Khartoum (Days 19-20)
By admin. Filed in Sudan |
Our fourth day of the stretch into Khartoum started with our first time trial. Everyone had the option of racing the first 20k, followed by an easy 40k ride to lunch. After lunch, we began a long convoy into (or more accurately around) Khartoum. With sirens blaring, we were paraded through the outskirts of Khartoum to the National Camping Grounds south of the city. The locals didn’t know what to make of us. Instead of the waves and hellos that we were used to from the countryside, we were mostly met with blank stares of confusion.
Some of the train crossings and potholes were a bit hard on the bikes. Somehow, my tire pump fell apart during our slow-moving convoy. When we arrived at the campground, I made an impromptu decision to ride into town for a hotel. I wasn’t feeling well, and thought a room with a bed and a shower might help me recover. It turned out to be a good choice, as I became good friends with the porcelain throne as well. In addition, I got a chance to do my laundry in the bathroom (it took three washes to get some of it clean), and could use the Internet from my room.
While on the Internet, I learned a trick with the iPhone: by ejecting the SIM card, you can sometimes get it to accept a charge. It worked! I have a phone again!
The hotel I’m in was part of a western chain but had been taken over by the Chinese. Since it was run by a mostly-Chinese staff, it had a lot of features that reminded me of my stay last year in Asian hotels–very clean bathrooms, shrink-wrapped combs and single-use toothbrushes each day, a Chinese food buffet each morning, and a system where you have to return your deposit receipts in order to check out. The only real downside of the hotel: it cost much more than I really wanted to spend.
The first night, I joined a group for a dinner that cost much more than I wanted to spend as well. We enjoyed a fantastic meal in the international restaurant on the top floor of the Birj Hotel that should have provided an excellent view of the city. It failed to do so, however, due to the shape of the hotel–the slanted windows only reflected images of the restaurant itself. The menu was great, however, and I had a whole page of vegetarian options to choose from on their international menu. The Birj hotel is probably the most expensive hotel in town, which is why we were surprised to find a fellow rider, Annalise, staying there when we showed up. We thought she didn’t stay at the Park Hotel with the rest of us because it was too expensive. I guess she had other reasons.
It’s hard to understand the infrastructure of Khartoum. Modern, sparkling office buildings punch through the dirty, decaying buildings that surround them. There are huge, gaping holes in the street and sidewalks, and many of the manhole covers are missing. To avoid the insane city traffic and avoid a catastrophic fall, you really have to be on your toes. If you were to go drinking, you would really be taking your life into your hands. Fortunately, Sudan is a completely dry country and no alcohol is for sale anywhere.
A group of riders learned that there might be a legal way to obtain beer. There is a Pick-Nick club inside the British Embassy that was open on Thursdays by invitation only. I came along just for fun and we tried to get on the invitation list. We eventually got to talk to someone on the inside (the ambassador, probably), who diplomatically told us that we couldn’t get in. A man at the WHO gave us a lead to try the French Embassy. We heard rumors of a few other embassies as well, but decided to just wander around town instead. We found the Blue Nile Sailing Club that sponsored our entry into Sudan. It’s a nice camping spot on the river. There were a couple of large Swedish tour buses there, as well as the German couple with the Unimog we shared the ferry from Egypt with.
I was due to restock some supplies, so I headed out for the Afga Mall. Considering the state of the city, or all of Sudan for that matter, I wasn’t expecting much. What I found there amazed me. It was a sparkling clean, air-conditioned mall. There was a big food court upstairs, a computer store, lots of foreign exchange stores, and a complete supermarket of Walmart proportions. The mall also sported a bowling alley, pool hall, and movie theater. I focused my attention on the supermarket–toilet paper, snacks, hand cleanser, baby wipes, …