"Yambio, South Sudan" Yambio by Avenge

WARNING: In no way am I encouraging you to travel to South Sudan. At the time I traveled fighting was still ongoing, but recent peace talks have calmed that down a bit. However, it is still a dangerous place to visit.

I visited south Sudan with an aid organization. We flew in on a UN Grand Caravan from their base in Lokicoggio, northern Kenya. The UN demanded that I carry a "quick run" kit so at any time if we came under attack I would have 4 days supply of food and water and be able to trek about 100km to a landing field where they could pick us up.

Landing in Maridi, the pilots buzz the airstrips to ensure no goats or other animals are on the runway and also check for any dropped ordnance.

There's not much to see in southern Sudan. It's quite different from the north, more like Uganda. There is nothing, absolutely nothing when you leave the village of Maridi. The "towns" you see on maps, may not be more than a few tukuls clumped together.

Transportation is limited. Driving from Maridi toYambio to Tore, I only saw two other trucks during 12 hours of driving. Roads are horrendous and there is no help if something happens. Only the radio that you hope remains working. For us, we had to do hourly checks with the UN base, so I felt ok.

IF you go to southern Sudan, you must register with one of the rebel organizations that is in control (SPLA or SPLM I think). If you get a stamp from northern Sudan in your passport and then go to southern Sudan, you may be in trouble...big trouble.

Would not recommend traveling here. Undetonated ordnance is a problem. There is no infrastructure. Even if people wanted to help you, they may not be able to.

• Pros:Beautiful, untouched landscape.
• Cons:war, no infrastructure, no backup, no help. lots of guns,
• In a nutshell:Glad I made it out...