South Sudan: First Impressions of the Upper Nile Sahel

The Upper Nile is said to be the hottest region in the country since it is closer to Khartoum. I am not so sure of that.

When I was in Juba, as soon as the sun sets my sweat would start dripping. I noticed that it is warmer during those times. Where I am right now, the temperature is a bit cooler at sun set.

As I am not from Africa, I was curious if I am now living in the desert. I've been to the deserts of Dubai and those were vast empty spaces. This one has shrubs that looks like dried up twigs and grasses. Having done a fair bit of research, I believe that this is not the desert but a sahel.

A sahel is a flatland with a semiarid climate. It is mostly covered with grass and a few shrubs and trees. At this time of the year, everything is brown! Most of the trees has even lost their leaves. It is typically, hot, sunny, and dry!

However, when I arrived, it rained a little. The same thing happened when I arrived in Juba. The cleaning ladies told me it was their first rain for the season. So they say I am a blessing! Yes, the rain arrives when I arrive!

The airport here, they say is the worst in the whole country. It is an uncemented airstrip. There is no infrastructure except for the skeletons of a waiting shed that was abandoned and some rusty shipping containers eaten by time and the elements.

On the other hand, I have nothing to complain about because we landed safely and that is the most important thing for me. I am alive! Nothing else matters! And I've been to rudimentary airports like the ones in Vanuatu.(Best airplane ride views next to the Lukla, Nepal flights according to me!)

There were two vehicles on the landing strip. One was a rented car and the other was for our organization. As I've mentioned earlier, everything is just dirt road but since it is a flatland and arid, it is not as worse as the Vanuatu rides. One thing that amazes me though is how our driver expertly drove us to the town because everything looked the same for me.

From the outskirts, we can observe some random mud houses with reed roofs here and there. And as these clusters become dense, we saw the town. There were modern houses and cars as well as buses and vans for public transport. There were also donkeys, mostly pulling carts filled with barrels of water.

Women can be seen either carrying a load or a child. They were mostly dressed in colourful clothes that reminds me of the Indian sari's.

Credits to theresglitterintheireyes

As I am in a border town, this place is a melting pot of tribes!