ProjecTravel’s Guide to Crossing Borders in Developing Nations
Photo by Geoff Shingleton
BY JACINTO VIDRÓ
Without doubt crossing from the DRC into Angola is by no means the same experience as crossing from Austria into Germany. Many travelers tend to find the border experience in many developing nations to be more than a hassle, but a dreaded experience filled with being hassled, scammed, and worst of all thoroughly irritated. Well, we’re here to help.
However before we cross into some best practice areas of how to mitigate the hassle of crossing from one country into another, we should note that the scamming, hassling etc… exists because of poverty, and those people who live in these areas often have little other means of making a living as profitable as getting cash out of tourists, and as such when travelling, remember not to blame them – they’re just trying to make ends meet. But enough of that, and onto the juicy stuff.
LEARN THE BORDER CROSSING PROCEDURE – No other piece of advice will help you more, and the general trend is that bureaucracy is the in thing to do. So typically if you don’t know what you’re up against, the process can be much more frustrating than it needs to be, you may wait on the wrong line, run back and forth between different offices while at the same time trying to figure out what on earth it exactly is that you’re supposed to do. Read up on the practices, if you’re travelling in any given direction ask people who have been there and through the process, and see if they can offer some advice, also make sure that you can get the visa at the border, the worst thing is being turned away when all you needed to do was call the nearest embassy or consulate.
BRING U.S. DOLLARS – While the U.S. Dollar may no longer be the de facto international currency it still hold its mettle and especially so in the developing world. If crossing from point A to B, chances are that your visa, toll, or bribe will most likely have to come in the form of the greenback. As such carry around $200 with you at all times in cash, and be sure to take the necessary precautions to adequately hide the money, thieves may or may not be about. Also, when exchanging or getting USD make sure the notes are not older than 2 years – oftentimes officials will not accept older notes.
The Notable Things that Haley did in Sydney …
BY HALEY COHEN
1) Strolling Around Newtown on a Sunday afternoon…
Newtown feels a lot like Greenwich Village meets Astor Place. I immediately found myself immersed in a sea of ethnic restaurants serving everything from Tom Yum to Injera to good ol’ Pies (an Australian specialty) and musty used book and record stores – a rarity in the era of the ipod. Men in Doc Martens with Mohawks rivalling Everest in height stomp up the street holding hands with lithe girls in fedoras and skinny jeans. Most buildings are blanketed with graffiti, but the graffiti is often evocative and ornate. My personal favourite was the vibrant portrait of the Hindu god Ganesh, a saffron map of Africa with borders meticulously marked (at least where borders can be agreed upon) and a cobalt Thomas the Tank Engine surrounded by his multi-coloured locomotive pals (my number 1, obviously).
2) Went to the Sydney Aquarium…
The day was overcast (again) so we nixed our initial plan to go to the Taronga Zoo and instead headed to the indoor, aquatic equivalent: the Sydney Aquarium. We were lucky enough to get a photo op with Bruce, of Finding Nemo fame, though sadly he refused to do autographs.
The Sydney Aquarium
In addition to rubbing fins with celebrities we also saw Dugongs, an endangered relative of the Manatee. Apparently there are only 5 in captivity in the world so it was impressive that Sydney had 2. That being said, Dugongs are one of the more laughable critters that I’ve ever seen. First off they are MASSIVE. We’re talking Star Jones pre-gastric stapling, Sumo wrestling champion, massive! They are also adorable. Tongues lolling, they clumsily flop around, pressing themselves to the side of the tank to rest every 5 seconds or so. On a total aside, after sending a photo of one of the Dugongs to my Dad, he quickly replied “I think I was fixed up with one once”.
Another thing I was reminded of when visiting the aquarium was my fervent love for Platypi. I mean COME ON, how could you not become obsessed with an egg-laying, venomous (little known fact: male platypi have stingers on the back of their feet for hunting), duck-billed, beaver-tailed, furry, otter-footed mammal? When they first encountered it, European naturalists were so flummoxed that they considered it to be an “elaborate fraud”. How could an animal possibly be a fraud? It seems those confused scientists were giving our friends the platypi a bit too much credit. Egg-laying, venomous, duck-billed, beaver-tailed, furry and otter-footed…Are these creatures really masters of disguise? Probably not (although with platypi anything is possible).
Glorious creature
The Notable Things Haley found out about Sydney:
1) Rugby Parties are the same worldwide…
Well maybe I’m over-generalising a tad considering I’ve only ever been to rugby parties in the US and now one at University of Sydney in Australia; but they were so incredibly alike it was scary! Shirtless, sweaty ruggers happily pushing each other around; while the girls try not to get mauled over. The only difference was the stench. Australian rugby players need a SERIOUS lesson on how to apply deodorant. So goodonya (good for you) American boys, you have one up on the Aussies.
2) ‘Strine is Crook! (Translation: Australian is Awesome)
The first thing you need to know when trying to speak ’strine is to abbreviate everything. E.g. Australia = Oz, breakfast = brekkie, cup of tea = cuppa, university = uni.
Here is some of my favourite ’strine I’ve heard so far:
Boofhead ~ (n) fool
Daggy ~ (adj) unfashionable, goofy
D&M ~ (n) deep and meaningful conversation
Squiz ~ (n) a look e.g. i’m gonna take a squiz at that dugong
Narky ~ (adj) annoyed
Nibblies ~ (n) snacks
Furphy ~ (n) exaggerated rumour
Tune in for the second installment of Haley Cohen’s adventures – coming soon on ProjecTravel!
A Paradise Called Zanzibar
BY MARYKE VISAGIE
Zanzibar is perfect for the traveller who wants to experience a taste of Africa in comfort. Hujambo is the cheery greeting that will get you all smiles. There are signposts everywhere, mostly handwritten, and the people are friendly, peaceful and quite willing to explain to you in broken English how you have just driven in the wrong direction for the past hour. Hakuna matata, brother. No problem.
As you leave the comfort of your air conditioned plane, the heat and humidity hit you like a ton of bricks and you soon learn that a sarong or kikoi is all you need to survive here. Besides, you will easily spend half your time in the gentle embracing waters of the Indian Ocean.
Even if history isn’t your cup of tea, a visit to Stone Town is a must. However, if exploring the most recent site of legal slave trade doesn’t leave you intrigued, you should still wander the shady alleys of the historic Old Town and witness the glories of days past. It’s an ironic mix of European and Arabic decor and decay, of sophistication and poverty. But where poverty in other parts of the world can leave you saddened, the atmosphere here is one of gemütlichkeit. In a half-European style, owners live in flats above their curio shop, greengrocer or even internet café.
Stone Town is crawling with “tour guides” who descend on you from every corner to show you the sights. We try our luck with a scrawny youth whose day job is a fruit seller. He takes us straight to the slave monument. This site commemorates Zanzibar’s dark past as a slave market, where Africans were sold to Arabs and Europeans. Where the slave whip once stood, today stands an Anglican church.
ProjecTravel’s Safari Guide to Driving in the Bush
By JACINTO VIDRÓ
While most Safaris are about as dangerous as taking a stroll to the supermarket, a few of the more adventurous of us hire a 4×4, buy a map and head into the veldt. While in principle adventurous, it’s also very stupid. As such, here are some tips to prepare you for an adventure trek holiday through the Kalahari.
DRIVING TIPS
4×4 Hire – When hiring a car to take you across precarious roads you’ll find that most adventure seekers will hire a brand new, or near brand new model of 4×4. While a 2009 Nissan is sleek and can pump out cubic metres of air-conditioning a second, actual parts for it in the bush WILL be scarce, and in the event of some part of it going faulty you’ll be stuck in the middle of nowhere.
As such, leave your ego at home and hire an older model, anything from mid 1990s to mid 2000s will do just fine, and in the event that something should break, your friendly local bush mechanic will be able to fix it for next to nothing.
In terms of models, we highly recommend the Toyota Hilux, – it’s simply indestructible.
Off-Road Driving – Buy a book about off-road driving and read it. You’d be surprised how often people get stuck in the sand and don’t know how to get out. In certain places there may not be anyone coming by for a couple of weeks, so it’s best you practice a bit as well. If possible, hire a truck with a rotating pull rope in the front – if you do get stuck, you’ll be able to attach it to a tree and get yourself out.
A Saharan New Year’s Comedy of Errors – Concluded
Missed the first part of the article? Read it here
BY JACEK GREBSKI
The Fez Medina, donkeys in the streets, bazaars, merchants selling wares, an eternal maze of small winding alleys covered in canopy, endless shops lining both sides. As we entered, I recall being stopped by a North American who asked us what we were doing there – didn’t we know it was dangerous? As quickly as he appeared he disappeared again, into the throng of people running about their business. Lost in this city at once so commercially vibrant and so out of touch with modernity.
Our friends took us down a puzzle of streets and alleys to a restaurant where we dined with them. The food was astoundingly delicious and we treated our hosts to the meal, after which they led us through a further labyrinth to their home where they invited us in for dessert. The medina house boasted a large inner courtyard with plants and trees and rooms on each side of the inner courtyard. We were offered comfitures and tea by mother and sister, and sat huddled in discussion over our plans and ideas.
We described our plan to take a bus from Fez to Erfoud in the south, about 80 kilometres from the Algerian border, and spend New Year’s Eve on Erg Chebbi by Merzouga. However the brothers tried to convince us that the nationalised bus company had sold out of tickets, that the only way to go was by cab for an estimated cost of €1500, and that instead we should just stay with them. We decided to take our chances at the bus station, after all – the desert was the mission.
The Fez bus station was hectic – we had no idea where to go, who to ask for directions, what busses were going where. It seemed as if we were the only clueless ones there. Nonetheless with the help of our French-speaking friend we managed to buy a ticket on a private bus headed for Er Rachidia, and from there Erfoud and Merzouga were just a stone’s throw away.
I must say we felt quite proud after purchasing the tickets, despite the warnings of our Fez friends we had managed to get closer to our final destination.
On the bus transient men selling last-minute trinkets, knockoff Rolex watches and faux tiger balm accompanied us, jumping on and off as we made our way through the curvy streets outside the city. Slowly exhaustion began setting in and one by one we started to doze off, the bus climbing the mountains, the temperature outside falling, the temperature inside falling?
One of the bus windows was apparently permanently ajar, and the cold air and wind coming in from the outside had dropped the temperature to below zero. Even in a U.S. Air Force issue Bomber Jacket I felt the cold penetrating through my bones, my gloves and hat were futile, and my toes felt like icicles at the ends of my feet. Luckily we’d bought some of the faux tiger balm from one of the bus merchants and proceeded to rub it on in order to create a false feeling of warmth.
A Saharan New Year’s Comedy of Errors
BY JACEK GREBSKI
Spending New Year’s Eve in the desert was the idea. However, the reality did not live up to our expectations. This is an account of what not to do in Morocco during Eid al-Adha!
The easiest way to get to Morocco is by plane, and several discount airlines fly directly to any major city in Morocco from either Spain or France, with flights as cheap as €40 return. So if you’re cash-conscious and flying from across an ocean, you may want to look into flying to France first and then continuing to Morocco. For our part we decided it would be a splendid idea to take the ferry from Algeciras in Southern Spain across the Strait of Gibraltar to Tangier.
The ferry ride itself is short, but figuring out what to do on the other end of the Strait is an novel experience. Upon landing we were processed though immigration fairly easily, however ports – as ports tend to go – aren’t the friendliest of places, and we were swindled to take a cab ride to the medina where we would spend the night. Despite the fact that the Moroccans travelling with us advised against it, we figured we’d jump into the past and live out our Saharan adventure.
To get to the Tangier medina from the port is quite simple, you walk two hundred metres from the port into the city and then head up a few flights of stairs. However, this little titbit was unknown to us and instead we paid a cabby to take us there for €10, which roughly turns out to be €0.05 per metre. London cabbies eat your hearts out.
Walking up the stairs into the heart of the medina we soon realised why we were advised against it. Somber and somewhat unsafe, this area of the city could be described as its red-light district. We walked the streets at night brushing off solicitations for unwanted services until we reached our hotel, a building that had long forgotten its former glory. Three floors up a winding staircase with loose floor tiles; this first experience of Africa was certainly interesting. Our room boasted five single beds with old iron frames, squeaky windows with wooden blinds in place of glass and paint that was older than our combined ages peeling off the wall. The manager requested that we pay up-front. We paid five euros each. That was definitely an expensive cab ride. We made the best of the situation and headed off to dreamland where surely things would be less adventurous. Time, 3:00am give or take. Dawn was not far off, and it came quicker than we had expected. Woken up by Morning Prayer, the large tower from the Mosque in the medina stood proud. It was surreal and new awakening.
The medina looked more natural now, the small streets and white buildings had a certain charm to them that at night was marred by the seedy underbelly of this port town. We headed to get breakfast and proceeded to the train station. For our next stop Fez, where we would catch an overnight bus into the desert. Or so was the plan.
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