Sellin' Chaos

Without question, my favourite kind of travel is time travel. The opportunity to use a bus or taxi to transport you to a place that has remained virtually untouched for 100s, if not 1,000s, of years. It is unfortunately becoming increasing difficult with globalization, modernization, mass tourism and other such factors contributing to the defilement of tradition. People will often refer to this as "getting off the beaten track" (i've always hated that phrase). Yemen, as a whole, could be considered "off the beaten track", so i guess a tiny market town in the middle of nowhere Yemen would so far away from any track that even the memory of civilization fades. Beit al Faqih is such a place.

The Friday market at Beit al Faqih, about 1 hour south of Hodeidah, has remained damn near the same since it was first established sometime in the 1800s. This is a place that even "chaos" and "anarchy" are put to shame in a brutal free-for-all shopping frenzy. The make-shift narrow corridors, devoid of any Martha Stewart house-keeping seal of approval, are guaranteed to carry diseases previous thought irradiated in the Dark Ages. Elbows fly freely as shopper vie for space where there are clearly more people than any fire marshall would deem safe. The air is full of the pungent aroma of faecal matter, fresh livestock kills, poor personal hygiene and a multitude of mystery concoctions prepared to feed the hungry masses. It is an overwhelming experience for the mind, body and soul. In short.... IT'S AWESOME!!!!

You won't find postcards or trinkets here, but that's the charm. If

visiting the market, any foreigner will most definitely be the only non-Yemeni there. It draws a lot of attention. But like everywhere in the country, visitors are welcome with open arms (and a fair fews stares). "Hello" is about the only English you'll hear in the place, and you'll hear a bunch of them. Vendors will shove free samples of food (or at least i hope it was food) in your mouth as you struggle to navigate through the hordes under the covered market labyrinth. On the outskirts, in the open plains, the livestock market gives a little more elbow room. In a country generally lacking in interesting markets (except for San'a Old City and perhaps Ta'izz) Beit al Faqih is the uncontested winner of markets throughout the entire country (or at least of what i've seen so far)

I didn't notice a hotel in town, but it's not really worth staying here anyway. Beit al Faqih is best visited from either Zabid or Hodeidah. It's about 100 YR either direction by Dbob (mini-bus). The market itself is pretty far from the highway (where you'll be dropped off) so you'll need a moto-taxi.

Maybe markets are just my thing. But Beit al Faqih is one of my favourite places i've visited in Yemen. Traditional, fun, exotic and numerous other such words are used to describe a unique opportunity to see Yemen away from the "tourist trail" but still in a safe environment. Absolute highlight!!

Check out the write-up in a Yemeni on-line magazine, Yemen Today.

Humdrum Hodeidah

The sad fact is not every place can be amazing. Not every city is going to blow your socks off. Some places are destined for simple mediocracy. The type of town where people take their kids to school, go to work from 9-5, go home, watch 3 hours of TV and go to bed. While many of as long for that simple life, as a traveller it's hardly a breathtaking situation to land into. One of the largest cities in Yemen is the coastal city of Hodeidah. But the only thing to see and do here is see a coastal city.

As i arrived into town, a feeling of underwhelming overwhelmed

me. The typical 2-3 storey white washed buildings, common in most of the region, were a dime a dozen. There were plenty of shoe shops and mobile shops and honey shops and every other shop one might need to cure a frenzied need to buy stuff. The streets were neither busy nor quiet, just ordinary with traffic going to usual places. It's wasn't stiflingly hot nor comfortably cool, simply sunny and warm. People were neither overly friendly nor antagonistic, they were plainly present. And so went the rest of my stay there.

But i guess you need to make do with what you got. Sure there

were no mountains with hidden forts and temples like in Aden. And obviously there was no impressive architecture like San'a old city. But, being a seaside town, there was a cornish. A strolling path along the shore where locals like to come, especially in the evenings, to whittle away the time. And the city is unusually green for Yemen with several small parks full of men with cheeks bulging with Qat. And there is a fish market, but it is really no different than those in any other seaside town. Even as a person who is usually snap-happy with the pics, i only managed to take a few photos. It's just that kind of place.

Hodeidah could be used as a based for further explorations. The island of Kamaran is nearby, with some decent Red Sea diving. the UNESCO heritage listed town of Zabid, isn't that far away. And the cool Friday market of Beit al Faqih is just down the street.

Hodeidah is well connected with the rest of the country. FelixAirways has flights to San'a for around $65. Direct buses go either to Aden via Taizz, or up to the capital. And dbobs (minibuses) go everywhere else.

It's not the Hodeidah is a bad place, it's just that it is a place, period. It is well situated for west coast explorations or for doing a loop from San'a to Aden via the mountains and back to San'a via the seaside. But it's is certainly not a destination all unto itself.

A Ho-hum al-Khokha

I really should have learned my lesson by now. It seems where ever i live (and i've been around) the locals have a completely different perspective on tourism. Here in Aden, Yemen, local's eyes almost pop out of their head with the mere thought of anyplace with greenery or a decent shrubbery (a la Monty Python). So when a co-worker waxed euphorically of the tropical paradise that is al-Khokha i really should have figured out i was in for a disappointment.

Being a tiny fishing village on the west coast of Yemen, there clearly isn't any direct transport from the big cities, specifically Aden. It's a matter of "you can't get there from here, but first go there then here then transfer to there....." The day didn't start off well as the bus, heading in the general direction my compass was set, was full. Great. So, i was left with no choice but to take a Peugeot. The French made station-wagon is the vehicle of choice to act like a shared taxi. It wouldn't be so bad, except the bench seat designed for 2 1/2, somehow crams 4. It was a 5 hour trip to where i needed to transfer. Great start.

After a 5 gruelling hours, and with no feeling left on my right side, i arrived in the village of Hays, the "transport hub" of the area. The only thing happening

in the one-camel town is the one camel is trying to leave. But happy to finally be out of the car, i perched myself at the crossroads waiting for the rumoured mini-bus that would take my to al-Khokha. It was hot. There was no shade. And i'm pretty sure i died of dehydration. With optimism quickly waning, i opted to grab one of the moto-taxis to take me the 26 km to the beach. It was actually fun. Arriving into town, i told the driver i needed a hotel and was disheartened by the blank look on his face. Luckily, a local tour guide cut us off, almost salivating at the site of a traveller in town. There are only 2 hotels in town. I was brought to the nearest one (Moka Marine Village), paid for the room and attempted to settle in.

Call me crazy, but if visiting a beach location, i kind of presume there

will be a beach. Clearly i had my expectation set way too high for al-Khokha. Instead of a blissful expanse of white sandy shores, i was greeted by a mud flat outside the hotel walls. Trekking around to the actually shore is far from ideal. Once at the Red Sea coast, you're welcomed by plastic bags and empty bottles with sand full of stones and even glass. Being a fishing village, i had hopes of seeing a fresh bounty of today's catch. Instead, the vessels of fishery were moored in some semi-permanent state of dry-dock. The colourful boats are great for pictures, but it's a long way to come for pictures of boats.

As i've come to almost take for granted while living and working

in Yemen, the people at al-Khokha were wonderfully friendly. There were plenty of "hellos" and "Soora" (picture). That is to say most people were friendly. While taking picture of a boat (there isn't much else to take pictures of) some random guy came running up the beach yelling, "Soora, feluz" (picture? money!!). He was very aggressive demanding that i pay him for the honour of taking pictures. I strongly protested to see a big change in his demeanour. Suddenly, he started smiling, welcomed me with "Peace be upon you" then said i should pay "Backshesh" (a tip). Further angered, i stormed off, only to have the same thing happen a few hundred metres away as i was taking shots of the beach. Perhaps it's unfair to judge many by the actions of a few, but it's certainly a case of a few bad apples ruining the bunch.

The night was long. There's only 11 hours of generator provided power. And while the TV makes for a nice paper weight, without satellite reception it's not as entertaining as one might hope. After nearly being eaten to death by a relentless horde of mosquitoes, i was ready to leave the place at day break. But that too was proving to be a pain. A rumoured direct bus to Hodaidah left at 6:30 am. Bt luckily, there was a mini-bus doing the trip. Or so they said. After nearly an hour of driving around town with the frantic driver screaming into his mobile in an assumed attempt to auction off the foreigner to the highest bidder, we finally left. At least i didn't have to transfer in Hays again.

With overpriced hotels (4,000 YR) several kms out of the town centre, you're a prisoner. With 12 hours of generator provided electricity, you get bored. Mud flats and dirty beaches are no escape during the day. Mosquitoes are sure to drive you mad at night. Plus i met the only unfriendly people in Yemen. Al-Khokha is not only a place i wouldn't recommend visiting, but it's a place i would strongly advise avoiding with every fibre of your being.