The Land Of Sun, Sea And Sand

Like I said earlier, I had been planning to visit Algeria for some time now. I went to Morocco in 2010 with Lin, to Tunisia alone in 2011 (shortly after the Arab Spring started) and was supposed to go to Algeria in 2012. I had contacted Algerian couchsurfers enquiring about the country back then. I didn’t know much about the country’s history or that it had some fairly recent violent history but I knew it had some Roman ruins and surely a country neighbouring both Morocco and Tunisia is beautiful too.

I do understand that not everyone understood or appreciated why I wanted to go to Algeria. It’s not on most people’s travel bucket list, it’s hardly ever featured in any travel documentary if at all and little is known about the country. Unlike countries in the Balkans or Baltic which are only now receiving visitors like Kosovo or Albania and Latvia or Lithuania, Algeria still remains well below the radar. And while I remember the horrors of the 1990s Balkan war, I don’t think I was aware of the Algerian civil war in the same decade. Even CT told me that when she informed her mum that she was going to Algeria, her mum didn’t really react. Like most people, she was probably unaware of Algeria or mistook it for Nigeria (yes, believe it or not!).

A colleague told me that he also wondered why I chose to go to Algeria. Why didn’t I do instead to other well-known and well-visited countries? I looked at him and said well, because I’d either been there or considered going somewhere altogether new. You ask me why Algeria and I ask you back why not? Why not get out of my comfort zone and explore a new country and culture? Why limit myself to only those countries that most people are familiar with?

Algeria taught me a few lessons. It reaffirmed my self-belief and my confidence in my ability that if I want to make something happen, I would make it happen no matter what other people said. For instance, Nadjib and Imen told me that my plan was too ambitious, that I did not know the lay of the land, that I would struggle in a foreign land, I would be too jetlagged to be rushing here and there, that my itinerary was too packed, I should be realistic. I didn’t ignore their opinion but I had a Plan B which was to drop off one destination. Sure I didn’t know the country, the way things work, I can’t speak the local languages but I know that the public transportation would be reliable and it would have to be because that’s what the common people rely heavily on. I had great faith that Allah would help me and He did, Syukur Alhamdulillah. Nadjib and Faisal discouraged us from visiting Djémila but we were determined and what do you know, it turned out to be a beautiful experience just like the name. No, we have no regrets at all and are so glad we went despite the discouragement.

As with life, what this trip taught me is that you can do and achieve something if you set your mind to it, if you’re determined enough and are willing to put effort into realising it. Don’t let others discourage you. Don’t discount their opinion and advice but don’t let them stop you from chasing your dreams either. Be prepared to give up something: I wanted to cover as many places as I could and was willing to sleep on overnight buses (Algeria is the largest country in Africa and if we travel during the day, we would spend most of the day on buses. We didn’t have the luxury of time and there’s no point sitting in buses during the day when we could be out exploring instead. Luckily CT shared the same sentiment and had no problem roughing it up too). It turned out that it was possible to cover what we wanted in the amount of time we had, Alhamdulillah. The trip also reminded me of humility, gratitude and appreciation. There are still a lot of people who would welcome total strangers into their home and lives without prejudice. Honestly, I don’t know if I can do the same but I vow to continue to help as many visitors as I possibly can.

Algeria is a beautiful country with a rich past. From Wikipedia, Ancient Algeria has known many empires and dynasties, including ancient Numidians, Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans, Vandals, Byzantines, Umayyads, Abbasids, Idrisid, Aghlabid, Rustamid, Fatimids, Zird, Hammadids, Almoravids, Almohads, Spaniards, Ottomans and the French (thanks, Wikipedia!) so yes, it has a rich history and the people are exotic. Sure, it’s a country that’s not often visited but it is waiting for us to discover it.

The Land Of Sun, Sea And Sand: Part IV

Thursday, 1 February 2018

The bus driver drove as if the devil was after him and we arrived at Gare Routiere du Caroubier at 03:40 (we’d expected to arrive at 05:00). We debated what to do and agreed we’d go to my friend’s house instead of waiting until 05:00 or 06:00. There were no vacant seats for us to while away the time (and Algerian men smoke everywhere even though there are signs prohibiting smoking in the bus terminal) and I reasoned if we arrived early, we could rest before beginning the day. We went to find a cab and had to bargain the fare down. Finally, we got a cab that charged us 500 dinar. Fouzia had written down her location in French and I showed it to the cabbie.

Well, when we reached her area, we couldn’t find her house. I had tried calling Fouzia a few times at the bus station but couldn’t get through. It was strange because I could send her text messages and receive her replies but not call her. I asked the cabbie to call Fouzia for us, showing him the number but he refused. So we went around and around, up one street and out the other, glancing everywhere. We spent about 20 minutes driving around before we asked the cabbie to drop us at Hotel Capuccines which is a landmark if I understood Fouzia’s location in French. Unfortunately, the hotel compound was closed so we couldn’t enter the compound and head for the lobby.

As luck would have it, a police car cruised by. They definitely saw us because they turned around and came to ask. The officer behind the wheel spoke some English and we explained to him. I then asked if he could call Fouzia and he asked, ‘On my phone?’ I said yes and explained I couldn’t seem to make any phone calls. A conversation in French ensued and after a couple of minutes, the officer ended the conversation and told us to get into the car. We squeezed in and I asked CT if we were going to be in a lock-up.

The station was near enough and we were dropped off. Another policeman was in the station and could speak English too. He chatted with us and was overall very friendly. We waited for about 20 minutes before Fouzia arrived to fetch us. It turned out that we had been near to her apartment. Oh well...

We had a light early breakfast and after performing Suboh prayers, CT and I had a nap. We woke up two hours later and had a shower then waited for Fouzia to wake up. I entertained myself by playing with her cat, Minu. Finally, I went to knock on Fouzia’s room.

We had another breakfast then Imen came over. She would bring us out to lunch today and show us a bit of Algiers. We left after prayers and Imen drove us to Pizza Pino at Sidi Fredj where we had salad and pizza overlooking the Mediterranean. Sidi Fredj is where the French first landed in Algeria. After lunch, Imen drove us back to Algiers and up and down the hills of Algiers, to downtown to the Notre Dame d’Afrique overlooking the Bay of Algiers, to the Maqam Echahid. Algiers has a lot of beautiful white colonial buildings which lend to the city’s nickname Alger la Blanche (Algiers the White) and I was kept busy snapping one photo after another. The hilly terrain and traffic all gave poor CT motion sickness though.

Imen then dropped us at a clinic in Hydra, a posh neighbourhood, where Fouzia was undergoing some skin treatment. We had a short wait and then Fouzia drove us to find shops where we could buy some souvenirs home. Alas, the souvenir shop was closed but we managed to get some dates, nuts and nougat at a specialty shop. We had to get our shopping done as everything is closed on Fridays. We then went for an Algerian dinner and then some gelato before heading back. Fouzia then got a text message from the guide whom she had engaged to bring us to the Casbah; he had to cancel the tour the following morning as it was forecast to rain ;’(

Friday, 2 February 2018

I woke up to shower and perform prayers. The house was quiet and CT and I dozed off again before getting up to finish packing. We had a late breakfast and stayed in as Fouzia said she had a headache. I so badly wanted to go to the Casbah but had been advised it isn’t safe to go on our own. What a shame when we had managed everything else we planned despite misgivings by even our Algerian friends. Instead, we stayed in the whole morning. It did rain but more like a drizzle than a downpour. Sigh...

We performed prayers and then had organic cous cous lunch before leaving for the airport. It didn’t take long to reach the airport as it was Friday.

We went to browse the shops (unlike in downtown, shops at the airport operate on Fridays) before dropping off our bags and collecting our boarding passes. Then we went through immigration. This was a slow process so we were glad we were there when we were because when we turned, there were suddenly a lot of people behind us. We couldn’t sell off our Algerian dinar so we ended up buying some souvenirs. I bought some fridge magnets of the Casbah in Algiers. Small consolation ;’(

We boarded the plane and I spent the whole journey reading. I also performed prayers and it was a good thing too as there was heavy air traffic and our plane had to hover over Istanbul before we could land about 25 minutes later than scheduled. I was too sleepy and only managed to browse a few shops (prices are quoted in € and some looked to be much lower than in KLIA).

Saturday, 3 February 2018

Our flight back to KL was also delayed by 30 minutes and we had to board a bus to get to the airplane. I managed to fall asleep while waiting for take-off and CT later told me that even take-off was delayed by an hour. We landed just after 18:00 and I only got my bag almost an hour later.

So that was my trip to Algeria and Alhamdulillah, we did it! Well, except for Casbah of course...

The Land Of Sun, Sea And Sand: Part III

Tuesday, 30 January 2018

Ghardaïa-Sétif; Sétif-Djémila via El Eulma; Djémila-El Eulma; El Eulma-Batna; Batna-Timgad

We reached Sétif just after 06:00 and yes, it was pretty cold and doubly so because it was still very early in the morning and because the city is in the highlands. When we disembarked, the conductor showed us to a man who was also heading for Djémila and we followed him through the bus terminal to the platform from where the buses to Djémila would depart from. As we wanted to use the bathroom and perform prayers first, we informed him so. A young man who spoke English appeared out of nowhere and chatted us up. We told him we wanted to perform prayers and he led us back into the terminal (it’s a pretty big terminal) but alas, while there’s a prayer room for men, there’s no prayer room for women. I finally performed prayers in front of the washroom. The man manning the bathroom fee waived us the fee when he found we didn’t have any small change. Thank you, kind sir.

We went out again into the frigid morning and after 15 minutes, the next coach to Djémila arrived. We put our bags into the storage area at the rear of the coach and went in. The ticket cost 90 dinar. It took an hour to reach El Eulma, which is the second largest city in the Sétif Province, and another 45 minutes before we reached Djémila. It turned out to be well-timed as the Djémila Roman Ruins, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, had just opened for the day. We paid 100 dinar each for the tickets and asked the ticket man if we could store our bags in his office. He agreed and I quickly took the opportunity to freshen up while waiting for the guide to arrive and the municipal police to take our details down. The guide showed up within minutes and he took us around the site. The site I must say that I’m very glad we went there and didn’t listen to Nadjib and Faisal. The site was well-preserved and I had a grand time there among the ruins. After the site, we went to the museum (ticket cost 80 dinar) which houses the mosaic excavated and saved from the ruins. We paid the guide 900 dinar each (it costs 600 dinar/person/hour and he was with us for about 90 minutes).

We collected our bags and the friendly police showed us where to get the bus (which we already knew as that was where we got down earlier) and boarded the bus to El Eulma (ticket cost 50 dinar). We had decided we would try catch a bus to Batna from El Eulma instead of returning all the way back to Sétif. The journey back was slow as the driver drove slowly to wait for and pick up passengers so we only reached El Eulma at noon. From El Eulma, we caught a bus to Batna. I reasoned with CT that it would be better to go to Batna and on to Timgad from El Eulma instead of going north to Constantine and then go south again to Batna and Timgad.

I was not impressed with the bus station at El Eulma. It was dusty and basic. A man showed us the platform for the bus to Batna and the coach pulled up shortly. It took a while to reach Batna (we did pay 200 dinar each which I thought was quite steep). El Eulma is an industrial city from what I observed.

We were dropped at the new bus station in Batna and to get to Timgad, it turned out we had to take another city bus to the old bus station. Boy, what a day of getting up and down buses and coasters with our bags! The bus ticket cost 25 dinar and we just about managed to catch the bus to Timgad which cost us 70 dinar each. Batna produces ceramic, tiles and marble from what I saw.

We finally reached Timgad at a quarter to 5 and were immediately accosted by the police. They asked for our passports and why we were visiting Timgad, where we were staying and so on. They spoke French and Arabic and no English while we could only speak English and no French nor Arabic. They seemed almost offended that we couldn’t speak French and indicated that we should know how to speak the language. Well, sir, does that mean I have to know Russian before I’m able to visit Russia? Do I have to know German or Italy or Spanish before I could ever visit those countries? It had been a long day and I was starting to get downright pissed. They also wondered why we didn’t have a visa and we explained that Malaysians do not need visa to enter Algeria. Heck, if we had, surely we would not have been cleared by the immigration back in Algiers! Idiots! I told them they were wasting our time and delaying our visit then stalked off and walked to the site to determine the operating hours. Well, it was closing then. Bloody, bloody hell!

One of the policemen then ‘escorted’ us to a nearby hotel (I only realised it was a hostel when we were led to a dormitory of six beds). We asked for a double room but either the police or the hotel staff didn’t understand us or there was no double room at the hostel. We also repeatedly asked for our passports back but we were told we would only get it the following morning. So when the hotel staff asked us for payment for our beds, we told him we would pay when we check out the next morning. Payment in exchange for return of passport. The common bathroom for women was just nearby but when I checked, there was no water. The hotel staff said he would turn the water supply on shortly so in the meantime, I went down and used the bathroom near the dining area. I then performed prayers.

Right after I finished performing prayers, there was a knock on the door. The same annoying policeman was there with a girl. She said hi and spoke haltingly in English with us. We asked if she was also forced to spend the night at the hostel but she didn’t understand us, instead saying she was staying with her family. She asked us many questions: what were we doing there, what were our jobs, and even if we were Muslims (and I was still sitting on my prayer mat!). I said yes, of course, and she asked me to recite Al-Fatihah. Seriously, WTF. I didn’t have to prove to you or anyone I’m a Muslim. Why, would they turn away non-Muslims? Moron. When she left, CT told me she suspected the girl was sent to spy on us. When I went down to get some water from the water dispenser, the girl was at the lobby and asked me what my occupation was. I pretended I didn’t hear her. What business is it to you what I do?

The water supply was finally restored so we went to shower (the water was a very small trickle). We had light dinner in the room. We were resting when there was a knock again and before we could say anything, the door opened and the same annoying girl was there. CT was patient enough to talk to her but I just ignored her. When she asked if there was something wrong, I said, yes, you’re bothering me. She then left and we quickly locked the door. When I went to the bathroom, I was not happy to find the water supply had been turned off again.

Wednesday, 31 January 2018

Timgad-Batna; Batna-Constantine; Constantine-Algiers

I woke up and to my dismay, found there was no water in the common bathroom. I then went down to the bathroom downstairs to perform ablutions and freshen up. We left after a simple breakfast in the room and went down to pay for our beds (500 dinar each). Passports back in our hands, we walked to Timgad Roman Ruins, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We paid 100 dinar for the entrance and just like in Djémila, asked if we could store our bags at the ticket office. The ruins here are not as well-preserved as Djémila. We spent about an hour there.

When we left, we had to go through yet another check by a new set of policemen. The one examining my passport wondered aloud why I didn’t have a visa for Algeria when I had to have one for Uzbekistan. Well, that is not something I could answer. Maybe having an Algerian visa would have made our trip smoother but why should we get one when we are not required to? CT was subjected to even more questions.

We then wheeled our bags to where we were dropped off the evening before and before long, a coaster for Batna came by (70 dinar). We were lucky we boarded the coaster when we did because at the next stop, a lot of people got on and filled up the coaster. We were then on our merry way back to Batna and at Batna, we had to get down and board the city bus to the new bus station for inter-city buses. We arrived in time to buy bus tickets for the 12:20 bus to Constantine (240 dinar). The journey took about two hours and we reached Constantine, a city which I had originally planned for but which I was prepared to forgo in case we ran out of time.

After purchasing the 23:00 bus ticket to Algiers, we stored our bags and went to the prayer room. We had to pay 20 dinar to use the bathroom to perform ablutions but found the prayer room locked (the bathroom was locked too and we had to ask a chap to open it up). The same chap made some gestures and we were directed back to the bus terminal. Finally, some policemen noticed us and we ended up performing prayers in their office. And that’s the difference between Djémila and Constantine police compared to those in Timgad.

After performing prayers, we thanked the police officers and set off for the city centre. Constantine is also known as the City of Bridges due to the numerous picturesque bridges connecting the mountains the city is built on. We developed more calf and leg muscles walking up and down the city heading to the city centre and I must say, I’m glad we did that because it was worth it. There are many beautiful colonial buildings in Constantine and well, I love buildings, be them ruins, colonial or beautiful buildings that look like cakes. We even checked out the local market and were accosted by the local lads who wanted us to take pictures of them. I’m glad they are gainfully employed instead of loafing their time twiddling their thumbs! One of them though followed me around and repeatedly asked if I could give him a kiss.

 At the market. These lads looked like they could easily belong in a boy band too!

We wanted to perform prayers but neither Ibis nor Novotel had prayer rooms. We were advised to go to a mosque and I asked if women could enter. The Novotel hotel staff said yes but when we got there, we found that women are not allowed in. We were deciding what to do when a guy asked us in English and said he would ask the imam if we could perform prayers. I know it’s a different country with its own culture and customs but having women pray in mosques is not such an alien concept surely. We could perform prayers at Masjidil Haram and Masijid Nabawi after all so why not in mosques in Algeria eh?

We had dinner at a small place selling ‘Tunisian Chapati’ and the men running the shop were so friendly and wanted to know more about us and where we came from. They didn’t understand when we asked where we could take a bus back to the station so we trudged back to the station. There was a beautiful full moon (which I later found was blood moon) overhead.

We were greeted by a police officer when we reached the station building and he told us to sit nearby where he could see us. I looked around and saw that we were the only females in the building so that could be the reason why he wanted to keep us close. It was surprisingly cold in the station and we were soon shivering. CT had the Turkish Airlines blanket so she wrapped it around her. After a while, the police officer came out with a blanket which he draped around me. He also asked us to connect with him on FB. What a friendly guy, so unlike the boring gruff police in Timgad just the day before!

A couple of other official-looking men then came and asked us to board the bus. It was barely 22:15 then and I was not happy as I was reading and wanted to make progress. I insisted to CT that we use the washroom first and we did exactly that before boarding the bus. Oh, the bus only left at 23:00 btw.

To be continued

The Land Of Sun, Sea And Sand: Part II

Sunday, 28 January 2018

After 8.5 hours, we finally reached Ghardaïa. Ghardaïa is the largest of the five towns (others are Melika, Beni Isguen, Bou Noura and El-Atteuf) that are often collectively referred to as Ghardaïa. This cluster of five towns is in the river valley of the Oued M’Zab, in a long valley on the edge of the Sahara. M’Zab Valley is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. You could opt to fly here but the flights are usually in the evening and I didn’t want to travel into the city and return back to the airport to fly out to Ghardaïa and then make my way into Ghardaïa late at night. Sure it was still dark when we arrived but dawn was about to break.

We asked the friendly guy if he could recommend or show us the way to the nearest hotel. I had discussed this with CT before we left and we agreed we would not make any prior booking. First off, there are not many hotels listed in booking.com or hotels.com. While the Airbnb shows there are hosts in Ghardaïa, they are mainly in the other towns and we agreed we would stay in Ghardaïa as we wanted to be close to the bus stop. Wait, let me mention briefly about the bus station. I had read bad reviews about the bus station on Tripadvisor etc. Well, what I saw was not so much a bus station but more like a compound for buses to park. There are no seats or waiting room that I could see. There are some bus operator offices at the bus station from where you can buy tickets to other cities. We also asked if he could help us buy bus tickets for the following evening to Sétif.

The guy frowned and said the hotels in the area were not good. Then he seemed to make up his mind and suggested we go to his family home instead. We refused at first because we were still total strangers and didn’t feel we should impose but he insisted. I even told him to ring his mum first and ask her permission but he continued to insist and said as a Muslim, it was his duty to help fellow Muslims in need. We were so touched by this gesture of kindness. I mean, would you open your door and offer your house to a couple of total strangers? I’m sure you would need to think over it for a while but this guy impulsively offered us and while reluctant to accept, we felt it would be rude to refuse and we certainly didn’t want to offend any local custom either. We then introduced ourselves and Faisal (that’s the guy) hailed a cab and we all got in.

It was a brief ride and we were at his family home in less than ten minutes. I wanted to pay but the cabbie didn’t speak English and when Faizal saw this, he waved my offer away. I didn’t want to offend an local custom further and stopped insisting on paying. The morning was starting to get bright then and we went in and met his mother (who spoke only Arabic and French), his sister Widad, his nephew Shaheen who was preparing to go to his kindergarten, and after a while, his youngest brother, Ibrahim (Widad and Ibrahim speak good English, just like Faisal). We were so touched and overwhelmed by the kindness of this family who had two strangers suddenly thrust upon them and yet they overcame any surprise or suspicion and welcomed us into their house and lives with open arms and hearts. Shortly after, another brother came with his wife and son (I can’t recall their names now) and upon seeing me, exclaimed, ‘Nihao, nihao!’ I laughed out in surprise at this. While I’m used to being asked if I was from Korea, Japan and of course China, it does get a little stale after a while (Ibrahim continually teased me throughout my stay saying I’m from China and calling me Sumaiyya (spelling?) after their cousin who has slanted eyes).

After breakfast, we excused ourselves and went to bathe. We were told to go to a room in the upper level so we brought our bags up and used the room to change and freshen up. When we went down again, Ibrahim took us by a shared cab to the centre of Ghardaïa. We walked to the market square then to through the nearby souk and on to shops on the main street. We also climbed up a hill to a hotel from where we enjoyed a bird’s eye view of Ghardaïa and Melika. Then we went to Sidi Abaz Monument and spent some time there.

In the centre of Ghardaïa. The man there is wearing saroual loubia

After that, we walked back to the house for lunch. The mother or Mama as we called her had prepared cous cous lunch and everyone was there: Faisal; Widad, back from her hospital job; the brother and sister-in-law and their son; Mama and Ibrahim of course; and CT and I. Only person absent was Widad’s son, Shaheen. The family was indeed close knit and we had good fun and laugh over our meal. Another sister in Laghouat Faisal’s wife back in Algiers rang in the midst of our lunch to find out about the two visitors from Malaysia.

After afternoon prayers, Faisal took us for a ride around Ghardaïa then we drove through Beni Isguen before going to a wadi where he showed us some bir (well) where they draw water from. He then showed us Bounoura from afar. We returned in the evening.

 Beni Isguen

Bounoura

We had a late dinner and after dinner, we walked to an uncle’s family house nearby. Yes, everyone was excited and curious to meet the two visitors alright. We came back after 11 p.m. and CT and I slept in the living room together with Mama.

Monday, 29 January 2018

I woke up at 4 from some noise from the kitchen. As tired and sleepy as I was, sleep was elusive. I got up after 6 to perform prayers before heading up to bathe and change. Breakfast was waiting when we went down again. I asked Mama if she wasn’t eating and she made a gesture to which I asked, ‘Saum?’ She nodded. OK, so that was why she got up early: to have her pre-dawn meal.

After breakfast, Faisal drove us to El Atteuf. You need a guide if you want to visit Beni Isguen and El Atteuf (I’m not sure about Melika and Bounoura) and we had to wait before the guide arrived. He spoke only French (and Arabic I’m sure) so Faisal had to act as translator for us. El Atteuf is a pretty hilly town with narrow corridors. We also saw some local women all covered up in haik, a head to toe wool wrap that only exposes a single eye (some of the men meanwhile sport extravagantly pleated baggy trousers called saroual loubia – I wanted to buy a pair or two for my dad and nephew but didn’t manage to). In general, you’re not allowed to take pictures of the locals (even in Algiers, Nadjib warned me of this, what more in Ghardaïa which is more conservative) but CT and I managed to get a photo of a woman and a man in their traditional garb respectively.

 Old market square of El Atteuf

A local woman in haik

After the tour, we left and drove to a restaurant which served sumptuous chicken meals for an early lunch. It seemed normal for the locals to just leave the meat bones on the table top and the restaurant staff would clear them all without grumbling. I noticed the same at Faisal’s house too. They would happily eat and leave the meat bones on the table top and only clear them away after the meal.

We drove to the bus station after lunch and Faisal helped buy us the tickets to Sétif. I must also mention here that both Nadjib and Faisal discouraged us from going to Sétif and Djémila, saying that these places in the mountains were where the rebels hid way back then. Still, we were determined to stick to our plan. We decided to take the 22:00 bus instead of the 20:00 bus as the latter would mean we’d arrive too early. We then went to have some tea – frothy tea for CT and me – a regular tea for Faisal before returning to the house. CT and I finally succumbed to a siesta.

We woke up and Wadid served us tea. Then we were informed that another aunt wanted to meet us so off we walked with Mama to this aunt’s house. She has three daughters (only one could speak some English) and a few granddaughters who were clearly fascinated to see us foreigners. We left just before Maghrib so that Mama could break her fast.

After dinner, we packed up – Widad gave us a jacket each (one is leather but oh so heavy) and a scarf each, insisting that we needed them as Sétif is very cold - and after more Kodak moments, Faisal drove us to the bus station. He stayed to ascertain we got on the right bus, ensured we had our seats, helped hauled our bags out of the car boot and into the bus storage area before leaving. He also talked to the driver and conductor and told them to help us get the bus to Djémila when we reached Sétif. What a kind soul and we were ever so lucky to have had our paths crossed with him. Syukur alhamdulillah. I always believe we are meant to be where we are at any particular time. There is a reason for everything as determined by Allah.

The bus left on time and we settled into our seats.

To be continued

The Land Of Sun, Sea And Sand: Part I

I had planned to visit this land previously but in my ditsy state, I went to the wrong airport and when I realised it and rushed to the right one praying that the flight was delayed, I found that the plane had just left. I had forgotten whatever I had planned back then but the intention never went away. I told CT of this land during our trip to the Land of Frankincense last year but was only able to resurrect my research in December 2017 when work pressure eased slightly.

The research continued in earnest in January; I was hoping for more but it is not a land usually frequented by visitors and information is either limited or quite old. I only bought our air tickets less than a fortnight before departure and waited until the last possible minute to change money, hoping the Euro would depreciate further but of course it didn’t. As we would only be there for a week, I suggested we depart late on Friday instead of Saturday (the air fare would also be lower if we departed on Friday) and CT agreed.

I drew up the following rough itinerary and emailed it to a couple of Algerian friends:

Friday, 26 January 2018. Day of departure.

Saturday, 27 January: Algiers. Tipaza. Night bus to Ghardaïa

Sunday, 28 January: Arrive Ghardaïa early morning. Overnight in Ghardaïa

Monday, 29 January: Second day in Ghardaïa. Night bus to Sétif (bus to Constantine via Sétif departs at 20:30 – info as of 3 years ago)

Tuesday, 30 January: Arrive Sétif and on to Cuicil Roman ruins at Djémila. Depart for Batna, overnight in Batna/Timgad

Wednesday, 31 January: Visit Timgad. Depart for Constantine?/El Eulma by bus/train (there’s also train fr Sétif to Constantine and Sétif /El Eulma to Algiers), overnight in night bus/train

Thursday, 1 February: Arrive Algiers early morning, visit Tipaza, overnight in Algiers

Friday, 2 February: Mid-day, depart for airport and flight back to MY

They both replied that my plan was too ambitious, if I travel as if I was racing, that the public transportation in Algeria is lacking and is nowhere near anything like Japan’s, that I should be realistic as I would be jetlagged after a long flight and should take into account the language barrier. While I appreciated their feedback, I was surprised at their low confidence in me and the public transportation. If anything, their feedback spurred stubborn me into wanting to prove them wrong. Besides, this is not the first time I’d embarked on something crazy and hectic.

Friday, 26 January 2018

Kuala Lumpur-Istanbul

My colleague kindly dropped me at KL Sentral after work and I took the 20:30 coach (it arrived late and departed only at 20:45) to KLIA. We had checked in online (the airline website was unhelpful so I had to find another site to do this) so I wasn’t overly worried. The queue was short but slow. We were given boarding passes for both KUL-IST and IST-ALG.

Saturday, 27 January 2018

Istanbul-Algiers; Algiers-Tipaza-Algiers; Algiers-Ghardaïa

We landed at IST at 06:20 and after going through the transfer process, went to perform morning prayers. We just had enough time after that to walk to our gate and immediately board the plane. Clumsy klutz me spilled my water all over my seat and the Turkish guy next to me; fortunately, he didn’t really raise hell although if he did, I would thoroughly understand. He spoke to the cabin crew who calmly went to get some freshening up cotton towels and I sheepishly wiped myself and seat down.

We landed in Algiers at 09:40 and after going through immigration process, went to collect our bags. We had been advised by Imen not to change money at the bank or money changer but to change our money in the black market. Oh, and if you’re heading there, they prefer Euros to USD. We were finally approached by a chap who offered us 160 dinar to each Euro. Another guy offered us 150 dinar so we settled for 160 dinar. We decided to change €50 and change more downtown.

After that, we walked out of the terminal and asked for directions to the bus stop. Turn right when you exit and walked past the car park on your left and continued on until you hit a roundabout and turn left to find the bus station. We had to wait about half an hour before a bus came and after that for the bus to fill up. Welcome to Algeria!

Bus from the airport to the city

We got down near Park Sofia and walked up to La Grande Poste d’Alger where we were to meet Nadjib, one of my Algerian acquaintances. He showed up about ten minutes later and we got into his car. It was Saturday and the streets were full of people. He couldn’t park anywhere so had to circle the block before he saw us. We then drove to Tipaza, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, about 55 km or an hour away.

La Grande Poste

After parking his car, Nadjib led us to the Tipaza Roman Ruins. We paid the entrance ticket of 100 dinar and wandered around the site. Walk on further past the theatre and you’ll come upon a corridor of columns which lead you to the Mediterranean Sea. This sprawling complex includes the coastal hills and even though the ruins are not that well preserved (probably also due to the elements), the setting sure is spectacular. We had agreed to meet Nadjib after an hour but it was enough time to explore the complex.

We went to perform prayers at Mosque Nour el Islam at Place des Martyrs – fortunately for us, there’s a section for women because women are generally not allowed into mosques in Algeria – before continuing our tour to the small Tipaza Port. Then we returned back to the car and drove back to Algiers. I finally managed to doze off for a short while in the car.

It had rained in Algiers and pretty heavily too during our absence from the look of the wet roads. We went to a restaurant to have dinner before Nadjib drove us to Gare Routiere du Caroubier (the main bus station in Algiers for intercity buses) and helped us buy tickets for the bus to Ghardaïa. We decided to take the 22:00 bus and paid 1,150 dinar each (if my memory serves me right). We then thanked Nadjib and bade him goodbye. As it was still early, we went to perform prayers and used the bathroom before boarding the bus. A local guy chatted up CT asking if she was a doctor and he helped show us to our seats and show us the bathroom when the bus stopped at a rest area sometime during the journey. He sat across the aisle from us and read the Quran throughout except the few times when he succumbed to sleep.

To be continued