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!