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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| Khartoum Hiltom. The interior very much like a scene in the movies like Hotel Rwanda and The Last King Of Scotland. |
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| 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.
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| The entrance is facing the White Nile. Very near to its riverbank. |
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| My posh room. Sekali sekala kan. hehek |
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| 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!
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| 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]
