WEATHER: Addis 15C at 2am – London 16C at 5pm
HIGHTLIGHT OF THE DAY: Back to a western city after 4 months
BUMMER OF THE DAY: Back to a western city after 4 months
BUYS OF THE DAY: Thai dinner with Cheryl
WORD OF THE DAY: Act as if……………….
Today starts at 1.30am when I got my ride to the airport for a 4am flight. This is going to be a long day. This is one of those days, even though I am leaving super early, I still don’t get into London till 2pm, and then I still need to get from Heathrow to the hotel. So it will literally take me 12 hours to get back.
Addis Ababa is a massive airport and modern, it was lit up like a Christmas tree at 2am. They do have free trolleys, so after saying goodbye to Zeme (he wasn’t allowed into the airport) I went through a security screening to enter, where they scan your entire luggage to even be able to get in. This was the only screening I had to do right through to the gate; there were no other screening stations.
I was checking in just before the 2 hour prior and there was not one person in line, so I went straight up to the counter and the whole process was done in 5 minutes flat. My wag was a healthy 20.3kg which also included the bag of batteries that Minaloo / Gap Adventures asked us all to take to dispose of properly in our own countries as they don’t have the facilities in Addis and they are just trying to do the right thing by getting rid of the batteries responsibly. I said I would take a bag and I rekon there would have been over 50 batteries in there, so it surprised me my bag was only 20.3kg, but I wasn’t about to argue. A form is required to fill in leaving the country, and once again there were only 2 people in the customs hall, so I was processed just as quickly as check-in. After 2 weeks in Ethiopia I was unable to get a stamp for my Globetrotters Book, and as there was no-one in line behind me I asked the customs guy if he would stamp it for me, he had a quick look and was more than happy to pop in a stamp, so with a massive thanks and an even bigger smile I now had my book up to date.
As with all airports at 2am, all the shops were closed except a café and an internet café. After walking around the airport for 10 minutes I went back to the internet café and paid 3USD for 30 minutes access which is highway robbery as I was paying that for an hour at the hotel, but it is an airport after all and what else was I going to do? Just as my 30 minutes was up my flight was being called to enter the gate area and we were on our way.
The flight wasn’t that busy and 3 minutes before our scheduled departure we were taxing down the runway with Addis Ababa lights twinkling. To think I thought the city was scary when I first arrived still fresh in my mind, the amazing villages and their people, the amazing people I met and awesome memories I am taking with me I will not forget Ethiopia and her people and I know that one day I will return to this amazing country.
Once again my travel god is smiling down on me and I had the whole row to myself for the 3.5 hour flight to Cairo. We also had to wind our watches back an hour to accommodate the time difference. I have been so impressed with Egypt Air and this flight was no exception. I was on a new looking A320-200 with a 3x3 seating configuration. I have to say, now that I think about it; I have not used a single toilet on any flight I have been on since leaving home. Is that weird? 24 flights, the longest flight being my very first flight of 8 hours from Brisbane to Hong Kong. I just don’t need to go. I LOVE my bladder. So I can’t comment on the bathroom facilities on any of the aircraft I have been on. I did watch a movie on this leg, for some reason I wasn’t that tired, so I picked PS I Love You. I had seen it before but I haven’t seen it since my trip to Ireland and our day song originated from the movie, so it was pretty cool when that part of the movie came on.
So I find myself back at Cairo International Airport again for the second time and I have to say it is a pretty cool airport. There are gazillion duty free shops, a massive eatery and the best thing of all is FREE internet. I LOVE this airport. So after buying a Burger King meal for 10USD! I found a table that had floor to ceiling window over one of the departure terminals. Blog Blog Blog. I am so far behind in my blog it is definitely not funny and I need to really sit down and crank out a few days. It is not because I don’t want to, there is just so much information to process that I just keep putting it off. Git it DONE!!! So I knuckled down and got 5 days finished in the 2 hours I had there, before I thought I better start making my way to my gate. Cairo International is also a massive airport and I’m glad I started when I did as I was gate G which was the back of beyond. It is all well signed and there are guys in white uniforms everywhere to help with any questions people may have, which is a nice touch.
So right on time we take off from Cairo and once again my travel god has shone and I have spare seat next to me. There was a German guy on the aisle, but a middle seat spare to me is just as good as a business upgrade, well not quite, but without paying and asking for an upgrade it is just as good. Once again Egypt Air had a new aircraft, plenty of room, seatbelts had plenty of room, the seat arm rests are high, so no fatty thigh pushing them up all the time and the overhead lockers are massive. With a seating configuration of 3x3x3 in a B777-300 and the flight only ¾ full the 5 hours to London was an enjoyable flight. I did some diary entries into my hard copy book, read and I finally got about 2 hours sleep before landing into London and terminal 3 at 2pm.
I have lost count how many times I have gone through Heathrow and her terminals, but I have discovered that the best time of day to get through customs is in the afternoon. In the morning when they have a gazillion flights all landing at the same time, there can be up to 500-800 people in that hall, which I did on my first visit in April and it took me 2 hours to get processed and out the other side. Madness. Well being an afternoon arrival there was only our flight and an Emirates flight in, so after 30 minutes I was processed and out the other side. I was thinking of catching the train after my last transfer debarcle that took 3.5 hours to get from Heathrow to Westminster, but I just couldn’t be bothered, so I went to my trusty Hotellink transfer counter, paid my 21GBP and waited the 30 minutes before getting loaded into the van with 4 other couples. Welcome back to western civilization. I sent Paps and Em a text message that I was in town, and Em phoned while I was still on the transfer, so it was great to hear her voice and I have a dinner and drinks date tee’d up with them tomorrow night. I can’t wait!!!
I was on a bit of a time line, as I had arranged to meet Cheryl (my United Hostee) at the Hilton Edgeware at 5.30pm and with Murphy’s Law in play, I was the last one dropped off getting me to the hotel at 4.40pm. So after a quick check in and shower I found myself on the tube at 5.15pm and getting to Cheryl’s hotel directly on time. Her runs are only on Thursdays, so I had to make the most of my time with her and it was just a damn shame that my great friends David wasn’t able to make the crew this time due to vacation time. We missed you buddy. So after a great Thai meal and a girl’s gossip session, I said goodbye to Cheryl for the last time in London. Our next get together will be me visiting them both in Chicago next year. I was awesome to see you buddy; I needed to see a friendly face and have a chat xx.
While I was out I got the hotel staff to get my bags out of storage that I have had there for the last 4 months. To be honest I have forgotten half of the stuff that is in the bags and I am going to have to do a serious cull, as there is no way in hell it is all going to fit into my backpack. I will see what clothes I am able to buy tomorrow and then go through it all. I’m too tired now to even think straight after being on the move for 20 hours it was time to get some shut eye.
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