After some wild days back in Ethiopia, it was the right time to enter my country number 121, Somalia.. Or Somaliland? Which one is correct? I’ll tell you! This is what happened on my crazy 1st day in Somaliland, and I’m honestly feeling so lucky to have 3 more days to come here!

Is Somaliland Its Own Country?

Somaliland, officially the Republic of Somaliland, is a self-declared state, but is internationally considered to be an autonomous region of Somalia. Somaliland is officially a part of Somalia on the UN-List, even though they consider themselves to be just Somaliland and not Somalia.  It’s a bit of a weird case, because in 1991 there was a declaration of independence, but only Somaliland agreed on this independence decision. The breakaway state of Somaliland has just recently celebrated 28 years since it declared independence from Somalia, but still no country recognizes Somaliland as a sovereign nation.

My Crazy 1st Day In Somaliland (Wow!)

I left Harar, Ethiopia, after an once-in-a-lifetime experience the evening before, feeding wild hyenas with my mouth. The most scary part was actually to meet a bunch of these hungry fellas alone by the city walls later in the night. Were they still hungry?! You never know!

Adrenaline still pumping the whole day after, so it was the perfect time to go to Somaliland.. Or was it?!

Different Behaviors Ethiopians VS Somali People

I talked to my Ethiopian friend about different behaviors of Ethiopians and Somali people, (of course it was from his Ethiopian point of view), but I did however experience a bit of truth in some of the things he said. First of all he said Somali people speak more loud (and a bit more aggressive,) and secondly he said: “Things are just different there, be careful!”

Judgemental? Never

I kept Joel’s words in the back of my head, but as always I wanted to make my own impression of a new place, so I arrived to the border of Somaliland with an open mind, because we should all try to avoid being judgemental on the unknown. Then afterwards we can easily judge a place when it’s known to us.

Somaliland, Here We Go!

I took a full mini bus from Harar to Jigjiga in the east of Ethiopia, where most people laughed (or smiled) of me in a kind way, guess it wasn’t usual for them to see a white dude in the local bus in these areas. I met an interesting Somali guy, Abdi, on my second ride from Jigjiga to Wuchale (border of Ethiopia/Somaliland.) He sat in front of me and our mini bus was totally packed again. We started to small talk a bit, he was from Mogadishu, Somalia, but he had lived a long time in Somaliland. Friendly guy and everything seemed fine until now, but we of course didn’t enter Somaliland yet!

Hello Somaliland

Hello Somaliland! The autonomous region of Somalia, my country number 121. The XE-app didn’t even have the local Somaliland Shillings in it, but I really had the feeling of Somaliland being its own country, when being greeted several times with: “Welcome to Somaliland!” No mention of Somalia whatsoever…

Off To The Capital – Abdi got PISSED OFF

Abdi and I jumped in a new car making our way to Hargeisa, and once we had waited for 10 min, Abdi started to get irritated and began to scream of the driver and pretended that we were going to leave the car. After some loud discussions, the driver came back and we were off to Hargeisa immediately. I could’ve really used this Somali guy in West Africa, (the hours I haven’t waited for busses and shared cars when going solo from Senegal to Togo with no motorbike or own car!) Arrrrrhg, why didn’t I know Ahmed there?!

Anyway the saying from my Ethiopean friend about ‘Somali people shouting loudly and aggressively was pretty much on point right here with these two guys. Ha ha, let’s see after 4 days..

Why Do We Stop After 20 Min?

I knew beforehand that Somaliland is religiously more conservative than Ethiopia and Somalia, but still the change was remarkable. After 20 min drive everybody went out of the car and had to go to the mosque and pray, so in the meanwhile I took a little desert walk out in nowhere in Somaliland.

Weird Stuff Happening

We drove again! Ahmed started to spray himself with a really strong perfume and then afterwards spraying it on me, not knowing I have perfume allergy, which made the ride even longer with scratchy eyes and a nose running.. A little after he took out one of my Airpods (headphones) and wanted to hear what I was listening to.. Didn’t know this guy 2 hours ago, so I honestly found it a bit weird, but I could feel he was a kind person. But just imagine, sitting in the bus in your country with someone you don’t know and they first spray super strong perfume on you and then take one of your Airpods and put in their ear.. A bit straight-forward, right?!

Somaliland – This Place Is Just DIFFERENT

The border crossing went pretty smooth, but I could feel that all eyes were on me now in Hargeisa. I didn’t see any other white person when crossing or walking around in the capital, Hargeisa, but I was just being me as always.. If I don’t feel like covering my hair, I don’t, and if I want to wear normal clothing for me, I do.. No matter where I am. Of course I respect other cultures, but an important thing in this World is to be allowed and accepted to be who you are – I know it’s not usual to see a tall, blond, blue-eyed man with a weird t-shirt print in Somaliland, but why should I hide that? Anyways.. 

Crazy First Day, But Good Fun

It’s been a crazy first day in Somaliland, and to finish it all I went out for dinner and couldn’t understand why there were only females in the restaurant.. Apparently many of the restaurants are divided with areas for men and for women. It was a bit embarrassing standing there looking like an idiot the first 2 minutes before I realized that.

Somaliland, Amazing People

I’m happy to have 4 more days here and the welcome I had today in Somaliland was so extremely awesome and a big part of my crazy 1st day in Somaliland. Felt like a Rockstar! I’ve been greeted everywhere in a very kind way, people asking for high fives, pictures and all on eyes starring on that weirdo white guy who wears what he wants.. A bit overwhelming, but also very cool! Can’t wait for the next days here..

Have you been to Somaliland? How was it?

Gustav

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