It seemed an indelicate way to arrive at a religious ceremony. We bumped in, out and around gravestones set in desert scrub, before pulling up in the minivan in front of a huge circle of men in white robes. The pounding beat got louder as we walked to the edges of the circle and saw what they were all watching: green, red and leopard-clothed...

By Alison Bate The capital of Sudan feels a little lost and empty these days. The distinctive Dinkas – the impossibly tall, thin Southerners – and their fellow compatriots have mostly left Khartoum for their new homeland and the deadline for the rest to leave is just months away. After April 9, 2012, any southerners remaining...

1. Take lots of US dollars in cash, in fact everything you’ll need, as none of your western ATMs or credit cards will be accepted. 2. Change money on the black market, not in banks or official exchanges. As of Dec.1, 2011 you’ll get about 4.2 Sudanese pounds to $1 US on the black market, compared with only about 2.75 SP to the...

I’m in a hot little internet café up some very narrow stairs, so narrow I had to squeeze sideways to get up here, helped marginally by a wobbly rail. The internet in Sudan is sometimes very good and sometimes very bad and slow. The connection keeps dropping, and I’ve just managed to switch out of Arabic and change the direction...

I ‘ve just arrived in Khartoum after a four-year gap, and this morning between 5 a.m. and 6 a.m., it was pretty magical. After a sleepless, jetlagged night, I went up to the rooftop of the Bougainvilla Guest House, where I’m staying. It was still dark, the moon and stars were out, and a cool breeze swept across the patio. Four or five...

I can pack a backpack or suitcase for a trip in under an hour, but deciding what tech toys to take is another ballgame altogether. I spent a ridiculous amount of time researching cellphones and agonizing about whether to take my beloved Macbook with me. I’m meeting various friends in Khartoum, and everyone uses cellphones there. But of...

May 30, 2011 If you like looking at pictures of ships, which for some obscure reason I do, it’s always fun to pop over to some of the photography and ship-tracking websites and see what’s around. I was trying to avoid writing recently, and stumbled across this photo of a ship I sailed on a few years ago. I was asked a ton of...

“Do you dare to wear it?” – 1974 advert for Bint el Sudan perfume Mar.22, 2011 By Alison Bate It was my last day in Khartoum, the dusty desert capital of Sudan. I lay spread-eagled on my bed, trying to keep as cool as possible, and planning the day ahead. I’ll visit Omdurman Souk, I decided, follow on my grandfather’s trail. After...

Reflections as South Sudan votes 99 per cent for independence Feb.8, 2011 By Alison Bate As we headed toward Dilling, white egrets wandered in and out of scrub bushes and stubby trees. It was the rainy season and the desert land was transformed into an endless series of golf courses, with fresh green grass broken by bunkers of burnt orange...

By Alison Bate A well-worn package arrived today from northern Nigeria. The Fedex package looked lumpy, heavily inspected, with yellow and blue stickers and tape splashed with orange type declaring “Inspected by Canada Customs”. The sender: W.J. Bush & Co. of Kano, Nigeria. The original company of W.J.Bush & Co. may...

Uyghur men in Kashgar souk When I visited Kashgar just over three years ago, I was disappointed at first. The road in from the airport passed concrete roundabouts and boring buildings typical of the modern Han Chinese city. There was even a giant Mao statue close to the bus station. While Kashgar – or Kashi as the Han Chinese call...

By Alison Bate Watching Brad Pitt in “Seven Years in Tibet” the other week, I idly wondered how any movie about Tibet could be so boring. Tibet’s so striking, and there are so many surprises around every corner, that making a boring movie about the country should be impossible. But it did trigger a couple of my favorite...