First you need…
Getting the Visa
Here’s the process:
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- Download and fill out the visa form:
- Attach required documents:
- Filled out visa form
- A physical 2×2 passport photo.
- Your onward flight ticket out from Chad.
- An invitation letter.
- Prepare payment; obtain a money order or certified check for:
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- $150 for single entry.
- $200 for 3-month multiple entry.
- $250 for 6-month multiple entry.
Make it payable to: Embassy of Chad.
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- Prepare mailings:
- Provide a separate prepaid return label and envelope with a tracking number.
- Use FedEx, UPS, or USPS with a valid return address.
- Submit your application:
- Include your passport (must have 2 blank pages).
- Mail or hand-deliver to:
Chad Embassy in the U.S.A.
2401 Massachusetts Ave NW
Washington, DC 20008
Processing Time: Quick just like the Central African Republic! Sent out on a Monday morning, received it back by Thursday morning of the same week.
New Year, New Journey
This year we bucked tradition and skipped celebrating the New Year’s countdown, opting instead to sleep early for a full night’s early rest; after all, we had a 48 hour ordeal to reach the country of Chad from the States..
Starting from EWR Airport in Newark, I could tell things were already busy from the holidays when the CLEAR TSA PreCheck line was as long as the regular lines without CLEAR or PreCheck:
After security I used my remaining time to enjoy formal dining at the United Polaris Lounge.
This was my view:
With minutes between dining and boarding, I went ahead with sneaking in a pre-booked shower appointment at the United Polaris for a quick rinse before boarding clean and fresh for my 7 hour flight to London.
After I arrived into London Heathrow after skipping the onboard meals and getting in perhaps 4-5 hours of solid sleep, our pilot was proud to announce we were the first plane of the day to land in London Heathrow at 5am. I took advantage of this by being the first to zoom through passports and navigated an underground jaunt to reach the airport’s Central Bus Station. The next stop: I needed to take LHR’s frequent National Express buses direct to London Gatwick Airport for my transfer flight to Istanbul.
Conveniently I found a Black Sheep Coffee café at the station for a pick-me-up so I skipped a 6:20am bus just for a long black and some matcha before boarding the 6:30am bus from LHR to LGW.
The bus ride took an hour, and the extra 10 minutes to enjoy a coffee at the station allowed me to have the whole bus to myself and had us catch up to the 6:20am and 6:00am buses anyway!
Having used miles to redeem for a business class redemption itinerary from NYC to Chad, I sailed through Turkish Airlines check-in; I showed them my passport, my visa for Chad (it was the check-in agent’s first time seeing a handwritten visa), picked my seats, and obtained my tickets and lounge passes to them speed through Fast Track to the “No. 1 Lounge” inside departures:
From Istanbul to N’Djamena
After a hour’s breakfast at the lounge, I boarded my onward 4 hour Turkish Airlines flight from LGW to IST, where after landing I immediately met up with Letti at the Turkish Airlines Business Class lounge inside IST airport. No transfer security necessary; I deboarded right into the gates area!
After a quick reunion (we last saw each other 3 months ago in Bhutan!) and leaving my bags with her, I walked over to check out the lounge’s new VR flight simulator; fitting on a pair of Oculus Rift goggles, I got buckled belly down on this hydraulic glider and spent 5 minutes “flying” around Istanbul with a fan blowing in front of my face to mimic the wind. It’s a good start but I think kids would love this the most.
I then returned just in time to have Matt (his first monsoon!) meet Letti to begin our trip.
The 3 of us then walked over to gate A4B, getting on our TK635 hopper flight that would take us to both Niamey and N’Djamena.
Other than accidentally letting economy passengers get on before premium cabin passengers for a few minutes, everything seemed to be going pretty smoothly until I realized our bus made a full circle before stopping back at our departures gate to let us off back to where we started. Apparently we were being shuttled over 10 minutes too early for boarding as they were still 1) looking for their pilot and 2) “technical maintenance.”
After 20 minutes we thankfully were ask to re-board, this time in the usual cabin order, but it didn’t matter anyway (whether to them or to me), because the entire plane crammed into a single bus anyway. Let’s try this again!
The flight took off an hour late, landing 6 hours later in Niamey airport for refueling.
After letting out nearly 3/4 of the plane, we waited an hour to refuel, re-claimed our cabin luggage for security, and then took off for another 2 hour flight to N’Djamena, Chad.
Landing at around 4am totally bleary-eyed and jet lagged, we were placed in separate buses based on cabin class which I haven’t seen done outside of Bangkok and Doha. This led us to be the first to get to passports and immigrations.
Once arrived, they took our temperature but curiously did not ask for copies of our yellow fever vaccine card. We then filled out these arrival forms that were scattered on a desk in the back.
With completed forms we headed to the front to have our photos taken and fingerprints scanned. After a quick look at our visa above and asking where we were staying, we got stamped into Chad:
There’s another officer who checks your visa, thanks you for visiting his country, and lets you on your way downstairs at baggage claims after which another set of security staff takes the “claims” part seriously, matching checked luggage with a tag you’re supposed to still have on you. Matt was very narrowly able to sweet talk his way through not being able to find his tag.
After I withdrew some XAF cash from the only working ATM in baggage claims and screening our bags through customs, we walked out into official Chad!
For more than 2 millennia, the Basin of Chad became a crossroads of civilizations: The Sao was first, which then fell to the Kanem Empire which based their control of the trans-Saharan trade routes that passed through the basin.
Then the French arrived; their colonial expeditions formed the Territoire Militaire des Pays et Protectorats du Tchad in 1900, and by 1920, they had secured Chad as part of French Equatorial Africa. Then during World War II when France was occupied by Nazi Germany, over 15,000 Chadian soldiers fought for Free France and in return, France granted Chad the status of an overseas territory and its inhabitants the right to elect representatives to both the French National Assembly and to a Chadian assembly. Chad then achieved independence on August 11, 1960 with François Tombalbaye, as its first president. After banning opposition parties and establishing a one-party system, Tombalbaye’s actions sparked a civil war in 1965 where he was then deposed and assassinated by Muslim rebels in 1975. However, the insurgency continued for another 4 years where rebel factions remained in control of N’Djamena and all central authority in the country further deterioated. This led to another civil war in which even neighboring Libya got involved, and then was repelled (which Chadians are very proud of).
Relative peace finally arrived in Chad in 1990 with a drafted democratic constitution, and (internationally questioned) presidential elections in 1996 and 2001. Another rebellion fomented in northern Chad in 1998 and continues today despite successive ceasefire agreements between the government and the rebels. New rebel groups have emerged in Sudan (made worse by the new civil war), threatening eastern Chad. Constitutional term limits was removed in 2005 after a referendum and a failed coup in N’Djamena took place in 2008. The situation remains in stagnation so any tourism outside of N’Djamena requires a special permit and therefore difficult. Otherwise, N’Djamena in of itself has remained relatively safe, with petty street crime and corrupt police/officials on par for the course (as in most of the world).
Once we exited past a security gate outside arrivals, our arranged guide Josué (pronounced Joshua) and driver Abdoulaye of Zenith tours were waiting for us. We made our greetings and took a 20 minute quiet pre-dawn drive through the darkness of N’Djamena (the only people up were military folks doing their morning exercises) to the local Radisson Blu, where we caught up just in time with the TK635 flight crew who had just finished their check in.
Although we had booked only one night for the 3rd to the 4th and therefore had arrived a generous 10 hours before check-in, the concierge was gracious enough to allow us the way way way early check-in. As this was happening, one of the Turkish Airlines pilots came back downstairs interrupting us to complain that his room was full of “dead insects,” “sex and shit,” and a whole lot of “I can’t sleep like this” just so he could get another room.
We feared the worst.
But once we got inside our rooms, it looked pretty swell to me! Agreeing with Josué that we should start our day at 9am, we knocked out for an unexpected 3 hour power nap from 5am to 8am.
Exploring N’Djamena
Central Square
Waking back up for breakfast at the hotel, the 3 of us then set out at 9am with Josué and Abdoulaye for our city tour, beginning at Place de la Nation and the center of the capital city.
This plaza and square was built for the 50th anniversary of the independence of the Republic of Chad.
As we were taking photos, this guy approached Letti and asked her if she had any food. So she took out a fresh cookie (still in its original, clear packaging) from her fanny pack and gave it to him, where then a few seconds later after walking away, we heard a thunk and saw that he threw it right back at her feet. Rude.
Moving on, we walked to the other side of the plaza:
Scattered around are various aspects of Chadian culture including sculptures and various forms of musical instruments.
Our Lady of Peace Cathedral faces the plaza.
This cathedral is the seat of the Archdiocese of N’Djamena and was restored 12 years ago in 2023:
The church is closed to visitors during prayer and mass, but we were able to visit again later in the afternoon when it was completely vacated. They’ll even turn all the lights back on for you!
Don’t miss the un-photographable (so use a zoom lens if you really want to take a photo) Presidential Palace:
Equally unphotographable? The nearby US Embassy:
Markets and Mosques
We then drove over to the N’Djamena Grand Mosque, which is closed off to non-Muslims:
The central market is right in the neighborhood, however, so we got out for the obligatory African market stroll and an authentic look at local life.
Stalls brimmed with vibrant goods, from produce to handcrafted items.
After nearly an hour of walking around, we got back into our van to drive through another market in the outskirts:
…and then through a livestock market:
I recall that when we were in Somaliland back in May 2023, our guides were eagerly boasting how they’re the only place in the world with the OG black-headed sheep, namely the Blackhead Persian. Well, Chad ups the ante with their half-black-bodied sheep!
We then returned back to the center and stopped at the National Museum and Library:
We first visited the national museum on our left:
The immediate first exhibit tries to depict Chad as the one of the few who successfully repelled an Arabic invasion of their lands with examples of what Chadian soldiers had looked like back then. One can’t help wonder if these examples were supposed to resemble that of child soldiers. I hope not.
The rest of the first floor explains the different regions, cultures, tribes, and people that make up Chad as well as many artifacts from its history, although many have been lost due to looting during the last civil war. All captions are in French.
The second floor dives into Chad being the “origin” of humanity with the world’s oldest fossils of our humanoid ancestors found here in Chad dating as far back as 7 million years ago:
After a quick look at the museum’s basement temporary exhibit featuring current excavations going on around the country, we then walked over to the National Library:
As we were perusing, our guide Josué received an offer to work at the National Library as its first English-speaking curator — a twist that might alter his path forever as he accepted!
We then drove out again, observing noon prayers.
Before lunch, we got out once more for an artisan and crafts markets for quick souvenir shopping. Pieces that start out at 25,000 XAF can be bought for 5,000 XAF if you dig your heels in here:
Then at 1:30, Josué took us to his favorite place for lunch:
Afternoon Adventures
As Matt started to fade from both the lunch-itis and jet lag, we set back out at 3pm after lunch for a quick visit inside the cathedral, and dropped him back off afterwards at the Radisson Blu to rest. Josué and Abdoulaye then drove us over to where he studied at the National University of N’Djamena:
They’re still on winter break when we visited, so we had the whole campus to ourselves:
A chemistry lab:
An apocalyptic looking building that’s supposed to be an amphitheater:
From his university, we next drove to Josué’s elementary school. This tour is starting to feel like a reverse autobiography:
From there, we drove through the UNICEF refugee camp for those fleeing from war.
Most of the families are fleeing from the current Sudan civil war that sadly erupted just last year across the border:
Although most of the tents are UNICEF, some families built theirs in their own traditional style:
Taking it all in, we continued on to mediate upon the views of neighboring Cameroon across the Logone River:
We noticed various groups of locals bathing, fishing, laundering clothes, and socializing with friends after a hard day’s work:
Or, the river is their work:
Cameroon is so close across the river, you can pay $1 just for a quick ferry ride and enter a new country!
To finish off our day, we then returned to the city center for a stroll through N’Djamena’s annual month long Le Festival Dary:
Created in 2018, Le Festival Dary is the city’s annual cultural event that promotes Chad’s cultural diversity through various representations of its 23 regions through dances and food.
Enjoying the festival for almost an hour, Letti and I felt our batteries begin to drain with the sunset, and so Josué returned us back to our lodgings for an early night’s rest (and our first full night in a bed) by 7pm.
We left promptly the next morning after breakfast for our onward flight to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Although Ethiopian Airlines had emailed Matt and Letti last week informing them to come to the airport 4 hours prior to departure for expected delays with check-in, we were turned away by security for arriving too early…3 hours and 30 minutes before departure.
So we waited inside our van for about 45 minutes before they finally let us inside for what felt like a smooth check-in. This led us to have almost 3 hours to bum around the departures hall with a very basic lounge you can pay to get in for 30,000 XAF:
- At time of posting in N'Djamena, it was 21 °C - Humidity: 35% | Wind Speed: 11km/hr | Cloud Cover: dry heat, not too bad!