Day 10 - Burao to Hargeisa (7km on foot)

Once packed I headed off and flagged down a tuk-tuk outside my hotel and asked the driver to take me to the bus station (only 1000 Sh this time!). On arrival which was next to Hotel Ruwais, I was soon greeted by a friendly guy who helped me purchase a ticket for $9 and I was told it would be leaving at 9am, so I had 30 minutes to kill so I grabbed a cup of coffee from next door at the Hotel Ruwais. Back at the ticket office for 9am there were some discussions about potentially a delay of 45 minutes I think, although to be honest I was a little confused. However, the helpful guy who came to my aid earlier ushered me to jump into his lorry with him, (I never knew he had a lorry parked nearby!) whereby he then drove about a mile or so out of town and finally parked up behind a large bus! I thanked him for his help and boarded the bus and before long I was soon on my way to Hargeisa!! (Presumably I was initially taken to a bus station by the tuk-tuk driver rather than where one would go to catch a minibus which is what I have been using since my arrival in Somaliland)

My bus to Hargeisa

The bus was great, there was hardly anybody on it. I had to show my paperwork at two check points in total on my way to Hargeisa. We stopped once for lunch and I finally arrived in Hargeisa at 3pm, I was dropped off a few yards from the Oriental Hotel where I checked in again.

I later headed out for a walk and popped into Cafe Laalays for a nice pot of tea and a slice of ginger cake. What a lovely place it was, albeit just me as the only customer, as I'd missed the lunch time slot! I later also popped into the cafe called Cup of Joy for a nice coffee and another slice of cake whilst trying to find Cafe Barbera which was apparently nearby according to my guidebook?

Building Site in Hargeisa

Celebrating Independence Day in Somaliland

In the evening, I visited Cafe Laas Geel for a cracking mushroom steak meal and an even more cracking date juice! It was here I hooked up with my new cycling mates again whom I'd met last week. It was good to see them again and we discussed our plans for our next ride together in the morning, unfortunately they suggested a 6am start as it would be nice and cool, so an early night for me it was!