Try your luck.
The ferry from Aswan in Southern Egypt to Wadi Halfa in the Northern end of the Sudan will cost $60 in the cheapest class and leaves every Monday in the late afternoon. The 560 tickets sell fast, so be there early enough. Remember, without a Sudanese visa you can’t buy a ticket. The trip over the lake Nasser, takes around 20 hours while checking onto the ferry can take another 8 h. Try to be there early to get a seat, since the ferry is notoriously crowded and overloaded with Sudanese traders and their goods from Egypt. When the ferry is finally ready to leave, it’s so packed; there is hardly space to move on deck. In the early next morning, the ferry captain whistles the horn when passing by Abu Simbel, watch out – I missed it! Sudanese people are quite friendly and honest and a breeze after the greedy Egyptians. You will notice this immediately after arrival.
Locanda 40 SP
Sudan is a very bureaucratic country, probably the most bureaucratic in the world! When you arrive in the dusty land, you have to register at the Foreign Alien Office within 3 days, which sets you back with another $40, slightly less if paid in SP. You have to obtain a travel permit, which is actually free of charge and a photo permit which is $10. This later includes a lot of restrictions and doesn’t allow you to photograph many things anyway. The exceptions are listed on the permit. Before you can check into a hotel anywhere in the country you have to register again at the nearest police office, at every place you visit! Some locanda owners will copy your documents and will do it for you, so.
Sudan is dusty, hot and very little developed in most parts. Proper hotels in Sudan are quite expensive. So if you want to save some money, you should consider staying in local locandas, small guesthouses, often without a sign, rather simple but sufficient. Most people in Sudan or let’s say men will speak some English, enough for travelling and much better than for instance in China. Haven’t talked actually to any woman in Sudan!
Al Bashir 1
The roads in the Northern Sudan all the way from Wadi Halfa to Ethiopia are in rather good condition, some of them have been redone just recently with the help of the Chinese. There are a few interesting places to visit along the Nile on the way to Ethiopia where the Blue Nile starts. Interesting stopovers could be Dongola, Karima on the way to Khartoum and Kassala in the East, near the Eritrean border. The Eritrean land border is closed! Well anyway, not considering the previous mentioned places, the most direct trip from Wadi Halfa to the Ethiopian border at Metema will take about 30 h and will cost around 150 Sudanese pounds, the equivalent to $50.
Al Bashir 2
Notice, there are no ATM’s in Sudan or any possibilities to change traveller checks. Cash US Dollars are King. The best rates you will get on the somewhat behalf legal black-market, where the best rate I got for 1 US$ was 3,2 Sudanese Pounds (in May 2011). Prices: A glass of tea will cost 1 SP, a cheap meal starts from 3 Pounds for mashed beans and 10 SP for half a chicken, one liter bottle of water 2 SP and a private room in a locanda goes from 20 up to 70 SP. Dormitory may be cheaper.
Midway Calculation: From Germany to Ethiopia by public transport (train, bus and ferry) will cost you around €360. Travelling time on public vehicles is around 183 h. This does not include waiting times at borders, harbors or other transport stations, which can be quite time consuming. It does also not include taxi rides to get to these stations. It has taken me around 2 months, travelling in a rather slow pace and visiting major sights on the road to reach Ethiopia.
You have to add another €180 on visa fees for Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia. This includes registration fees in Sudan as well as exit and harbor fees and so on. Just for the ones who want to know how much an overland trip to Ethiopia might cost!
Szenerie 7
7. Egypt (2.5 – 30.5.11)
Route
Ancient Egypt is probably the country in the world that receives visitors for the longest time in human history. This has affected the culture quite a lot. To make it short, many Egyptians are a pain in the arse. Unfortunately money is involved most of the times and quite a few Egyptians can tell you the very same lie 10 times right to your face – without showing any affection at all. Since I never liked Israeli behavior and their politics, I took the expensive ($60) and incredible slow ferry (15 hours) from Jordan to Nuweiba on the Sinai, rather than taking the few kilometers of asphalt on the Israeli side in getting into Egypt. It’s actually quite advisable not to have an Israeli stamp in your passport while traveling in most Muslim countries, especially Syria, Iran and Sudan. Although it is nowadays possible to get the entry stamp on a separate piece of paper if you wish. Anyway a good government official, let’s say from Sudan will discover where you have been – if he wants to!
Egypt is a rather cheap country if you can get the Egyptian price, always ask the price in advance otherwise you are fucked. Surprise surprise, they have cheap beer named Stella for about $1 a bottle. A cheap room will cost about $6, while a cheap meal will cost from $1-4. Transport is also reasonably priced. The Visa for Egypt is only $15 for almost all nationalities; the Sinai is even for free – to make it more easy going for the package tourists. I traveled quite a bit around in Egypt; however, direct public transport from Nuweiba to Aswan: the most southern city in Egypt from where you can catch the ferry over Lake Nasser to Sudan would cost you about 160 Egyptian pounds, approx. $25 and can take up to 30 hours!
Recommendable places to visit would be:
1. Dahab: a sort of an up-graded Hippie beach resort, where you can watch elder European Lady’s holding hands with their Egyptian boyfriends.
2. Alexandria: Tout-free, western influenced city with faded elegance on the Mediterranean with a cool climate, consisting of many nice tea houses, horse carts and pastry shops.
3. Siwa: Highly recommended rustic oasis near the Libyan border, with countless donkey carts, unspoiled people with their own Siwa-language. Siwa men could marry the same sex just 90 years ago! How advanced would Guido Westerwelle think?! According to my research a good donkey in Siwa should cost about 900 L.E ($90), and is to be recognized by having long legs and erect ears!
6. Jordan (27.4.-1.5.2011)
Jordan Route
The Kingdom of Jordan is probably the most organized but also the most expensive on my way through the Middle East down south. One of the major incomes of it’s economy is foreign aid and tourism. King Abdullah the head of the constitutional monarchy got educated in Oxford and some people say he does speak better English to Arabic. He is known as being very liberal and western orientated and even appeared in one Star Trek episode as an extra. His Arab neighbors are not overwhelmingly happy with him since they claim him to be too friendly with Israel and the United States. From the later, Jordan receives 1 Billion US $ per annum for their friendship?! Jordan is a small country with just 6, 5 Million people, so crossing it on bus from north to south to the Gulf of Aqaba (from where you catch the rather expensive ferry to Egypt) will take just 6 hours and costs around 12 €.
The Death Sea, the lowest point on earth!
Jordan with the Death Sea, the famous desert landscape of Wadi Rum and Petra the famous abandoned city of the Nabataeans has quite some sights to offer. Jordan is a good example when milking tourists becomes a passion and an important recourse of income. The recognized UNESCO world heritage Petra set’s you back with the at least 75 $, and dipping your toe into the Death Sea will cost 15 $! Visa on arrival is straightforward and costs for all nationals (even Israelis) 30 $. A room will cost around 30 $, while food is reasonably priced. After 4 days I escaped to cheaper Egypt…
Petra Khazne al-Firaun
5. Syria (17.4.11 – 27.4.11)
Syria
Finally arrived Syria. Was a bit worried in getting my visa at the border, especially since the movement against Assad jr. is getting more serious. But after many boring questions from the officials like ‘what you wanna do here’, some ignorance, 3 hours of waiting and 32 US $ I received the 15 day stamp in my passport. I guess they didn’t like the many visa stickers I had in my worn passport. Took them a while to realize I hadn’t been in Israel, one of their most hated enemies. On the other hand they could have also assumed I could be a journalist. Syrian visa fees differ quite a bit from nationality to nationality. Americans pay for instance 131 $, but wont get it at the border while Kiwis pay 111 US $. Russians for some reasons will get it for free, and there are quite a few Russians around enjoying the cheap prices of Syria.
Hotel Baron in Aleppo, the watering hole of T. E. Lawrence of Arabia
I did not take the direct route on my way south into Jordan. But a bus ride to the southern border near Daraa City (the center of the uprising) should cost not more than 10 €, and would take just 6 hours since the country is small enough. There is an exit fee of 500 Syrian Pounds = 8 € when you leave the country overland. There are ATM’s throughout the country where you can withdraw money. This surprised me since this is not the case for instance in Iran or Sudan – I mean countries which are alos considered to be part of an axis of evil (refering to the words of former US president George Bush jr.)!
Lawrence of Arabia
After 10 days I thought it would be wiser to leave Syria. Basically all Foreign Sate Departments had advised their fellow citizens to leave the country because a civil-war might occur! Anyway, I did not feel unsafe since most of the demonstrations took place mostly on Friday after the prayers. Only once in Dayr az Zwar, a town near the biblical Euphrates river, I had the unique experience of smelling teargas for the first time in my life! There were rumors that Assad could close the border to Jordan completely, which could have had happen any time – so I left because I didn’t want to take the risk of getting stuck.
Butchery in Aleppo
4. Turkey (12.4 – 17.4.11)
Turkey Route
In brief: The journey from Sofia to Istanbul by train and some bus (cause of some temporary disagreement between the two counties) and a lot of waiting has taken about 17 hours. The ticket was again €20. That adds up €104 from Lüneburg to Istanbul. Traveling time comes up to 55 hours.
I guess that is quite reasonable time to get your foot into Asia, so why always traveling in one of these non-sexy flying cigars! Visas at the border for EU citizens and most other nationalities are for – free including a serious bagging-check. Turkey is a no nonsense country, when it comes to drugs or weapons.
Just spend a day in Istanbul which is still one of the nicest cities in the world and a few days in Cappadocia one of my favorite places in Turkey. Cappadocia is basically situated in the center of Turkey. It’s relaxed, has cheap accommodation and interesting landscapes which makes it a good stopover, either on the overland route to Africa or to the Subcontinent. Transport in Turkey is very comfortable and efficient although not cheap. From Istanbul to the Syrian border near Anatkya (the main crossing) costs about €105 and it takes approx. 25 hours. You could do it also by train but it will be much slower. Turkey is not anymore a cheap country to travel – since they want to become a member of the EU. A liter of petrol is €1,80 and a bottle of beer in a pub €2,5! A cheap meal will cost you around €6 and a room €20 and more in Istanbul!
Pigeon valley, Cappadocia
3. Bulgaria (9.4. – 11.4.11)
Bulgaria
Bulgaria is I guess my favorite country on the Balkan. From the ones I visited it preserves the strongest communistic atmosphere – although joining the EU a few years ago. The train from Belgrade takes about 12 hours and costs 20 €. I paid the tall Serbian conductor 10 € and a can of beer on top of the original ticket and he organized me a clean bed in a compartment just for myself. Passport checks on both sides are easy going and happen inside the train. They will even wake you up, by knocking gently on your door. Arriving at the train station in Sofia is already something. With all these poor equipped socialist
styled buffet places, the stray dogs and the notorious smell of urine – Sofia’s station seems not having changed much since the good old days! Be a bit careful when you change money at one of the countless currency exchange offices. Many of them will give you 20 % less than the official exchange rate (1 € – 1,95 Leva) since they advertise only the selling rate! It’s a bit of a scam, so you have to check a few. Bulgaria is cheap as hell. I had some interesting dish with loads of tomato, onion, cabbage and bread in one of these nice buffets at the railway station for less than 
0,40 €! Sofia itself appears a bit run down or lets‘ say in state of repair – which I enjoy. Seems like the economy is not doing so well at the moment. Prices for apartment rents are far to high compare to the low salaries – complained my host while having breakfast the other morning. But Sofia contains also some fine architecture which reminded me of Paris – even I have never been there. There are a few Turkish styled mosques and even more Russian influenced cathedrals scattered around town which gives the place this distinctive Turkish-Russian-Europe Mix!
One of the major Landmarks of Sofia: Alexander Newski Cathedral build in 1882 in memory of Bulgaria's liberation from the Ottoman Empire by the Russians. Btw. designed by same architect who build the GUM shopping complex in Moscow!
2. Serbia (7.4. – 8.4.11)
Serbia
From Budapest a ticket with the rather slow train to Serbia costs 15 €. There are 3 trains per day and the journey takes about 12 hours. I chose the morning train to see at least a bit of the hinterland on my rushy little Balkan tour. Since Serbia is not a member in the EU I finally received again a little stamp in my passport. Arriving on train in Serbia s‘ Capital Belgrade in the late afternoon I saw for the first time in Europe slums. Not as spread out as in India of course, but in the way the little desperate shacks looked like – very similar to those in India. Made from trash and garbage. Had the feeling they were mostly occupied by Gypsies!
For just one day I had a glimpse into Belgrade and its‘ history. Beside some nice architecture from the heydays of Belgrade you will encounter a few mosques and the countries currency is named Dinar. This combined with the smell of the numerous kebab shops gives‘ you a bit of an oriental feeling. Prices are quite similar to those in Hungary. For some reason you will find pretty tasty slices of pizza on virtually every corner for just 0,75 €.
Putin seen in Beograd
Noticeable are also the many sex toy shops around downtown! More sex shops than Bakeries – and there are a whole lot of bakeries in Belgrade. BTW, Belgrade is also famous on the Balkan for it’s lively nightlife, which I missed since I left the place after a night – cause my hostel felt a bit like a refuge camp?!
Belgrade’s population same as in Hungary appearers very mixed with a rather darkish influence. The white tall Serbians stand out of the crowd and I got the feeling they want to. I guess I never have seen so many tall woman in my life!
1. Hungary (4.4. – 7.4.11)
Not much to tell here, just on transit for a few days. The usual sightseeing. Took the train from Lüneburg (my hometown in Lower Saxony) to Hungarians‘ Capital Budapest. The Deutsche Bundesbahn charges for this ticket just 39 €, which they named ‚Europe Special‘. Easily bought on the Internet via their website. This is one of the cheapest and most convenient ways to leave Western-Europe overland. The train arrives at Keleti International train station and takes approx. comfortable 12 hours from Lüneburg, via Vienna. Budapest itself is a very easy going city with surprisingly little traffic. You will see a lot of dark skinned people, mostly Gypsies and you won’t believe it – many Chinese. The later could come for a short period after the revolution without a visa. 30.000 came and stayed. Hungary still remains a nice Ostalgic feeling and is cheaper than expected. A half a liter of Ászok beer, one of the major brands goes for less than a 1 € in a local pub and a portion of the well known Hungarian specialty goulash, comes for less than 2 €!
Bradt and his stylish Slavic friends
Hungarians are reserved and friendly people. They tend to keep a low profile and aren’t very fashionable e.g. When they become drunk they don’t get as noisy as Russians. Great!
Traveltips: Europe to Capetown 2011
Hi Folk,
in this section I will provide some useful information for the upcoming trip, which means Europe to Capetown by public transport starting on April 2011. For each country there will be one section with information focusing on visa-regulations, dangers and annoyances and
other useful stuff which is good to know when you travel independently in countries like these.
If there are questions feel free to contact me via this website.
Keep rolling