I’ve spent whole days of my life at Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport awaiting a connecting flight. So I’ve got one of Africa’s most important hub airports pretty much sussed. What can you expect from Kenya’s main international airport? How nice is Nairobi airport? I’ve got all the information you’ll… Continue reading
With only 4 km between Tabarka and Algeria, I have to cross over to Europe. Algeria is one of those places that makes getting a visa very very hard. So I board the Carthage for Marseille, France. I nap until its more or less time for sunset at 6.15 that… Continue reading
It felt like I had ended up face to the fround at the second to last hurdle, being refused overland entry into Libya. The suspension of the coach to Cairo is soft, feeling like I was on a boat, so I only kept my eyes open for an hour or… Continue reading
Palpable relief at being able to move on finally. I’ve been in Egypt over 2 months. I’m desperately hoping for no more delays. I have 12 hours to waste until my coach from Cairo to Marsa Matrouh at 1.15am. Marsa Matrouh is a fitting planned last stop in Egypt, marking… Continue reading
One calendar year completed. I should have been home around 14 days ago. Whatever I do I seem unable to break from Cairo, and Egypt. This thought is echoed at the Libyan Embassy. “Wait, wait.” I’m told. “Inshallah, it will be ready tomorrow.” It would be easy to point out… Continue reading
Old and new My last few days of 3 weeks in Alexandria were spent for the most part in praying and catching up on unread authors. The news, received by phone, that my new passport was ready for collection at the British Embassy in Cairo jolted a shot of excitement… Continue reading
Having spent 2 weeks in Alexandria I have, slowly, worked my way through all its interesting sites, from Montazah Palace in the East to Fort Qaitbey in the West. To get to the fort I passed a petrol depot, a police station, and quite a number of other ugly buildings…. Continue reading
From Aswan, Egypt’s southernmost city, I make a run for Cairo. Like with Khartoum, I have no desire to be there, but the fates will it. My jumbo-sized passport has no more space left for visas and to start the ball-rolling on a new one I must first visit the… Continue reading
Things don’t get fantastically better for me. A long conversation at the travel permit office ends: “You don’t need a permit to go to Wadi Halfa”. ‘So can I stop off along the way?” I ask. “I’d like to see the pyramids at Meroe, Atbara perhaps, the World Heritage Site… Continue reading
Visas finally sorted until the Egypto-Libyan frontier, I catch a coach to Gonder. It takes 2-3 hours to wind up and over a mountain range, at close to walking pace to stop us plummeting below. The road leads on to Lake Tana (the source of the Blue Nile). Its then 4… Continue reading
