Donkeys braying, camels growling, cows mooing, goats baaing, roosters crowing, dogs barking, chickens squawking, animals fighting. No, I’m not in a zoo, although it sounds like one. These are some of the noises that go on all night and either keep us awake or waken us much earlier than we’d like. Then, of course, there are the other very loud noises, such as:
-Transport trucks with weird and wonderful musical horns that the drivers like to play
-Mosques, usually at least 3 or 4 nearby while in Egypt and Sudan, blaring out the call to prayer, sometimes as early as 4:30
-riders having vivid dreams or nightmares (a side effect to the anti malarial med Lariam)
-loud snoring
-rider(s) stumbling out of their tent & cursing when they trip on a tent peg
-cows strolling around right outside my tent
Somehow, before all this started, the idea of camping in the desert conjured up images of peaceful, quiet nights with the sky filled with stars and being gently lulled to sleep by a soft breeze. Not. I must have read the wrong book. Right now it’s 1:00 am in Gonder and I’ll post this in the morning when I have internet. I’m in a hotel and for the first time in weeks I have complete silence. And I can’t sleep – its too quiet!
NolaOn2Wheels 
Apart from the incredibly noisy night-times… has anything else really surprised you about the countries you are visiting?
Hi Lynda. No, not really, except possibly how the landscape changes dramatically when entering a new country, but I guess that’s what defined the borders historically.