"instant gratification takes too long"

carrie fisher

By 默默富酷

December 28^th, 2016

first published on my facebook on 28/12/2016. coincidentally and sadly, it was one day after the passing of the author of the quote used for this article - carrie fisher (who played princess leia in star wars).

i carried an instax with me on this trip. it proved to be very popular with people i interacted with. the only regret was that i only brought 50 prints with me. some of the images featured here were given to the subjects.

all the prints on a lovely carpet. featured is a straw basket from the streets of sudan.

a young lady and her child (i assume as she was alone with this child) at a local bakery in the buyada desert. the town was sparse with mud-brick houses and the only sign of activities when we arrived was this bakery.

featured alongside is a loaf of baladi - sudanese oven-baked round bread. each loaf costs 2 sudanese pounds and is the staple of all meals. each loaf can last the desert harshness for a couple of days.

a street vendor selling the national flag near the airport. january 1st is independence day since it's colonial anglo-egyptian rule. post-independence wasn't all smooth with civil wars and separation with the christian south.

a nubian fighter waits for his turn at the hajj yusuf wrestling ring. wrestlers usually cover their bodies with sand to protect themselves from scratches as well as to reduce the grip from opponents. during my time there, i witnessed many deep scratches and cuts.

a manually operated ferris wheel at a festival at the foot of jebel barkal - a sacred mountain in ancient times. the festival was organised by the ministry of tourism (ironically, it seemed i was the only tourist there when i 'gatecrashed'). the event was attended by the president of sudan so making photos was tricky.

a cotton candy vendor at the festival. many children was intrigued by this spinning sugar cloud stick. i wasn't too keen to try it for myself because of my gas situation with the fava beans.

pictured alongside is a sudanese copper pot scored from the markets of sudan.

mohamed, my camel handler, walking 'shafi' along the desert towards the necropolis of meroe. mohamed came to me the night before and asked me to take his camel to the pyramids and i said ok. he came very early in the morning just to wait for me.

spectators watching the nubian wrestling match from the outer rings at the hajj yusuf stadium. each time a fighter from the club they are supporting wins, they will break into dance and songs.

this young lady was the youngest daughter of a nomadic family we visited in the buyadi desert. she was really beautiful. being the youngest in the family, she was responsible for all the chores. while i was there, she pointed to a goat giving birth. it was the first time i witnessed a birth. messy but interesting.

featured herewith is a colored weaved straw basket from sudan.

a camel and his handler waiting for visitors at the foot of the meroe pyramids. each ride costs around 100 sudanese pounds and is a great workout for the buns.

featured alongside is an ancient ring used for necklaces found in the desert. it is probably a couple of thousand years old.

this was the scene of an ancient well in the harsh deserts of bayauda. the well is over 50 meters deep and donkeys must be used to draw the "sweet" water out. the water was then poured into a pool for their livestock to drink.

i was fortunate enough to witness a group of nomadic shepherds doing so in the middle of the day. the water was cloudy so i declined when one of them offered me a drink.

children at the villages of tombos. these villages are along the nile and their houses are usually decorated with bright colors. and each child wanted an instax, i wished i have brought more.

this pair of beautiful twins were selling local gifts and followed the car on foot. i bought some and gave them both an instax each of this photo. i almost wanted to bring them home and call them my own.

featured alongside is the sand pyramid they were selling.

dwahi is 68 and he runs a local coffeeshop at souq kubiashia. he has 2 wives and 12 children. he mentioned that he will have another wife (aged 30) this winter before the haj.

this is safaa's father. he is 72, and his wife is 40. safaa is the youngest of the children, at 14 years. i didn't ask but safaa's mum seemed pregnant. they were former nomads and now run a guest house.

khaled, the guide, using a torch to show the ancient egyptian-styled drawings int he tomb of a black pharoah, in the region of el-kurru. i could not remember now the names of the featured drawings, but i did snigger when he mentioned phallic.

featured alongside is a piece of petrified wood (i was scared too) that was found in the ancient forest nearby. the wood was supposed to be 10 million b.c. i was not really convinced since the earth isn't that old.

scene of a tea house. the coffee in sudan is amazing. they prepare it by roasting the beans and crushing them before pouring hot water over it. it is usually served with dried ginger and sugar.

this is safaa, 14. she said she wanted to study mandarin because she heard the language on television once. she stays with her father, 72, mother, 40 and her ailing grandfather, 104. they were former nomads and now runs a guest house.

a donkey feeds while its owner waits at a local market. i was told the local name for donkey is "hormar" after i kept calling them "zuzu" - a term i learned in iran. hormar can also be used as a derogatory term for men.

featured alongside is one sudanese pound coin.

a local youth having a smoke at the sacred mountain jebel barkal. the mountain was crowded on this weekday because of a local festival. the crowd was very curious about my presence.

nubians watching their wrestlers fight in an ash ring at the hajj yusuf stadium. i was more interested in the spectators than I was with the fighters.

a foul (fava beans, pronounced fool) shop owner. i think those little printouts were their version of michelin stars or zagat reviews.

i lost my favorite scarf during this trip (probably flew off during the sandstorm). so i managed to buy a pakistani scarf for 60 sdg from the market where this foul shop is. scarves are very important in the desert - either to reduce inhaling sand or as a headgear to protect the head from the menacing sun.

the breast-shaped domes at the nubian rest house were originally from mosques. the dome shape keeps the house cool as it allows the hot air to rise and escape through an outlet at the top of the dome, which is shaped like a nipple. the nubian rest house, in the middle of a desert, requires a daily sprinkle of water to keep the greenery.

featured alongside is an elephant trunk tea pot.

some locals having guhwa (ground coffee toasted in a pan spiked with cinnamon and cloves) at the central market. photos here are technically illegal, which is a shame.

the story i was told that the government banned photography at all markets after a german tv broadcasted a show about sudan. the markets were appeared "dirty" and the sudanese government was upset about it, after comments about them not keeping the markets clean.

featured alongside is a glass cup used by the coffee stops along the streets.

beehive tombs in old dongola. these tombs were used by the religious sufis. according to my guide, the tombs smelled of bats. around the tomb, little jars of water were placed for birds around the area.

pictured beneath is a face mask i used for the swarms of flies around this region. each time i put this on, i have the urge to rob a bank.

the owner of a guest house. he was a former farmer and the italians who were working at an archaeological site nearby gave him money to build a guesthouse so they could use.

a nubian lady who was nursing her children while i visited. i wasn't sure but she seemed to suggest she had twins. i met many twins during this trip.

featured alongside is a glass bottle used to store perfumes used by the sudanese. the perfumes could flood my senses to concussion.

the keeper of a temple in the region of naga. he had a twin brother who shared our vehicle to go home some 10-20 miles away. usually they walked to work daily.