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On the again of doing a 6-month half time instructing course alongside my full time job initially of 2009 I made a decision to deal with myself to a long-awaited journey to Tunisia which had been my dream ticket for a very long time. I had enquired about flights earlier than however they had been all the time too costly however on this event I made a decision to only chew the bullet and splash the money.
Having performed a number of abroad journeys within the previous years, this was my one and solely overseas trip in 2009 and it price a whopping 300,000 yen! The principle fascination with this north African nation was to do with a sure sci-fi film being filmed there. I’ll write a separate publish detailing my Star Wars expertise in Tunisia however there’ll inevitably be some crossover right here because it was a serious a part of my journey. This publish although will focus primarily on all the opposite stuff corresponding to getting across the nation, lodging, alcohol, meals, sights, breakdowns, weddings and intense ache!
The Lonely Planet guidebook was just about my one & solely supply of information for this journey!
Day 1: Rome (Italy) – Tunis – Tozeur
As quickly as I arrived in Tunis on August eighth I took a taxi straight to the bus station and acquired a ticket to Tozeur for 23 dinars (about £10 at the moment!) which was nearly to go away and the near-450 kilometre journey would take seven hours. When the bus arrived 40 minutes late I rushed on to get a good seat on the again as I knew many had been damaged! The poor man in entrance of me didn’t actually have a backrest on his!
Previous to the journey I had anticipated a difficult survival-type vacation and simply as I used to be pondering that it was going to be plain crusing the bus broke down. What adopted was a wait of two hours by the highway in a warmth of over 40 levels celsius in the midst of nowhere till a alternative bus arrived.
Regardless of the language barrier (most individuals can’t converse English) I managed to supply some time-killing leisure by establishing a easy tin-can goal for a stone throwing contest with a couple of fellow passengers. We had been nonetheless 5 hours from Tozeur when the subsequent bus arrived however that wasn’t the top of our troubles as that additionally broke down about an hour away from our vacation spot!
Fortunately the await bus #3 was solely about 40 minutes, and so having left Tunis at 11:40 am, we lastly arrived in southern Tunisia simply after 9:00 pm! I discovered a close-by hostel to verify into for a few nights after which went in search of a beer utterly forgetting the truth that I used to be in a Muslim nation the place alcohol isn’t consumed! Finally I bought phrase that it was offered at a close-by lodge so went there to have a good time my birthday alone within the foyer with an area beer. It was certainly a memorable birthday albeit not for such good causes! Extra particulars right here
Day 2: Tozeur
This was a day of visiting the numerous Star Wars locales within the space. One in all them was Camelhead Rock which beforehand featured in ‘The English Affected person‘ (1996).
We truly noticed some actual camels within the wild on that day when the temperature exterior reached an unimaginable 45 levels celsius!
That wasn’t the top of the camel theme for the day both as later that day I sampled some camel steak at a restaurant run by two good chatty guys.
I then wandered spherical by means of an enormous oasis and across the city trying on the structure and brickwork which the realm is famed for. The day finsished the identical because the earlier one; again at a lodge bar however this time I used to be with an Italian man I’d met earlier that day. Extra particulars right here
Day 3: Tozeur – Matmata
After the unreliability of the buses on my birthday I assumed it safer to maneuver round by louage (lengthy distance shared taxi vans) from then on. I used to be lucky to be the final one to need one from Tozeur to Gabes on the east coast which meant that we left immediately at 7:00 am. Two extra shorter distance rides took me to Matmata the place I checked into the Lodge Sidi Driss which doubled up as Luke Skywalker’s residence within the unique 1977 Star Wars film.
The city is a really small place with lower than a 1000 inhabitants and I walked around the place taking within the Berber museum which was mainly only a easy underground residence much like the one I used to be staying at however with a camel exterior!
Matmata has its personal Hollywood-type signal so I climbed up a hill to see that up shut!
I went to a close-by lodge at night time to have a swim of their pool and later witnessed a marriage which was very fascinating. A number of clapping and noise as a crowd of individuals paraded by means of the streets with the bride stored undercover on a camel as is custom for these occasions which may final for as much as seven days!
I even bought a free couscous (Tunisia’s nationwide dish) meal later that night time at one of many city’s two eating places. It might not look too appetising but it surely was tasty and actually filling.
All was going properly however then I began to undergo absolute power toothache whereas ingesting with a few guys which was simply insufferable. It turned out to be a really problematic knowledge tooth which was pulled out a month later to nice reduction! A nose-bleed at 3:30 am woke me up the next morning which all added as much as it not being essentially the most nice of nights however staying in such an iconic “lodge” was all value it for me. Extra particulars right here
Day 4: Matmata – Gabes – Tataouine – The Ksour – Medenine – Gabes
Leaving Matmata behind, I fortunately caught an overly-packed 7.30 am bus to Gabes the place I checked right into a lodge after which went straight out once more to the louage station to go all the way down to Tataouine. Whereas ready for the taxi to fill-up with individuals, a french man I’d met the day earlier than got here alongside and as soon as we’d bought to Tataouine we had been ready to go our separate methods. Earlier than he left I requested him if he may do me a favour and assist me instruct a taxi driver on what I wished to do. This in some way finally led to us each taking a taxi onto a few Ksars (fortified granaries) collectively which was an enormous bonus for me as I had a journey companion for a bit in a rustic the place it’s truthful to say I hadn’t had an excessive amount of dialog as a consequence of my French not stretching too farbeyond the fundamentals!
We had been anticipating some signal of civilisation earlier than we reached our first sightseeing spot but it surely simply popped up out of nowhere and moments later we had been strolling into the fantastically colored Ksar Ouled Soltane which was gorgeous. Aside from a couple of artists promoting their work (I purchased one), it was abandoned with no surrounding fences or entry cost. We had been due to this fact free to discover the constructions as we wished to view the encompassing space which was good because the Ksar is on the highest of a hill.
Ksar Hadeda was subsequent which was sadly crumbling away at the moment however I believe it has been improved since then. Had we not already peaked with the earlier ksar, this could’ve been a formidable sight too.
Medinine was the place we went our separate methods however not till we’d visited our third and remaining ksar in Medenine which was additionally a bit run-down.
While he went again to Tatouine, I took an hour louage journey to Gabes for the night time. Extra particulars right here
Day 5: Gabes – Djerba – Gabes – Sousse
I simply missed a louage to the island of Djerba at 5:30 am after which needed to wait over an hour for the next one to replenish. The price of the taxi included the ferry crossing, and culminated on the north of the island from the place I then employed a driver to take me around the locations I wished to go to. This island is a extremely popular vacation spot for vacationers who frequent the japanese aspect of the island and its stunning seashores so my driver should have thought I used to be a proper oddity for desirous to see three outdated run-down buildings on the west coast! After that I returned to Gabes after which took one other louage to do the 280 kilometre journey to Sousse for the night time. Extra particulars right here
Day 6: Sousse – El Jem – Sousse – Monastir – Sousse – Tunis
The rationale for the early begins to all of lately is as a result of the louage state of affairs can get quiet later within the afternoons so one doesn’t wish to be ready round too lengthy for the automobile to succeed in capability. It was due to this fact one other early begin on my remaining full day as I used to be on the station by 5:45 am ready for the shared taxi to fill-up but it surely sadly took 90 minutes to occur. I nonetheless bought to El Jem by 8:00 am although to go to the vastly spectacular amphitheatre while it was pretty empty. Not for lengthy although as a load of German tour buses arrived quickly after. Extra particulars right here
A louage again to Sousse was adopted by a reasonably immediate louage all the way down to Monastir to go to the Ribat that appeared in ‘Monty Python’s Life Of Brian‘ (1979). The (pretty) distinctive factor about this place is that it’s proper on the seashore with the tower providing nice views of it. I went for a fast swim within the sea which was so refreshing given the temperature, and it was additionally fascinating to see Muslims in such a non-religious state of affairs.
I then took one other louage as much as the capital metropolis Tunis which I didn’t spend any time in on my arrival into the nation. Having typically been the one visitor at my accommodations within the south I hadn’t actually anticipated the funds accommodations being full however the first three I attempted had been. Finally I ended up on the sarcastically named Lodge de la Tranquillite which was below £3 for the night time and was a primary jail cell sweatbox! Nonetheless, it did the job of offering someplace for me to lie down on the finish of the day and that was mainly the top of my first journey to the African continent. There was simply sufficient time for a fast go searching Tunis but it surely was too late to go to any of the key sights within the space.
This was positively not my lodge!
Total, travelling in southern Tunisia was fairly an eye-opener when it comes to not with the ability to use hardly any English for the primary time in my life. My French abilities are pretty primary so I can’t think about how tough it might be for somebody who doesn’t converse any French in any respect. I’ll have seen and performed nearly all of what I may realistically do as a consequence of some extreme journey days but it surely was fairly a lonely journey in some methods with out too many individuals to converse with and share experiences and so forth. Fortunately, I can now share my story with you pricey reader!
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