Israel (Tel Aviv and Kfar Hanokdim)
A complicated place but worth a visit if you can stand the questioning at arrival and departure.
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Kinshasa : Fuel shortages, traffic and wewa godfathers
You wake up and step outside and notice a massive queue of cars around the block at the fuel station next door. You’re not sure what the cause is. You hear it is about unpaid government fuel subsidies, the war in Ukraine or some other confusing issue with fuel companies.
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Sunsets from around the world
Sunset pictures from the DRC, South Africa, Nicaragua and Egypt
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Pyramids golf course in Cairo?
A review of the Pyramids Hilton golf course by a 15 handicapper
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Egypt – part 2
Photos of my trip to Egypt in August 2022. Khan El-Khalili Market, Coptic orthodox churches, northern Egypt beaches (Almaza bay)
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Egypt
There is now a direct flight from Kinshasa to Cairo with Egyptair!
The flight is around 600 USD. It leaves at midnight and takes 5 hours and 50 minutes. The plane is a Boeing 737. It’s a bit old and there is no inflight entertainment. You can watch the overhead movies 😀
The food is simple. There are obviously no alcoholic drinks served. You can have a Pepsi or some juices.
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Emilio in Italy
Sometimes it’s nice to get away. Living in Kinshasa is a bit intense. Getting out here and there, if you can, is a good thing to reset your mind. The madness of the city and country can get you down and narrow your mind.
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Domestic flights in the DRC
What flying in the Democratic republic of Congo can be like
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Kinshasa botanical garden
I went to check out the botanical gardens of Kinshasa (Jardin Botanique de Kinshasa) (Google Maps link) today. It is one of the only remaining green spaces in Kinshasa. Some parts were well maintained but others seemed in need of care and a thorough clean-up. I’m guessing the place, run by the ICCN or government…
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A short summary of my family’s history in Congo
Everyone calls me Emilio but my full name is Khalid Emilio. It’s Khalid because I’m of Indian descent and also Nicaraguan on my mother’s side. My father and his father (my grandfather), Sultan, came to the Belgian Congo in the 1950s with his brothers Badhur and Sadru. They were among the first Indian Ismailis (Nizari)…
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Childhood memories in Congo
Here are some childhood memories from the 90s I still remember that I’m sure many others can relate to and that I hope I’ll never forget.
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A real commute in Kinshasa
Maybe you wake up at 6am, have a shower, a coffee, a quick toast and a banana, then you get in your car for 10 to 20 minutes to get to the office. Your commute can arguably be considered as “pleasant” and “straightforward”.
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A quiet Saturday
There are a lot fewer cars today somehow. I don’t hear the mad traffic, the loud honking or the “wewas” zipping around.
“Wewas” are motorcycle taxis. The word is in Tshiluba which is a language spoken in the Kasai ex-provinces of the DRC.
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Things to do around Kinshasa
So you’re in Kinshasa. What can you do outside the city? Here are a few.
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A day in Johannesburg and Pretoria
I drove around on a Monday to three popular sites: Zoo lake in Rosebank, the Union buildings and the Voortrekker monument in Pretoria. All of them were eerily quiet. I took these pictures.
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Home affairs in Randburg
Going to home affairs in Randburg in South Africa in 2022 for a lost ID
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The Democratic Republic of Gombe
As you may well know, the upmarket borough of Gombe is not like the rest of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Locals cheekily call it the Democratic Republic of Gombe
It is only in this tiny part of a country the size of Europe that you can think it is a “normal” city or country
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Emilio in Congo (DRC) 