takes a train to Luxor. Catching a boat up the Nile River, he checks out ancient Egyptian ruins with tourists from Sheffield. From Aswan, he catches a ferry bound for Wadi Halfa and braces himself for what appears to be a rough road ahead. Shifting Sands Arriving in Wadi Halfa, Sudan, Palin boards a train bound for Khartoum, the capital. There he learns that he will be unable to journey further south into Sudan due to the ongoing conflict in the southern region of the nation. Seeking an alternative, he finds Eritreans willing to drive him to the border with Ethiopia. While waiting to leave Khartoum he inspects some camels in nearby Omdurman and a Muslim Sufi ceremony where people dance to attain religious ecstasy. When it comes time to leave Khartoum, the journey to the town of Gedaref near the Ethiopian border is hampered by poor road conditions, and the vehicles are repeatedly stuck in the ruts left in the dirt from large trucks that travelled the road in the rainy season, forcing Palin and the other passengers to push them free. Compounding the difficulty, in Ethiopia a long civil war has just ended, resulting in the overthrow of the Derg regime. There was the added risk of rebels from the war hiding near the border. Finally, after spending 24 hours travelling the distance from London to Oxford, 95.56 km (59.4 mi), he arrives at the Ethiopian border. Crossing the Line In the old Ethiopian capital of Gondar, Palin visits the former home of Emperor Haile Selassie, as well as his pet lion. From there he visits Lake Tana where he learns that one of his guides in Kenya has fallen ill. Then he travels to the current capital of Addis Ababa, where he sees communist symbols being destroyed. He also witnesses a peaceful demonstration turn violent. After a couple of hitchhiking rides he arrives at the Kenya border. He then journeys to Lerata and the school where part of the movie The Missionary was filmed. As a gift he gives the school the inflatable globe he used in Around the World in 80 Days. In Nairobi he prepares himself for a safari. Plains and Boats and Trains In Kenya Palin takes a hot-air balloon ride. On the ground in the Maasai Mara he observes a lioness and her cubs up close. In Tanzania, he fulfils a lifelong dream