I had a great sleep in Aimon's brother's bed. The temperature at night is perfect for just a thin sheet to cover you from the little biters but I still managed to get bit on the knuckle. Why do they always bite the boney bits?
Aimon put the TV on and we watched MTV for an hour or so. The show was called "friend zone" and it was all about people asking their best friends to be something more and was obviously set in America. I have been to America three times, have lived in America for a year and have a lot of good friends in America. I could go to America as soon as i got back to England if i wanted. America for Aimon was a dream and I would say very nearly an impossible one at that, yet for nearly two hours we hung out and laughed and talked about ex girlfriends etc as equals.
After the show i had to prize myself from the comfort of his room. We exchanged Facebook details and once again I left another good person behind but carried the experience with me. I was wary about the road but I knew I didn't have far to go until I reached my proposed town of Wad madani. Cycling 90 miles yesterday meant I only had to cycle 30 today if I wanted to stop.
The road was a lot better today and slightly quieter. I decided to stop in Madani and take the planned 5 days to Ethiopia because I would end up out of synch if I decided to wild camp and I didn't really want to burn myself out.
I arrived into the town during a penalty shoot out between two schools in the area. I only stopped briefly to see the last two kicks but that was still enough time to attract the attention of a local university teacher and about 15 kids.
I asked the man if there were any hotels in town, there were two. The Nile hotel and the Imperial Hotel but the man recommended the Imperial hotel. They were both quite close to each other but I got to the Nile one first so I asked how much it was, 100 pound. I'm still looking to spend under £10 a day albeit I've blown that a few times so was really looking at around 60. I said no thank you and moved onto the Imperial.
It was lucky I did decide to change direction and stop a night in Wad Madani as I was heading down the Nile but before long I would've found myself on the wrong side and would've had to gone back! I got to the Imperial that was located perfectly on the Nile bridge that I needed to cross tomorrow. 250 pound he said. What?!!! That was just stupid, it wasn't exactly the Ritz! I managed to get it down to 100 with no breakfast but that didn't bother me as en route I ended up buying 16 pitta breads and 20 balls of falafel due to a slight communication error with regards to amount and cost.
I wanted to buy 4 pittas and they wanted to give me 4 pounds worth so I ended up with 16 pittas and enough falafel for the whole hotel so my lunch, dinner and breakfast was sorted basically. The room was ok, I had an en suite which is always handy but it was no Bourgainvilla Guesthouse. I did some furniture moving to get my bed by a plug socket and that was me sorted for the rest of the day.
I liked the 90 mile one day, 30 mile next day combo. It gave me a chance to have a walk around after I sorted my things in the hotel. There was nothing to see and I had seen most of the town on my cycle through to get to the hotel but I was very happy with my day. After that I found myself pushing the boundaries of hotel etiquette. I can make myself feel at home in some of the most hostile of places but after I sorted all my things in my room I did something I have never ever done before.
I walked done to reception to ask if they could fill my water bottle up and it wasn't until I had to wait a moment in the line at the front desk that I realised I was only wearing my t-shirt and boxers!! No shoes either, just socks but the worst thing was, I couldn't even remember taking my cycling shorts off! I had no choice, I had to brazen it out and act as if there was nothing wrong. After all, they had no clue what the Europeans wear and despite the odd looks, I got my water bottle filled. I blame the excellent hospitality of the Sudanese that make you more inclined to walk around in your undies!!
Later I bumped into some German wood specialists that were staying in the hotel and had a quick chat and some photos with them. Fully clothed this time although I reckon I could've got away with it, Beirdre is a big enough distraction as it is.
After that i skyped my sister and my beautiful niece and then got ready for bed. A very pleasant day indeed and i have to say I enjoyed every minute from start to finish. Tomorrow will be alot different as I have to wild camp, that in itself brings excitement and adventure but if I can do another 90 mile day then I can have another 30 mile day to the last big town Al Qadarif on Wednesday.
One day at a time though, just need to remember to keep my shorts on!
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