Sat 9 Apr

I woke at Katy's and once it was time to make a move it occurred to me that if I was ever going to visit Soba again then it would be easiest to do it now as I was already halfway there.

My motive is to find the African Sudan – particularly fabric and music cassettes. This may have been a camp for southerners but they have lived on the outskirts of Khartoum for many years now and "ful" (mashed brown beans) and "tobes" (single piece of fabric worn by women as outer layer) are the way of life. It is interesting and I feel welcome but there isn't really anything different from the other markets.

I start my journey back to Shuhada. It seems to be taking an age. Then the bus gets a puncture. I get some of my fare back but the bigger problem is finding a place on another bus – most are full and my fellow passengers are looking too.