From Oman to Yemen
passage read: Through the piracy area
10th March
Yemen is certainly a world apart from Oman, more backwards, poor and
traditional. Aden is build up on rugged volcanic mountains, many of the
buildings have bullet holes, but it has an interesting appeal. Our first
contact with the people was through the Officials, and the differences
were there too, compared to Oman. We were asked a gift of $10 from
Immigrations, didn't want to have problems so we paid it feeling a bit disappointed,
with what we will have to deal with here... On the other hand woman are out in the
streets, unlike Oman, but they wear the black burka, especially the young
ones also cover their eyes.
11th March
Kathy and I left Graham and Bud to get fuel, while we went for a walk
around town to find Internet, the market and laundry. Both were wearing
trousers and t-shirts, which from our experience in Oman was adequate. We
were wrong, either we got abuse, which didn't bother us to much as they
were shouting in Arab, or we had over friendly males following us. Later
came the kids begging. It didn't make us run back to the boat but we
were very aware of our surroundings. We will have to cover our heads from
now on, also tug the guys along... Meantime the guys were having a task to
get fuel, it was a lot of baksheesh to get fuel from petrol station
through the gates. In the end they had to use a barge that was
5 times more expensive. Once refueled ,again we got asked for a gift and
seems that $10 is standard. Graham paid $5 and the man on the barge
wouldn't release the lines until we paid more. Held at ransom we
complied and paid another $5 , but by then the barge man was upset and he did a real
slow job, the bow of the boat almost hit the barge. What can we say...
14th March
Found out that to visit Sanaa, the capital of Yemen, we need a permit
issued by the Tourist Office. Only managed to find the office with the
help of a tourist agent, then it took another 3 hours to finally have the
permit. Some sort of paper was always missing, it was a lot of going
backwards and forward. The tourist agent, called Judy was the most helpful
and friendly, probably would have taken us 3 times longer without her, she
refused money at the end. Still some hope...
15th March
At 11 am our group (2Germans, 2Austrians and us) were ready to go, but nothing is easy in
Yemen. Stephan, part of our group, mentioned our trip to Sanaa and
was taken to some office across the road by one of the Arabs. More Arabs
came into the office, there was a lot of discussion amongst them, but we had no idea what was
the problem now. Luckily our driver turned up and whisked us all away into
the mini bus and that was the end of it. Finally we were on our way.
Outside of Aden the civil war is even more visible, lots of ruins and
unfinished constructions. There are dozen of
check points, with armed guards all the way to Sanaa. We couldn't help
thinking of the danger of being kidnapped. After all this is Bin
Laden's country... But luckily we were traveling
with 2 Yemenis, recommended by friends, who know the rules here. The driver and the guide were the
most pleasant, nothing was a problem for them throughout the trip.
Approaching Sanaa the scenery changed to paddy fields, beautiful villages built
over rugged peaks and amazing views.
16th March
The first night we spent on a $10 hotel and it looked like a place to accommodate
homeless people, the positive part was that it was next to a great little
cafe. For the second night we decided to move to the Dawood Hotel, in the
middle of the old town and a lot nicer. The day started with a visit
to the Egyptian Embassy to arrange visas in advance. By now we noticed
that Arabs are very bureaucratic and have a love for long winded procedures,
Egyptians are no different. Lacking time we given up on the idea and did
some sightseeing instead ,on the outskirts of Sanaa. Quick
stop for lunch in a typical Yemeni restaurant. In a corner were two sinks
. I thought nothing of it and washed my hands. Later our driver told
me off. That was the men's washing area , surely I caused a bit of uproar
in the restaurant. This is the norm here, even in Internet shops there is
a separate area for women, not to mention buses, the mosque,
restaurants... Coming back to Sanaa we drove through an area with
lots of men sitting on the floor with tools. This is where you can pick up a
builder or plasterer and painters, in the middle of the street. Poverty is
shocking, there is a lot of disability within men and begging, which is a
task for the women and kids.
In the evening we walked around old Sanaa, progress hasn't come here
yet, it was like stepping back 500 years. Old bakeries using clay
ovens and wood for fire, carpenters hand carving wood window
frames, tool smith making wares by hand. Even the goods sold in the market
were archaic. The men either had the white robe or earthy tone wraps with shirts .
All from about the age of 10 wore traditional heavy belt and the jambiah
(traditional Yemeni dagger). Yemen has a strong gun culture, many shops
sell old guns and all kinds of jambiah. The curiosity of the people was immense, Graham got
approached often and
asked where we come from and a very common question was "What
is the difference between your country and mine?" (to keep it very brief,
we answered" everything"), all very friendly
and welcoming.
17th March
Two days in Sanaa went very quickly, soon it was time to go back. This
time we didn't fancy the 7 hrs drive back to Aden, the roads are
precarious ,full of slow trucks falling into peaces. One truck in front of
us lost one of the wheels, a near accident. Our bus got detained in one of the check points
for a while, our driver was on the phone sorting things out. Not sure what
happened but eventually the armed guard let us go. At one point a
police car escorted us for a while. Eventually we got back to Aden without
any problems, one should have faith in Allah... For Sanaa, it was a highlight on our trip around thee
world.
20th March
Time to leave. Yemen has been
the most politically unstable country we have visited and it has a reputation
of a haven for Islamic militants. Although our experience has been
positive, mostly people were friendly and kind. Besides, the season is changing and we have little time to
make Egypt before the wind turns against us. The next challenging part of
the trip is Bab-el-Mandeeb ,the strait
which marks the entrance for the red sea, known as Gates of Sorrow. The Gates are narrow, surrounded by high
mountains creating an acceleration zone and boisterous weather.
21st March
Before leaving we witnessed a tragedy, a very sad one. Last night
returning back to our boat, we noticed a gathering of people and armed
coast guards around the dock. Just as we got back to Nomad Life, anchored
30m away from the dock, a fishing boat escorted by coast guard docked in.
We wondered why the fishing boat was attracting attention, so sat watching
the events unfold. Suddenly the fishing boat turned upside down and hell
broke loose, there was a lot of shouting, people jumping in the water.
Arabs like commotion and to get involved, but sadly there was no one
taking charge and actually doing something proactive. There were a lot of
people in the water and at the same time speed boats coming by to help,
which was more of a danger, of running someone over. Anyway, today
we found out that the fishing boat was from Somalia overloaded with 110
refugees. All were so desperate to get off that the boat capsized,
crushing against the wall and drowning 7 people. They came for a better
life and died just 2 m away from land... Early morning the dock was washed
with diesel to remove the blood bath.
Note: The day after returning from Sanaa, a suicide
bomber tried to kill a group of South Koreans in the capital, no casualties within the
Koreans.
