Almost Sleeping My Way to Timbuktu

by Sihle Khumalo

Travelling in West Africa by public transport, Sihle Khumalo turned a wish list into an itinerary. The plans for his trip were lean on practical detail, but grand in Visit five World Heritage Sites listed by UNESCO for their historical and cultural significance.
Having never set foot in Sénégal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Benin or Togo, Sihle planned to inform himself about Francophone Africa as he went along. Had he pondered the implications of not speaking French in a part of the world where it is the lingua franca, or what the public transport might be like there, he might have set off less bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.
But Sihle is not one to be deterred by setbacks and deadends. His flexibility, irrepressible optimism and robust sense of humour, coupled with an unexpected sensitivity towards his host countries, see him reach all his goals – or almost.

Genres: Travel, Africa

288 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Sihle Khumalo was born in Nqutu, a small rural town in northern KwaZulu. He grew up in Pietermaritzburg where he matriculated in 1991 and ('just like a lot of darkies,' as he puts it) spent a year loitering at home because his single mother, who was a school teacher, could not afford immediately to send him to a tertiary institution. He subsequently attended the then Natal Technikon (now Durban Institute of Technology) and worked in the Port of Durban for ten years, four as a risk manager. Now Johannesburg-based, Khumalo works as an exploration project manager for Anglo American. He is married, with two children.

Reviews

[Goodnews · Rating 5 out of 5]

an excellent read, an encouragement for those who have not travelled the continent to do so. I learnt how to learn from my travels.

[Phaks · Rating 4 out of 5]

For once an African writer who documents not death or disease or war and femine. It's lite and lovely and not to forget to mention funny.

[Sandy Dube · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed learning some african history mentioned in this book. I would have loved to see some pictures of the places the author visited.

[goodbyewaffles]

I don't know that there's any major insight here but it's definitely entertaining

[Lorraine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this book as a gift through a "SecretBookExchange" initiative which aims to promote reading and the appreciation of books. It's a fairly simple concept run through social media. You basically post a message on your FaceBook status and whoever "likes" it will get a personal message instructing them to send a total stranger, whose address will be on that message, a book. They will then repeat the processes by pasting the message on their FaceBook status and privately message respondents with your address to post books to. Great concept to accumulate very quirky books, IF only people kept their word.

To cut a long story short, THAT is how I found myself owning this book. This was my first Sihle Khumalo read. Not a very good introduction of himself to me. This came across as a very long documentary on the state of public transportation in West Africa. I love travelling and I was looking forward to a bit of "touristy" narration from him. Why he kept on booking into lice-infested, cockroach-habitat hotels, beats me unless he was a man on a secret self-torture mission. I then read the Acknowledgements page and realised that this was a sponsored trip. No sane person would spend their hard earned money on this torturous and dangerous route Sihle took.

I didn't learn much about the 6 countries he traipsed through; just bits of generic information I can always find via google. The places were characterless. Had no distinct smells and made no sounds. Nothing said to me "Hey you, come away with me". I found myself hoping that "I hope the attack he survived wasn't debilitating". Throughout the book, there was an element of grave danger lurking around the next corner. Hovering over Sihle while he slept in yet another ramshackle of a hotel. Salmonella from the food. All I know is that, I will definitely think twice before visiting any of those 6 countries and I am definitely avoiding public transport once there.

Quite a flattish read and it was not a short book. 286 pages of text. Had to force myself to read further hoping for inspirational snippets, but nothing. I think I will read his other two books; "Dark Continent My Black Arse" and "Heart Of Africa". He has this morbid-esque outlook about him.

[Bongani · Rating 3 out of 5]

I started slow reading this book and for often felt like closing it and putting it in my shelf but somehow I continued till the last page.
It was fascinating to read about the northen african countries and its people, but more about Sihle's choice to use public transport in his entire trip.
I cringe whenever I have to travel from Pretoria to Leandra using taxis. I hope thinking about Sihle's journey will calm me whenever I take a taxi.
I know most of us believe we have the worst public transport system but honestly, when we stop comparing ourselves to Europe, we have the best in the continent.
Oh, and I don't know whether I want to ever travel to those countries Mali, Benin, Ivory Coast in my life, maybe Ghana but the others I may pass.

[Recato · Rating 1 out of 5]

After reading Dark Continent My Black Arse, I was looking forward to reading this book. But alas, I guess Sihle Khumalo is a one-time wonder.

Dark Continent My Black Arse did not have photos; but every introduction to a new country had a nice intro and history. Almost Sleeping My Way to Timbuktu fails to deliver on a visual aspect, has been written absolute badly and the sexism was too much for me.

But the most important reason I give this book a 1-star is because as a politician deployed by the African National Congress I did not appreciate his snide remarks about President Jacob Zuma and politicians in general.