Backpacking In Somaliland: Staying At Jees Hotel In Hargeisa On 1st January 2026, after a frustrating Somaliland visa procedure, I became the first tourist this year to cross the land border between Djibouti to Somaliland at Loyaada. No pleasure cruise. Shortly after that, I heard the border had closed (that could of course be fake…
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“My heart it skips a beat when I behold” – Noel Gallagher. I didn’t have any wild dreams, demands or desires when I arrived at dawn into the lesser cared capital city of Hargeisa. This is the capital of Somaliland. It was a visa struggle to even get here – horrific times for money, time…
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“Yesterday never comes” – John Sullivan. Somaliland away was my most expensive tour/trip of my life when calculating money spent by day! Yes, it was dearer than my 13 day Antarctica tour and my 7 day North Korea tour!! After a three day visa struggle in Djibouti City, I was finally granted a visa for…
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When backpacking in Somaliland (after a nuts visa experience and a mental border crossing), I decided to try their traditional breakfast, which is locally known as Beer Iyo Basal. Ironically the local spelling includes the word “beer” as this is a dry, alcohol-free country. In English, it is known as Somali-Style Liver. I had heard…
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