Greetings from Khartoum.
Apart from being constantly very hot here (+40C/+104F or more everyday), all is fine. People are very friendly. Khartoum is probably the safest capital city in Africa. A mild form of Sharia law is in force (alcohol is banned) and punishments are severe for robbery/theft. There are plenty of western style cafes and places to eat...so I'm getting my daily slice of carrot cake and iced mocha without problem. Many military and police checkpoints (there's a war on in the south) on the roads but the security forces are always polite...to me anyway.
One thing I don't like is that there are no Ford cars as US companies cannot do business here.
ABC 774AM with Red Symons (a Melbourne radio station) will attempt to interview me at 6am Tuesday April 24th Melbourne time. I'm not sure if they will broadcast it live or play it at a later stage during the "Breakfast with Red Symons" show (5:35am-7:45am).
see:
http://www.abc.net.au/melbourne/programs/melbourne_breakfast/
To find out the current time in Melbourne see:
http://www.worldtimeserver.com/current_time_in_AU-VIC.aspx
You can listen live to this to this radio station using this link:
http://www.abc.net.au/melbourne/programs/webcam_radio.htm?ref=listenlive
Sounds like you've found a good, safe, comfortable place to take a break from the tour, Constantine. Enjoy the rest and we'll be listening for your interview.
I listened to the interview. Glad to see you are doing well.