9/17/08 - Flying out of Juba, Sudan

Well, Juba was an 'interesting' experience. Juba, Sudan is on the fringe of civilization – at least in as far as I know civilization – and it represents the "wild west" for the Bank. It is the capital of Government of Southern Sudan (GOSS). Only 15,000 people live there; of them, 5,000 are from non-governmental organizations – about 87 different agencies.

There's not much to see in Juba. The roads are mostly dirt. The airport is little more than a paved landing strip. The terminal building was about three times the size of our house. The UN runs the show here and expats spend a lot of time in their compounds. Our staff live on the compound, but there wasn't any room in the compound for us, so we stayed at the Summer Palace, a prefab hotel built and operated by the Chinese. It cost $150/night (cash only) and the accommodations included a bed, a table, a chair, a stool and a fan. The bathroom (yes, I was excited there actually was a bathroom) consisted of a toilet, a mirror and a showerhead that hung over the sink area. I am not complaining though…I had a mosquito net over my bed and the water in the bathroom could be warmed, so I could have a "hot" shower. The food was an overdose of carbs, but then again, I didn't get sick, so I'm happy. We had our choice for breakfast – toast with jelly, crepes (without filling), spring rolls, toast (without jelly), and some sort of Chinese bread thing…lunch was sometimes available, but I think I really went on a diet when I visited Juba. Dinner was our most promising meal most days and we did find some interesting places (both local and expat hang-outs) to enjoy some food and a nice cold beer.

Unfortunately, I have very few pictures of Juba, as it is generally an arrestible offense to take pictures in Sudan. Well, onto Khartoum for a few days…it should be interesting – more metropolitan than Juba. The most disrupting thing about this trip is that Sudan is a cash-based economy. You need currency to pay for everything. At this moment, I am extremely poor…not sure I'll make it out of the country. I have less than $50 to my name right now and not an ATM to be found!