South Sudan travel questions.

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South Sudan travel questions.

Postby Farwaydown » Mon Oct 15, 2012 9:50 pm

Hi guys,

I am planning on traveling to South Sudan this coming December and would love to get some advice from anyone who has been there recently. Is it still possible get your South Sudan visa (for American passport) quickly in Uganda and cross over from there. Anyone know about the normal length of time visa's are issued for to individuals (2 weeks, 2 months etc). From the other posts it seems like accommodation is pretty expensive any backpacker like places available? Thanks in advance!
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Re: South Sudan travel questions.

Postby buffybot_in_beirut » Fri Oct 19, 2012 9:27 pm

Scroll down 20 posts to my entry dated 31 May 2012 and you'll find all the answers!
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Re: South Sudan travel questions.

Postby Farwaydown » Mon Oct 22, 2012 7:54 am

buffybot_in_beirut wrote:Scroll down 20 posts to my entry dated 31 May 2012 and you'll find all the answers!


Thanks, for the great notes. I was curious how you dealt with money. I'm assuming there won't be readily available ATMS so did you just carry a ton of money on your person or what?
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Re: South Sudan travel questions.

Postby buffybot_in_beirut » Sun Oct 28, 2012 10:24 pm

Yes I took USD cash, obviously not all in my wallet, but hidden. I do this in all countries where I know or presume that ATMs are not a reliable option, and if I need no more than a few thousand dollars. I can't be bothered planning safer alternatives only to panic when these don't work, in particular when I head to low or medium-risk destinations. Every decade or so a stack of my money gets stolen. So what - a few salaries later that is all forgotten and compensated. In my penniless student days, when theft would have hurt much more, I used travellers cheques, but today these are about as convenient as paying in ancient Roman bronze coins... Take 100 dollar banknotes only; Juba's moneychangers want nothing else.
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Re: South Sudan travel questions.

Postby Farwaydown » Fri Nov 02, 2012 5:04 am

Thanks! That is good to know about them only accepting 100 USD. I am going to be heading over during the second week of December and trying to visit the refugee camps near the liberation areas.
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Re: South Sudan travel questions.

Postby vagabond » Fri Nov 02, 2012 8:55 pm

Can't remember where I saw it, but this one site had a 'travel hack' where someone hid money in an emptied chapstick tube. Might be worth investigating if you need to hide $ in different corners.

Also, be sure to look over the bills at the bank and make sure there's no tears and they all look new. People in countries where you need dollars tend not to trust dirty, torn bills (or, in India, even their own fucking currency if it has a small tear).
"If you were born near someplace called "The Erg of ____" you lost the lottery." - Kurt the Wise

"If you're stupid, the whole world is a dangerous place." - friendlyskies
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Re: South Sudan travel questions.

Postby Furrowedbrow » Fri Nov 09, 2012 4:51 pm

They need to be post-2003 USD (IIRC), completely unmarked as well.

You can get cash wired over via Western Union in the "cities", but you'll get screwed on the exchange rate. They'll only accept USD and pay out SSD, at ludicrous rates.

PS, which camps? I've been to Doro, Jammam and Yida if you need any tips.
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