And there lies the problem of travel over long-term periods: where, oh where, am I going to sleep tonight?
For travelers, particularly those on strict budgets, the options are quite diverse despite the travel guide’s conflicts of interest and the ill-informed and jealous opinions of less creative travelers whose insistence that one’s ruin shall lie in the search for affordable shelter. There are of course extremities on both ends, unnecessary expenses as well as unnecessarily dangerous travels, that can frighten a traveler from pursuing their dream trips until such personal and economic situations have afforded them more surety in their getaways. But for those of us who would rather see the world and ask questions later, or those of us who’ve retired and always promised ourselves we would see the Serengeti before we died (and our economic situations have little chance of improving), or those who never thought to ask such questions until we found ourselves in the middle of some quaint village in Ireland and asked the plump bed and breakfast owner “how much for a night” (only to hear our entire months budget well exceeded), there IS STILL HOPE! In fact, maybe even more so than there once was.
Eugénie and I have done our fair share of budget travel. We learned that even in today’s harsh world, hitch-hiking and camping in public parks (or private gardens, or abandoned houses, or even castle moats and ruined Roman aqueducts) is still a safe (if you are smart enough to begin with) and possible solution. But it can be a tiresome one as well, and may be lumped by some into one of those ‘extreme’ categories. For most of this trip we chose instead to rely heavily on the kindness of strangers.
“Couch surfing,” (via couchsurfing.org) is a long standing and wonderful community based project which seeks not only to connect people with cheap ways to live their dreams, but also to allow those who wish to not rest in their hotel rooms hoping to discover new worlds, to actually interact, discuss, and share with people from everywhere on the planet. We have used the site’s services frequently along our trek, and wanted to speak briefly about the opportunities it has allotted us.
It isn’t only a question of where will we sleep for the few weeks we want to spend in Khartoum. It is also: how do we learn more about the places only a local could know? Where will we write? Where can we leave our heavy bags when we wish to explore the city in the harsh sun? Who knows, you may be invited to a Sudanese wedding, or a funeral. You may learn how to cook Sudanese food by a grandmother, or how to make traditional face-cream from honey and flowers. You may get to talk local politics safely and with open hearts. You might get lost and need someone to call and explain the direction home to a driver who doesn’t speak English. You may make friends for life.
The premise is simple. If someone has a free room, a couch, a floor, a coffin, a garden to plant a tent, a roof in a hot climate, two hammock distanced trees, or an office which is empty at nights/weekends, and possibly an interest in meeting interesting people from everywhere on the globe, then they say so on the site and wait for someone to ask if they can stay. Sometimes it’s just for a night, sometimes it’s many. Some people who don’t have space but have some time to meet for a coffee and suggest some attractions or offer some advice, or even show someone around. Remember, this is a project about community building and awareness.
I’m not saying that one just jump on the first couch they find. Just as all travel includes some planning, thinking, assessment, and consideration, couch surfing has its potential hazards. We’ve heard of people thinking they had a couch but finding a contact number disconnected, or of property being stolen from one’s bag, or thinking they were being given a guest room only to be brought to an expensive guesthouse. But not only does the couchsurfing site make great efforts to protect people from such unfortunate circumstances, but anyone willing to ask a few questions before moving in should be able to weed these hazards out before they arrive. Thus far on our journey we have not had a single negative experience, and to the contrary, have greatly improved our experiences by living with the warmest hearts the world has to offer.
From staying with romantic intellectuals of Sudan, families of orphans in Kenya, and designers of jewelry in Ethiopia. We stayed with wine makers, activists, world famous musicians, students, pastors, expatriates as well as people who’ve never left their towns, learned how to cook every countries dishes from hearty mamas, learned languages from brilliant children, spent nights with whirling dervishes, seem development in the making, laughed and cried too many times to count, and become family to enough beautiful homes to never feel too far away from our own. We have shared ourselves with others who wanted to know about us, and tried to take a little newness from each person that has offered a bit of themselves.
Le dilemme du voyageur au long cours : où vais-je donc poser mon sac ce soir ?
Que faire quand l’on souhaite se sédentariser trois semaines à Khartoum ou deux mois à Nairobi ? Où dormir ? Où écrire ? Où laisser nos sacs ? L’hôtel reste la meilleure solution pour se reposer en attendant le bus du lendemain ou pour découvrir une ville le temps de quelques jours. Y séjourner plus longtemps devient souvent triste et plutôt couteux. Le camping ? Pourquoi pas, mais les pluies sont trop fréquentes et l’impossibilité de laisser nos paquetages en sécurité rendent l’alternative souvent impossible. La solution, notre solution, celle qui nous permet de vivre de grandes expériences reste Couch Surfing, un site internet devenu un véritable réseau international d’échange de canapé ! Le principe est simple. Il suffit de disposer d’un peu d’espace, d’un jardin où planter une tente, de deux arbres pour tendre un hamac et accepter de recevoir un ou plusieurs voyageurs le temps d’une nuit ou plus.
Les coachsurfers sont présents aux quatre coins du monde, ils sont parfois très nombreux comme au Kenya mais se font plus rares au Malawi ou au Burundi. Un profil rempli sur le site internet présente la vie et l’espace dont dispose celui qui se propose de devenir votre hôte. Voilà comment nous avons pu passer deux semaines de rêve à Khartoum sur le sol d’une entreprise de design multimédia occupé le jour par deux jeunes soudanais aux grands cœurs, fans absolus de Céline Dion et de musique pop soudanaise. Voilà comment nous avons séjourné quelques jours dans un bar à vin de Bahir Dar, dans une famille généreuse qui nous a formés aux techniques culinaires éthiopiennes et à l’égorgement de mouton. Voilà comment nous avons atterri dans la vie d’une jeune kenyane pasteur et « maman » d’orphelins qu’elle élève entre ses murs. Voilà comment nous entrons dans la vie de gens merveilleux, ravis de recevoir des étrangers et de leur ouvrir leurs portes.
