My 10 WORST Travel Experiences of 2019

Posted on December 11, 2019December 13, 2019 by dev

I really don’t like talking about my bad travel experiences, as I always try to focus on the positive sides of traveling and the countries I go to. But sometimes bad stuff happen on the roads, and I also want to be honest about that, so people don’t think it’s all just picture perfect Instagram posts with no suffering.

10 Worst Travel Experiences Of 2019

The year of 2019 is coming to an end and I’ve had an incredible travel year, where I’ve visited more than 45 countries, new and old ones.. It sounds pretty much perfect, right? Well, not totally. These are my 10 Worst Travel Experiences of 2019!

10. No Phone For 1 Week In Somalia And Eritrea

Traveling Somalia with no phone.. Not the most easy region without your phone

I had some amazing days in Somaliland, Somalia and out of a sudden my phone goes out (Iphone X), and I can’t open it again. I try everything to recover my phone, but there’s nothing to do. My phone is dead! I’m the type who plans pretty much everything on my phone, so not having it to navigate/plan stuff was incredibly hard for 1 week of travel around Somalia and Eritrea. You can read the full story below by clicking the link.

1 Week In Somalia And Eritrea With NO PHONE

9. 20 Hours Delay In Delhi Airport, India

India was super interesting, but waiting 20 hours in the Airport wasn’t

Because of high tensions between India and Pakistan my flight with Air India (one of the worst airlines from my travel experiences) was delayed. They kept on delaying the flight with 1 hour at a time, so I had to wait in the Airport, because of the insecurity if we were able to go. I ended up waiting for 20 hours, and I just made it last second to some work I had to do in Denmark, because of this crazy delay! Really not nice!

8. Getting Attacked By 2 Gangsters On A Beach Club in Belize

Beautiful Belize, but getting attacked was a crazy and bad experience

I had a really nice time in Belize City and doing islands hopping in Belize, right until I went to a Beach Club in Caye Caulker Islands. Two drunk guys (probably on drugs too) pushed me super in the back randomly when I was standing in the bar, and I turned around and asked “what are you doing?” I asked as politely as I could, but the second after they were straight in my face threatening me, so I took one of the guys and threw him into one part of the club and the other guy into a wall 5 meters away. They pulled up a knife each, but some people and the security came in between and threw them out of the club. They were apparently known for being bandits and making a lot of troubles in the night life. My adrenaline was pumping and at that time, and I wasn’t scared at all in the second! Nothing happened after and I had a good time still in Belize, super beautiful country! I’m really not the aggressive type normally btw 😜

7. Spending 3 Days In San Pedro Sula, Honduras (Most Murderous City in The World)

Honduras has some beautiful sights, but think twice before going to San Pedro Sula. Copan, Honduras

Going to San Pedro Sula is an INTENSE experience. I did 2,5 days there, in what was the World’s most murderous city, until Caracas in Venezuela surpassed it recently! You can read about my time in San Pedro Sula here:

My 3 Days In San Pedro Sula The Most Murderous City On Earth

6. Getting Detained For 5 Hours in Ivory Coast

Jumping on motorbikes all around Ivory Coast

I was detained in Ivory Coast for 5 hours after taking a photo of a flag pole in Ivory Coast that a local Ivorian guy had just taken a photo of seconds before me without any problems. When I took the photo the police yelled “no, no, no!” and took me to the Police Station for 5 hours, where I had to talk to so many different Police Officers.. I threw a water bag in the ground of anger to show them I’m not an easy target to rip off and I’m not soft (that’s how things work in Africa sometimes), and after I slowed down, kept my patience and explained myself well, and therefore I managed to not pay anything. I didn’t do anything wrong and I was really mad about what the police did!

Read how it was like to travel West Africa below.

West Africa Solo With NO Car and 0 Flights Taken!

5. Near Death Experience in Monrovia, Liberia

Seconds after the worst motorbike ride EVER in Liberia

I have taken between 1,500-2000 motorbike rides on my travels, but I’ve never tried anyone like this. Read about the MOST SCARY RIDE EVER here below!

Near Death Experience In Monrovia Liberia

4. Hotel Shaking Because Of 3 Rocket Attacks, Aleppo, Syria

I had an amazing time traveling around Syria for 1 week, and to be fair the capital Damascus in the south feels even safer than most European capitals. But when you get adventurous (like I usually do,) and travel around a country like Syria, bad things can happen. I haven’t told so many about this, because I want to spread a positive image of Syria and because I had an amazing time in Syria, so I haven’t felt the need to mention it. But since these are my 10 WORST travel experiences, I will do it now. Rocket attacks. 1 of my nights in the north of Syria in Aleppo was intense and I couldn’t fall asleep that night after what happened.

I could literally feel 3 rocket attacks at my hotel, with ISIS less than 20 km west of the city. I went that time ISIS-Leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was still alive, so it was an intense time in the north of Syria.

Check out my 100% honest video about Syria and the condition of the country here.

YOUTUBE VIDEO – Is Syria Safe? (DENMARK-GUY)

3. Crossing The Most Scary Border Crossing EVER

Mud in the face after the MOST SCARY BORDER CROSSING EVER

You can’t believe how crazy this jungle border crossing was. They had closed the original border, so the only way was through the jungle in the night. Read about the story below!

The Scariest Border Crossing – From Guinea Bissau to Guinea

2. Losing My Passport In China

China is the WORST country to lose your passport in

In terms of my most difficult moment of 2019, it was losing my passport in China after coming back from North Korea. I had to stay in China for 1 week extra, and the process of getting an emergency passport was unbelievably hard. My own embassy was unable to help me, and I had to go to 20 different non-English-speaking Police Station, go to the Chinese Embassy and many other Government places in order to get my emergency passport to fly home. This is a process I wouldn’t even wish for my worst enemy, SO DON’T LOSE YOUR PASSPORT IN CHINA AS A DANISH CITIZEN! Or wherever you’re from! I did however try to enjoy my extra week in China as good as I could and got to see some new cool stuff on my 4th visit!

Positive mindset ALWAYS!

1. Caught In Shootings And Explosions In Liberia

Only white man at a road block in Liberia

I’m writing this 6 months after the episode and to be fair I still have the pictures in my head after what happened this specific day in Liberia. The day where some villagers blocked the only International road to Ivory Coast. I remember all the details, and it’s probably a trauma I’ll have for the rest of my life. Running for my life, seeing two people get shot. It’s something you really don’t want to try!

You can read about the story and all the details here:

Caught In Shootings And Explosions In Liberia

2019 – What A Travel Year It Has Been!

What a travel year! With A LOT of good memories and a few bad ones. Village in Burkina Faso with wild crocodiles

I’m writing the article from the slums of Luanda in Angola, which is said to be Africa’s new hotspot for kidnappings and I forgot all about mentioning a terrorist attack in Mali on my 2nd day there (140 killed), only 30 minutes away from me. I have 2 countries, which are considered dangerous left of 2019, and I hope to not add any more stories to this list. It was hard to write this article of my worst travel experiences, because I’m a positive guy who loves to travel, and I want to inspire other people to travel more and see the beautiful World of ours. But I also want to show you guys my honest travel experiences, what comes with visiting 130 countries over 7 years of lots of traveling. What comes with being an adventure traveler, and not a tourist who just visits resort or luxury hotels in safe areas, or just sets a foot in a new country and say “hey, I’ve been there now.” That’s really not interesting for me. Traveling to 130 countries on FULL ADVENTURE MODE is not as easy as it might look on Social Media Platforms!

Stay Safe And Travel The World With No Fear

Only guy at the Kambadaga Waterfalls in the middle of Guinea. One of the most difficult waterfalls to get to

I haven’t told you the thousands of amazing memories I had this year in this article, remember that please. Take care everyone and safe travels always! Never let fear decide anything in your life!

Gustav

gus1thego.com

10 Weird And Interesting Facts About Somaliland

Posted on September 9, 2019September 9, 2019 by dev

I went to Somalia a few weeks ago and spent nearly a week in Somaliland. Here’s 10 Weird and Interesting Facts about Somaliland you probably didn’t know anything about!

1: Somaliland was an internationally-recognized country for 5 days

Despite the local government’s declaration of independence in 1991, Somaliland is not an internationally recognized country. It is a self-declared republic that has been seeking recognition since.

What makes this most interesting is that, for a brief period of five days in 1960, when Somaliland became independent from the UK, the country existed as an independent state. However, it then agreed to join the rest of Somalia who had been under Italian rule until then to form a greater Somalia.

2: Mobile payments are more used than anywhere else

Holding 500 Somaliland Shilling. 8,000 Somaliland Shilling = 1 USD

Somaliland pays one the lowest rates for mobile calls in the world. Furthermore the mobile payments in Somaliland are so important that they are estimated to account for half of the transactions and they are made in US Dollars. Bill Gates even claimed: “Somaliland is a sort of a country and it is sort of not. It is very small, but it is phenomenal. As a percentage of GDP that goes through cellphone-based money they are the highest in the world.” There are 3 reasons why mobile payments are so high in Somaliland.

Firstly, the Somali currency, the Shilling, is constantly devalued and suffers from inflation, so it is less and less valuable every day.

Secondly, the amount of counterfeit Shilling is so high that the World Bank estimates 98% of the currency is fake.

Thirdly, the exchange rate of the Shilling is about 8,000 per US Dollar, so you only need to exchange 100 US Dollar to become an instant millionaire.

3. It’s the desert, but when it rains, it floods

Inside a private home while the rain pours down in Hargeisa, Somaliland

I was very confused when it started to pour like crazy and the ground became absolutely drenched and flooded. I thought Somaliland would be similar to Djibouti: desertic and dry. But Somaliland is a bit greener and it does get a lot of rain, even if the soil is not particularly fertile. I have never seen as much rain as my 2nd day in Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland. My shoes were totally wet walking around in 5 centimeter water in the streets and I had to run into a private home to escape the heavy rain.

4: Drive on the right, steering wheel on the right

Driving on the right with steering wheel on the right. What was even more crazy was my driver on this pic had no legs

Cars in Somaliland drive on the right hand side of the road but have the steering wheel on the right. This makes for the very weird situations of the passenger seat being next to the oncoming traffic.

This would probably mean that the cars used are imported from left hand driving countries, of which there aren’t too many, but some of which are neighbors of Somaliland. Here I was in a car with a Somali guy driving on the right hand side with a steering wheel on the right and the driver had no legs. How many of you guys have tried that?

5: Spaghetti with your camel, curry with your pancakes

Eating camel in the Golis Restaurant in Hargeisa, Somaliland

After having eaten crocodile in Zimbabwe and kangaroo in Australia, it was the perfect time to try to eat camel in Somaliland. Why? Of the world’s estimated 14 million camels, Somalia, a country of some 10 million people, has more than seven million – the highest number in the world. A big amount of them can be found in Somaliland, which is one of the best places to try to eat camel.

Camel meat is pretty healthy, it is very greasy, fatty and chewy and not the most pleasant to eat. At least not to me, but it’s an interesting experience. So is a pancake with curry! Somalilanders like interesting food.

6: Fast internet and free WiFI

You can’t compare the slow internet (close to no wifi) in the east of Ethiopia , where I was feeding wild hyenas with my mouth, with the super fast internet for African standards in Somaliland. I was very surprised to find decent WIFi in most hotels and restaurants in Somaliland. Yes, I lost my phone in Somalia, you can read about that story here, but I did have one day with amazing wifi before I was disconnected a week (with no phone) traveling around Somalia and Eritrea. Perfect, right? No seriously, the wifi is pretty great in Somaliland!

7. The Government has an annual budget of only 295 million USD dollars

Photo from my hotel, Hirad Hotel in Hargeisa

The Government has an annual budget of only 295 million USD dollar. Most infrastructure projects are paid by the Somali community through fundraising. No doubt less than 300 million USD dollar is a very low amount for a self-declared country of 3,5 million people.

8. Bring cash here

Bring cash. Preferably a stack of cold, hard, American dollars. The nation is not hooked into the global financial system in any meaningful way. Cash services are shaping up in Hargeisa, which has just started to launch a series of traditional bank branches and reportedly launched its first two ATMs in 2014. But you still can’t rely on these young banks and ATMs for all your financial needs. Also, Somaliland will try to milk a little money from you as soon as you touch down, charging entry, exit, and security fees at border control, often forcing you to change some dollars to shillings upon entry as well. So remember to bring a good amount of cash to Somaliland, mobile payments are for the locals mostly unfortunately.

9. Las Geel, earliest known cave paintings in Africa

Laas Geel, meaning ‘source of water for camels’, is a complex of cave paintings located 55 kilometers (34 miles) northeast of Hargeisa, Somaliland. They contain some of the earliest known cave paintings in Africa. Weird combination of cows in ceremonial robes that are accompanied by a giraffe, domesticated dogs, and humans. Laas Geel’s rock art is estimated to date to somewhere between 9,000 and 3,000 years BC.

10. First country to use Biometric Iris scanning voting system for elections

What a great nation Somaliland is. Here at the mountains called the woman’s chest before climbing them

Somaliland will be the first country to use Biometric Iris scanning voting system for elections, the most advanced voting register system in the world. A very progressive and innovative nation!

Hope You Learned Something New About Somaliland

I hope you learned something new about Somaliland after reading these 10 weird, but interesting facts. How many of these did you know before reading this article? Let me know!

Goodbye Somaliland! Can’t wait to come back here again one day..

Gustav

gus1thego.com

1 Week In Somalia And Eritrea With NO PHONE

Posted on August 24, 2019August 24, 2019 by dev

I had one of the best days in Somaliland climbing mountains, seeing tons of camels roaming around and enjoying amazing Somali food, but to be honest the next day was one of the worst in my life.

Perfect First Days In Somaliland

A perfect day in Somaliland was coming to an end, which I had spend with local friends, whom I got in contact with through my phone which is 80% the way I get in contact with people. We went out on a roof top restaurant in the evening with views over Hargeisa and I ate camel for the first time in my life, which wasn’t as good as crocodile to be fair, but indeed good! A day with so many cool experiences and memories never to forget. We agreed to do some cool stuff the next day and would just text each other about meeting up somewhere in the city, using Whatsapp as I always use when I’m traveling, so I was really excited.. Everything was just fine..

Climbing a mountain in Somalia with my local friend, Lianura

Worst Day Ever Incoming

I went to bed in my fairly small $6 luxury penthouse suite in Hirad Hotel, Hargeisa in Somaliland thinking, “what an incredible day it has been..” What I didn’t know was the next day was going to be the worst day I can remember in a long time!

My Phone Was DONE

I woke up super early next day around 5 am and wanted to check my phone (IPhone X), and when I checked for a few seconds the Apps started to close down and my IPhone completely shut down within seconds. Damn, what was that?! I was in tears, how could I get in contact with Lianura and my friends here in Somaliland, how could I plan the rest of my Somalia and Eritrea trip (had around a week left) and how about my videos and pictures? I knew it was a while a go I did a back-up – and yes, I did lose a lot of files after having trying 24 hours to bring back my phone to life without any success at all! All I could see was a Apple-Logo shining bright on the screen. I was completely devastated and the next days all I could think about was, “why didn’t I back-up my phone properly?!” But lucky for me still have evidence from each country I’ve been to, but would honestly rather lose all of my stuff instead of videos/pictures from traveling. Remember to back-up your phone really often guys – I learned it the hard way!

Never seen so many camels as in Somaliland

Losing My Phone Was An EYE-OPENER

It was really tough to see my phone die, especially when you’re in Somalia and Eritrea and can’t contact your family for a week! What were they thinking, would they start an investigation, because they couldn’t get in contact with me? How could I now plan anything moving from Somalia to Eritrea, all the thoughts were running through my head.. Even all the important documents is on my phone, but now there was no other way than finding a way in these tough regions! I guess most people couldn’t do a week without their phone, I had to do a week without mine in Somalia and Eritrea and to be fair it was an eye-opener for me.

Had a special permission to visit a tank graveyard in Eritrea, without using my phone

Lesson Learned

No one spoke English of the persons I met in Somalia and Eritrea (after I left Lionora and her friends), but I had to be much more social and was 110% in the moment, which was actually beautiful to experience in a World where the phone takes away a lot of our time unfortunately. I think I learned a lesson from this experience, maybe it was destiny, a sign from above, even though I don’t believe much in stuff like that..

Around the non-English speaking country, Eritrea, in the most difficult way possible

Be Grateful Always

I was really sad about what happened with my phone, but I started to put things into perspective. How many people can’t see, how many people can’t walk, how many people have bad health, and I’m healthy and complaining about not having my phone? Come on, man.. Move on Gustav, you’re wrong, make this possible without your phone.. And I did!

We Grow From The Bad Days And Experiences

We grow from the challenges we face. We grow from the bad days and experiences, because that’s when we learn to appreciate things and that’s when we learn how to live with gratitude. You can’t have sunshine without a little rain, and even though you might be really sad right now about something, time will with guarantee heal you and you just have to move on and be grateful for what you have and enjoy the journey. Don’t let anything stop you from reaching your goals.

Somalia and Eritrea, thanks for this adventure!

Gustav

gus1thego.com

People Ask Me Why I Love Africa So Much? – This Is My Answer!

Posted on August 14, 2019August 14, 2019 by dev

There is a lesson for everyone in Africa. I can sometimes be sad about my life and the problems I have, and then go to Africa and see people with 100x bigger problems than me, smiling and enjoying their life.

Why You Can Learn So Much When Traveling Africa?

Appreciation of life (perspective): In my country and in many Western countries people love to complain. Life is sooo challenging, we don’t get the small pay rise we obviously deserve from our boss, why do we absolutely need to pay so much in tax, if I don’t live in the middle of Copenhagen I can’t live anywhere, tonight we’re having fish “badhrrr, I hate fish..” The list go on..

We have endless problems! This is why you can learn so much when traveling around Africa..

Problems?

Travel Africa and you feel like a massive douche bag complaining about some of these luxury problems.. All people have tough periods indeed, but some of the problems we create in the Western World aren’t really problems. In most African countries if you don’t have a job, the Government won’t pay you anything and you have two options: Find a job quickly/be an artists/create an income or go begging on the streets or die.

On the exact border of Congo and Uganda, 2016

Differences Between Western World VS Africa

Appreciation is everything: The appreciation I’ve been privileged to witness in Africa over more than 15 months of travel on the continent is authentic, honest and incredibly powerful in the way it constructs most African people’s life. I have learned to be much more grateful for the small things and I guess the saying: “you don’t see the rich people dancing on the streets” is a very powerful statement. Those people you see dancing on the streets are the ones who have appreciation of life. The happy ones. There are those that live in extreme poverty yes, and in the face of a large stereotype- there are also those that don’t. Not one of them is deprived of an appreciation of life that we may never understand or care to look for.

In Uganda, Kampala with my friend John Kennedy in 2015

The Search Of Happiness

Happiness: Most people I know are constantly searching for happiness in day to day life. The perfect career, the perfect relationship, the perfect car, the dream house.. If we have a Ferrari, we want a helicopter next! We keep wanting more and more stuff! People are yearning for the next event on the weekend that will distract them from their studies or uninspiring 9-5 job. But we forget living life right now! To be in the moment.. I thrive getting away from this environment here and there, to explore the World and the different mindsets that exists. I like to surround myself with people who value happiness as a rich part of life. The smiles, laughs and joy in Africa can be about the simplest things and sometimes we really don’t need to complicate things too much! Happiness can never be huge amounts of material stuff which limit us!

Happiness is the real key. Climbing Kilimanjaro, Tanzania

Generosity Is Unreal In Africa

Generosity: Not generosity like buying our friends a drink, or buying them a meal, but generosity of the heart. Generosity that is not of monetary value, but consists of love, support, encouragement and respect. I witnessed children in kindergarten for those from underprivileged families in Arusha, Tanzania, literally share their food with those who didn’t have any at lunch time. Children, 3 or 4 years old, breaking up their own food, and genuinely passing it to those kids whose family could not provide them food this day. This generosity does not stem from privilege, it stems from values. It stems from understanding what it means to not have anything at all, either from your own experience or from that of people you are close to, and understanding the warmth received from passing on your kindness. I get a little emotional thinking about this kind of stuff, but there are a lot of lessons to be learned about generosity from all over Africa.

Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania.. I love Africa for many reasons

Who’ll Help You The Most When You Need It?

A big challenge for me was getting a ride 1 hour in England from outside Portsmouth to London, because I was stuck there for hours with plenty of cars passing by. But when I arrived to Bissau, Guinea-Bissau with no idea where to go or stay, I was immediately welcomed as a complete stranger inside of a family’s house. They didn’t have anything, but offered me everything they had. I wanted to pay for it all, but they rejected me every time. Real generosity! Sometimes I had the most from the people who had the least.

Getting everything I need in the slums of Bissau, Guinea Bissau

Do You See Why I Love Africa So Much?

Yes, cultural shock may confront most people on arrival, and you’ll for sure meet good and bad people like anywhere else in the World, but once you understand the heart of Africa, you’ll never look back.

Gustav

gus1thego.com

The Perfect Travel Guide – Backpacking Djibouti

Posted on August 14, 2019August 14, 2019 by dev

What is Djibouti? A country located in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Eritrea in the north, Ethiopia in the west and south, and Somalia in the southeast. Some would call this area a danger zone. But is it really?

Africa’s lowest point, Lake Assal, Djibouti

Why You Should Go To Djibouti?

Djibouti – the only country name I’m aware of that contains a synonym for ass, that alone should be enough to justify a visit but if that doesn’t quite do it for you, there are a few other gems in this hidden in this little ‘Dubai of Africa’… Maybe you’re fascinated about climbing Africa’s highest point Mount Kilimanjaro, which I’ve had done, (and I’m arranging a trip this year for friends! – check it out,) but why not also visit Africa’s lowest point in Lake Assal, Djibouti.. Such a stunning place this saline lake!

Lake Assal, Djibouti, lies 155 m (509 ft) below sea level

One of Africa’s Most Expensive Countries?

I was expecting Djibouti to decimate my bank account but alas, that’s not necessarily so. True it’s not Ethiopian prices but then where is?! Djibouti is expensive compared to Somalia, Eritrea and Ethiopia, but there are ways in which you can make it cheaper.

I guess there are 3 main places which your trip to Djibouti will look to include. Djibouti city itself, Lac Assal and Lac Abbé. All of these are worth a visit for sure, although this is where Djibouti can begin to eat your cash :S

First of all I have a really good advice for you about how to get to Djibouti the best way.. Avoid the e-visa and expensive hotel booking like I paid for (cheapest hotel available was $50 that I HAD TO HAVE for the e-visa – no fake booking).. Here’s how you can do it better than me!

Improvised day in the surburbs of Djibouti City

Good Travel Advice To Go To Djibouti

When I went to Djibouti the visa was a little harder to get than now, so I had to get the E-Visa to be sure. It was $60, and at that time there was a bug in the E-Visa-page, so you could only choose arriving my plane. I thought I could still take public transport from Addis Ababa without any problems (usually it’s not so important in most African countries!), so I hoped I could just get on a high-speed train from Addis Ababa to Djibouti.. Turned out I couldn’t! First of all they wouldn’t allow me, because my e-visa said arriving by air, secondly when I arrived to the train station two hours outside of Addis Ababa, they said there were no more tickets and that I needed to be book in advance and that the train didn’t go every day..

Damn it! How could I then visit ‘this booty’?! Off to Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa and a $160 ticket to Djibouti City same day with Ethiopian Airlines.. Ouch!

(What you can do now is get a easy Djibouti Visa in Addis Ababa for $30 and then go by fast train if you plan a little ahead, shouldn’t be too complicated!)

Deep out in the Omo Valley, Ethiopia, before heading to Djibouti, my country number 95!

How To Get Around Djibouti?

Public transport? Small mini busses in Djibouti city, yep, but forget about it for the rest of the country! Public transport doesn’t exist in Djibouti.. You have three options:

1) Rent a car – costs around $75-$125 but you do need a 4 wheel drive, so that will be around the $100 mark

2) Go on a tour. If you have 6 people + you can go around various tour agents (there are loads in the city) and pay around $35 per person to go. Or if you’re feeling lucky, you can go on your own and hope to coincide with another group.

3) Hitchhike. I wouldn’t recommend hitchhiking at all here, because there are not many people/cars around in places like Lake Assal, Lake Abbe. You can easily be stuck out in nowhere for a long time in Djibouti, which is of course adventurous, but if you have a flight to make, it’s maybe not the coolest thing!

The Perfect Travel Guide (Djibouti)

My price guide for Djibouti would be like this: If you stay for 3 days or so and don’t visit the lakes, you’ll need around $130-140 to visit Djibouti. Extend that by a couple of days and visit the lakes, that figure will jump to $400 or so for 4-5 days (but it’s well worth it if you can afford it).

Djibouti:

Budget: Food and taxis are pretty expensive, but in general Djibouti is not as pricey as some would say. You can budget it to $25-$40 per day (excluding car rental)

Food: Street food and supermarkets allow you to eat for $2 – $4 per meal. Cheap restaurants are $6-$12 per meal. The French hangover in Djibouti means delicious pastries, croissants, pain au chocolate are in abundance here.

Restaurant: If you like a good restaurant, I recommend La Chaumière restaurant. Had some nice food there with my local friend Barryck, it’s a safe and beautiful place, but there was unfortunately a terrorist attack on May 24 2014, where two suicide bombers attacked the La Chaumière restaurant in this popular area in downtown Djibouti City. Nothing has happened since and they make some really good burgers!

Accommodation: The biggest cost. Start at $20-30 per night + (BUT that includes air conditioning which is almost a necessity in Djibouti!) I recommend the Horseed, with ice cold AC – just remember to barter hard and negotiate the price always!

Transport: Getting around the city you can use minibuses for next to nothing. Around the country, it’s pretty much nonexistent and you need car rental to visit the stunning lakes unfortunately.

People: Really cool people, although bring a French phrase book, English isn’t widespread

Weather: HOT AS HELL!!!!, bring sunscreen and drink plenty of water. Did you know Djibouti is the hottest country on Earth on average? 😉

Religion: Predominately Muslim, although in comparison to Somaliland it’s quite understated generally.

Currency: $1 USD – 180 Djibouti Francs. ATM’S do work with foreign cards although they’re not entirely reliable so bring cash (USD or Ethiopian Birr just in case.)

Visa: $30, not available on arrival by land. No problems getting it now in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Collect the same day if you ask politely.

Good memories from 2018, Djibouti. Are you excited to go!?

I hope to come back to Djibouti again one day and to see a bit more of this ‘pearl of the African Horn.’

Gustav

gus1thego.com

Crazy 1st Day In Somaliland (Wow!)

Posted on August 10, 2019August 10, 2019 by dev

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!

Leaving the buddies in Harar, Ethiopia to go to Somaliland, Somalia

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?!

Wild hyenas in the streets of Harar, Ethiopia

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!”

Me and my Ethiopian friend Joel who gave me some advice on Somaliland

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.

One last smile on the Ethiopian side before arriving to Somaliland

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!

Arrived at the border of Ethiopia/Somaliland with Abdi in the blue shirt

Hello Somaliland

The Somaliland banknotes are not even found on the XE-app. $1 = 8000 Somaliland shilling

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

gus1thego.com

Follow me on Instagram @gustavrosted