There are many reactions that I confront when I tell people that I and my wife work in Sudan..Some of them are not aware of its geographical position and some of its existence!! I have to tell them that it is a country below Egypt in Africa (alas!! everybody knows Egypt, while nobody knows about the largest country in Africa, 10th largest in the world as compared to 7th position of India)....while those who are more informed, knows Sudan more as a war ridden country...while it may be true to a certain extent but not what has been projected extensively by media. The people here are more friendly and welcoming, there may be some black sheeps but overall you can give a thumbs up to the people of Sudan.
One more thing which I feel bad is that whenever anyone talks about River Nile, it is again Egypt that people relate it to (only 1530 km of the total 6700 km is in Egypt!!)...but the irony is that Sudan has two Niles flowing through it, the Blue and the White Nile..to finally merge into the Nile at Khartoum (the place where I am now!)...
Talking about Sudanese people, i think, they just love people from Indian sub-continent..but more India because of Bollywood. Amitabh, Akshay Kumar, Shahrukh are household names for young generations here.
The presence of Bajaj made auto-rickshaws sometimes makes you feel that you are somewhere in India. They are called 'Tuk -Tuk' or just 'Richshaw' and here too you have to bargain the fares to travel. Some tuk-tuks are elaborately decorated with toys and dolls and there's hardy any space left on the dashboard or the windscreen to see, and I sometimes wonder how these driver manage to wriggle past the traffic with this...its a trick that all the auto-rickshaw drivers have mastered whether they are in India or any part of the world!! Apart from the tuk tuks there are regular taxis (costliest) and Amjads (mini vans) for traveling in the city. The tuk-tuks cannot venture into some of the main and busy thoroughfares, it is the amjad which you have to depend and bargain to take you to the other part of the city.
Talking about traffic...well its much more civilized than India. They wait and let vehicles pass at the junction/crossing and believe me, the wait is sometimes so painstakingly long that you may wonder if they have all the time in the world or they are not bold enough to take a risk to cross!!.( In India who cares about other vehicles?...Its always 'me' who has the priority to move, other cars also has brakes installed and they can apply if they wish to ..I am Mr. No-stop be aware!!!)...The load of public transport is taken by the scores of 'mini' buses that crisscross the city. They charge a flat 50 piaster for a ride, no matter where and what distance you go ( it does makes sense when you see people below poverty line living in the capital and working hard to earn a living). Though they have introduced AC buses in several routes but the popularity is yet to catch up.......
