WEATHER: Cape Town 13C - Joberg 9C - Antananarivo 25C
HIGHTLIGHT OF THE DAY: Seeing Norbert at Cape Town airport
BUMMER OF THE DAY: Saying goodbye to Dave
BUYS OF THE DAY: My bacon and egg roll at the airport for 3AUD
WORD OF THE DAY: All by myself
Beep beep beep – its 3am and time to wake up. I am glad I had pre-packed last night firstly it’s one last thing to worry about and I didn’t want to wake Dave if it could be helped. Well that went out the window when the phone rang at 3.25am to say my transfer was here. Luckily Dave was already up, he was coming down to say goodbye to me – awwww love ya Dave, now that’s dedication at 3.30am in the morning. One last hug, well two for Dave, and I then I was whisked away in my taxi with a last call out the window of TIA Mother Fucker!!! I’m gonna miss ya so much Dave, but it will only be 6 weeks till we catch up again when you come to London in October. I think I have about 50 people I am planning on catching up with in London over 3 days. Well I’ll do it so I can see everybody xx
The transfer to the airport was only 20 minutes at that time of the morning which I am grateful for as my transfer man only talked of his lesbian 19 year old daughter, oh and some rugby and how he hasn’t paid his taxes in 16 years. What are you supposed to say to any of that – uh ha, right, yes, really – just get me to the airport pronto. What I didn’t take into account is that I am on a domestic flight from Cape Town to Joberg, so I probably could have left an hour later, but my airport motto is I would rather be early than late and made it to the airport before even the check-in counter opened. The cost was 300R for the transfer which is about 43AUD. There is now a transfer bus that runs from the railway station for 9AUD (plus a taxi to get there of around 8AUD) but being that early with all my stuff I wasn’t sure if it ran that early firstly and for an extra 25AUD it was worth it for me to just do the transfer.
I had to wait an hour for the check-in counter to open at 5am, so I sat and read for that time, Cape Town Airport doesn’t offer free Wi-Fi but they do give free trolleys which is always a bonus. The queue for the check-in was starting to grow, even before it opened, so I decided to go and stand in line. There were 2 flights to Joberg leaving within 15 minutes of each other, so I decided to self-check-in first and the machine would only give me my boarding pass to Joberg and it wouldn’t do the flight to Antananarivo. So I went and stood in queue and I have to say once the counters opened it had to be the fastest check-in movement ever. I was like 30 deep and was at a counter in around 10 minutes, this people is how to check-in. AWESOME South African Airlines. My bag only weighed 21.6kg, which is great, but for my next 4 internal African flights I am entitled to 30kg, yeah that would be right, just when I don’t need it I get the extra allowance. Murphy’s Law. The reason it wouldn’t check me all the way through to Madagascar was I need a visa (which I knew) and it flags in the system for the check-in agent to check. I had called the Madagascar Consulate in Cape Town and checked about the visa and I can get it upon arrival and it is FREE! Now that is how you do visa’s people!! So I got my second boarding pass, window seats for both flights and my bag checked all the way through. Now this is the way to travel, wish it was this easy every time!!
Things just kept getting better with the security process taking less than 5 minutes I was through airside in a record time of I rekon of 20 minutes for the whole process! So with some time to kill I went to Wimpy’s and ordered a bacon and egg roll for a quick snack and to spend the last of my rand. I had just ordered when a familiar face came over and asked if I was from Australia. It took me a second to compute who the hell it was and it was Norbert from the Preskil Hotel in Mauritius who I met on a work famil over 2 years ago!!! OMG – dude, how the hell are you? So we sat and chatted for about 20 minutes when he had to go as he was on the flight 15 minutes before mine with a promise to catch up in Joberg. What are the chances of seeing some-one I know in Cape Town Airport! So cool and totally random.
My flight was one of those that you have to catch a bus to. I hate doing this sometimes, as they wait forever trying to fill the bus up with all the late comers, or they get you to the plane and then you have to wait for 3 bus loads of people, so you just never know if that spare seat next to you is vacant right until the last second as they could be on the next bus. This one wasn’t too bad, as everyone was ready when the boarding call came, so we all filed on the bus and got straight to the plane. The flight was empty based on the first bus load, but the positive thing was that the Hostees were starting to close the overhead bins, so there mustn’t be any more people coming! Yay – I have a whole row to myself! I counted heads and there were only 43 people on a plane that could hold 192 people. Well would you believe there was one more couple coming down the aisle and guess where they were seated – right next to ME! WTF – the plane is empty and they have seats allocated next to me. What kind of check-in agent does that? Seriously. Well it took the older couple a few minutes to work out after they had sat down that there were empty seats all over the plane and they moved ( der dumb dumbs) so it did all work out in the end.
As we left Cape Town at 6.15am through the fog and mist I had several thoughts running through my head and how sad I was to be leaving, but getting into a positive attitude (Jimbob would be proud) of what I adventures I have still lying in front of me. Africa will be a continent I will never forget and I have left a little of my heart here and you just never know when I may return back to this wonderful continent again. It was quite fitting after we had cleared out of the mist I got a great photo of Table Mountain with Cape Town lit up like a Christmas tree and then 10 minutes later we got a wonderful sunrise on the left side of the plane. It was that magnificent that I swapped seats and just watched the sun literally rise on my last morning. It was just magic.
The plane was super roomy, seat belt fit fine and my knees didn’t come close to the seat in front. I was in a 737-800 aircraft with a seating configuration of 3x3. The safety video is a lot like V Australia’s if you’ve seen that one. Cartoons going through the safety demo with some humor thrown in. It was pretty cool. Fly time was 1 hour and 45 minutes and we cruised at 11.9km above the clouds or 39,000ft for the old school people.
All going to schedule, we touched down in chilly 9C Joberg at 8am. My connecting flight wasn’t till 10.10am with boarding at 9.15am, so I didn’t have to rush which made a nice change. After getting the bus transfer to the terminal, whether you have to collect your bag or not you have to bypass the baggage claim and then head back into the main terminal. Joberg has a new airport and it looked very swish. The Rugby World Cup Springboks v someone had just started, so there were a lot of people milling around every available TV there was, and just about all airport staff were in the rugby jerseys. God I hope I am gone if they lose – that would be terrible. As I had a little time and I walked straight past a post office, I stopped in and bought some stamps for post cards I had written weeks ago, with 2 of them already having a Namibia stamp on them, so with re-stamping them with SA stamps I posted all six of them off. I have been a little lax on the post card department, but welcome back and I am now back on board.
Security took a little longer here in Joberg. They had 2 guys out the front checking the size and weight of the hand luggage before you could even get through to the screening. I am positive my backpack would weigh around the 10-12kg, so I slowed down till they both had nabbed someone each and then I shot through – geez I’m sneaky!!! Once through the line, the process was seamless and I was out the other side within 15 minutes. I love South African airports! Customs was also a breeze and I was airside quick as a flash. I had a few spare minutes to make a stop into the African Store to spend my last rand, which turned out to be more than my last rand and slapped the balance on to the credit card, but I got 2 more beautiful bangles and a doll each for my god-daughters.
Once again my gate was a bus transfer. Have I mentioned I am not a big fan of these? And this is why, we got the boarding call, we all step onto the bus and sat there for 15 minutes waiting for the stragglers. In the end we left as they couldn’t fit any more on anyways and we drove I rekon for 15 minutes to the back of beyond to get to our plane. While I was waiting at the gate there was a group of people that started to grow. It was clear that they didn’t know each other and they were introducing themselves, asking where they were from and general chit chat strangers do when they first meet. A lot of them had on shirts and jumpers with Operation Smile on them, so they must be doing some sort of aid flight to Madagascar. They all seemed really nice and it made a great vibe for the bus trip and the flight. As we were getting zapped through to board the bus, they were tagging peoples bags that were too big to fit in the overhead lockers, and that was my first thought that we maybe on a smaller plane and what if my backpack doesn’t fit? People chuck a hissy fit when their bags get taken from them at the aircraft door, but they ain’t going anywhere peeps and you get them again as soon as you come off the plane. Anyway, for whatever reason mine made it through, but I was paranoid that it wouldn’t fit, and as I was waiting to board the plane I made eye contact with the chick and nodded at my bag to which she replied with a thumbs up. All righty!
The plane was smaller, but it wasn’t like a dash 8 or propeller it literally was just a smaller version of a Boeing. It was an RJ85 for the plane buffs and was a 2x3 configuration with only 18 rows. My backpack fit fine in the overhead and the seat belt fit with plenty of room and leg room wasn’t too bad either. For a 3 hour flight it would do just fine. The 2 hostees on board also seemed super friendly so a BIG thumbs up for Airlink all round with a tasty meal and a free beer as well there was no way I could fault them. It was a full flight, but I think Operation Smile had taken a large chunk of the seats. My seat buddy arrived after me and after sitting down asked if I was with the group to which I replied no. I am not a plane chatter, never have been, but he was really nice, so half the flight was spent talking to him and he was with the group as the film maker, so he filled me in on a lot of the details. They are a nonprofit organization that are based all over the world, that spend 10 days screening 500 children, selecting 250 of them and then operating on them to improve their lives. Pretty amazing work, which is all volunteered and they go back every 6 months and repeat the same process again. Check out their website if you want more information at www.operationsmile.org/Cached - Similar
So with an uneventful flight we landed right on time at 2.30pm, winding our watches forward an hour. As you would imagine Antananarivo airport is quite small, so we were able to disembark from the front and rear and then just walk to the terminal. Just a few minutes before landing we were handed the landing cards that needed to be filled in so Craig and I scribbled ours in to try and beat the visa line when we arrived. Well we were pretty smart to do this, as 90% of the plane was filling in their forms when I stepped into the terminal, so I was able to go straight to the line and I rekon I was 8th in line. Taking that into account, I am not sure what kind of system they had in place, as it took about 20 minutes for me to just get to the window, where they had 3 guys doing a check on each passport. Okay I guess that is their system. One dude stamps the passport, the second dude takes one form and the last dude checks your passport details match to the form and then you are through. Whatever works for them, it’s free, so I’m not going to argue. But if you don’t high tail it to the visa line, be prepared to wait in line for a long time.
So bag collected, I was just thinking I hope my transfer is here, as I hadn’t had a chance to print off my vouchers, so I literally had no contact numbers should they not be here. Slack, I could have at least written down the company and phone number – but as I was just finishing the thought there was the beloved sign with my name on it! Thank you travel god! So this where I introduce you to Alan and he is going to be my driver / guide for the next 10 days. Nice to meet you Alan. His English is minimal, but he seems really nice, so I think we will get along just fine.
We drove the 35 minutes to get me to my hotel, passing through villages and it reminds me exactly of Rwanda, very under developed, horse and cart transport, rice fields, agriculture and feeling like I have stepped back to an age that hasn’t been affected by the 21st century. I knew they weren’t a rich country but I will enjoy getting back to basics and appreciate their love for life with what they have.
I wasn’t sure what to expect with my accommodation. I had this idea in my mind it would be similar to the upgrades that people had got on the Africa trip. Well you could imagine my surprise when we pulled up at the hotel, there was someone there to open my door, some else to take my bag, someone at reception waiting with a cold ice mint tea and then some-one to take me to my room and show me around. Ummm I wasn’t expecting 5 star. Now I know why the package was so expensive, I just thought it was because I was doing a private tour on my own, and as I look at the welcome pack Alan gave me, all meals except lunch are also included! Yip yay – what a great surprise. There was also free Wi-Fi in the rooms, free pool, sauna and gym and a spa on site! The room was awesome and a KING bed. I couldn’t touch the sides then I laid down on it!!!
I had Alan waiting for me at reception. I wanted to get a new sim card so I could let everyone know my new number and I also needed to exchange some cash. So for the ease of it, I just changed 100USD at the hotel and got 179,000 Ariary. Yes I need to learn my 1790 times tables, or for the sake of working out a rough cost, I will be dividing by 2000. 1USD = 1790ARI. Sweet. So back into the 4WD, which will be home for the next 10 days, with the help of the door getting opened for me, Alan turned the key and she was dead. Oh how embarrassing for him. How unlucky. So we tried for 10 minutes to get the car started and he gave up in the end and said would you like to walk it is only 10 minutes to the phone shop, so we did that instead, but I could tell he was mortified and promised it would be fixed by tomorrow morning! Well THAT is good news! So with another new sim in hand and 10AUD of credit I was walked back to the hotel and dropped off with a collection time of 9am tomorrow morning! Sweet, a sleep in as well. This is becoming too good to be true!
With dinner commencing at 7pm, I decided to check out the internet speed as the sunset on my first day in Madagascar. I had a balcony that over looked the city, it was a magnificent view, and I got an INCREDIBLE sunset to top off what had to be the most stream lined travel day I rekon I have had to date. The Wi-Fi was FAST. So I started to load, load and load some more albums to try and catch up to where I am currently. It is a massive job, with 14 albums done I have 17 more to go, but mark my words by the time I hit Ethiopia I will have them up to date, but no time like the present to get some up while I can. I am also 6 days behind in my blog, which is totally unacceptable, so I will also be making a concerted effort to get that updated as well in the next few days. I am so glad I make a gazillion notes during the day, so it prompts me not to forget anything. I’m not just a pretty face you know!
I headed down to dinner at 7.30pm. I have kept my computer downloading in my absence and as I got to the main restaurant, there was some-one there with a cool fruit juice waiting and walked me to my table. Now I have done this eating alone in a restaurant thing before (namely my Caribbean cruise) so I was prepared this time and I had a book in tow with me, so I don’t look like a total loser looking into space and having people feel sorry for me. Needless to say all tables had couples on them and a few group tables but I am actually okay with this, I just know what I would be thinking if I saw some-one on their own, but I just want to turn around and tell people it is all okay. The meal was a set menu, which is fine by me and entrée was a Malagasy specialty of egg and something (the menu was in French) which was delicious – main was a tuna and prawn skewer with a salsa of some sort and salad which was delicious and then dessert was a strawberry cheesecake, with real strawberries though it and that was also delicious. The presentation of the meals was 5 star and the service was exceptional. The staff remind me a little of Bali, where they are all super nice and appreciate your patronage and would do anything to keep a smile on your face. I just wasn’t expecting it, but I will take it all the same right!
So far I think I am going to like Madagascar. I’ll get the tune from the movie of the same name pumped when I hit the national park in a few days and let you know if the lemurs really do know how to ‘move it, move it’.
No comments:
Post a Comment