cigar Archives - Page 11 of 20

Asia Indonesia Indonesia Trip 2017

The Monkeys of Ubud

I arrived in Denpasar mid morning and caught a taxi to Ubud. The ride can take an hour and a half, but mine took longer as we got stuck in interminable traffic. I didn’t mind too much though as the scenery was great.

So Bali is predominantly Hindu, unlike Java which is Muslim. So gone are the calls to prayer and here are countless statues of deities and offerings of flowers. The island – or what i saw of it on this first day – is green. Every conceivable shade of green, dotted with flowering vines, orchids, magnolias, lilies…it is stunning.

It is also very touristy. Ubud is a tourist town. Restaurants catering to foreigners, margaritas, pizza, gelato, tour touts, tacky souvenir shops, spas, and bad tattoo studios. The streets are crawling with tourists, most sporting some combination of tie-dyed harem pants, Ganesha tank tops, tattoos, beards, beads, and dresses they would never wear at home. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. It just means that the place has a less than authentic gloss, and also that it is a terribly easy place to visit.

My first day i didn’t have time for my customary get-my-bearings wander; i had plans to meet up with a mother/daughter travel duo from the States whom i had met at Goa Jamblang. We had lunch and hung out poolside at a Miami Beach-esque restaurant, waiting out the afternoon rain (which i have since discovered is a daily occurrence).

After that we went to the Monkey Forest: an expanse of impossibly green jungley terrain dotted with temples, statues, bridges, and twisting walkways.

But it also has monkeys. Macaques. Monkeys everywhere. Running, climbing trees, hanging off temples, eating bananas (so cliché and so adorable), grooming each other, assaulting tourists, and having sex (with each other). You have to be careful of the monkeys. Don’t look them in the eye. Don’t smile at them. Don’t hide food on your person, because, as one sign warned, “the monkeys will know.”

I didn’t have any monkey-related troubles. I just stalked them with my camera, trying to catch them being adorable.

After that i parted ways with my companions, and continued to walk. Had dinner at a beautiful outdoor restaurant where, although smoking is allowed, I annoyed all the other patrons with my cigar smoke (unintentionally).

Back to my hotel and to bed. … wait! Have I neglected to mention my hotel? Hotel Okawati. On a charming side street off Monkey Forest Road (note: ALL side streets here are charming), it is a small complex of tropical plants around a turquoise pool next to rice fields from which frogs and birds fill the air with their chatter. It is lovely. More lovely than i am accustomed to, but I’ll tough it out.

Asia Indonesia Indonesia Trip 2017

Yogyakarta: final day

On my final day in Yogyakarta i had planned to go to the cigar factory as it had closed at 2:00 pm the day before and i missed it…but as it turns out it is also closed Saturday and Sunday. Dammit. So i had the day at leisure. Honestly there isn’t much to report. I hung out at this cool hipster cafe for a couple of hours where i had a jack fruit burger, which was a revelation. So good. And some excellent coffee.

I then walked to find a cigar store i read about…only to find it had closed. Fuck. But the walk was interesting and i passed markets, paintings, and had fresh soursop juice.

After that i decided to walk out of the downtown area to this other area i had seen when i drove in from the airport where there was a ton of street art and some public sculpture. The walk wasn’t too long but in the heat and humidity it felt like a grand trek.

It didn’t disappoint. There was an array of murals, from the great to the sucky, but all were enjoyable to look at. There has been such an impressive amount of street art here, and one artist in particular whose works i started to seek out: multicoloured figures often with heads replaced with flowers or birds. Cool stuff.

So that was my day. It was good and fairly relaxing and totally unstructured. The next day i was flying to Bali.

Asia Indonesia Indonesia Trip 2017

The Descent: Goa Jamblang

Yesterday i hired a car to take me from my hotel in Yogyakarta to Goa Jamblang, a cave about a two hour drive from the city. The cave wasn’t listed in my guide book (that’s a failure of Lonely Planet, in my opinion, but once it is listed it is sure to get a lot busier) but i had seen pictures of a magical cave on the internet and that was good enough for me.

The ticket was 450,000 rupiah, which was more than reasonable, and but they only allow 25-35 people in per day, so it is important to get there early. I was #5.

We were walked over to the entrance to the cave: a large hole in the ground created by a sink hole, with perfectly vertical sides descending about 60 meters (200 feet ish) to a verdant bottom.

Our way down? Being lowered on ropes held by a group of slight men in flip flops.

Not exactly comfort inducing, but i figured it was safe, or at least no more dangerous than some of my previous travel exploits. They outfitted each of us in helmets and well worn harnesses.

I was a bit nervous but happy that i wasn’t going first. “Number 5!” They called out. “Huh, i guess we aren’t going numerically”‘ i thought. I made my way to the edge of the cliff and they clipped my harness to a single, knotted rope. Stepping off the edge took a moment of courage but once i was free and not plummeting to the ground, it was wonderful and exhilarating. I was slowly lowered to the ground taking in the greenery and the height.

Once everyone was at the bottom we made our way into the cave, which was dark and slippery but only a short walk to a grand opening filled with light from a natural opening above.

The sun, filtered through the leaves high above, made for a cascade of beams of light that was either heavenly, magical, or simply amazing, depending on your world view.

Far below us still was another drop off and water flowing. Water dripped from above making for other worldly rock formations.

It was all just incredible. I felt like an adventurer, an explorer, and, at times, a character at the beginning of a horror movie.

We spent about an hour or two down there and then we were lifted back to the surface. This next photo is me being lifted and looking down from part way up. The red things below are the helmets of the others.

We all shared a lunch (included in the price), united in our conquering of the cave. And that was that. Done by 1pm, satisfied and exhausted and muddy, i went back to the hotel and spent the rest of the day just hanging out at various cafés and enjoying a cigar with my curry.

I highly recommend this experience and suspect it may be the best thing about this trip.

Asia Indonesia Indonesia Trip 2017

A Day in Yogyakarta

The day before yesterday, after a slow breakfast and morning cigar on my hotel’s balcony (which i only discovered after 2 days), i went to the Kraton – the sultan’s former palace. I had walked there the other day so i knew it was only about a 30 minute walk from my hotel but i really wanted to try out the local transport: the ojek. Basically it is a rickshaw but powered by a motorbike instead of a bicycle. Unlike a tuk tuk in that you sit at the front, out in the open. It is a great way to see the city and the breeze is marvelous but you are sitting at the front of a motorized vehicle. No helmet. No seat belt. It’s like riding around on the front bumper of a car, except you ARE the bumper. It was great.

The Kraton was nice. It was pleasant to stroll around the grounds and see some of the buildings, but the museum displays of the sultan’s suits and epaulets weren’t very interesting. The best parts though were the men in traditional dress displaying Indonesian puppets and a concert of serene percussion-based music.

From the Kraton i took a bicycle rickshaw to the Water Palace, which was small but pretty and i got to see batik and puppets being made.

From there i wandering around a lovely neighbourhood of narrow streets, small houses, and flowering vines. One thing that is odd about most of the narrow streets is that they are frequently hung with bird cages with a small song bird or two in each. It makes for a lot of lovely birdsong, but seems like a sad life for the birds.

I visited an underground mosque and then, tired and sweaty, found myself at a pleasant cafe where i decided it was time to try the kopi luwak: the famous civet excrement coffee.

The coffee here is excellent – luwak aside – but i couldn’t pass up an opportunity to try the world’s most expensive coffee. They prepared me two cups, one with an Italian stovetop maker and one with a Vietnamese maker. Both cups were excellent, but was it really $12 Cdn good? I’m glad i tried it and it was good but at that price once is probably enough.

I did have a relaxing time chatting with the proprietor and watching his pet civet, which spent its time napping and being extraordinarily fat.

Next i decided to go looking for the bird market. I thought i had a handle on it and people kept telling me i was heading in the right direction, but hours passed and i couldn’t find it. I however see a lot of hardware and automotive repair shops. At one point, to escape the heat, i took refuge in a supermarket, enjoying the AC and their selection of sugary cereals. After walking a bit more i broke down and took an ojek back to my hotel.

I didn’t do too much after that…walking, smoking, reading…i think i was asleep by 8:00.

(More super cool street art seen on my walks…)

Asia Indonesia Indonesia Trip 2017

Borobudur & Prambanan

So the main reason i came to Indonesia (aside from a cheap flight) was a book i bought in high school which was a coffee table book called The Atlas of Dream Places and over time, when i need travel inspiration, i pick places out of the book. That’s how i ended up going to Samarkand, for example. Borobudur is in the book. It is the world’s largest Buddhist temple, built in the 9th C and in the shape of a giant mandala from the air. It overlooks an expanse of jungle with volcanoes in the distance.

The thing to do if you are keen or crazy is to go there for the sunrise. I awoke at 3am, was picked up at 4am, and arrived at Borobudur in the dark, climbing the stairs to the top. The cool thing about arriving that early is that there is hardly anyone there and those that there are are focused on the east side of the temple so you can basically have the rest of it to yourself. Perfect for endless photographic variations on the 72 or so bell-shaped stupas atop the temple (each containing a stone Buddha). There is nothing inside (it’s built on a hill) but the outside is covered with intricate carvings which i could speak about had i hired a guide, but i didn’t. What i did do was take 1,000 pictures.

I met a couple of nice girls (German & Dutch) each traveling solo and we hung out taking pictures of each other and chatting. We had coffee afterwards and talked about travel and boys. I appreciated having the company. I had hired a driver for the morning but he didn’t speak English. We (the girls and i) had a good time climbing around the temple and mocking the mockable. Chiefly amongst those who caught our attention was a couple (attractive, early middle aged…looked like they could be in a Cialis commercial) who repeatedly set up their camera to video them walking slowly, holding hands between the stupas, exchanging a loving eye lock. They did this multiple times. I realize the irony of my mocking them for this when i took, like 25 failed selfies, but the manufacture of the romantic moment was hilarious. Plus, who were they going to show this video to? Anyway (irony again noted) here are a few of my better images…

After Borobudur i visited the chicken church, but i really feel like that merits its own post, which you can read about here: https://www.wanderingnorth.ca/the-chicken-church-on-java/

After the chicken church detour i went to Prambanan, a 9th C Hindo temple also on the outskirts of the city. It looks a lot like Angkor Wat in Cambodia. There were a group of very similar looking temples, each of which was accessible by steep stairs and housing a deity statue. It was beautiful, but also very crowded, mostly with groups of young local people who kept asking for photos.

Although in the middle of a lovely park, the temples themselves were away from all vegetation so it was extremely hot. I wandered around until i needed a respite and then went for an excellent coffee in the park and looked at some of the animals in cages, including this sinister bird who i assume was behind bars for a reason.

It was an excellent day. I returned to the city in the early afternoon, exhausted, snd spent the evening reading, smoking, and walking aimlessly until bed.

Asia Indonesia Indonesia Trip 2017

Arrival in Yogyakarta

I arrived in Yogyakarta from Jakarta by plane. A train is possible, but i am somewhat short on time. The taxi from the airport revealed a bigger city than i was expecting but with the usual billboards and shops. They really do have all the worst stuff from the United States here, however, i suppose if you happen to be in Indonesia and have a hankering for KFC with cheese dipping sauce, a cronut, or a hot dog from the Circle K, you’re in luck. My favourite of the ads i saw on that drive was a billboard advertising a children’s Halloween party which promised “magic show” “games” and…”baby shark dance”. Huh? I have not been able to stop thinking about what a baby shark dance entails and every possibility is unsettling.

Anyway, i’m staying at the Malam 1001 Hotel (1001 nights) on a narrow alley near the end of Malioboro Street (a main thoroughfare of shops, food vendors, ojek [moto rickshaw], and bekak [bicycle rickshaw] drivers). My hotel has a nice leafy courtyard and i have a private room, so i’m quite comfortable though i haven’t seen another guest.

The first day i just had the afternoon and the main sites in town were closed early so i just went for a walk to get my bearings.

The area around my hotel has lots of restaurants and tour operators, gift shops and more batik shops than any any country could possibly support. Seriously, who is buying all this batik clothing and fabric? I don’t see people wearing it and i can’t imagine every tourist stocking up on enough batik tunics and dress shirts to keep these places in business. Plus, as far as i can tell, most of it isn’t real batik anyway…fauxtik. (That term should totally catch on.) the good news is i haven’t seen anything i would like to buy.

I walked, politely declining offers of rickshaw rides and thanking people for compliments on my tattoos, eyeing the street side food stalls and trying to determine if there is any vegetarian food.

I sat under a tree and watched people setting up for a carnival/night market which is to open later in the week. Chatted with a taxi driver. Smoked cigarillos.

Walked back to the hotel, stopped to check out a supermarket called “Hero” (Super Hero Market?). I’m always fascinated by foreign supermarkets and have been ever since i saw a box of Rice Krispies in a market in Israel on which Snap, Crackle, and Pop were muscular superheroes…though i have come to question that memory over time. Bought a fresh guava juice and gawked at people lined up for a block for a coffee/doughnut/burger joint.

Also, i checked out some of the street art in the narrow streets around my hotel, which ranged from cute to political, and watched children playing with chickens.

There seems to be quite a lot of public art here. Much of it i spotted from the taxi on the ride from the airport but happened on a few statues as i walked around.

Dinner of super spicy green beans with rice at a pleasant restaurant. $3.00 cdn including iced tea. A cigar in the courtyard. Bed. A fairly uneventful day, but a perfectly pleasant one. Plus i had a 4am pick up scheduled for the next morning for one of the highlights of the trip…Borobudur. (Separate post.)

Asia Indonesia Indonesia Trip 2017

Jakarta

Indonesia.

I arrived in Jakarta from Taipei. A 5ish hour flight. Hit with heat and humidity. Glorious. Caught a taxi to Kota aka Old Batavia aka the old city. It seemed like the most interesting area, with now shabby colonial architecture, canals, and a big square. The city is large and populous; 10+ million people. I am only here for a day and a half and i didn’t have any particular sites or activities in mind. Much of what i read about Jakarta said “skip it”, but how could i? I’m glad i didn’t.

My driver got lost trying to find my hostel which i didn’t mind; it was like a little tour through twisty streets navigating the mad traffic with horn honking and the Imam’s call to prayer as the backdrop.

My hostel is the Wonderloft. A nice hostel. Great location for the area. I booked a private room which was about $18cdn per night but they have capsule style dorms for much less. It is clean and has good hostel amenities: pool table, foosball table, kitchen, and tv. Plus, it has a floor containing only beanbag chairs where silence is mandatory.

It is on a crazy busy side street with no lights or cross walk so every time i come or go i have to step out boldly and let the cars, motorcycles and tuk tuks swirl past me. Each time it feels like a conquest.

The people staying at the hostel Wonderloft are a good mix of travellers form SE Asia, Australia, and Europe. Young. Wearing the Asian backpacker uniform of baggy elephant pants and flip flops.

By the time i checked in to my hostel it was about 3 pm, so i just walked around to get my bearings. Around the corner from my hostel is a busy pedestrian street with cafes, buskers, jewelry makers, palm readers, and people in elaborate costumes posing for photos.

The street led to the square which was positively teeming with people. Sitting on the ground, eating and drinking, walking, and riding neon colored bicycles while wearing fancy hats that matched the bicycles. I thought there must be a festival, but have since found out it was just the weekend. It was great. I walked and had dinner on the square (vegetarian food is available but not in abundance). And i smoked a cigar on a patio.

With few exceptions the people i saw were locals. Women mostly dressed in colorful scarves and modest dress. Men dressed in jeans and t-shirts, smoking.

It was very pleasant and i stayed up too late. My sleep is a bit screwed up and i haven’t had enough of it. 3 hours last night. About the same the night before.

This morning, up early, i put on my other outfit (i have 2). I felt fresh and clean. Had some terrible instant coffee (seriously, the island is called Java, you would think they could do better) and toast with peanut butter and nutella. Heading out, i discovered i had peanut butter on my dress. Sigh. So much for being clean.

I spent the day wandering around the north of the city. Pretty white colonial buildings aside, the streets are shabby in a good way. Busy traffic, lots of shops, street vendors, tea houses, and markets. The canals are murky, smelly things but they add character. There are a surprising number of shops selling Christmas trees and decorations for what otherwise appears to be a Muslim city.

I had a coffee – a great one – from this terrific cafe which had a open lofty seating ares surrounded by trees. It felt like a treehouse. Enjoyed a cigar.

I then walked down to the Glodok neighbourhood, which is the traditional Chinese area where they had a great network of market streets selling produce, household items, herbal medicines, meat and fish.

Dinner of gado gado on a patio. Currently having a cigar and fresh soup sop juice inside at the elegant Cafe Batavia listening to live music (they just played a super funkified version of “My Way”) and smoking a cigar. That’s right…i can smoke inside! Heaven.

Asia Indonesia Trip 2017 Taiwan

Today: Taipei

Heading to Indonesia i decided to fly through somewhere i hadn’t been before and Taipei seemed like a good choice. It’s not a place i had ever thought about going and it didn’t look like a place i would want to spend a whole vacation, but a few days seemed perfect.

I arrived at about 5am after a 13 hour flight. Immigration, express train into the city, a quick map study, and 5 mins later i was at my hostel. The Bouti Capsule City Inn. I don’t usually do dorm rooms anymore but this one was so appealing and the price was right so i gave it a go. The beds are little cubbyholes stacked 2 high with a curtain at the end. When you close it, you have complete privacy. The cubby has lights, power, and is tall enough to sit up in. It suited me just fine. The place had facilities and common areas. I am looking forward to staying there again when I return.

At this end of the trip i was staying for only 1 day and 1 night, so i didn’t have time to waste. I set off at 7am or so, walking. At that time of the morning the city was pretty quiet. Nothing open or going on, but the temples were busy. I visited many that day, but particularly enjoyed the ones in the morning with people praying on their way to work and no other tourists. Late in the day they became tainted by selfie sticks and tours of people in matching shirts. But at 7am i was the only presence which sullied the otherwise peaceful vibes, surreptitiously snapping pictures and observing people in their chanting and incense burning.

The streets started to awaken and then everything became more interesting, but i have to say, based on my one day, Taipei is fine, but not fascinating or exciting to me. Many parts were just like any other fancy big city. Pretty clean and orderly with tidy shops and bike lanes, and traffic that functions familiarly.

Other parts were a bit more ramshackle, but not as interesting or bustle-y as, say, Saigon or Phnom Penh. Also, there are a lot of American chains, which is always a bit of a downer. But the strolling was pleasant. There were so many appealing looking eateries, inside and street side. The problem was the food was either soup or dumplings – both dangerous gambles when you are a vegetarian like me (who did not bother to learn any useful food-related phrases in Mandarin), so i just walked on until i finally broke down and got a rice triangle with mushrooms fro the 7-11. (7-11s in Asia do have remarkable selections of food at very cheap prices).

One thing i noticed was that every conceivable type of product and service will frequently be advertised with cute little Hello Kitty-esque characters. Transport, pharmacies, food items… you name it and there would be candy colored big eyed cartoons staring up at you. I love that stuff and started snapping pictures of some of the characters before i got overwhelmed. Adorable.

I walked through a lively pedestrian shopping area but was exhausted from jet lag ad general lack of sleep. And that’s when i saw a movie theatre with an ad for an American horror movie starting right that minute. It was just the respite i needed. An hour and a half later i emerged reinvigorated.

I took the metro, which is extremely convenient to the Chiang Kai Shek memorial, which was a grand square flanked by 4 impressive structures. There wasn’t much to see, aside from a large statue of the man himself, but it made for some nice pictures.

From there i wandered through a market area – fish, meat, clothes, and soup stalls mostly. Past more temples and then caught the metro up to very fancy shopping district, not for shopping, but to look for a cigar lounge i had read about.

The weather in Taipei was really nice for walking around; cool but warm enough that i didn’t need my hoodie. It was cloudy but did not rain. It would have been fine to sit outside and have a cigar but i didn’t really see any patio type cafes or eateries, but a posh indoor cigar bar sounded great. And it was for the most part. A lovely room, fine leather chairs, a great selection of cubans, and drinks (i has espresso). The downsides? It was quiet. Two guys smoking solo. It was expensive, so i had only one cigar. And the music was this awful, folky stuff that was just so dull. But i had an Asian limited edition Punch torpedo and was quite relaxed.

As i left the cigar lounge i found myself walking by the Taipei 101 tower, once one of the world’s tallest. It is possible to go to the top for the view but on such an overcast day it seemed like a pointless endeavour.

I took the metro and then meandered up the Museum of Contemporary Art. Small but good. It had lot of films and multimedia at the time and some films were truly weird and arty, i just sat on the floor and got lost in them.

Oh, and there was at least one large penis mosaic.

In the evening i just walked the streets around my hostel, which were positively bustling with shoppers and soup and dumpling vendors. I found a street side steamed bun vendor who had a vegetarian option. Success!

I went to bed very early.

All in all a great day. I feel like i saw a lot of the city and got a flavour for it. I will return in about 2 weeks’ time for 2 more days (which i feel like might be a day more than necessary, but there is more i want to see).

Currently on a morning flight for Jakarta. I feel like this post has been boring, but i just didn’t have any misadventures or interesting conversations, and while i had a good time, i wasn’t captivated. Well, we’ll see what’s next.

Belgium Burkina Faso Trip 2016 Europe

In Bruges and Back to Brussels

My trip to Burkina Faso is ending the way it began: in Belgium. I returned yesterday quite late after my day layover in Istanbul. I was knackered, but i couldn’t resist taking a stroll around the square and surrounding streets, which had been decorated for Christmas since i was here two weeks ago.

It goes without saying, but I’ll say it anyway: Belgium is a world away from Ouagadougou. Sidewalks, trash bins, tap water, frigid and clean air, cafes that look like cafes, people that don’t pay a bit of attention to me. I love the noise and excitement of Burkina Faso, but right now i am really appreciating the more familiar environment of western Europe, partly because i got to have a very long, very hot shower.

This morning i woke up very early and caught a train to Bruges. An hour and a half past quaint rural areas and small towns. From the station in Bruges it is a short walk to the Market Square. The square is beautiful, like so many European squares, ringed with narrow, pointy buildings in bright colours, housing inviting eateries and tea houses, imposing and intricate state buildings and throngs of picture snapping visitors.

But this was a but different because the square was filled with a Christmas market. An ice rink, decorations, and wooden booths hung with icicle lights selling food and knick knacks.

I wandered around the area, and over to the equally beautiful Berg square where i visited a beautiful and thankfully warm church.

I then followed the canals, stopping for breakfast at the most charming tiny cafe, all aglow in candles and Christmas.

I walked around aimlessly down the picturesque cobbled streets, stopping to take a million pictures. Locals walked dogs and rode bicycles. Tourists consulted maps and gazed upward.

I visited the estate housing the small but very pretty Jerusalem church, where the ticket seller thought i was under 26 and tried to sell me a discounted ticket. (I think it was the hat.)

In the church was a tiny little room with candles and relics where people had placed pictures of people for whom they prayed, i assume. I don’t pray of course, but i happened to have a tiny picture of me in my wallet (i take one when i travel because sometimes you need them for getting visas at the border). I placed it there amongst the others, singeing the corners to make it look old and worn. So if you visit that church you might see my face looking pious and prayed for.
I stopped in at an inviting looking tavern for a bowl of turnip soup and discovered that it is apparently the oldest tavern in the world, being over 500 years old. It was charming and the soup exactly what i needed.

Another square had more booths and decorations and the most amazing carousel i have ever seen – sort of a steam punk miracle of creatures/machine hybrids flying and crawling as it whirled. Unfairly, it was limited to kids 12 and under.

I walked and sipped hot chocolate until i could no longer tolerate the crowds.

I leave for Vancouver, via London, tomorrow afternoon; sad because i wish i could stay in Europe or take off somewhere exotic. Instead i will head home to email, work, and plans for the next trip.

Africa Burkina Faso Burkina Faso Trip 2016

Bus from Banfora, Burkina Faso

I left Banfora for Ouagadougou on the bus. I had hoped to bus to Bobo-Dioulasso and fly the rest of the way but there were no flights on Sunday, so i committed to a bus journey of indeterminate length. The buses here seem to leave punctually but the arrival times are vague. This is due mostly to the great number of security checkpoints, which i understand have increased. About every thirty minutes a couple of machine gun bearing soldiers will either board the bus or haul everyone off the bus to check IDs. No questions are asked. I can’t figure out what they are looking for. So this slowed down the journey a lot.

The bus was crammed with people and about half of the women had babies or toddlers on their laps, including the woman next to me. On the whole ride music and videos were played at a volume that was not extreme, but on the loud side. Decent African music in the more traditional or jazzy vein, as well as contemporary African pop music, accompanied by videos that showed women of all sizes shaking their asses, and men dressed as though they were in early 1990s rap music videos. At one point they showed the movie “Taken” in French, which i quite enjoyed; otherwise i listened to podcasts.

Every time the bus stopped women would appear and flock to the windows, selling fruits, bread, hard boiled eggs, chicken, fish, farina beignets, bags of onions, baguettes, and little sesame snacks. People leaned out of the windows, buying the food and before long the smell of body odour on the bus was replaced by a variety of food smells.

At the only stop long enough take a brief break, i dashed off the bus for the toilet, which was a squat thing which became immersed in total darkness once the door was closed. I’m fairly certain i peed on my own foot.

The seats had no legroom and i spent my time with my knees jammed into the back of the seat in front of me. There was AC, but it barely functioned, so i sat sweating the whole way.

If this all sounds like 9 hours of horror, well, while it was not pleasant, it wasn’t that bad. I was able to relax. The child and woman next to me where quiet. I slept a bit. And like i said, they showed Taken.

I arrived in Ouagadougou just before sunset and hailed a taxi to my hotel (the lovely Chez Giuliana). Once there i showered vigorously and had a vegetarian pizza delivered (as there are no restaurants in the immediate vicinity). I ate my pizza and enjoyed two cigars under the stars in courtyard before falling asleep. The next day i would be back on the bus.