Sudan

Welcome to Sudan, Yankee

Photography is not permitted in Khartoum without a camera permit (which is next to impossible

to obtain), but this is the branch of the Nile River known as the Blue Nile in downtown Khartoum.

Southern Sudan, however, is OK with cameras - here's one of the better local eateries.

Grass roofed buildings are known locally as tucals

I never thought I would, but I finally found an airline that offers an even worse travel

experience than Southwest Airlines, although I had to go deep into war-torn Africa to do it.

Marsland Aviation (whose name is misspelled on its own web site) has a fleet of ancient

Tupolev Tu-134s - sort of the Russian version of a DC-9 - flying several domestic routes. The

instructions above the emergency exit are to open and discard the hatch, then toss the "escape rope"

out the opening and climb down. No slides, no ladders - just a rope. I also noticed that despite what

the safety briefing card says, there wasn't a life vest on board anywhere. But, the saving grace

is that if a decompression emergency arises the crew will "distribute oxygen" to each

passenger. Who trusts those flimsy looking oxygen masks anyway?! One other notably

charming feature - the exterior paint job was done with a brush. The NATO codename for the

Tu-134 is "Crusty" and travel insurance is not on offer.

Dowtown Juba

Nile River

Cattle are a sign of wealth in many parts of Africa. They don't eat them; consider a large

herd as the Sudanese equivalent of your neighbor's Ferrari

Unfortunately, most of Sudan's big game has been killed off by 20+ years of civil war, but

there are a few critters around

Known by the locals as a "pushup lizard" because of the way it bounces on its front legs

A local beggar visited my dinner table looking for a handout

And these apparently migrated from some redneck's yard in Texas

Juba marketplace

Juba beauty salon

Not everyone in Juba is fortunate enough to have a tucal

A war casualty aground in the Nile