Home » Sudan » Khartoum to Addis Ababa (7 April 2002)

"Apologies for my failure to think of a suitably cheesy yet inspirational opening quote. Can you help?" �<br/> Alastair Humphreys<br/>
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Sudan continued: Khartoum to Ethiopia. March.

Khartoum to Addis Ababa (7 April 2002)

Roundtheworldbybike
2005-11-18 10:59:12

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It is the nearest I have yet come to quitting. Being alone exaggerates all emotions and I feel desperate to share my pain with somebody, anybody. But there is nobody: I feel very alone. Being alone is infinitely harder than riding with a companion. Thankfully a tiny shard of stubbornness keeps me riding and after a few days my elaborate plans of 1) swerving in front of a truck or 2) heading for the nearest England-bound aeroplane (slightly preferable to option number 1) fade.

Tough guys tattoo LOVE and HATE across their knuckles. It is too hot for such deep emotions now so I emblazon my cycling mitts with a dangling carrot to keep me pushing towards Ethiopia: COLD BEER.

I drag my heels in Gallabat: the far side of the village is Ethiopia and I am reluctant to leave Sudan. My passport is stamped in a thatched mud hut, I don�t have to clear customs (the man is asleep and it would be a shame to wake him) and the border policeman takes me for a final breakfast. Sudan has amazed me. Arriving awestruck and nervous my head had been laden with preconceptions. Now I have crossed Africa�s largest nation and have learned so much.

Sudan has huge problems, amongst them an absurdly bad government, a horrific civil war, hunger, drought and terrible poverty. However, Sudan has still been my favourite country on this journey. Despite being poor the Sudanese people that I met were genuinely happy. They are happy with what they have and they have dignity and self-respect. They are the kindest, most cheerful, most hospitable and welcoming people that I have ever met. The Sudan needs the West to open its eyes to the horrors of the conflict, to rid itself of unhelpful preconceptions caused by ignorance. It needs our awareness.

Perhaps you may like to read a book called �The Weekenders�; a collection of short stories published by the Daily Telegraph to raise funds and awareness for the Sudan. Perhaps you could read of ...