Out and About in SUDAN

waddaya know, got movie bout it too.

It was 2004 if I'm not mistaken. Yea, definitely 2004 cos it was World Cup and I watched it there – Sudan time 8.00++ pm.

Here I was, an eager chap trying to map himself in this world that any slight opportunities to travel would not be denied. When Sudan was mentioned, I jumped in ecstasy and said YES. A big yes, that is.

Khartoum skyline, 2015 - pix credited to Mr. Google

And that yes came with slight hesitation and huge question marks therein: where the heck is Sudan? What is Sudan? Do they have snow there? (but of course! Haha). I Googled and studied a bit about Sudan – its people, culture and geography. Yup, a bit disappointed that it’s actually part of African continent but with majority Muslim population. There were little uprising back then (the idea of South Sudan separation were still at fetus stage) and advisably safe. Malaysia even have its Embassy open there.

Northern Sudanese. Dominantly in Khartoum.

The next thing I know, we were heading to Sudanese Embassy for visa application. I can’t really remember how much did we pay for the visa but I reckoned its around RM90-100++. And yeah, you are required to get immunization for yellow fever prior to applying for visa (please check next entry on Yellow Fever and related info).

Fast forward, within two weeks I was on board Emirates heading for Sudan. Oh yea, forgot to mention that I’ve been to Sudan three times. But the first trip was the most memorable simply because it’s the first time I set my foot into the country where the two Niles meet before streaming all the way to Egypt.

TRIVIA:

If you are in Khartoum, please ask your host / driver / whoever to drive you to the bridge (forgot the name) where the two Niles met. Only in Sudan that the White Nile and Blue Nile converge into one huge river and flow as far as Egypt and becoming the pulse of African continent. The reason behind these White and Blue are due to the reflection it made in the evening when the sun strikes that it shimmer in Blue at one side and White at another. And yeah, please go in the evening, about 3-4-5 pm to see this. You’ll be amazed. I mean, it’s the freaking NILE RIVER in its true form.

The White and Blue Niles meet and flow upstream to Egypt. That huge white building is the Presidential Palace y'all

The journey to Khartoum was kinda long with transit in Dubai for about 6 hours. Back in 2004, Dubai was still relatively cheap with exchange rate 1 to 1. We splurged ourselves with t-shirts and other worldly stuffs since we weren’t allowed to leave DBX.

It took another 4 odd hours from Dubai to Khartoum. From flight, I could see the vastness of sand after sand after sand and I started to doubt myself, what the hell am I doing? But I guessed it was too late isn’t it. From above I could see Khartoum International Airport looking very dodgy. If I am to find similarity, it looked a lot like the old Yangon International Airport (refer to my previous post on Myanmar). I anticipated that our meeting with Khartoum airport officials wouldn’t be that pleasant either. Yup, I was right! The moment we landed until retrieving our luggage, there were this stare and lotsa questions in Arabic. *DIE.

Newly furbished Khartoum International Airport. Pix credit to Andrew McConnell

Oh, forgot to describe the first time coming out the plane and breathe in to Khartoum’s H2O; it was flaming hot! There were no sky bridge, so we had to walk out the flight’s stair to the terminal building.

Once done, we headed to Hilton Khartoum (the agent had arranged it earlier). Upon arrival we used to house phone to call Malaysia Embassy informing our arrival only to be instructed to stay elsewhere and that the embassy had arranged to us to stay at Grand Holiday Villa; near Petronas and other high stake commercial buildings. The reason was that there were some insurgent whereby westerns assets were attacked and Hilton was one of the hot spot.

Khartoum Hiltom. The interior very much like a scene in the movies like Hotel Rwanda and The Last King Of Scotland.

The interior and set decoration of this hotel got 80s vibe to it.

Well, since we have called upon the embassy and they helped us (we got good embassy rate, FYI. Heheh save budget), it’s only right that we pay courtesy visit to the Embassy of Malaysia in Khartoum. We met with a very friendly Haji (you see, it’s been more than 10 years now and I’m bad at people’s name), the Second Secretary there and  he treated us for sumptuous and posh lunch (being embassy officials and what not, of course la fine dine. Hehek). He advised and gave us some tips and local customs – well, the usual stuffs of do’s and don’ts which were very useful. Anyway, a local by the name of Mr. Ballah was always with us every time we venture out – to assist on language mainly. The Sudanese spoke Arabic language with heavy local accent.

The entrance is facing the White Nile. Very near to its riverbank.

My posh room. Sekali sekala kan. hehek

The location to Grand Holiday Villa

It was Mr. Ballah that introduced us to the gems of Sudan and took us to the place where locals lead their lives. We specifically requested that we do not want to go to tourist areas (like there’s any. Sudan was still recovering from recent uprising and plenty of buildings were badly attack. The sight was scary and nerve wrecking.) FYI, not all were affected in 2004 attack – the one badly bombarded was the business centres and its surrounding areas. The one where Hilton located. Meanwhile the government quarter / district (like Putrajaya) was heavily guarded and safe – that’s where Grand Holiday Villa is.

Mr. Ballah took us to local wedding – a relative of his. Deeply rooted with Arab tradition, the banquet and celebration were held in close door for female whilst male have it outdoor. We were entertained with Sudanese traditional dance and poetry readings by the elderly. Though we did not understand a single thing, the language of love prevail that all of us smile in admiration. The food was superbly delicious with oh-so-many sweet delicacies to try on. Super sweet. Even the traditional red tea was sweet – no wonder they serve it in tiny cup. It’s thick crimson red and sweet. Out of respect, we savoured what was given and went on sugar high after that. Hahahah highly energetic! Heck, we even joined in the dance.

Another highlight was when Mr. Ballah treated us with typical Sudanese lunch at its very much warung-like for locals. Well, it’s actually a huge tent presiding on a vast red sand tucked somewhere deep within the housing areas. Like a suburb if you must. He drove us in his white Toyota Corolla (yup, the old ones) through some fierce streets and alley and after about 45 minutes of turning left and right, we arrived to the makan place. A simple tent with no chairs and no fancy china. We sat on a rug and patiently waited for whatever Mr. Ballah ordered. Two ladies came out with a bucket full of grilled lamb, a bowl of green salad – jarjil (rocket salad) and lettuce and tomatoes, a loaf of palm size bun – shaped like baguette, only smaller, and an empty basin. We ate with our bare hand and I must say, this was and is the best grilled - Arab - style dishes I’ve ever tried. And, I’ve tasted many from five star Saudi cuisine to Oman to Syrian to Yemen to Egypt. Nothing beat this so far. The taste still linger and I’m not exaggerating. I’M NOT!

This is how our lunch was prepared. Kickass style. Delicious!

What else, oh yeah, we spent good five days here in Khartoum. There are also stories from Sinar City and Omdurman – my second and third trip to Sudan. But I think I’m gonna stop here. 

Tulis panjang-panjang, korang letih nak membaca. Ye dak?

Ok, I see you when I see you.

[apekTRAVELS]