Currently we crossed 14 countries and 13 borders. Time for some remarks on bureaucracy and hassle when moving from 1 place to another.
- Easiest: Lesotho – nobody cares. Time 1 minute.
- Easy: other countries in Southern Africa – you show your passport and get a stamp before continuing the journey. Time 5-10 minutes, except South Africa where queuing up and making some social contacts seem to be a precondition before receiving a stamp (time depends on aspirations when socializing).
- Normal: most other countries – you show your passport and get a stamp; you show the Carnet de Passage and get a stamp. Then you enter the country. Time 15 minutes.
- Egypt: you arrive and drink a cup of tea with an agent specialized in customs clearance. He requests you a considerable amount in Dollars for himself, all kind meetings in the different corridors and for a multitude of Government fees. He asks you if you have a sleeping bag, some energy bars and drinking water. Finally he shows you a filthy corner in the arrival building where you might wait for him to finish the procedures. By then, you show your passport and get a stamp before continuing the journey way, when you leave the country, same procedure, but the other way round. Time 5 days and 4 long nights.
