More roads, and Khartoum at last.

Before I get going, I promised in my last post to say more about the huge artics plying the roads of Sudan. These roads are not bad at all. They are mostly dead straight and were largely funded by China in return for secure access to natural resources, and presumably to facilitate their own need to move those resources around. Apart from Artics and Hi-Luxes, another common vehicle is a Chinese coach travelling from site to industrial site. These sites, whatever, they are, are back off the road with big industrial buildings and chinese signs at the entrances. The world is changing fast.

You don`t need to know any of that. I just wanted to show off that I have been reading a guidebook. It may not even be true. The only reason I mention it is that the quality of the roads are not the reason for the frequently overturned huge lorries. We have been seeing one or two wrecks a day, sometimes completely burned out. In one case we came on the scene very soon after the incident. On this occasion the load was live goats. The crew was busy cutting the throats of the most severely injured animals. No doubt a mercy killing, but I wonder wonder how it would square with the painstakingly humane principles of Halal slaughter, and what would happen to the meat.

Last word on the topic of the roads: there are places marked on the map which are not reflected in any sign of habitation or, at best, a truck stop with one ramshackle building. I guess communities flourish briefly in the desert and then die, and the flimsy building materials are recycled.

Back to the action: the police instruction not to wild camp on the way to Khartoum meant a long gruelling drive and a late arrival at our emergency campsite - the car park of the grandly-named Nile sailing club. It will not surprise you to learn that this is a sailing club on the Nile. It may surprise you to know that amongst the few vessels there, there was none in which I would willingly have taken to the water, but there were (însert synonym) squat toilets and a cold shower. A surprisingly welcome sight to exhausted hard-bitten and dirty desert travellers.

The dusty car park was busy and full of exhaust fumes until the small hours, and our tents were pitched amongst the cars. For once I was thankful for Sudan's alcohol ban.

After a few days in the empty desert, I had forgotten about the precautions one needs to take in a humid city, so during the night I made the acquaintance of a restless zinging mosquito. Just one. You wouldn't really begrudge them one bite - they've got a living to make, same as everybody. But why can't they do the job properly in one go and take the rest of the night off? Instead they spend hours engaged in a series of little snacks, biting you over and over again in the most awkward places possible. I think it's their idea of fun. Bastards.

Next morning I opened the tent zip a crack and squeezed myself out leaving the bare minimum of space around me, carefully zipped it back up, went to the truck and collected my can of insecticide. Returning to insect Death Row, and with a manic cackle, I visited instant revenge upon any creature remaining in the tent - who may have been congratulating itself upon a profitable night.

I think it was Woody Allen who said: "The Jews invented guilt but the Catholics raised it to an art form". Somebody else said: "Once a catholic, always a catholic". I'm not sure who it was. Possibly God. (Blessed be his name).

It is still difficult for me to come to terms with the fact that I have taken the life of a tiny fellow creature, and deprived its doubtless large and loving family of a father or mother. Until the itching starts again - whereupon I think I may in time be able to come to terms with my actions.

I will now have to find a pharmacist to buy antihistasmine. The people here use Western names for most drugs, but their pronunciation is very different. I have a strategy to deal with this. I will take some of my fellow-travellers, all with different accents, so that the possibly terrified chemist will have 6 chances of getting my drift. I envisage it going thus:
- I will pronounce it correctly and my multi-national colleagues will repeat my request in their various accents as follows:
- (Fhonch): Ondy-east-amih
- (Ummerrkun): Annie-hiz-dermin
- ( Strine): Innie-hiss-tim-in?
- (Cherman): You vill provide Antihistamine vizzout furzzer delay.
- (Polleesh): Anti-heess-termin-bullshit.

Thanks for your attention.

Chris