Praise for the North African Noddy

After about a week in Tunis, the capital of Tunisia, I took the train south along the Mediterranean coast. Normally these beach towns are packed with tourists from Russia, Germany, France, etc. staying in the gigantouan beach resort hotels, soaking up the sun, and buying up armloads of tacky souvenirs. It is now the end of the high season and this combined with the fact that about half a year ago a violent and bloody revolution took place in Tunisia has taken its toll on this region's tourism. Though there are some tourists around, for the most part the hotels are practically empty, and thus for less than 30 dollars a nite you can stay in a deluxe room at a 4 star with balcony, sea view, and pool. If that is out of your budget range, 10 dollars will also get you a room with a balcony and a sea view, but at this rock bottom price don't be surprised to find you're sharing your room with cockroaches, and have drunks and prostitutes for neighbors.

In any case, the revolution was a success. The dictator has been ousted from power, the tourists are starting to trickle back, and the noddy trains are up and running. I don't know what these tourist "trains" are called in the US but in the UK noddy refers to a dunce or simpleton. The noddy trains do look silly out on the roads ringing their bells and carting around tourists, and they are not even trains but rather a chain of connected wagons pulled by a vehicle that resembles a small steam locomotive. Though they do look goofy, I have to admit I ride them. They are a cheap way to get around town, or to orient yourself with a new place. (Here in Sousse, for example, for about a dollar and a half you can take a noddy train 10 miles out to the suburbs.) In fact it is such an economical and enjoyable form of transportation that I'm considering going for a world record as the first person to traverse all of North Africa via the noddy train.

Tunisia Post Revolution

My first impression upon arriving in Tunisia's capital recently was that maybe it is premature for tourists to be visiting so soon after the revolution that took place earlier this year. I arrived at night and the city streets seemed dimly lit, but maybe that is normal here. Along one section of Habib Bourgouiba, the main avenue in downtown Tunis, there were soldiers, tanks, and barbed wire. Bags of garbage yet to be picked up by municipal workers littered the streets and, to make matters worse, it must have rained recently because in some places there were pools of standing water. Also, there is a definite shortage of bottled water in the city and the lines in the grocery stores are very long. This too could just be the norm in this city, and I noted as well that most shoppers waiting in those long lines were buying only a few items, unlike in more developed countries, where jumbo carts are often filled to overflowing.

After sleeping off some of the jet lag, I had a distinctly different perspective the following morning when I left the hotel and went out to explore the city. The sun was shining, most of the bags of garbage were gone (the street cleaners come out late at night), and the city seemed colorful and vibrant. Soldiers, tanks, and barbed wire were still around, but in the light of day this did not have the same ominous feel as at night on the dimly lit streets. There aren't many tourists in Tunis right now but surprisingly the hotels are fairly full. A hotel worker told me this is due to Tunisians visiting the capital for studies or pour les affaires, which I imagine could include taking care of various post-revolution business, whatever that might be.

En Route to Tunisia

It has been several weeks since I have been out on the road. After summer travels in Morocco (and a little in Spain) I returned to Abu Dhabi to refresh and repack. I did some editing work while there, got to know the 2 new feline residents at my wife's and my apartment, dropped off by a cat-loving neighbor who has left Abu Dhabi for good. The two weeks were also a time to rest up, eat good vegan food, practice yoga, and occasionally do a few rounds of 15-floor stair climbing inside our apartment building. This is actually much more physically demanding than jogging, and cooler this time of year as the stairway is air conditioned.

I am currently at the Beirut airport en route to Tunisia, and had no plans to do a blog posting but I have a 7 hour layover here and free use of the Internet. Not even 12 hours into my trip and already have encountered several strange occurrences. At Abu Dhabi Airport this morning at 4:30 am I was drinking tea waitng for my flight to Beirut, while Middle Eastern Airlines was phoning my wife trying to find out where I was. It turns out oddly enough that the flight unexpectedly left before its 5:05 am scheduled departure time. Later in the morning, here at Beirut's airport, when I went through security there seemed to be some sort of problem and the security guard started searching through my bag, fascinated by my little portable iPod speaker (" Beautiful," he reverently proclaimed while holding it up and admiring it) and hinting several times that he would not mind at all if I decided to lighten my load a bit by presenting it to him as a gift.

So, 4 hours to go and then hopefully I will be out of this airport limbo and on my way to Tunis...