A trip to Lac Assal

An essential time-out when visiting Djibouti is the northern region, Lac Assal and Tadjoura. Although it takes some effort to face the temperatures going beyond 40°C, the sights witnessed are quite impressive: geological wonders, different populations, INSANE views and picture opportunities abound and ensure that you come back with your eyes full of memories and questions... For a full picture gallery, check out the page on

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Natural beauty

The largely undeveloped area outside of Djibouti-Ville gives you an incredible opportunity to find amazing sceneries when you take a step outside of the city.

Although I would not (and did not) swim in this lake (about 4 times more salty than sea water (have a look at the white coastline), the view is simply impressive! No roads, no houses, no signs, no marketing; the wild aspect of the area is extremely resting and relaxing. Even more relaxing, the incredible silence that hangs all around. No birds, no sounds of civilisation, just an occasional gush of wind to remind you that you are not on the moon (is there wind on the moon? http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Is_there_wind_on_the_moon). In fact, without the ever-present temperature, one could think he/she was in the Scottish highlands.

Geological richness

Don't worry, it's not (yet) 2012. But the once very high volcanic activity in the area is ever present: Have a look at the lava fields, or the mountains where lava is gradually eroded by the wind, the sun or even the rare but powerful rains that strike the land. Again: it's all hapening here:

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.246247112056411.83801.100000133736262&l=df35fdf7ec.

One of the most impressive experiences was the hot pots, these warm holes on/in which you could cook an egg. Despite the lunar ambiance reigning in these more deserted areas, the beauty and the calm are something to experience!


Cultural diversity & tourism

My most pleasant experience in the area was the feeling that I was not in a highly touristic area, that, for once, my visit was not organised, planned and thought of by a tourism department somewhere.

Certainly, the fact that some areas have tables with touristic artifacts (rapidly manned by enthousiastic 'nomad' tribes upon the arrival of a car) does show that tourism helps these people earn some income by selling minerals or salt. My most beautiful memory of the understanding of tourism by the local population: have a look, for example at the guy below who 'spontaneously' showed us how he uses balls of salt to count goats and camels or even to predict the future at the shade of our 4*4 Toyota.


Call it sustainable tourism, but I'm convinced that NOW is the time to visit Lac Assal, before mineral or touristic exploitation, western style, visits first!

Wow! I'm popular!

Prostitution is never something fun to watch in a place you arrive in. And, quite unfortunately, Djibouti, with its multiple military bases, its thousands of soldiers, its port and its sailors, is particularly prone to it.

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For the untrained individual (and yes, I am an untrained individual), when you enter Place Menelik (between Rue de Paris and Rue de l'Ethiopie) , you only see a bunch of bars reminding the sixties in Vegas, a few kids begging on the streets, and a 20 or so people trying to sell you real Rayban glasses ('at half price because there is no sun at 23:00), Original Rolex watches (and I quote: 'from the USA') and Ossama Bin Laden lighters (lighters with a flashlight on them Projecting the ex n°1 terrorist against a wall, Übercool, 1000 Djibouti Francs only, half price from yesterday!).

The reality, however, strikes once you enter any of the bars. Many waitresses are on the mission to socialise with you (and casually tell you stuff like: 'I want a Jin & Tonic tonight baby', regardless of what conversation you had with any other individual at that same moment), other waitresses are supervising, monitoring the situation and giving tips like: 'Offer them another drink, their empty!', the dance floor is constantly occupied by a few girls extremely eager to dance and demonstrate their bodies (a move quite odd in a culture where the veil is still the standard).

And the industry apparently works well for all parties involved:

• ladies do their 'thing' night in, night out,
  
• hotels charge about 5000 DJF (the actual price of a 'Full Service Experience') to let girls in (officially in an effort to 'reduce the occurrence of prostitution in the community')
  
• and expatriate hotel staff finds ways to get girls in for free (at least, free from the hotel charge that is) for 'house' use, occasionally causing problems when they realise that their wallet has disappeared in the morning or that they spent the whole content of the said wallet in the bar the previous night and are actually unable to pay for services provided). A whole bunch of entertaining stories emerge from those events, should write a book!

I'll always remember the night I spent working at a bar for a beach party in the VIP zone. 'Karen' (see my post on names for an idea of what her real name was) had obtained, God knows how, a VIP pass and was getting drunk, trying to hit on clients (including a nice French soldier who at the end of the night remembered he had a wife and a kid and almost started crying at the bar). While young and attractive, she was dressed in a ridiculous short skirt (displaying her white underwear) and a very light top showing her belly. It was depressing... In the same night, she told the barman 'you're look beautiful baby, give me your phone number', hit on about 20 men, got aggressive with another 30 when she was totally wasted (did I mention the VIP zone had unlimited drinks?) and ended up with a soldier (not the sad one) who probably cursed his life in the morning, if he managed to get in the base that is.

Even less entertaining, of course, is the spreading of disease. Not to mention the fact that, instead of developing a meaningful industry in the country and working to balance with the insanely illogical Khat consumption (imported from Ethiopia), talents and lives are wasted in this way, repeating ridiculous lines (let's go my love!) to total strangers.

But well, at least hotels make sure they establish procedures to not encourage this awful practice... or not...

Some thoughts on Names...

Hassan Ahmed Robleh,
Nouh Nour Mohammed,
Ahmed Robleh Nouh,
Nour Ahmed Robleh,
Ahmed Robleh Hassan,
Mahdi Nouh Abdallah...

All potentially employees in our hotel... All recognisable names out there in Djibouti...

Names, over here, are quite different from what we know in Europe. The structure we are used to (First Name followed by Family Name) has no recognition what's so ever here and is replaced by a First Name, Family Name, Father's First Name structure.

What makes things quite complex for me and my difficulty to memorise names is the fact that, more often than not, a family name could easily be someone else's first name, and inversely. For example, Nour, in arabic Light, could be both feminine and masculine, and could be both a first name, a family name or the person's father's name!

Even more complex! In Djibouti's small society (700k inhabitants more or less), and taking into account the number of kids per family (one father, sometimes multiple mothers), it is quite easy for a significant number of people 7-8 or more) to have the same fathers' name and identical family names!

Imagine for example someone called Ahmed Robleh Ismaïl... Ahmed, a religious name, is quite widespread. Ismaïl, similarly, is very popular. Can you guess how many people in Djibouti are called Ahmed Robleh Ismaïl?


Take, for a more practical example, our president, Ismaïl Omar Guelleh, reellected recently at the head of the Djiboutian Government (yes, the man in the picture). Our establishment has a number of people named Ismaïl, a number of people named Omar and one person named Guelleh, with different family or father's names, but quite often with at least one of them identical! Enough to run me and my ability to recognise names crazy! (Don't worry! I'll write some more about my positive impressions about the Djiboutian structure of government and the admiration I perceive for this man by the population at a later point in time).

The most surprising fact in the use of names remains however the way administration handles them; while in Europe, any names list would be sorted by family name, here, the most important element, is the first name. Our employee list, all staff lists, as well as any list issued by a national organisation is transmitted to us with the first name first.

This, in addition to making things complicated to understand for Europeans when they first arrive, is a way for people to stay close to each other, to call each other by first name and stay informal and direct. This helps work succeed and move forward. For example: calling another department and asking for Mr. Omar, will not give me access to Mr. Mohammed Omar Gueddeh, but rather to Omar. Talking to Omar will invariably happen in the first person (tu instead of vous) and help people have an informal, friendly yet direct and efficient conversations.

Next post, my impressions about food! :)

Khat: Open Happiness & Diabetes

Hello from Sunny Djibouti!

I'm getting to know Khat a tiny bit better, as I chat about it with my fellow employees, various friends and random people I meet when I decide to go out of my office. Don't worry though! My 'Prevention' spirit always stand and, unless something really flagrant happens in my life, I can see no reason for that to change :).

It appears that, at the beginning of any encounter, any conversation, no Djiboutian will 'brouter', ie 'graze', or munch Khat leaves for 6-8 hours. Khat is, for some reason, off limits for people that one does not know that well... Yet, it only takes 4-5 minutes of open, friendly chatting for most people you talk to to admit that they do Khat occasionally, that they do Khat every day, Khat is like wine, one has to do it to remain friendly and social. On rare occasions, I had, however, the chance to talk about the implications of this awesome plant on people and society (see previous post). Most people agree, though, that Khat won't kill you, and that it's probably good for you when it comes to blood circulation and vitamins... At least that was the outcome of a chat with a nurse I met here!

The real implication of Khat on health is however much more hidden and perverse: Diabetes. Although Khat itself does not contain any sugar, its effects are stimulated by sugar. It is therefore the norm to see people munching Khat around a bottle of Coca-Cola or any other soft drink. It is therefore also natural that the Atlanta company opened a number of factories in... Djibouti, a destination which might sound less than natural at first thought.

The soft drink manufacturer's new slogan, "open happiness' takes all its meaning here! Happiness is indeed what Coke is selling, at least in the beginning. Tough that Diabetes is one of the highest in the world around here!

Djibouti, land of Khat and 'Pas d'problème'

Hello Everyone! Terribly sorry for the delay of my posting! It's been a very hectic first ten days, with schedules covering all day, a period of full occupancy and a passage from the hotel's Pastry (good EHL memories and burns... I'm not made for industrial Kitchens :) )

One thing you will rapidly notice in Djibouti is how everything is easy on paper! You have not received your Cargo yet? Pas de problème! Your room has not been cleaned yet? Pas de problème! You have not signed your contract or received your airplane ticket? Pas de problème!!! And indeed, the willingness of people to assist, help and be there for you is stunning! They will do EVERYTHING in their hands to help you, but in Djibouti time, that is when it will not be problematic for them (and a higher power) to help.

And indeed, this could be closely linked with the "Inch'Allah!" philosophy embraced by everyone here! "God Willing" is, indeed, a key requirement for anything, from appointments, to meetings, to going out, to actually receiving your Cargo. It is actually crucial that you add this little word at the end of any wishful sentence and, if by any way, you forget to say it, you will be corrected on the spot!

All this gives the people of Djibouti a quite admirable tranquillity and peace of mind, with people taking drastic actions with surprising peace of mind and confidence that something will come to their aid. Quite a culture shock and a difference from what we know, back in Europe, but an opportunity for all parties involved to finally relax :) .

A other, less positive aspect of the local culture is the addiction of local populations to Khat, a leaf that, when munched for 3-4 hours, releases a stimulant into the body and supposedly allows the people that consume it to gain extra awareness, remove their level of fatigue and increase sexual performance.

In practice, Khat has become the reason for working for a large part of the population: Work in the morning until 13:00 or 14:00, then spend the afternoon munching Khat so that in the early evening, the effects start showing up. Huge amounts of money are poured in it and cause a rather weird social situation: men work little and irregularly, buy and munch Khat. W work a lot, pay for the family's food and survival.

Who thought that women are smarter anywhere you go?

Take care! More news soon! My internet connection is solved now!

Three days in Djibouti...

So it's been three days since I left cold, rainy and grey Brussels... The trip was alright, if you ignore a number of 'negative experiences' during the flight:

• the lights not turning off before 2:30 AM,


• same for (very loud) music,


• food served at 1:00 AM, a time I would have rather spent sleeping,


• not so pleasant food at the end of the day (choice between chicken and fish, rather spicy the chicken was),


• the habbit of lifting the seats when serving meals, waking you up,


• Waking everyone up at 4:00 AM, about 75 minutes before landing...

I think that, for my next flight, I will try and prefer Air France...

What I found here, however is pretty impressive. The hotel has about 350 rooms, employs about 400 staff and is located right next to the sea (but pirates don't come there and I was told that the sharks that happily swim in there are small and 'friendly').

The building itself is impressive, by its size, its luxury and its design. When walking into the Djibouti Palace Kempinski, you have the impression you're walking right into the 1001 nigths environment. Little shops, restaurants and bars are scattered all over the place, magnificent swimming pools and generally an environement that looks like it was taken out from a book! I'll be posting pictures soon!

I also found an awesome location for some harmonica playing. A calm 15 minutes walk into the sea, and you arrive at a Kite Surf station which in the evening is deserted! I have a feeling I will be enjoying myself!

imperssions in two or three days! Take care of yourselves!

Getting ready for departure!

With the departure date set (26 April 2011), I am now getting ready to leave Belgium for sunny Djibouti! You can't imagine the stress at home! What to pack, how to pack it, where to pack it, box or suitcase? Not to mention all the "drinks", "cocktails", "beers", "bbqs" there are to attend :) How on earth am I going to find time to do it all :)

In my package, 150 kgs of Cargo... It might sound like a lot, but when you think of it, that's only 5 large suitcases. Count the Magic stuff I'm supposed to take with me, the harmonicas, the books my shaving creams (a two-year stock sufficient to shave both the US and French bases there) and you do get there pretty quickly! It did sound more impressive when I signed that offer...

For now, I'm back into my boxes! I'll let you know of updates as soon as there are news! For now, one last picture from good old Switzerland! Bye Europe, Hello Djibouti!