house hunting in juba

we need another house.  we have more people than accommodation and have been spending much too much on hotels, which are stupidly expensive at $150/full board/night, and they certainly are not even a match for Howard Johnson's.

house hunting is certainly an interesting experience.  the houses are in various stages of completion, and most are being lived in by the labourers,  family, friends, squattors.  so you have to really use your imagination to see the potential.

and most of the houses are orange, or a shade of orange.  the city must have received a massive shipment of orange paint.

one house that looks quite promising unfortunately is next to the house of a military commander who has 15 bodyguards.  when our research turned up that info, we decided we weren't so interested anymore.

we also got quite excited about one compound that had a large building that we could use for logistics storage... but then our enthusiasm faded as we toured the rest of the buildings.  one building had 2 large bedrooms, but no bathroom.  the bathroom was outside near the gate, not so good for a night time trip to the toilet.  the main house had a huge central living room and 4 huge bedrooms around this room.  everything about this place was huge.  all 4 bedrooms were huge,  the largest was ensuite with a huge bathroom that had a jacuzzi.  this seemed silly since water is precious and electricity rare.  and the bedroom was more like a ballroom than a bedroom.  the bathroom for the other 3 .... was outside by the gate.  and the kitchen, where was the kitchen?  oh, if you want a kitchen we will attach one here on the outside.  in can be ready in no time.  the price for this silliness was $10,000/month.

another 5 bedroom house had one ensuite and 2 without toilet... and again, the bathroom was in a stand alone building, a good size, but next to the front gate; also to be shared with 2 other bedrooms in a separate building.  price - $6,500/month

another very promising 4 bedroom is finished, bright, and only $5,000/month.  it also has a good bathroom set-up.  but it is referred to as the house with the stream as it seems to flood with the rains.  this area used to be a swamp.

we're still looking.