Gallabat(the border town)-Gedaref-Madani-Khartoum, 611km, Thursday-Tuesday(1st-6th)
I finally left Ethiopia and entered Sudan. Voices soon faded away. So peaceful...
I asked local people if I could camp. "No problem." Yes! I no longer had to stop early for a hotel, and could ride longer.
I needed to hurry in Sudan. Officially I had only 15 days.
My visa of Sudan was transit. It was the only visa I could get in Addis Abeba.
There was about 1600km to go. Some parts of the route seemed to be not paved but sandy. The desert way could be windy. And the heat. Sudan is one of the hottest countries in the world.
I'd heard from a biker who'd been in Sudan that overstaying would be no problem. All the bikers from south were doing that, according to him. The information gave me a relief.
The ferry from Wadi Halfa to Aswan, which was the only way out to Egypt except flight, went only once in a week, on every Wednesday. The day I entered Sudan was Thursday. That means I had only 13 and a half days to go if I wanted to be in time. I didn't think I'd make it.
Well, but overstaying was still an illegal way. You never knew what would happen. I should go as quick as I could, and see the outcome, I thought.
The heat was bearable in the beginning till Gedaref. There were many villages along the way. Cattle were resting under the shade of a sparse tree.Gedaref-Madani was a desert way. Much hotter. Fewer resting places.
Madani-Kartoum was a busy route with cars and trucks through towns and villages. I couldn't ride on the paved road but on the sandy side road, which was a bummer.
I carried more than 7 litters of water on my bike first, but it was not enough at all in a day. Every time when I found a shop, I bought something to drink, gasping.
There were big jars in front of houses here and there. Free water from Nile river. Water vaporizes from the unglazed earthen surface, and cools down inside. I knew anybody could drink it. It's a generous custom in Sudan. But I didn't dare to try it for a while, stayed with mineral water from shops. I spent a lot for drinks.
I had another problem. There was a rule in Sudan that foreigners had to register at an immigration office within three days after the entry.
I couldn't do it in Gedaref, because it was Friday when I went, a Muslim holiday.
In short, I was sent from one office to another, had to go to 5 different offices in 4 cities for 7 times, wasted so much time. It was the 12th day that I finally finished the registration. Some officers, especially in Khartoum, were real pain in the ass.
There were many check points on the way, but I had no trouble. Most of the policemen or soldiers didn't even look at my passport but asked friendly where I was from.
Many Sudanese were modest and kind. Some helped me a lot and never asked for return, like the hotel manager in Khartoum who tried to help me for my registration, or gave me good advice on the way ahead.
