hotel Archives - Wandering North

Africa Algeria Algiers-Nice-Athens 2024

Alighting in Algiers

I wanted to visit Algeria. The largest country in Africa, sitting on the north coast between Morocco and Tunisia, stretching from the Sea to the Sahel. It seems to have it all: stunning desert vistas, a vibrant capital, rich cultural traditions, ancient ruins…I was smitten. I particularly wanted to visit the south, with its isolated, ancient desert cities. I’ll tell you now that I did not get to the south. I still plan to visit, but it didn’t happen this time.

Logistics

Algeria is one of those countries that has been very difficult to visit. Visas required with invitation letters and mandatory tours, consulates that don’t respond, and expensive fees. This have been getting better in the past few years, but when I went it was still not super easy. To go, I needed a visa, which required sending my passport to Ottawa with an application, fees, my bank account statement, a letter from my employer, an itinerary, and an invitation from a tour company. I’ve never done a multi day tour and wasn’t interested in it, but I had heard that it might be possible to travel independently after I took a tour. I understand this is now possible; then it was not – or so I was told. There were a lot of competing stories at the time. The tour company said I could only get a visa for the length of my tour. I did ask how much a tour would be if it included a few days in the south, but it was prohibitively expensive. So I reached a compromise: I would only visit Algiers (this time) and worked out a short visit (so it wasn’t too costly) that gave me some time on my own as well as with a guide.

I had heard so many horror stories from people who sent their passport into the Algerian consulate in Ottawa and never got the visa, or that it took months; I don’t know how I got so lucky, but I mailed in my application on a Monday and had my passport back, with the visa, by Friday of the same week.

The arrangement I had was with the Fancy Yellow tour company. They arranged to pick me up at the airport and drive me back to the airport and I had a half day tour on my second day.

Overnight in Paris

I flew from Vancouver to Paris, where I spent the night; arriving late and leaving early. I stayed at the hotel Libertel Gare Du Nord Suede, which was cheap and serviceable, and went for a late night was around the area, just to stretch my legs and soak up something of being in Paris. I got a sandwich and had a small cigar in the chilly February air before going to sleep.

Arrival

The next morning, I flew to Algiers. No hassles at the airport. I had my visa. It was about 12:45. I met my driver, changed some money, and drove to the ABC Hotel. What it lacked in charm or character it made up for in being in a central location and being clean and functional with a nice free breakfast and helpful staff.

I immediately went out to explore.

Algiers

I walked all around the central part of Algiers, taking in the streets and walking past landmarks and impressive buildings. Algiers is lovely. Like a cleaner Paris in some areas. Gleaming white buildings with decorative balconies, flower sellers, tree-lined streets, statues, and squares. It was lovely and felt safe and, while I was dressed quite modestly anyway (all in black with a loose knee-length dress, sweater, blazer, scarf, tights, and combat boots), I didn’t feel like that was strictly necessary. Certainly there was no need to cover my head or wear an abaya.

Post Office

I took photos of the stunning mosques (they didn’t seem to be open for interior visits). I got a Mhajeb, also known as Mahdjoub (a delicious flatbread/crepe-like thing stuffed with, in this case, different greens) being sold from a window. A few men on the streets played the Algerian mandole for donations.

Most people in Algiers spoke Arabic, with some French, and Berber, with the written language of Tifinagh, a written form of Berber appearing on many signs. Tifinagh is a very intriguing looking language; almost like a language that would be engraved on some alien artifact.

Language barriers notwithstanding, it seemed like an easy place to visit. But I hadn’t been to the Casbah yet. The Casbah was the most appealing part of Algiers. An historic quarter of the city, rising up a hill, with the buildings mostly dating back to the 17^th and 18^th centuries. It is a UNESCO heritage site, but due to years of conflict, colonization, and neglect, parts of it are in very poor repair. Readings about the Casbah, most reports say it is dangerous; that tourists should not visit it without a guide. I didn’t let that stop me, and had no issues wandering the narrow, crooked alleys. I was a bit shy about taking pictures that day, not wanting to attract any hostility. (I made up for it the next day.)

Had this been my only visit to the Casbah, I would have been quite happy, but I admit that I had a better visit the next day with my guide, as there was so much history I didn’t know and areas I had missed.

But it was a perfect wander, and I finished it off with a coffee and a cigar on the excellent patio of Le Tantonville Grande Café d’Alger. Dating back to 1883, it has history and a perfect patio for people watching as you sip your coffee. It was, apparently popular with French bohemians, artists, writers, and philosophers, including Camus and Sartre. I felt rather sophisticated.

I went back to my room just after dark. It had been a long journey. I thoroughly enjoyed my first day in Algiers, but I will say that the city felt a bit quiet. It wasn’t busy or bustling, and just felt subdued. There is nothing wring with that, but I felt like it lacked excitement, but it made up for it in history and looks.

The next day I would have a guided tour and see much more of the city.

Africa Zambia Zimbabwe-Zambia 2023

Zambian Zebras in Livingstone

Coming from the border with Zimbabwe, my taxi driver dropped me off at my accommodations: The Ravine Lodge. I was still on a high from having seen zebras by the roadside and I was excited to explore a new country: Zambia.

The Ravine Lodge was comfortable. I had a nice private room in a bungalow around a grassy courtyard. I would have no hesitation recommending the hotel as it was a good price and just a short walk into the city centre. That said, that short walk into the city centre felt like a long walk during the day because it was so hot and felt long at night because it was so dark and I was concerned about what creatures might be roaming around.

The Ravine Lodge

But I didn’t come to sit in my hotel

walking in Livingstone

I walked into the city centre. I liked Livingstone; it is small and there is not a lot to do there apart from animal and river activities. The central crafts market (the Mukuni Park Curio Market) is open most days. It is small enough so as not to be overwhelming and has an excellent assortment of local handicrafts. I eventually bought a mask and chatted with some of the vendors. There is a small museum in town, which is worth visiting if you have a bit of extra time but is okay to skip if you don’t. I made my way through the city stopping at various cafes along the way enjoy some air conditioning and a bit of coffee. It was an easy place to visit. People spoke English and are used to tourists; and it felt safe.

cellphone booths

downtown Livingstone

crafts market

My time in Livingston really had two purposes: number one was to visit the Devil’s Pool at the Victoria Falls; and number two, was to do a microlight flight over the falls. Once I had done those two things in the two days that I had in Livingstone, I was going to head to Lusaka. Things didn’t go quite according to plan. The Devil’s Pool was amazing and I have written about that separately, but the microlight flight never happened. I had pre-booked a flight with this company and prepaid them what I think was about $200 US, but on the day that I was to do it they said the weather wasn’t cooperative and they wanted to reschedule for the next day. I said that was fine. However, the next day came and they said the weather still wasn’t good. And since I was leaving the next day, it meant I never got the chance to do the microlight over the falls. What was more frustrating was that they refused to refund my money on to my credit card so that was a bit of a loss (yes I’m aware I should have done a charge back on the credit card but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it). My fault. So I spent my two days in Livingstone just kind of wandering around and taking it easy.

An excellent café, the museum, and a church

While I didn’t have the microlight flight over the falls, I had something that might have been even better. On that second day when I realized the microlight flight wasn’t going to happen, I thought about what I could do. There is no end to the amount of activities that you can do at Victoria Falls, but I had already done the Devil’s Pool and I had already visited the falls from the Zimbabwean side and I just didn’t feel that excited about going kayaking or bungee jumping or any of those things. So I decided to go to a very fancy hotel for drinks and a cigar. I think this idea came from someone who commented on a post I made on Instagram about the fact that my if I was looking for something to do I should have tea ta the Royal Livingstone Hotel. I wish I could remember who that was because I would thank them.

I took a taxi to the Royal Livingston hotel, which is south of the Livingstone town centre. It is a big luxury hotel set along the banks of the Zambezi river with a view of the spray coming up from the falls. It is absolutely stunning. A graceful mansion set on manicured grounds surrounded by forest and facing the river. I could never afford to stay here, but I could afford to go there for a drink. They have restaurants and bars including one appropriately called the Traveller’s Bar, and they have a sundowner bar that is al fresco and set right along the banks of the river. I thought “what a great place to go finish out the day and have a cigar.” The real draw however was that, allegedly, because there are no fences around the hotel, animals will just wander into the grounds to nibble on the grass by the river. I didn’t know if this was true but I thought it was worth visiting to find out.

As my taxi pulled up to the hotel, a giraffe ambled by in front of the car. This is only the second time I had seen a giraffe in the wild and the first time I wasn’t expecting it. Similar to when I saw the two zebras by the roadside the previous day, I started to exclaim and giggle with wonderment. I managed to get a short video, of which this is a still:

I walked through the lobby of the Royal Livingstone Hotel (trying to look like I belonged there) and back outside to the river. As I stepped out onto the grass I saw zebras. Maybe a dozen zebras, including a baby or two, just on the grass in the shade. I became overwhelmed with emotion; it was maybe one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen and I hadn’t been expecting it to look anything like this. I felt emotion well up in my throat and my eyes were tearing up. It was a wonderful feeling.

As I walked to the bar, which was really just a wooden platform with seating under the trees, the bartender greeted me and asked me how I was doing, and I burst into tears. Not sad tears, just overwhelmed with emotion tears. Sometimes when things are wonderful I will tear up, but it isn’t very often that I actually start to cry. I was trying to explain to the bartender why I was crying: simply that it was so beautiful and the zebras were so amazing and unexpected, but as I was saying this I was still crying, a scenario I found ridiculous, which made me laugh. So then I was there crying and laughing and trying to explain myself to this bartender who only really wanted to know what I wanted to drink. A bit embarrassing, but mostly just a great moment.

Fortunately, there was another tourist there, a doctor from Vancouver Island of all places, and he offered to take my pictures in front of the zebras. I am so happy that he did because I think this has become maybe my favourite picture of myself in my travels. Cigar in hand, all dressed in black, and somewhere amazing. It really is a good encapsulation of me.

I sat at the bar and had a cocktail and watch the sunset into the river, chatting with the Canadians seated nearby. In the distance I could see and hear hippos in the river. A zebra or two walked in front of us just as the sun was setting. It was really amazing. I could have stayed there forever, but eventually it got dark and there was nothing to see.

At this point I decided to settle in at the Traveler’s Bar, or more particularly, on the patio of the Traveler’s Bar, for a bit of dinner and another cigar.

I had a bite to eat and was just about to order a cocktail when a man and a woman walked past me heading into the restaurant. The man was holding a box that contained a bottle of Scotch and an opaque Ziploc bag that I knew probably had cigars inside. I was smoking a cigar and as he walked past, he stopped and looked at me and I at him and I said “Are those cigars you have in that bag?” And he responded “I’m just wondering if we should come and join you.” I suggested that they should absolutely join me, and they did. The man and his girlfriend were locals and I found out during the conversation that the man was a member of the Zambian government. (I don’t know if I’m supposed to say who he was so I won’t.) Three of his other friends joined us and we sat and had cigars and drinks until late into the evening. It was such a great experience. His friends were all well-to-do Zambians; One a designer of banks, another owned a winery and game reserve, another one was some kind of a technology business guy. The girlfriend was, like me, a lawyer.

At one point, my governmental friend pulled out a Zimbabwean cigar – a Mosi-Oa-Tunya. This was a cigar that I had been looking for when I was in Zimbabwe but was unable to find it. I had sent an e-mail to the company, but they had not responded. When I commented on it, my friend gave me the cigar and called up the owner of the Zimbabwean cigar company and put me on the phone with him to arrange getting me some of those cigars. I always say that cigars are such a great social lubricant. If you’re a cigar smoker and you meet another cigar smoker not only do you have cigars to talk about, but it is understood that there is a fraternity of sorts and you are both members and that it is not only acceptable but encouraged to share your time and conversation with each other. Having that cigar on that patio allowed me to have one of the more memorable evenings on my trip, connecting with interesting local people over cigars

And as we sat there, the animal parade didn’t stop. Zebras continued to walk past us in the darkness.

It was an incredible evening in a perfect way to wrap up my time in Livingstone. The next day I would head for the capital of Zambia: Lusaka.

Africa Zimbabwe Zimbabwe-Zambia 2023

Visiting Harare

I arrived in Zimbabwe after a long flight from Vancouver via New York and Nairobi. I landed in Harare. The purpose of my trip to Zimbabwe it was to visit Victoria Falls, but there was no way I was going to skip visiting the capital on my first visit to Zimbabwe.

Arrival in Zimbabwe

I don’t think Zimbabwe way it needs much of an introduction, but just in case: it is in southern Africa, formerly Rhodesia. It became independent in 1980 and then from 1980 to 2017 was under authoritarian rule courtesy of Robert Mugabe. During this time there was massive inflation, human rights violations, and corruption. Things are better now. What Zimbabwe always had however is astonishing natural beauty and wildlife. The former being the reason for my visit.

Two fun facts about Zimbabwe.

It has more official languages than any other country (16), though English is most commonly spoken.
During the period of hyperinflation in around 2008-2009, purchasing power of the currency got so bad that the government had to issue notes as high as 100 trillion. Some of these are still floating around for purchase by tourists and nerds. I was not lucky enough to get a trillion note, but I did find some in the billions and millions.

Visas

As a Canadian, I was able to get a visa at the border. I knew I would be in and out of Zimbabwe a couple of times on my trip, so I tried to get a multi entry visa or at least a double entry visa, but this was denied and I was only given a single entry visa, which cost $75.00 US payable in US cash on the spot. It was effectively a cash grab and there was no formality and no application. (These is a thing called a Kaza Visa, which gives multiple entries to Zambia and Zimbabwe, but it is no longer given to Canadians since Canadians no longer need a visa to visit Zambia.)

Accommodations

I then took a taxi to my accommodation: the Bronte Garden Hotel. Honestly, the Bronte Garden Hotel is a little bit above my general budget, but it looked so charming and I felt that after such a long journey it would be amazing to stay in such lovely surroundings. The Bronte Garden Hotel, at least its main building, was built in 1911 as the house for some sort of industrial colonial bigwig. It was converted into a hotel about 50 years ago. It is a collection of two or three white two-story buildings set amidst lush tropical gardens. There are trees and flowers and pools, statues, and lovely seating areas set under the trees. A bar and a restaurant. It feels quite special.

The thing that put it within my reach price-wise is that while the main house is well outside of my normal budget, they have some more basic rooms in the houses that are much more affordable. These cheaper rooms are less fancy, but you still get access to all the same grounds and amenities, and that’s really the reason that I wanted to stay there. I enjoyed my time at the Bronte Garden Hotel immensely. The two nights that I was there, I spent my evenings in the garden with cigars (actually I also spent my mornings in the garden with cigars) and I had several conversations with other people staying at the hotel, most of whom were there on business from South Africa. It was just a lovely oasis.

me and my breakfast cigar at the Bronte Garden Hotel

Wandering in Harare

But of course, I didn’t come to Harare to sit in a hotel. I was in the city for a day and a half, two nights in total. The first day, I arrived at midday I didn’t do much of note. I essentially walked around the neighbourhood. Lovely wide streets with flowering orange and purple trees, apartment buildings and big houses. It was pleasant but I didn’t see anything too interesting.

An afternoon walk

The next day, my one full day in Harare, I really explored the city. I walked from my hotel to the National Botanic Garden (free), because it opened early. On the way I walked past a golf course and saw small antelope bounding across the greens. The gardens were beautiful, with different plants and landscaping suitable to different climates. It was massive, more than I could see in one visit, but I enjoyed a stroll around the grounds and chatted with a young man who was friendly and taking a detour on his way to school.

National Botanic Garden

From the garden I walked to a café called The Bottom Drawer. It was in a residential neighbourhood, basically operating out of a house. It was absolutely lovely, set in a garden with plants and trees and chickens running loose I sat on a comfy sofa on a covered veranda and had coffee and sandwich while I planned my next moves.

I had walked quite a far way from my hotel and in the opposite direction from where I wanted to go next, so I took a taxi back to my hotel and then walked from there.

a park near the National Gallery

I walked into the centre of town, passing along the way lively street markets and businesses, busy with traffic and commerce. I had wanted to visit the National Gallery and that was my first destination, however it was closed (Mondays). Fortunately, the Artopia Café in the in the gallery was open. A cool cafe with art and free wi-fi and coffee and lots of young people working on laptops. It was a good spot, especially after my long walk. Behind the gallery, accessible from the café was an outdoor sculpture gallery, so I got to see that, which I enjoyed.

Artopia Café and the Sculpture Garden

I could have gone to the Shona sculpture gallery, which is a popular tourist attraction, however my hotel had a lot of Shona sculptures in its gardens and I didn’t feel need to see more. But I did visit another gallery near the National Gallery about a block away, called the First Floor Gallery. It is on a higher floor of a commercial building and has almost no signage, but I found it. It is a small gallery (free) and with interesting contemporary art. Plus, it has access to the roof from which you can get a decent view of the streets below.

First Floor Gallery & and the view from the roof

Walking through central Harare was moderately interesting. It was pretty orderly and it lacked the chaos that I often enjoy in big African cities. I got in trouble only once for attempting to walk up to a statue that was accessible on a small bridge over an intersection. I got halfway there and the police on the street started shouting at me to turn around, so I did. I don’t know what the problem was it was completely accessible, but I didn’t argue.

*intersection with the off-limits statue*

I spent a couple hours just walking around Harare, checking out a market and some of the interesting architecture, and just looking around. Harare was interesting enough for a day, but I definitely didn’t feel the need to stay there for longer than that. For those of you that wonder about these things, it felt totally safe.

street markets

sights in Harare

I returned to the hotel for dinner, and cigars and chitchat in the gardens until it was time for bed. It might seem fast, but it was the perfect amount of time for me to visit Harare and I really enjoyed it. But on my third day I took off again for my second location in Zimbabwe: Victoria Falls (the town and the falls).

Brazil South America

Way Down Among Brazilians – Rio Day 1

Brazil, Finally

I don’t know why, but I had been resisting going to Brazil. Every year for about the past four years I’ve made myself a Brazil itinerary. Not every itinerary was the same but all of them involved me flying to Rio and visiting Salvador, which were the two places that I most wanted to visit. But I just couldn’t get excited about it; probably because most of the things that I know about Brazil involve beaches and parties and I just couldn’t care less about either of those things. But then again, I do like Bossa Nova music, cigars, and coffee, and Frank Sinatra sang two songs about Brazil, so I knew there must be something to it. The real reason that I finally booked the trip to Brazil, honestly, is that I think I really wanted to fill in a big hole in my South American map. I hadn’t been to South America since I went to Peru in 2014 and it just seemed like it was time.

So I made an itinerary that involved me flying to Rio, spending a couple of days there, flying to Salvador for a couple of days, then flying to Asunción, Paraguay for a couple of days, before returning to Brazil for a day. You can’t see all of Brazil in a week, but I thought I would pick some highlights and decide that if I wanted to go back to see more at a later date.

And so I flew to Rio.

Bom Dia, Rio!

The flight to Rio was long. Flying to Rio from Vancouver is not like flying to Europe or flying to Asia where the flight might be long, but you sort of make up the time when you fly back due to the time zone changes. Flying to South America is just really far and there’s not much of a time zone change, so it took me roughly a day and a half to get there and a day and a half to go back. I was determined to make the most of it.

I landed in Rio without any issue (Canadians don’t need visas) and went to my I accommodations: The OK Hotel. The OK Hotel was…OK. It was in the Centro District, right on the edge of the Lapa area, which is where I wanted to stay; very close to the subway and trolleys, it was walkable so many places that I wanted to see, and it was cheap. Beach people would probably want to stay closer to Copacabana or Ipanema, but I liked this neighbourhood better.

Rio Centro

*buildings and quiet streets in Centro Rio*

I hit the ground running in Rio. I started out by visiting Centro (the historic district). it was a Sunday, which was maybe not the best day to start out, as most things were closed.

The streets were pretty empty and it just seemed kind of dull. However, the architecture was beautiful and I did go to the excellent Museo de Arte do Rio (gallery of modern art) and popped in into some churches. But I wasn’t excited. It just didn’t feel lively.

*excellent pieces* *at the Museo de Arte do Rio*

*more great art* *at the Museo de Arte do Rio*

more sights of Centro

I did visit the excellent Cathedral of Rio, the Metropolitan Cathedral of Saint Sebastian. It was designed by Edgar de Oliveira da Fonseca to resemble a Mayan pyramid and was built in the 1960s/70s. It is excellent. Very unique and modern, but also beautiful inside and out. I loved the stained glass and airy interior.

Catedral Metropolitana de São Sebastião

I hopped on the train and decided to go check out some of Rio’s beach areas.

At the Copa. Copacabana.

Let me be clear: I am not a beach person. I like swimming well enough, but I don’t know how I’m supposed to swim at the beach when I’m traveling by myself. (Just leave my wallet and my phone and all my personal items unguarded on the beach while I swim in the ocean? That doesn’t make sense.) So I tend not to swim when I travel, and the idea of laying in the sun on the beach just sounds like a nightmare. I don’t want to sit in the sun, I get bored sitting around, I don’t care for sand or children, or any of the things that come along with a day at the beach. But in this case, I was in Rio; of course I was going to go to see Copacabana and Ipanema just to get the vibe.

I started in Copacabana. I took the train from Centro. The metro is not super expansive in Rio, but it’s extremely convenient for covering long distances it’s very cheap and easy to navigate.

Metro Scenes and Machines

I walked a few blocks from the subway station to the beach. On the way there was a pretty good food market and I stopped off and had some sort of fried bread cheese thing with hot sauce which was pretty decent, and I continued walking to the beach. This area was quite a bit different from Centro. It was packed. All the shops and restaurants were open and people were out; there was music; it was actually a pretty good scene.

Copacabana street scenes

The wide road that separated the apartment buildings from the beach was great. It was mostly shut down to cars and was filled with pedestrians and rollerbladers and bicyclists. Along the sand was a row of outdoor restaurants and food and beverage vendors, almost every one playing music. That was pretty nice too. The beach itself wasn’t packed, it was winter in Brazil, but there were people out swimming and playing volleyball and hanging out. I took a look. I still had no idea no desire to participate in the beach activities, but it was nice to see them. I walked around that area for a while before hopping back on the subway to go to Ipanema.

Copacabana streets

This Girl in Ipanema

Ipanema was similar to Copacabana. It was busy with appealing accommodations and eateries and the beach was also nice. I guess the more interesting thing about Ipanema was that it had a really great view of the mountains in the favela in the distance which was an interesting site. I walked around there for a little while but was already kind of done with the beach concept so I walked back to the subway.

Ipanena Scenes

Leblon

I got off the subway in Leblon, which is the most affluent neighbourhood in Rio. That’s a pretty nice neighbourhood. I wouldn’t want to stay there; it’s too fancy and a little bit too expensive and it feels a little more generic than other parts of the city that I was in, but it was very nice. My reason for going there was to go and check out a cigar lounge. There is a place called Café Esch, which has inside of it a La Casa Del Habano. You can have coffee, you can have cocktails, you can have a steak dinner if you want too, and you can purchase all the best Cuban cigars in the humidor. The cigars aren’t cheap, but there was a great selection and anytime I can smoke inside I’m delighted. So I bought a couple of cigars, ordered myself a coffee and a couple of cocktails (I had my first Caipirinha – wow is that great and potentially problematic; it is so easy to drink) and sat inside watching football (soccer) with a bunch of cigar smoking men inside. Nobody really talked to me, but it was a really nice place to hang out.

Cigars at Café Esch, Leblon

When twilight dims the sky above

I wanted to make it back to my hotel before it got dark, so I walked back to the subway. In Leblon it felt absolutely fine to walk around at night. But by the time I got back to my hotel, that was not the case.

I’m not generally worried about violence, but Rio did give me pause. Even many of the savviest travelers that I know have had issues with street violence in Rio after dark. So I had decided that I really would limit my nighttime activities. This was fine, because I was already tired from walking around all day so I went back to my hotel and just decided to just read a book, but then I got hungry… and curious, so I went out. I walked around the streets around my hotel. Some of them were empty and didn’t feel particularly safe; the areas that were closer to the train and subway stations at least had people out and about, so they felt a little safer. Most things were closed, but there was a little corner pizza and hamburger spot, nothing fancy, plastic chairs, basically a fast-food joint. I sat there at one of the outdoor tables and I had a pizza. (As an aside, this was the worst pizza I’ve ever had in my entire life. The bread was soft and all it had on it was gross cheese and some sort of sickly sweet tomato sauce and it was served with ketchup and mustard. Really awful.) I sat outside and I had this pizza and a bottle of water and was just kind of watching the activity on the sidewalk. There lot of homeless and drug addicted people walking around. They approached me constantly asking for money and standing and staring at me and getting a little bit too close. I didn’t feel threatened, but it certainly didn’t feel comfortable. At one point, one of the guys picked up a bottle a beer bottle from a table next to me and broke it over the side of a chair and sort of looked at me, holding onto the neck of the bottle. He didn’t really brandish it and I didn’t think he was going to hurt me, but it certainly didn’t make for a pleasant eating experience. A bit later I did give him the rest of my pizza, so I feel like we kind of had a moment.

Anyway, that was my first day in Rio. I had a good day and I was happy to be there, I wasn’t loving it. Some places you vibe with and some you don’t. That’s ok. But I but I was excited to see more of the city the next day, which I did.

Asia Belarus/Dubai trip 2023 United Arab Emirates

Dubai Layover Part 2: Giving Dubai Another Try

I was flying back to Vancouver from Minsk and, due to the war in Ukraine and the sanctions that other countries had against Belarus, I couldn’t fly home through Europe, so my flight was taking me from Minsk to Dubai then to London and on to Vancouver. I was happy about this because it gave me an opportunity to visit Dubai, which I had never seen prior to this trip. On the way to Minsk, I had spent a shorter layover in Dubai and I had gotten out to see the city and I was largely underwhelmed. This time, I had a longer layover, and I was going to give it another shot.

I took the train from the airport into Dubai (again, super easy), but unlike last time I didn’t have to leave my bag at the airport because I had booked myself a hotel room. In truth, the layover wasn’t long enough that I was actually going to spend the night in Dubai; I was arriving early in the morning and I was leaving late at night, so it was really one long day layover, but I wanted to have a hotel room so that I could have a shower and a nap, if need be, before I went back to the airport. Fortunately, there are affordable accommodations in Dubai and the place that I stayed at, the Arabian Courtyard Hotel, was a great bargain and within walking distance to all the sites in the old Dubai historic centre. Also, it was nice; old, but atmospheric, and they upgraded my room (how could I say no?) and it was impressive.

Arabian Courtyard Hotel: My room and view

So, I started my trip there. I walked through the old Dubai historic area past some of the places that I had seen before; past the souq, which was just opening up, and along the river.

Old Dubai flowers

the Souq

I went to a café that was incredibly charming, right on the water, and had a wonderful healthy breakfast watching the boats go back and forth to the other side.

café along the river

And that’s what I did after breakfast: I hopped on one of the boats called abras and took it to the other side of the river it cost 1 Dirham (maybe 30c US) and see they seem to run constantly back and forth. It was all locals on the boat save for me. It seems to be the easiest and most practical way of getting across. On the other side there’s sort of a fancy souq and I wandered around there looking at the spices and textiles and whatnot.

crossing the river

river views

I did actually end up buying myself a black abaya with little black sparkles on it because it’s something that I had been wanting for future trips. I had a chat with the boy who was selling it (and I say boy because he said he was 16); he was a refugee from Afghanistan. A lovely kid and such a good salesman. I couldn’t help but think about what it would be like to be a refugee, but also to be refugee as a child in a foreign country and working to support yourself. Heartbreaking. (Of course, maybe it was all just a scam so that I would buy from him. I guess I’ll never know. And it really doesn’t matter because there are lots of kids who are in that situation.)

Getting beyond the souq, there’s an area full of local shops and apartments and mosques. It feels nothing like the modern part of Dubai with its shiny skyscrapers; it’s just regular buildings, regular streets, regular cafés, and regular people going about their business. It wasn’t beautiful, but I liked it so much more than shiny new Dubai.

It also it’s very multicultural. Walking around, there are stores and restaurants from places all over Africa and the Middle East and Asia. Things like Ethiopian coffee shops and Yemeni restaurants and Indian stores.

I stopped and had a simple lunch of chana dahl and chai before I carried on walking. It was very hot outside, but beautiful.

I eventually made my way back down to the river and took the boat back across. I had some shisha and juice. From there, I decided it was time to give shiny new Dubai a second try.

I got back on the metro and took and took it to the Dubai Mall stop. The Dubai Mall had bested me on my first layover. I walked in, and I got irritated and confused, and I turned around and left. But this time, I would be successful. I walked down the stupid habitrail that goes on forever from the subway stop and into the Dubai Mall and, from there, I followed the signs to the “Dubai Foutain”. It was a nightmare; I don’t like malls and this was a big bloated mall with nothing terribly remarkable in its shops wise. “Hey, look! It’s all the stores that you hate in your country, but all collected under one roof!”

The only interesting thing was, yes, there was an aquarium and, no, I didn’t pay money to go into it, but I could I did walk by, and I saw sharks and manta rays and that was kind of cool. And the Dubai Waterfall with the multiple statues of men diving (or committing suicide?) is really quite attractive.

Finally, I made my way outside, walking past a Tim Horton’s (seriously) and some other disgusting fast food chains, I emerged from the Mall. I rubbed my eyes, and there it was, glimmering and tall, the Burj Khalifa.

The Burj Khalifa is (for now, and since 2009) the world’s tallest building. It is 829.8 m (2,722 feet) tall. You can pay money to go up into it and see the view from the observation deck and do various activities, but I decided I wasn’t interested in that; I just wanted to see it. And now I have, and you know what? It’s impressive. It’s tall and pointy like an ice pick and it glitters silver. It’s something to see, but maybe not something to behold for very long.

What was more of a spectacle was all of the people crowded around taking pictures. It was really busy. I got into a small altercation with some guy when I did not take him up on his offer to take my photo when I was trying to take a selfie. Seriously, if was nice of him to offer, but I said “No, thanks.” That should have been the end of it. And that was when I was called a “bitch” in Dubai. Ah, memories.

Crowds

And the whole area is, well, a little strange. It’s very impressive. All the buildings are new and fancy and there’s a lagoon and fountains and bridges and restaurants, and there’s this delicate sort of Arabian music playing subtly in the background. It feels like you’ve stepped into some sort of modern Arabian Disneyland. I felt the same way a little bit when I was in Doha. It also could have been in South Florida, like if South Florida had built some Arabian themed subdivision and mall, it would probably look like this.

*Shiny, New Dubai around the Dubai Fountains*

But it was nice enough, so I found myself a table on a restaurant patio on the water but just out of view of the Burj Khalifa (because honestly it’s nice but I don’t need to sit and stare at it) and I sat down to have lunch and shisha. It was lovely. The shisha and food were excellent, and I got to carry on and hear and see some the buzz of the neighborhood. The buzz intensified when the fountains started in the pool just in front of the Burj Khalifa. It’s one of those dancing fountain things where music plays and fountains go on and fan around in different ways. I’ve seen this in Vegas and in Shanghai and I don’t really understand the fascination.

It was a pleasant place to spend some time. When I was finished, I walked back through the Mall. I stopped at Sephora to replace my eyeliner that had been drying out (ok maybe malls aren’t all bad) and then I took the train back to my hotel.

I had a shower and a bit of a nap at which point it was dark and I walked around Old Dubai for a little bit, doing nothing in particular before I went back to the airport and caught my flight to London.

I enjoyed this layover much more than my first one in Dubai, although I have to say my impression is: Dubai is not really my thing. Old Dubai is fine, but it’s not as lovely or interesting as the old city centres and souqs that I’ve been to in other ‘Middle Eastern’ cities, and new Dubai just isn’t my thing at all; it’s too car-centric, too sterile…it’s just not for me. But I’m glad that I saw it. That’s the great thing about the long layover: you can have a taste of a place and decide whether or not you want to come back and see more. In this case, I’m satisfied.

I was onward to London where I would have another long layover in my favourite city before returning home to Vancouver.

Asia Asian capital trip 2023 Japan

Konnichiwa, Tokyo!

Arrival in Tokyo, Japan

Of all the countries I had already been to, I hadn’t been to Japan. I was excited to visit Japan when I was about 12 (never happened; I just wanted to go) and over time my interest waned. I kept hearing about how great it was, but I remained lukewarm. Sure, I love Japanese horror movies and Hello Kitty, and I am fascinated by their weird porn culture, but none of it motivated me to buy a ticket. And then I was hopping around Asian capital cities and the time felt right. And Tokyo astonished me.

The more I travel, the more difficult it is for me to be surprised by a place. Places start to remind me of other places. I get more savvy. Things get easier. But Tokyo surprised me on numerous levels. Sure, it has a lot on common with other big East Asian capitals, but it was also so distinct. The food, the social interactions, the culture – even basic things like using machines to order ramen or flushing some of the very complicated toilets – so much of it really took me out of my element and I loved it. (I will say right now: yes, the toilets are weird and complicated, and I think heated toilet seats are disgusting but some of the other features were pretty nice.)

I arrived in Tokyo from Kuala Lumpur on a flight that got me in just after midnight, so I was unable to take the train to my Shinjuku hostel. Not feeling too disappointed about that, as I was eager to get to my accommodations, I got into a taxi. It was weird right from the start. The taxi looked like an English black cab and the driver was wearing a black suit, white shirt, and black tie, like a casting room castoff from Reservoir Dogs. He wore a chauffeur’s cap and had short but shaggy grey hair that I wasn’t sure was not a wig. I couldn’t tell if the man was 30 or 70. He seemed like a young man playing the part of an old man in community theatre. He spoke a little English, which he used to tell me long winded stories about animals that turned out to be jokes. The whole thing felt weird.

Sleeping Capsule

We pulled up outside my hotel at about 1:30am on a busy, bright street. The Shinjuku Kuyakusho-mae Capsule Hotel. Picking it wasn’t difficult. I knew I wanted to stay in Shinjuku, and I knew I wanted to stay in a capsule hotel. This place was cheap and met my criteria. I thought that staying there might be a penance in exchange for a neat experience, but it was great. I was on the women’s only floor and had a floor level capsule, which I found super cozy. It had a roof-mounted, old-fashioned CRT TV that played whatever was on Japanese TV, wifi, and power outlets. Unexpectedly, it also came with pyjamas, slippers, towels, and pretty much every toiletry you could think of was available in the shower/bathroom.

The only downside, I guess, was the common area room had only vending machines, so you have to go out for coffee (unless you want coffee in a can, which I didn’t but drank anyway). In the common area, with so many men and women wandering around in pyjamas (identical, except that the men wore grey and the women pink), it felt like I had joined a cult. And I was ok with that.

I was so excited about the lively neon washed streets and my cool cult sleeping cubby that I didn’t want to sleep at all. But I did. For a few hours. And then it was time to finally see Tokyo.

But first, coffee

My first stop was the Meiji Jingu Shrine, but first coffee and the subway. I was staying in Shinjuku, which, as far as I could tell, was the epicentre of everything I wanted from Japan: tight vertical neon signs, ramen shops, tiny bars and restaurants, lots of young people in cool street style clothes, and cute things.

I was looking for a café – not something that Japan is known for – but I found an excellent, bright, and modern café where I had a perfect cup of coffee, followed by a French pastry of some sort. I’m not usually a big pastry eater but it was very early, I was starving, and most things were not yet open. I have to say that it was possibly the best pastry I have ever had. I’m not a foodie. I like to eat but food is not an important part of why I travel; that said, sometimes the food in a place is so great or unusual that it becomes a part of the trip (like Myanmar and Georgia). Tokyo was awesome for food. Everything I ate, no matter how cheap, was perfect. Being a vegetarian and being on a budget there made things a little more challenging, but I could always find something delicious to eat. The ramen. The strawberries. This pastry.

After I had my coffee and perfect pastry, I went to the subway station to go to the Meiji Jingu Shrine.

In a Station of the Metro

The Tokyo subway system can be a little bit daunting. There are numerous lines and as far as I could tell it was difficult or impossible to get a ticket that would be good for all of the subway lines all day. When entering the subway station, you’re confronted with banks of machines that sell you tickets, but different ones in different spots, and it wasn’t entirely clear to me whether each machine would sell you tickets for all the lines or not, but I never had any trouble buying a ticket and figuring out where to go. It just took a bit of time of staring at the map and plotting out routes. I know it’s not fashionable to have paper maps anymore, but having a paper map of the Tokyo subway system was super convenient for me. All in all, the subway was amazing. It wasn’t very expensive, it went almost everywhere in the city I wanted to go, and it was a joy to ride.

Sometimes I felt like a big oaf, not knowing where to stand (some trains have different queues for different trains at the same time on the same platform) and being taller than everyone else, and being one of the only people not wearing a mask but no one gave me a look – well, except one time when I accidentally knocked a man over and his CANE fell out of his hand. Yeah, that wasn’t my best moment. I just repeated “I’m so sorry” over and over as I helped him up. Even then though no one really acknowledged me, except the man I toppled. Weirdly though he seemed to apologize to me.

That was one thing that stood out to me about Tokyo. I felt invisible No one looked me in the eye or spoke to me or acknowledged me in any way unless we were engaged in a commercial transaction or unless I specifically spoke to them, and in the latter case they didn’t seem too keen to talk to me. It was bizarre.

Shrine Time

I arrived at the station near the Meiji Jingu shrine (Harajuku Station) and walked to the shrine.

I walked through Yoyogi Park with its tall trees. It was very quiet; it was hard to believe that it was right in the middle of the city. The shrines (dedicated to the Emperor Meiji and his wife and built in 1920) were lovely. Peaceful. There were places where people could write down what I assume were prayers or wishes and tie them to structures around trees. It was lovely. I’m not in any way a spiritual person, but I certainly can appreciate beautiful trees and serenity.

There was one astonishing tree near the middle of the temple complex. It was enormous and so perfectly round that it almost looked like a cartoon tree. It was one of the first of what I can only say are extraordinary trees that I saw in Tokyo. When I hear people talk about Tokyo, I never hear them talk about the trees, but I saw several trees there that were so beautiful that they look like they should have been in paintings. It really stood out to me.

From there I walked over to the Harajuku neighborhood, famous for its youthful wacky fashions and cafes. Admittedly, I was there too early. I should have gone later in the day. A lot of the stores were closed or just opening when I got there. So the street was quiet and didn’t have a lot of what I imagine is the energy that it would have later in the day, but I still enjoyed walking around. It was interesting to see the odd cafes that they had, like an otter café, a micro pig café, cat cafes, dog cafes…it was random.

And cafes for Sanrio characters, and stores selling cute costumes and wigs and so you can dress up like a living doll. It was interesting. What was also interesting was walking around that neighborhood off Takeshita Street where there were some cool cafes (without animals) and clothing stores. I stopped and had coffee and looked at some random art and window displays.

From Harajuku it is just a short walk to the Shibuya crossing; That famous intersection that gets flooded with pedestrians walking in every direction imaginable. The best way to get a view of it is to go to the roof of the building. but that wasn’t open when I was there, so I went upstairs to the Starbucks in a record store and from there I got a view of the intersection. I have to say it wasn’t as dramatic as I expected it to be, but it was a lot of people walking in all directions and it’s a quintessential Tokyo sight, so I had to see it.

Ah, Ramen

I made my way back to Shinjuku, and had a bowl of ramen en route. I’m not usually a ramen fan, but in Tokyo I am. I am ashamed to say that I needed help ordering from the machine the first time. (I don’t know how I was screwing it up; pushing the buttons in the wrong order or something.) It seems that in most ramen joints, you order from a machine before sitting down and then your ramen is wordlessly delivered to you. Excellent. No perky server bothering you to ask, “How are the first few bites tasting!” Just leave me in peace to slurp my soup.

Smoking Cigars in Shinjuku

I went back to my hotel my capsule to get freshened up. I had plans for the evening.

About 20 years ago I worked at a La Casa Del Habano (cigar store) in Vancouver and the manager of the store at the time was a fellow whose family was from Hong Kong. We didn’t stay in touch, and he had since move back to Hong Kong. But on the day that I arrived in Tokyo, he and his wife happened to be arriving in Tokyo from Hong Kong (discovered via Facebook). He messaged me to see if I wanted to get together. I did. This turned out to be one of the best parts about my trip to Tokyo, not only because I got to see my friend from so many years ago, but because he and his wife are very familiar with Tokyo and speak a bit of Japanese and they were able to introduce me to some things that I probably wouldn’t have been able to do on my own. Thing one: finding may be the best place to smoke cigars in Shinjuku.

We went to a bar on the 4th floor of a building in Shinjuku that looked completely unremarkable. If I didn’t know there was a bar on the 4th floor I would have never known to go upstairs, but once upstairs it was one of the most perfect bars I have ever been to. It was tiny (sat about 12 people), it was dark, it had an incredible selection of whiskeys and drinks, it was long and narrow like a train car, it played excellent jazz music. The bartender was dressed almost identically to my taxi driver the night before: black suit, white shirt, black tie. And of course, the best thing, you could smoke cigars inside. I met my friend and his wife up there and we sat and smoked cigars and caught up, reminiscing about old times and catching up on new ones. It was so much fun and felt so civilized to be able to smoke cigars inside.

We left the bar and went over to one of Tokyo’s yokocho (alleyways) that are lined with tiny restaurants. This one: Omoide Yokocho.

More commonly known in English as “piss alley” for reasons that I probably don’t have to explain. It is a tiny little alley near Shinjuku station, lined with teeny tiny little eateries. The eateries are just counters (no tables) and the chefs cook up the food in front of you and serve it on tiny plates. I guess it’s like izakaya, but there seems to be a distinction between izakaya and a yokocho eatery that I don’t understand. Almost everyone sitting at those counters is smoking and drinking beer or tiny thimblefuls of what I assume is saki. It’s so charming and so picturesque that is exactly the sort of place that I would have wanted to go and eat but would have not really been able to eat on my own.

None of the signs are in English, of course, and I speak no Japanese. Even looking at the food that they are serving I couldn’t figure out what it was. Is that tofu or fish or egg? I had no idea. But fortunately, my friend did, so we sat down at a bar in a tiny little eatery next to a man gleefully and drunkenly polishing off a pack of cigarettes with his drinks and snacks. My friend ordered me a tiny little plate of objects that vaguely resembled food. He assured me they were all vegetarian. And they tasted great.

It was a wonderful introduction to an area that I would have not been able to fully enjoy on my own. It was a good reminder of the fact that as much as I think solo traveling is the absolute best, it is excellent to be able to connect with people in local areas and have a different experience.

We parted ways and I went back to my capsule, totally content after one day in Tokyo. Had this been my only day in Tokyo, I would’ve been pretty happy, but I had more time and there was more to see. The next day would bring more sights, more ramen, and a new weirder accommodation.

Africa South Sudan Sudan-South Sudan trip 2022

A Jaunt to Juba, South Sudan

I knew when I planned my trip to Sudan that would have to add on a trip to South Sudan. How could I miss a chance to visit the world’s youngest country? So I added a brief trip to Juba after I left Khartoum.

A Bit of Background

South Sudan was a part of Sudan (then the largest country in Africa) until 9 July 2011 when it became an independent nation and the 54^th country in Africa. Those sorts of shifts seldom happen peacefully, and South Sudan is no exception. In the end, there was a referendum to secede, but that was after decades of fighting for independence. Between the mid 1950s and 2005, the region that became South Sudan went through two civil wars and the unrest continued. The result was that there was no real infrastructure in the area of South Sudan and when it became its own country that was still the case, with factions on many of its provinces fighting each other. (As I always say when I try to sum up historical or political events, this is Wandering North, not Poli Sci North, so if you want a proper account of South Sudanese independence and politics, look elsewhere.)

South Sudan is not known for a lot of things, but what it is known for often is poverty. It is always on the UN list of least developed countries. Today South Sudan does get a share of the money from the oil reserves located in its borders, but it is Sudan that gets the bulk of it. There is not much else in terms of industry or resources. Most people live in rural areas and on less than a dollar a day.

Life in South Sudan is hard. It has the lowest rate of literacy in the world. It has poor access to health services, nutritious food, clean water, etc. The life expectancy is about 55 years, making me a senior citizen.

The other thing South Sudan is known for is violence. Canada advises not to go there under any circumstances due to risks of violence and armed conflict. It is regularly on lists of the ‘most dangerous countries’. But that sort of thing has never stopped me. So I booked my ticket and applied for my visa.

*Canada’s travel warning for South Sudan when I went*

Getting In

I did need a visa to go to South Sudan but, remarkably, they have an e-visa system. You do the paperwork and apply and pay online and get your stamp at the border. It is very expensive, but not difficult. (As least for me. I’m Canadian. Other passports may have different experiences.)

I flew from Khartoum to Juba, the capital of South Sudan, on a direct flight. The border was not a big deal. A bit intimidating, but no hassles.

Due to the lack of infrastructure in South Sudan, there is no public transport to the airport, so I arranged to have my hotel pick me up, and it was comforting to see my name “Mr. North” on a sign at arrivals. I got into a nice SUV and was driven, like a dignitary, to my accommodations: the Acacia Village.

Accommodations

South Sudan is poor, but it is not inexpensive to visit. There are lots of hotels and drivers and some restaurants that cater towards people working for aid organizations and NGOs, like the UN. But there is no budget traveller level of services. Of the available accommodations that looked remotely appealing (there are no hostels or cute backpacker spots), Acacia Village was by far the nicest. It is a lovely spot, just a bit outside of Juba’s city centre, filled with trees and cabins surrounding a pool, and an outdoor bar/restaurant. The perfect place to spend time in charming comfort. Visually, it met all my needs. It was just as pretty as the pictures. I loved my cabin, taking a morning dip in the pool, and having evening cigars in the courtyard. But it wasn’t cheap, and it lacked the normal services I thought they should have provided (like daily housekeeping or being able to tell me where to change money). I found that a little annoying. On my first day I was entirely without cash because they couldn’t (or wouldn’t) tell me where I could exchange some bills. Nevertheless, it was lovely, and I would stay there again.

Wandering Solo in Juba

Day one I had no plans except to see what I could see of Juba on my own. The challenges here were that walking along in Juba is strongly advised against due to it being unsafe, and I had no local money, and was not about to walk around and ask people where I could change my cash. (Why not just wear a “rob me” t-shirt?) But I did go out and walk around.

I left the Acacia Village compound. Two sets of gates with armed guards and high walls with razor wire were all that separated me from the outside world. I was a little intimidated by that, but once I was outside, it felt…fine. I am not saying it was safe and I was certainly on guard, but during the day, I felt safe.

*the Acacia Village gates (taken the next day from a car)*

I attracted a lot of attention as I strolled around, ghostly white and dressed in black. Tattoos peeking out. I was a curiosity. But people were nice. Lots of people said hello and asked me how I was. A reasonable mix of smiles and stares. I can’t blame the people who just stared. I may have actually been an idiot for walking around on my own.

*A selfie i snapped as i stepped out in to Juba*

I think the reason it is considered unsafe on the streets is just that people are so poor. And there is a real problem with men getting very drunk on dangerous homemade alcohol and going kind of nuts. Could I even blame someone for wanting to rob me, when they have nothing? Not really, but I didn’t want to take that chance, so I took nothing with me but my cell phone, some cigarillos, and a lighter.

Juba is not an attractive city. Unlike most capitals, it does not have centuries of being a capital city. It is brand new and wasn’t much of city to begin with. There are no museums, galleries, or stately capital buildings, or picturesque anything. Just streets and low rise, quickly constructed buildings. Aside from the few hotels catering to ex-pats, there is really nothing nice or new about it. But it has an energy. The streets were busy; lots of people out playing soccer, riding and washing motorcycles, modest shops, and houses.

The thing that really stood out was how young everyone was. The average age in South Sudan ins 18.6 years (and the median age is 16.7 years). Tons of young-looking men were everywhere. And they looked pretty cool. Especially the ones that were very into their motorbikes. Unlike in Sudan, in South Sudan most people are Christian or followers of animist religions, so gone were the modest robes and head scarves; most people here were dressed in a more western style. Skinny jeans and t-shirt was a common outfit for the young guys in Juba.

I wish I had more or better pictures, but photography is not allowed. There are, I would find out the next day, some places where it is unofficially allowed, but I didn’t know that on day one, so I just snapped a few quick pictures as i strolled.

And that is basically all I did on day one. I just got a feel for the place and got over the nervousness of wandering solo.

I spent the evening, as planned, at the Acacia Village, with a couple of cigars and dinner.

The next day I had arranged for a driver to allow me to see a little more than I could on my own, which would include the proper ‘sights’ of Juba.

Africa Sudan Sudan-South Sudan trip 2022

Visiting Khartoum

As discussed in a previous post, I had finally been able to visit Khartoum. Often I will breeze through a city in a couple of days, but this time I planned to spend nearly a week in Khartoum. I don’t know why, but I just had a feeling like I was going to like it. Plus, there isn’t a lot to do there. Not a lot of formal attractions, so I felt like it might be nice to go there and just hang out and relax. This idea, of going to Sudan to relax was mystifying to the women seated near me on my flight. Thy were all going for work and would not have gone for any other reason. Fortunately, I was right.

I loved Khartoum. It had many elements of a more middle eastern / Arabic city, like a little Cairo, but it also felt like a proper more southern African city. That won’t really make much sense unless you have been to both kinds of cities, but it just felt unique. Political instability and excessive soldier presence aside, it has a wonderfully relaxed vibe. I enjoyed several days of visiting the city and two days visiting outside the city to see the pyramids and temples.

I can’t talk about Khartoum and not say how great my hotel was. I stayed at the Acropole, which is a family run hotel, the oldest still in operation. It has a perfect location for walking and all the services and support you could want for doing trips out of the city and dealing with Sudanese bureaucracy. I was drawn to it for two reasons: 1) I read that archaeologists and news reporters stayed there (I had visions of myself hanging out with journalists and swapping stories over whisky; and 2) giant balconies – perfect for my evening cigars. I really lucked out. The place was lousy with archaeologists when I was there, and I even got to have lunch with a few of them. (I must have been so annoying; assaulting them with questions like machine gun fire.) The family running the hotel was lovely and, yes, the balconies were perfect for smoking cigars over late night chats. NO swapping stories with BBC correspondents, but with other types of foreign workers and expats. The hotel seems to be a hub for social activities. Perfect for a solo wanderer like me. It was a bit over my preferred budget but was worth every penny. (I am not being paid to say this; it just was a big part of why my trip was so great. I met so many wonderful people.)

I arrived late one night and set out early the next morning to see the city. I can see why many people say one day is good. There wasn’t much to ‘do’. The museums were closed for reasons I could not determine.

There are some lovely colonial era, grand buildings to gawk at, but you can’t photograph any of them and there are lots of police (uniformed and not) who will give you trouble if you do. It is a pity because there are so many government buildings. Some very pretty and some imposing with tanks out front, but all of it is left to my memories. Well, except…there was this one restaurant I went to that was on the roof of a tall building and gave good views over Khartoum and the Nile, from there you can see many of the buildings that are otherwise off limits, including the courthouse and the library building.

So on two of my days I just walked around the different areas. I checked out some street art and smoked shisha along the banks of the Nile, under a bridge, where locals gathered to drink coffee, smoke, and get out of the sun.

I walked around the central souq, and up and down the streets that were mostly pretty quiet. I wandered by mosques and churches, investigated shops, and paid a visit to a tiny art gallery.

I visited the University, which was pleasant and leafy. Not much to see there unless you go in the afternoon, when I am told there are lots of monkeys out and about. I saw only students.

One of the best things about walking about Khartoum is there is coffee everywhere. Not so much as ‘regular’ cafes, but these excellent, roadside improvised cafes under trees. They are all similarly set up: a woman with small, low-to-the-ground cart where she can boil water and hold a variety of spices, coffee, and sugar will make Sudanese coffee and patrons will sit on little, colorful woven seats and relax and enjoy. The coffee is like Arabic/Turkish coffee, but with a mix of spices, including lots of ginger. I think there is other stuff in there – cinnamon probably, cardamom maybe – but a big hit of ginger and a good dose of sugar. You don’t think ginger belongs in coffee? That’s only because you haven’t had it. I drank as much as I could, knowing I wouldn’t be able to anywhere else. I am still thinking about it.

So two of my days in Khartoum were spent basically that way: just walking and exploring and loving it.

Also, on those days, I ended up being very social. I mentioned the lunch with the archaeologists, but I also connected with a girl I ‘met’ through Instagram. She is from America but has lived in Sudan for many years. We met up for coffee and then she, a fellow from the hotel, and a guy from Switzerland/Germany/Australia who works part of the year in Central and Eastern Africa. We went out for shisha and dinner at this excellent Lebanese restaurant next to the Canadian embassy. One evening with this trio and I was loving Khartoum. I felt like I got this rare glimpse into what it is like to live there as an expat or a certain type of local, a bit of insight into the political and security situation, and a good amount of local gossip. It was a lot of fun. (IF any of them read this they will know who they are, but I don’t want to use their names out of respect for their privacy.)

*Assaha – Lebanese restaurant and shisha spot*

On the next of my aimless wandering days in Khartoum, I and the fellow from the hotel went to the home of another local guy who had this fabulous loft style apartment in a fancy area of town. We went out for Thai food with a girl from Mexico, living in Khartoum. Again, just another excellent evening. On my final night I went to a party at that same loft. I have never been so social. It was easy to talk with everyone and everyone was so interesting.

For all of this talk of wandering around in Khartoum and there being nothing specific to do; that’s not entirely true. Unless / until the museums reopen, there are still a few things worth making a point of going to: the souq at Omdurman, Tutti Island in the Nile, the camel market, the Sufi night, and the Nubian wrestling. Unfortunately, the wrestling and the Sufis happen on the same evening so you can’t do both. I opted for the Sufis. I will post about that and the souq and camel market separately.

A few practical things, since I keep getting asked.

Sudan is an Islamic country and I dressed accordingly. A long flowy skirt to my ankles and some kind of high-necked, long-sleeved top. I did not have to cover my head. I probably didn’t have to dress so modestly, but I think that is the better way to go. One day I went walking by myself wearing something less modest and I felt a bit uncomfortable.

Few people spoke English.

Cash is king in Sudan. The rest of the world still has embargoes and sanctions against Sudan, which prevents any foreign credit and bank cards from being used. This means, bring your money in cash (pristine US dollars is best) and budget accordingly. Upon exchanging a small amount, you will be given a brick of Sudanese pounds, so exchange as you go.

I never felt unsafe. That said, I didn’t spend much time out alone at night. I don’t think it is a dangerous place, but since the 2021 coup, the cost of living has gone up a lot and that kind of poverty can breed desperation, so why chance it. Plus, outside of one neighbourhood, Khartoum didn’t seem to have a bustling nightlife.

The people were very friendly and hospitable.

I can’t say enough good things about it. Almost every week since I was there, I have a dream that I am back. That’s not normal for me and I think it speaks to how much I loved it.

More to follow about things I did in Khartoum, and excursions to Meroë, Musawwarat es-Sufra, and Naqa.

Asia Central Asia 2022 Kazakhstan

A Bit of Luxury in Almaty

Crossing back into Kazakhstan from Kyrgyzstan

I had a flight booked from Bishkek back to Almaty. A very short and very inexpensive flight. However, having experienced how quick and easy it is to cross by (shared) taxi and on foot, I decided to skip the airports altogether, ditched the flight and caught a taxi to the Kazakhstan/Kyrgyzstan border.

I walked across, it was quick and almost without hassle. I say “almost” because the immigration guard for Kazakhstan said insistently that I needed a visa. I just responded “No, I don’t. I get an automatic 30 day visa at the border.” He shrugged and wordlessly stamped my passport.

*the path from one border checkpoint to the next*

Back on Kazakh soil, immediately the women who was in the queue behind me started speaking to me in English. She was from Kyrgyzstan but living in Almaty. She wanted to know if I would share a taxi with her. I said “Absolutely.” She found us a car with two other people waiting and did the haggling (getting us a better price than I could have gotten myself. And in moments we were off. It was a nice drive, with pleasant chats and a stop at a roadside stand for fresh horse milk and balls of qurut. The ride was about $4 CDN and I was in Almaty by 11am.

Back in Almaty and into the lobby of luxury

Back in Almaty at the bus station, I caught a taxi to my hotel for my final night of this trip. I usually stay at hostels or budget accommodation, but sometimes I like to have a bit of a splurge on my final night. To have my own room and not share a bathroom with anyone. That is what I was doing that day and…what a splurge.

I stayed one night at the fabulous Rixos Almaty. Definitely, as far as big hotels go, it is the fanciest place I have ever stayed. Like a Grand Budapest Hotel. Gleaming white in the day and illuminated pink at night. The lobby is a huge atrium with trees and intimidatingly posh-looking cafes – oh, and it has a cigar store and lounge, which was the deciding factor that caused me to book it.

Walking in, I felt like Eddie Murphy in Beverley Hills Cop when he walks into the Beverly Palm Hotel, clearly out of place. I always wear black, and I don’t wear athletic wear, sneakers, or sandals, so I didn’t look super casual, but I had a backpack, and I wasn’t that clean. Everyone else looked very clean and classy. But I had the golden ticket. I had a reservation.

My room was…wow. Huge and with a balcony and a giant bed and the biggest bathtub. Maybe that doesn’t sound like a big deal, but I had just been sharing a single toilet with four men and several cockroaches, so this was a welcome change.

*my room (bubble bath pictures not included)*

I had a bubble bath, got cleaned up, and headed out. First stop was the cigar lounge for a Partagas Series D No.4.

From there I just went out walking. It was a glorious day. I had already done all the sightseeing in Almaty that I wanted to do, so I just walked leisurely. The weather was perfect, and people were out strolling and packing the patios at the sidewalk cafés and restaurants.

*just one of many inviting cafes. I went to this one.*

I stopped and had multiple coffees and some pomegranate iced tea.

more coffee at this side street café with outdoor swing seats

I roamed around and snapped pictures of street art murals. Almaty isn’t super street arty, but there are some nice murals if you look for them.

*murals* *(The middle one reminds me of Weird Al. No idea who it actually is)*

I browsed at an outdoor craft market and just watched the world go by. And then I got to the Opera House; a beautiful and grand yellow structure with fountains. To my luck, there was an opera that night.

The show was “Abai”, a newish (2015) Kazakh opera about the life of poet Abai Qunanbaiuly (a Kazakh poet from the late 19^th century), and it was starting at 6:00pm. I bought a single ticket for the centre orchestra, which cost about $10 CDN.

It was a great treat. I was very happy that it was a Kazakh show, and the production was impressive. Of course, I couldn’t understand a word of it, but I enjoyed the music, staging and costumes. That said, I did leave at the second intermission – not because it wasn’t good – I had seen enough and wanted to enjoy a dinner on my last night in town.

I walked back to what had become my favourite eating/smoking restaurant patio in Almaty and had some Armenian flat breads filled with herbs and I smoked shisha until late into the night.

It was a perfect end to my time in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. In the morning I flew home. This trip made me even more curious to visit Turkmenistan and Tajikistan and Afghanistan (the three (of seven) ‘stans I have left to visit. Something to look forward to.

Asia Iraq Iraqi Kurdistan/Albania trip 2022 Kurdistan

Arrival in Iraqi Kurdistan

I decided to go to Iraqi Kurdistan in Northern Iraq. As with so many of my trips, I didn’t really have a good reason; just an interest and a winnowing down of alternative destinations based on weather, or covid restrictions, or where I went last. So I booked myself a flight to Erbil (also spelled Irbil or called Hawler).

Let’s get this out of the way right off the top: Iraq / Kurdistan / Iraqi Kurdistan? What I am I talking about? Iraq, as we all know, is a country. A high profile one. The capital is Baghdad. It is famous for, amongst other things, Saddam Hussein and Aladdin. That’s straightforward. Where things get murky is the Northern bit, which is where I went. I’m not going o attempt to break down the history of the Kurds or Iraq or the Middle East generally, but suffice it to say that the northern part of the country of Iraq is under control of the Kurds, which is why it is often called Kurdistan. Though Kurdistan also broadly refers to lands in several countries, like Iran and Turkey, where many Kurdish people live.

*Map of Kuridstan – where the Kurdish people traditionally and predominantly live*

The northern, Kurdish part of Iraq has its own government, flag, laws, visa system, etc…but it isn’t technically its own country.(At least not in the narrow, UN-defined definition of country.)This is always a treacherous topic and places like Scotland, Palestine, Tibet, Taiwan, and Kurdistan are amongst those places where statehood is…a matter of some debate. I’m not going to go down that path. According to the map and the stamp in my passport, the currency in my wallet, and the address of my hotel, etc, I was in Iraq, but I know that merely calling it Iraq is not entirely accurate and is also disrespectful to the Kurdish people, who have fought for their independence, so I have been saying I was in Iraqi Kurdistan or Northern Iraq, depending on my audience and how comfortable they are with geography and history.

Erbil is the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. (You will see it on the map above near Mosul.) As far as human civilization, it dates back to about 5,000 BCE. Over the centuries it has been a part of a long list of empires from the Assyrians to the Ottomans. It is all very interesting, but this isn’t ‘Wandering Encyclopedia Britannica’, so for a proper history, you should probably read a book, but it is worth looking into, even if all you is read the history section of an Iraq travel book.

People speak Kurdish there, but may also speak Arabic. It is a Muslim part of the world. It is in a mountainous region and in fact the month before I arrived, they had snow. So this is not the rolling desert terrain you might be imaging. I was there in February. It was cool in the evening and pleasantly warm in the day. A lot of the trees were still waiting for their spring greenery and there was not a lot of flowers, but there was some evergreen plants and grasses around. It would probably be more pretty in the Summer, but also brutally hot. I thought it was perfect.

I learned a few words and phrases in Kurdish, which proved to be mostly helpful in impressing people with my efforts. Those that spoke English were happy to do so, and with those that did not, I relied on my excellent combination of charades and smiling.

I landed at the airport, flashed my PCR test and vaccination status (the former was required the latter was not, which was different from what was on the government website) and got a visa on arrival, which is available to people from many countries, including Canada. The visa required no paperwork, but does demand a fee of $70 or $75 US (it seems to fluctuate). No questions asked, I breezed through. I changed some money to Iraqi Dinars. And I was in Iraqi Kurdistan.

The sun was just setting as I took a taxi into the city. It wasn’t immediately impressive, but nor was it off-putting.

I was staying at the Erbil View Hotel. Not a bargain, but one of the better options available. Erbil does not have hostels. It does have some budget hotels in the centre, but you can’t book them online and even in walking around, none of them were immediately apparent. So I guess if you are really on a budget, the thing to do would be to book a first night at a pricier hotel and then look for a cheaper option. I stayed put. The reception staff (who were lovely) upgraded me to a suite that was easily twice the size of my apartment and very comfortable. And…smoking was allowed!

But I didn’t have time to lounge in my room. I set out for the centre. It was dark but I had figured out my walking route ahead of time. (Time studying maps ahead of time always pays off.) In about 10 minutes I was at the centre, in between the citadel and the bazaar, surrounded by tons of people enjoying the evening in the square.

Everything was bustling. Families and friends out, drinking tea, people walked around selling nuts and fruits and cotton candy and balloons. It had a festive air. Not what you think of when you imagine Iraq – even Iraqi Kurdistan – after dark.

I did sort of a loop around, dazzled by how bright and colorful everything seemed. (Admittedly I was probably delirious from that cocktail of jet lag and excitement.)

I was starving but realized pretty quickly that none of the restaurants had vegetarian food. One man said he could barbeque me some tomatoes, but I passed. Fortunately, the streets radiating out from the bazaar were lined with street food vendors. Most of it was meat, but there was also falafel. Joy! Perfectly fresh falafel made for throngs of hungry people who crowded around. It was served in soft, pointy pita-style bread and covered with pickled vegetables and spicy yellow sauce. And it was about 60 cents. Canadian.

Satiated, and not ready to return to my room, I walked to the most appealing place: a 2^nd floor patio decked out with Christmas lights and producing plumes of fruity smoke. Shisha and falafel, the perfect combination.

It was packed, but I found a seat and puffed away on a lemon mint shisha combo, while sipping on lemonade and snacking on pistachios and cashews. It was mostly young, local people. I didn’t see any other tourists (nor did I for the rest of the trip.) I was content. I had made it and it was off to a good start.

I walked a slightly different path back to my hotel and slept, excited for the next day when I could really explore. (There will be more photos on the next post. Most of the ones on this first night came out dark and blurry. What can I say? It was dark and I was excited.)

Tag: hotel

Logistics

Overnight in Paris

Arrival

Algiers

Arrival in Zimbabwe

Visas

Accommodations

Wandering in Harare

Brazil, Finally

Bom Dia, Rio!

Rio Centro

At the Copa. Copacabana.

This Girl in Ipanema

Leblon

When twilight dims the sky above

Arrival in Tokyo, Japan

Sleeping Capsule

But first, coffee

In a Station of the Metro

Shrine Time

Ah, Ramen

Smoking Cigars in Shinjuku

A Bit of Background

Getting In

Accommodations

Wandering Solo in Juba

Crossing back into Kazakhstan from Kyrgyzstan

Back in Almaty and into the lobby of luxury