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Al Hudayda

I asked the hotel manager in Manakhah about getting to Al Hudayda. He assured me I just had to catch a taxi to Al Magraba on the main road and wait for a taxi to pass by. And so I waited. And waited. And waited but of course taxis don't leave Sana'a until full so I wasn't having much luck. Not that I minded much. I just sat in a road side cafe drinking tea,watching what was going on around me and answering the same three questions to anyone that cared to ask. With the help of a local I eventually managed to hitch a lift as far as Banjil. Turned out for the best really. Its must more comfortable on the bends when you have the back seat of a land rover to yourself. The drive out of the mountains along a wadi was quite impressive but once out of the mounatins the drive to Banjil and the shared taxi to Al Hudayda from there was like the drive from anywhere to Port Augusta. Long, flat, hot, featureless, boring.

During the day Al Hudayda is dead. There might have been a bit going on earlier in the day but I stayed up the Night before to watch Dirty Harry on telly and so slept in. The stores are closed and most of the people you see are sitting the shade either on the street walk or in the park. The city is clean and laid back so would make a pretty decent seaside resort town. However it lacks just one thing. A beach. Either way it's pretty relaxing to just grab a juice, the latest book thats been handed to me about Islam and join the locals under a tree before walking along the corniche to watch the sunset and then watch as the town comes alive. Merchants come out from under their trees and you can't walk the streets without bumping into a stall selling fruit or vegetables or perfume or spices or calculators.
After eating nothing but chicken, rice and beans for two weeks some fresh fish made for a welcome change.
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