I Dreamed Of Africa: Part IV

Thursday, 27 December 2018

We woke up early and finished packing. We checked out the hotel at 06:00 and walked over to Shell pump station. We had to queue at the office first to get baggage tags for our bags then having got the bag tags, we went to load our bags into the baggage container before boarding the coach. The coach left at 06:45.

We went down at border control and cleared immigration. After getting our passports stamped, we returned to the coach, not realising that it was empty (there were only a few seats on the lower deck and we didn’t know the top deck was empty. We did see an elderly couple but didn’t think much of it). Then a lady got onto the bus and asked if we were sick or elderly and we told her we didn’t know we had to walk across the border to the South African border control. She accepted our excuse and said we could get down after the bus had stopped again.

It took a while to clear immigration at the South African side. We had to collect our bags which someone had dumped and bring them to another bus. Thankfully we managed to find a couple of seats at the lower deck for ourselves. We stopped at a big rest area after an hour or so into South Africa. The bus let off some passengers at Pretoria first before continuing on to Johannesburg. We had to stop at a Shell pump station outside Johannesburg as bus had issues with starting and waited 30 minutes for the replacement bus. I sat next to a white woman who reluctantly let me sit next to her although she was invading into my personal space from the way she positioned herself. There was a white man across the aisle but he had his fancy DSLR camera on the seat next to him and he didn’t offer to pick up his camera. Welcome to South Africa where the privileged white minority control the economy, politics and country and the others are treated like second- or even third-class people.

The bus arrived at Park Station at 15:10. We went into the station building and I decided someone should stay with the bags while the other went to change money. HI went up to the money changer and returned about 20 minutes later. We then went to find information and it was a good thing we did that as we were told by the ladies at the info counter that it was dangerous for us to walk out as we would be attacked and mugged. One of them explained that it was a ‘quiet’ or low season what with people being away for holidays and we would be ideal victims for preying thugs. Whoa. I read that Jo’burg has a high crime rate but I didn’t expect it to be that.

One of the ladies then accompanied us out and led us to a waiting cab. She introduced us to the cabbie as her uncle or some kin and the elderly uncle drove us to our Airbnb on Loveday Street. The cab fare cost us a hefty USD10! Our apartment is on the eighth floor (thank God there was a lift!) and we went into the big apartment. I had opted to stay at Airbnb over hotels as the two hotels I earlier set my eyes on were located slightly further from the centre. We could see Gandhi Square from the kitchen windows. The apartment didn’t have any fan or air-conditioner so I messaged the Airbnb hosts and before long, a porter came to deliver a fan.

View from the kitchen windows

We ventured out later in the afternoon to Gandhi Square. Maybe we were still spooked by the ladies at the train info counter but we were wary throughout and before long, HI suggested we return to the apartment. We spotted Woolworth Supermarket and headed there to buy some groceries before returning to the apartment.

Gandhi Square

We had a good rest that evening.

Friday, 28 December 2018

I had fantasised going to Pretoria today but HI pointed out that she had checked we needed transportation even in the city so we ventured out after 09:00. The banks were opened today and we went to check the buses at Gandhi Square. I had searched and found a bus to the airport but we were told that no buses run during weekends. That’s strange, I thought, surely all these people would still need to use the bus during weekends?

We then went to Reef Hotel on Anderson Street just around the corner from the apartment and asked for any tours. Unfortunately, tours had left for the day. We returned to the apartment feeling dejected. After a while, we decided to brave it and went out to Johannesburg City Hall, stopping en route at Beyers Naude Square. After that we walked up a few blocks to Carlton Centre (the tallest building in Africa since 1973 and once the tallest building in the southern hemisphere) where we paid for tickets to The Top Of Africa. Now, most buildings in Jo’burg (that area at least) looked depressingly old like you just stepped back into 1970s. On one hand, it was depressing that most buildings looked that derelict but on the other hand, I marvelled at the fact that even back in 1970s, the city already had many tall buildings. We paid 30 Rand each to get to level 50 (the building has 51 floors) – the lift took us only 50 seconds! - for a panoramic bird’s eye view of the city. The other visitors were mainly white and some Latin visitors. We spent about an hour there before getting down.

City Hall

 View from Top of Africa

 You can see Gandhi Square and City Hall from here

We headed back to the apartment stopping en route at Woolworth to get some food for lunch and dinner. We decided not to change any more money so I paid for the purchases with my credit card.

We stayed in for the rest of the day.

Saturday, 29 December 2019

I woke to a foggy wet morning. We finished packing and left the apartment after breakfast at around 09:00 and went down. We asked Abram, the guard, to call Uber for us to the airport but we had problem with the apps (it asked Abram’s PayPal and Facebook, both of which we didn’t think he had and when I tried to key in my PayPal details instead, it didn’t work). Luckily a woman came by and she helped us book a ride using her Taxify app. One driver accepted our request instantly and would arrive within 3 minutes. The fare turned out to be lower on Taxify too compared to Uber and if there were two of you together, it makes more sense to take Taxify or Uber to the airport instead of the Gautrain.

Foggy morning

It took us about 25 minutes to get to OR Tambo International Airport. We immediately went to Cathay Pacific check-in counters and didn’t have to wait too long to drop off our bags and get our boarding passes. We then went in and browsed some duty-free shops to finish our Rand (we had not shopped at all on this trip except for those Woolworth trips). After that we walked to Shongololo Lounge to rest. The food provided at the lounge was good and plentiful.

We boarded the plane at 11:45 and I settled into my seat. The flight was full and as I wanted to sit nearer the front, I had to settle to sit two seats away from the aisle. It was noisy at times with Cantonese and Mandarin conversation. I sat reading Ken Follett’s Edge of Eternity. I couldn’t sleep as usual and was determined anyway to finish the book.

Sunday, 30 December 2018

We landed at Hong Kong International Airport just before 07:00 and went through the transfer process before heading to our next gate. It had been a while since I was last there (2012) and the airport seemed bigger than before. Either that or we had a long way to walk form our gate where we disembarked. We boarded the plane at 07:45 and I immediately dozed. I woke up to a quarrel among the passengers in the back row of the middle four-seat and the cabin crew trying to control them. Just because one can fly is no guarantee that one has manners or social etiquette.

We landed at KLIA at 12:30 and our bags came out very early. I travelled into the city to drop off my backpack for repair at my cobbler and only reached home after 16:00 in the hot afternoon.

So that was my end of the year trip. If I manage to go to South Africa again, I’ll be sure to visit Cape Town, insyaAllah.

I Dreamed Of Africa: Part III

Tuesday, 25 December 2018

Another early start today. As much as it had been too short a stay, we had to leave Victoria Falls as we needed to catch up with our itinerary. We checked out at 05:30 and the cabbie we rode with yesterday arrived at 05:35 and drove us to Victoria Falls Bus Terminus. It looked deceptively close on the map but we drove more than seven minutes to get there. We paid USD5 for the cab and asked the cabbie to help buy tickets for us to Bulawayo. There was only operator anyway: Extracity Bus. The cabbie bought the tickets, I don’t know how much he paid for them but we gave him USD10 each.

The 06:00 bus finally left at 06:37 and we drove through the Zimbabwean countryside. Unlike in Zambia where we passed towns after towns, the bus stopped practically anywhere. Some stops didn’t look like there was any civilisation nearby and yet there were people disembarking and embarking. Oh we did stop at a few big towns which still had commerce despite it being Christmas Day. And Zimbabwe was so green! Yes, you do see the dry ground that was thirsting for the rain but otherwise, it was green. And I must say the roads were mainly good.

I went down twice to find a washroom and was so shocked to discover a goat in one of the toilet cubicles that I changed my mind about using it. I don’t know what I would have done if it was a warthog instead of a goat! The next stop had me running down the bus again and, again, there were no doors on the cubicles, just like some toilets in China. I went to the furthest cubicle and prayed hard that no one would peek in. Well, needs must.

We finally arrived at Bulawayo bus station at 13:40, well, it wasn’t a bus station at all but where some buses stopped (it would probably qualify more as a bus stop, except that there was no bus stop sign). We quickly changed buses and boarded J. H. Zikhale Motorways bus for Francistown. We paid USD10/person again and the conductor told us the bus was going all the way to Gaborone which was our destination and we could travel with the bus all the way and pay an extra USD10. Nevertheless, we decided to stick to our original plan of taking the night train from Francistown to Gaborone as we could sleep on the train. It was then when we realised that ‘African time’ applies over there: a 06:30 bus will not leave on time, a 06:00 bus will depart later and so on. The bus finally left and it started raining pretty heavily shortly after we left Bulawayo. We reached the Plumtree border control an hour later and the earlier rain made the temperature somewhat milder and more tolerable. We had to offload our bags and leave them by the road. It was here where we chatted with a couple of young Zambian men who told us they were going camping. Between the two of them, they had one gigantic suitcase with a broken handle and one large duffel bag.

After clearing border control, we reloaded our bags and boarded the bus again and got down a few minutes later at Ramokgwebana Border Post. Again, we had to take down our bags and set them aside. After clearing passport control, we collected our bags and walked through the custom. A beautiful Botswanan lady approached us and welcomed us. It turned out that she was a custom officer (she wasn’t dressed in uniform though) and asked us to dip our shoes into a small container of water to get remove any insects that may have clung to our shoe soles. I’m not sure how effective this was but kept it to myself. Next we had to open our bags for manual inspection before we were let through. Then we had to walk about 100 metres to the bus.

We reached Francistown after 17:00. The bus stopped at a car dealership which was next to a pump station and we got down. After taking our bags, we asked for directions to the train station. A guard at the car dealership discouraged us from taking the train. He said we had to be careful as we could be robbed on our way to the station. Whoa, I thought Botswana was the safest countries of the four that we were visiting. I left HI to talk to him and hurried to the washroom.

We finally decided to continue with the bus to Gaborone but we now had to pay BWP120/person for our ticket which was more than USD10. So I paid in USD and received Pula in return. We settled in and tried to rest. It was a good thing the bus was not full as we got to stretch out in the seats. But the driver put on very loud music throughout like it was a moving karaoke bus and it was miraculous if anyone could sleep at all.

We finally reached Gaborone at midnight. I was surprised that we actually reached it on time considering the African time that the driver observed.

Wednesday, 26 December 2018

I only booked hotel for one night in Gaborone and as we were pondering what to do and where to go, the driver told us we could stay and sleep in the bus. We decided this would be safer – being in the bus instead of out and about at midnight in a foreign African city – so after consulting the two Zambian boys, we gratefully accepted the driver’s offer. If the Zambian boys had decided to leave, we might have left too. Safety in numbers and all that. I had read that Gaborone is a very safe city but still, I wasn’t about to go wandering at midnight when I had just arrived. I moved seats to a three-seater and stretched out. There was a window open to let the air in – and after a short while, the mosquitoes too. I covered my face with my shawl and tried to sleep. I must have managed somehow despite the situation and the noisy buzz of mosquitoes.

When I woke up, it was already light and consulting my watch, I determined it was just after 05:00. I slowly sat up and checked that the others were already awake. We stayed in the bus for a little while before going down. One of the bus staff came and we asked him to open the luggage compartment for us to get our bags and after getting our bags, we parted ways with the Zambian boys. A cab arrived disgorging passengers and we took it to Cresta President Hotel. We arrived at the hotel just after 06:00 and after paying the cabbie 30 Pula, we went in to the check-in counter. To our surprise and delight, we were allowed to check in that early (woohoo!) and we went up to our room gratefully.

We rested for a while and having showered and freshened up, went out to the Main Mall behind the hotel. We headed first to the Shell station on the other side of Main Mall. This is where we were to wait for the bus to our next and final destination the following morning. After having determined the stop, we went to find a tour operator but alas, all offices were closed. We walked up and down Main Mall (it was really just two long parallel blocks of buildings sandwiching a public rectangle) until we reached Nando’s where HI declared she wanted to sit down and have breakfast. Oh, the restaurants around Main Mall serve halal food (except for the pizzeria) and by halal food, I mean halal chicken. Nando’s had opened but it would only operate at 10:00 so I wandered off alone. It was about 09:30 then and already felt like noon! It was so hot, hot, hot and bright. I walked along Pula Circle then came to the National Museum and Art Gallery (alas, also closed although when I read the info board, it was only supposed to close during Easter, Ascension Day and Christmas Day. I took some pictures before returning to Nando’s.

 At the Main Mall. The locals call Gaborone by its short name ‘Gabs’

Outside the National Museum and Art Gallery

After that, we went back to the hotel and asked the lady at reception if she could help contact some places where we could visit. We were told that the Gaborone Game Reserve was fully booked for the day. The Lion Park contains a theme park, water park and animal park so we decided it was not a priority and the lady promised to help us contact Mokolodi Nature Reserve and let us know. I decided to check out the supermarkets and shops again and went out alone. I bought some vegetarian pasta from a supermarket before returning to the room.

The lady at the reception rang our room phone and told us that we could visit Mokolodi Nature Reserve and the available slot was at 14:00. We would need to take a cab there and the hotel arranged for a cab and driver who would wait for us until we finished. It cost almost USD100 for both of us, the bulk being the cab and driver’s time.

We rested before leaving the hotel at 13:00. The cabbie came shortly after and led us to the vehicle and we drove the 20 km or so to Mokolodi. The cabbie told us that the rich people stayed on the way to the reserve and pointed out some sprawling properties. We arrived just before 13:30 and went to pay 150 Pula each for our 14:00 game drive tour. I didn’t know it could get hotter but it did.

The jeep came and we boarded it. We were the only ones on the 14:00 game drive tour and it took us close to two hours. We saw a lot of animals: female kudu, a small impala, a scrub hare hopping away, warthogs, giraffes either resting or eating, groups of zebras, more giraffes, a glimpse of ostriches, Oryx and impala and waterbucks. We were at first told not to expect too much as it was the hottest part of the day and the animals would normally be resting then but Alhamdulillah, we managed to view some so we left feeling very satisfied.

Lake Gwithian (man-made)

We asked the driver to show us one of the mosques in Gaborone and he obligingly took us to Masjid Un Noor but a man came out and asked what we were doing there and did not allow us to take pictures. The cabbie still slowed down outside the mosque compound to enable us to take pictures, bless him. We reached the hotel at 16:30.

We ventured out again at 18:30, thankfully it was no longer as hot and bright then, and walked to Caravela Portuguese Restaurant. To our disappointment, we found that it was closed until 14 January 2019). We turned back and stopped by Brackendene Lodge (we read that it served halal food) and asked at the restaurant. The cook opened her fridge and freezer and informed us she could only offer us fish and chips. We were leaving when the husband-wife owners arrived. The wife saw us and called out Salam to us so we turned back and chatted with them. They were South Africans from Cape Town but live in Gaborone. Then they called their daughter Nihahl and next thing we knew, we found ourselves invited to dinner. We reluctantly accepted and followed them in their MPV to Caffe Fego. They sent us back to the hotel and we reached the hotel at 21:30.

 Brackendene Lodge. The owners and their daughter

Caffe Fego

It had been a long day albeit more relaxing than it had been the preceding few days and we had an early morning bus the following day so we retired not long after.

To be continued

I Dreamed Of Africa: Part II

Sunday, 23 December 2018

I woke up at least twice to use the washroom and finally got up to perform ablutions and morning prayers. The prayer room was very small and we had to queue or contend with performing prayers in cramped space. After prayers, we decided to stretch our legs and walk slowly to our gate. And it was a good thing too as we had to take a train to our gate. DXB is huge alright. The Airbnb host in Lusaka had also responded and agreed to have their sister meet us at the airport and bring us to their apartment. We also agreed on the amount to be paid for the apartment and transfer. Alhamdulillah, at least our accommodation in Lusaka was sorted.

We boarded at 08:30. I was unfortunate to be sitting in the middle seat next to a big girl and I prayed my bladder would hold. I was confused throughout the flight when I saw the duration to destination as it was shorter than I expected. When we landed in Lusaka (yes, Lusaka, not Harare), I got up and found HI already waiting for me a few rows ahead. It turned out that the Emirates flight bound for Harare stops at Lusaka en route to Harare. We asked a man in uniform if we could get down instead of flying to Harare and catching another flight back to Lusaka and if we could get our bags out. He said yes so we went down, went through passport control and then on to wait for our bags. HI was unhappy with Emirates for not informing us the plane would stop at Lusaka en route; had we known, we would have arranged to disembark there and not purchase the one-way ticket for extra cost.

My bags didn’t appear after some time although HI’s bag had emerged so I went to the baggage desk to inform. The lady at the counter examined our boarding passes and consulted a colleague who was an Emirates staff. This other colleague then made some phone calls before telling us we should not have disembarked. She said we should have stayed on the plane and flown to Harare and then fly back to Lusaka. She further informed that by disembarking, we posed security risks (say what?!) and that she would bring us to the airport police station and we were to wait there until the plane safely arrived in Lusaka. What the -? By this point, we decided we would just do anything as long as we were thrown into a prison cell. She went to make copies of our boarding passes before coming back to escort us to the police station.

Lusaka Airport

The police station was a gloomy place and the police looked surprised to see us. The Emirates staff who accompanied us explained the situation and the way the policewoman responded indicated she didn’t understand why we had to be there and why the police had to keep an eye on us. Her colleague told us to make ourselves comfortable but the seats looked anything but. Then the Emirates staff received a call on her mobile phone and when she ended the call, told us we had to re-board the plane and for us to hurry. So we hurried after her with our bags, quickly dropped our checked in bags at the check-in counter, underwent security checks (two of them) and rushed to the tarmac. We had to walk up to the plane and I could see the unfriendly unhappy faces of the cabin crew waiting for us. One man asked why we disembarked so we told him that we had checked with a staff and were told we could do so. Did he really think we would be so stupid or so arrogant as to just walk off the plane like that without consulting if we could so first? Duh!

We settled into the first available seats we could find and buckled up. The plane took off and we reached Harare about 40 minutes later. There was confusion when we arrived as we searched for the transfer gate. We asked a few officers and were told to wait aside so we did. And we waited and waited. Finally I asked a passing gentleman and he looked surprised. He said the plane bound for Lusaka was from Lusaka (yes, didn’t we know all about that) and wondered aloud why we came all the way to Harare and had to return back on the same plane (albeit on a different flight number) back to Lusaka. Yes, it does sound strange but try telling Emirates that.

We landed back at Lusaka at 20:20. Deena, the sister to the Airbnb hosts, was already waiting for us. She drove to Airbnb apartment and showed us around. We paid her USD35 for the pick-up service and USD35 for the apartment. It had been a long challenging day and I was not happy to discover my clothes were all wet when I opened my suitcase. It turned out that a water bottle broke in suitcase and I had to remove all the clothes and dry them. By this time, too many things had happened and I just took my clothes out listlessly and spread them around the bed and on the sofa in the living room. After a quick shower, I settled in bed and tried to sleep.

Monday, 24 December 2018

I had a restless sleep and woke up twice. I went to check on my clothes and turned them. They were drying at least. I finally got up at 04:10 and went to re-pack my clothes back into my suitcase. Then I woke HI and we got ready.

After a quick breakfast, we were ready to leave. I brought my bags down (the apartment would have to be at the top floor of course and there was no lift) and asked the guard if the cab had arrived (Deena had asked him the previous evening to help all a cab for us at 05:30). One finally came (it didn’t look like a cab at all) and I was surprised to find two passengers already in the car. We had to load the bags with us into the back seats (at least the foot area was wide enough to accommodate the bags) and drove to the inter-city bus station.

From the map, the inter-city bus station is only a fifteen-minute walk away but because of the one-way roads from the apartment, it seemed further. There was a swarm of people around the cab asking our destination and the cabbie helped us find a bus to Livingstone. I had to change USD25 as the ticket office didn’t accept USD. The bus ticket to Livingstone cost us 200 kwacha each and although we were told it would leave at 06:30, the bus only moved at 07:10. There was a bottleneck leading out of the bus station and there was a preacher chanting prayers loudly in the bus. We stopped at Muzugawa to use the facilities (surprisingly clean). We also passed the towns of Monze, Choma (where we had a 10-minute stop), Zimba before we finally arrived at Livingstone at 15:00. From the bus station, we took a cab to the border for USD10 each although I paid him 70 kwacha and USD5. We then went through passport control and the cabbie drove us across the bridge. Sadly, we couldn’t see any of the Falls or indeed any water at all. It was a hot day and the summer rains hadn’t arrived. We cleared passport control on the Zimbabwean side then took another cab to N1 Hotel for USD10.

 Lusaka inter-city bus terminal

Choma town. The sellers rushed to the bus as it was approaching. Passengers can buy produce from their window

We checked in and rested for a while before venturing out. Unfortunately, we were unlucky not to be able to view or even get near the Victoria Falls. The Lookout Café had burnt down the same morning so we couldn’t even go near the café (area had been cordoned off) and have a view of the Falls. What bad luck.

There was a KFC restaurant next to a pump station near our hotel and it served halal chicken. However, the prices were much higher than in Malaysia. We returned back to the hotel and had some soup and bread. There was a strong wind that evening which then led to a blackout all over town. It had been a long day of travelling and as there wasn’t much we could do anyway due to the power outage, we had an early night. Besides, we had an early start the next morning.

To be continued

I Dreamed Of Africa: Part I

This plan was conceived in October 2018 when my senior back at uni, HI, contacted me to ask if I had year-end travel plans as she wanted to join me. I was still mulling my options and after a lengthy discussion and contacting some travel agents, we decided in favour of Africa over another country. Believe it or not, our return air fare and indeed the total cost of our trip was less than visiting this other country! I drew up the itinerary and after firming it up, set about with searching for accommodation – those within walking distance of inter-city bus stations. Air tickets were bought only on 1 December after we agreed to depart on Thursday, 20 December, instead of Friday, 21 December.

Thursday, 20 December 2018

Dongzhi Déjà vu

I left for KLIA late from KL Sentral as I left my watch in the office and my mate returned to fetch and send it to me. HI was already waiting in the regional airline lounge so I had some late supper. We then received text messages saying the gate for our flight to SIN from where we were supposed to catch the connecting flight to Harare had been changed (twice) and were not amused to find that our flight had been retimed. We calculated and determined we were going to cut it real close when we arrived in SIN to go to the transfer desk and get our boarding passes for the connecting flights (for some reason, we could not get our Ethiopian Airlines boarding passes at KLIA). I remarked to HI that this was eerily similar to my delayed flight to Iran on 21 December 2016.

Friday, 21 December 2018

The Best-Laid Plans of Mice and Men...

The flight was finally ready for boarding way after the rescheduled ETD. When we got to the top of the queue, the system could not read our tickets and instead displayed ‘not allowed to board’. It turned out that there were 18 passengers (only two of us Malaysians, the rest were African) could not board because Ethiopian Airlines refused to wait for us. We had to wait for our bags to be offloaded and we couldn’t rearrange an alternative flight (it was way past 02:00 then) as the Amadeus system was down. Where normally I might have flown off the handle (pun intended), I took my cue from HI who remained calm and tried to negotiate for an alternative with the MAB staff. Finally we were told that we would be given a room at Sama Sama Hotel at the airport and we could go to the ticketing counter early the following morning to sort out our travel plans, and then get our bags at Baggage Services. So we wearily made our way to the hotel and checked in. As I didn’t have any change of clothes, I wrapped myself in the hotel towel and went to sleep.

I woke up a mere three hours later and had a shower before performing prayers. We then made our way to the Ticketing Counter (next to the Transfer Counter) and stood there for almost two hours. The earliest we could fly out was initially just after midnight on Sunday, 23 December, before the connecting flight (EK713) to Harare but we subsequently managed to change our flight to Saturday evening, flying Emirates. A long layover at Dubai awaited us as we still needed to catch the same EK713 to Harare but we thought at least we’d be half-way on our way instead of still being stuck in KL. We also managed to change hotels to Putrajaya Marriott Hotel. For some reason, it is not usual to put Malaysians who are experience delayed flights at Hotel Sama Sama.

We returned to the hotel for breakfast before checking out. After breakfast, we headed to Baggage Services at level 3 which is near the bag carousels. We were there for more than an hour but the staff couldn’t locate our bags. We filed our respective reports and were told to call the Baggage Services not later than 22:00 to find out the status. I was starting by then to wonder if our trip was not to be. Still, we decided to make the best out of everything and decided to go to Marriott and rest.

We went down to level 1 and a lady approached me asking if we were the two stranded passengers. We had to wait while she located the company who would be transporting us to Putrajaya Marriott. The driver showed up about ten minutes later and it took us 30 minutes to reach the hotel. We checked in and asked for adjoining rooms, put our meagre belongings in our rooms then went down again for lunch. I must say that all that waiting and queuing really gave us a good appetite. After lunch, we headed back to our rooms to work out an alternative plan to our trip which had now been set back by more than two days. HI found that there was an Emirates flight from Harare to Lusaka so we decided we would check at the airport on Saturday if we could check our bags through to Lusaka. We also tried calling Baggage Services but the two numbers we had were either engaged or went unanswered. I then contacted my sister and updated her of what had happened, where I was and if she could come to visit and bring change of clothes. She said she would come later in the day so I went to rest. I wanted to sleep as I was knackered but my worry about our trip kept me awake. I also decided to cancel the hotel and Airbnb reservations in Harare and Lusaka respectively. The booking in Livingstone was non-refundable though.

My sister and family came at 18:30 and we walked around the hotel before going to my room where I realised I had a missed call from Baggage Services and Alhamdulillah, they managed to locate our bags (they had gone to Singapore!) and we would collect them when we returned to the airport the following afternoon. My sister and family left after an hour and HI and I went to have dinner.

We returned to our rooms and I laundered my clothes. I was too exhausted and was in bed by 23:00.

Saturday, 22 December 2018

After breakfast, I announced that I wanted to venture to the nearby IOI City Mall and HI decided to come along. We missed the hotel shuttle so after arranging for the return trip, we walked to the mall. It was just another unremarkable mall and I left empty-handed. We came back to the hotel and rested before going for lunch at 12:45. I never thought I’d say this but I had got quite bored with hotel buffets by then.

After prayers, we checked out. We had arranged with the front desk for a 15:00 transport service back to the airport. At the airport, we headed to level 2 and obtained a security pass. We had to pay RM2 each for the pass. We then went to the third floor and followed a corridor marked for staff which let out to the baggage area. We had to undergo a security check before we were allowed through. It was a brief wait at Baggage Services before we were reunited with our checked in bags then we joined the arriving passengers to exit the baggage area. Down we went back to level 2 to return the passes before heading up to departure level. We then queued at the Emirates ticketing counter to enquire if we could check our bags through to Lusaka before purchasing our one-way tickets from Harare to Lusaka. This took a while and we were glad we left the hotel early.

After checking in our bags, we went through security check and headed for the Golden Lounge. I had a quick shower before having my meal. The Caesar salad was delicious and the wan ton soup noodles were just what I needed. I also sent a quick WhatsApp message to our Airbnb host in Lusaka telling them that we were coming after all and if we could stay at their place without booking via Airbnb all over again. We finished our meal then hurried to the gate for our 19:10 flight. At last!

The flight took off later than scheduled but hey, we were finally on our way. I decided to perform prayers en route instead of waiting until we arrive so went to perform ablutions.

We landed in Dubai at 22:45 local time and had to take a bus to the terminal building. We couldn’t access the Oneworld airport lounge as it was in Terminal 1 and we could not exit Terminal 3 but we managed to find reclining seats in an area that wasn’t too bright. We then settled in and tried to sleep.

To be continued

The Land Of Sun, Sea And Sand

Like I said earlier, I had been planning to visit Algeria for some time now. I went to Morocco in 2010 with Lin, to Tunisia alone in 2011 (shortly after the Arab Spring started) and was supposed to go to Algeria in 2012. I had contacted Algerian couchsurfers enquiring about the country back then. I didn’t know much about the country’s history or that it had some fairly recent violent history but I knew it had some Roman ruins and surely a country neighbouring both Morocco and Tunisia is beautiful too.

I do understand that not everyone understood or appreciated why I wanted to go to Algeria. It’s not on most people’s travel bucket list, it’s hardly ever featured in any travel documentary if at all and little is known about the country. Unlike countries in the Balkans or Baltic which are only now receiving visitors like Kosovo or Albania and Latvia or Lithuania, Algeria still remains well below the radar. And while I remember the horrors of the 1990s Balkan war, I don’t think I was aware of the Algerian civil war in the same decade. Even CT told me that when she informed her mum that she was going to Algeria, her mum didn’t really react. Like most people, she was probably unaware of Algeria or mistook it for Nigeria (yes, believe it or not!).

A colleague told me that he also wondered why I chose to go to Algeria. Why didn’t I do instead to other well-known and well-visited countries? I looked at him and said well, because I’d either been there or considered going somewhere altogether new. You ask me why Algeria and I ask you back why not? Why not get out of my comfort zone and explore a new country and culture? Why limit myself to only those countries that most people are familiar with?

Algeria taught me a few lessons. It reaffirmed my self-belief and my confidence in my ability that if I want to make something happen, I would make it happen no matter what other people said. For instance, Nadjib and Imen told me that my plan was too ambitious, that I did not know the lay of the land, that I would struggle in a foreign land, I would be too jetlagged to be rushing here and there, that my itinerary was too packed, I should be realistic. I didn’t ignore their opinion but I had a Plan B which was to drop off one destination. Sure I didn’t know the country, the way things work, I can’t speak the local languages but I know that the public transportation would be reliable and it would have to be because that’s what the common people rely heavily on. I had great faith that Allah would help me and He did, Syukur Alhamdulillah. Nadjib and Faisal discouraged us from visiting Djémila but we were determined and what do you know, it turned out to be a beautiful experience just like the name. No, we have no regrets at all and are so glad we went despite the discouragement.

As with life, what this trip taught me is that you can do and achieve something if you set your mind to it, if you’re determined enough and are willing to put effort into realising it. Don’t let others discourage you. Don’t discount their opinion and advice but don’t let them stop you from chasing your dreams either. Be prepared to give up something: I wanted to cover as many places as I could and was willing to sleep on overnight buses (Algeria is the largest country in Africa and if we travel during the day, we would spend most of the day on buses. We didn’t have the luxury of time and there’s no point sitting in buses during the day when we could be out exploring instead. Luckily CT shared the same sentiment and had no problem roughing it up too). It turned out that it was possible to cover what we wanted in the amount of time we had, Alhamdulillah. The trip also reminded me of humility, gratitude and appreciation. There are still a lot of people who would welcome total strangers into their home and lives without prejudice. Honestly, I don’t know if I can do the same but I vow to continue to help as many visitors as I possibly can.

Algeria is a beautiful country with a rich past. From Wikipedia, Ancient Algeria has known many empires and dynasties, including ancient Numidians, Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans, Vandals, Byzantines, Umayyads, Abbasids, Idrisid, Aghlabid, Rustamid, Fatimids, Zird, Hammadids, Almoravids, Almohads, Spaniards, Ottomans and the French (thanks, Wikipedia!) so yes, it has a rich history and the people are exotic. Sure, it’s a country that’s not often visited but it is waiting for us to discover it.

The Land Of Sun, Sea And Sand: Part IV

Thursday, 1 February 2018

The bus driver drove as if the devil was after him and we arrived at Gare Routiere du Caroubier at 03:40 (we’d expected to arrive at 05:00). We debated what to do and agreed we’d go to my friend’s house instead of waiting until 05:00 or 06:00. There were no vacant seats for us to while away the time (and Algerian men smoke everywhere even though there are signs prohibiting smoking in the bus terminal) and I reasoned if we arrived early, we could rest before beginning the day. We went to find a cab and had to bargain the fare down. Finally, we got a cab that charged us 500 dinar. Fouzia had written down her location in French and I showed it to the cabbie.

Well, when we reached her area, we couldn’t find her house. I had tried calling Fouzia a few times at the bus station but couldn’t get through. It was strange because I could send her text messages and receive her replies but not call her. I asked the cabbie to call Fouzia for us, showing him the number but he refused. So we went around and around, up one street and out the other, glancing everywhere. We spent about 20 minutes driving around before we asked the cabbie to drop us at Hotel Capuccines which is a landmark if I understood Fouzia’s location in French. Unfortunately, the hotel compound was closed so we couldn’t enter the compound and head for the lobby.

As luck would have it, a police car cruised by. They definitely saw us because they turned around and came to ask. The officer behind the wheel spoke some English and we explained to him. I then asked if he could call Fouzia and he asked, ‘On my phone?’ I said yes and explained I couldn’t seem to make any phone calls. A conversation in French ensued and after a couple of minutes, the officer ended the conversation and told us to get into the car. We squeezed in and I asked CT if we were going to be in a lock-up.

The station was near enough and we were dropped off. Another policeman was in the station and could speak English too. He chatted with us and was overall very friendly. We waited for about 20 minutes before Fouzia arrived to fetch us. It turned out that we had been near to her apartment. Oh well...

We had a light early breakfast and after performing Suboh prayers, CT and I had a nap. We woke up two hours later and had a shower then waited for Fouzia to wake up. I entertained myself by playing with her cat, Minu. Finally, I went to knock on Fouzia’s room.

We had another breakfast then Imen came over. She would bring us out to lunch today and show us a bit of Algiers. We left after prayers and Imen drove us to Pizza Pino at Sidi Fredj where we had salad and pizza overlooking the Mediterranean. Sidi Fredj is where the French first landed in Algeria. After lunch, Imen drove us back to Algiers and up and down the hills of Algiers, to downtown to the Notre Dame d’Afrique overlooking the Bay of Algiers, to the Maqam Echahid. Algiers has a lot of beautiful white colonial buildings which lend to the city’s nickname Alger la Blanche (Algiers the White) and I was kept busy snapping one photo after another. The hilly terrain and traffic all gave poor CT motion sickness though.

Imen then dropped us at a clinic in Hydra, a posh neighbourhood, where Fouzia was undergoing some skin treatment. We had a short wait and then Fouzia drove us to find shops where we could buy some souvenirs home. Alas, the souvenir shop was closed but we managed to get some dates, nuts and nougat at a specialty shop. We had to get our shopping done as everything is closed on Fridays. We then went for an Algerian dinner and then some gelato before heading back. Fouzia then got a text message from the guide whom she had engaged to bring us to the Casbah; he had to cancel the tour the following morning as it was forecast to rain ;’(

Friday, 2 February 2018

I woke up to shower and perform prayers. The house was quiet and CT and I dozed off again before getting up to finish packing. We had a late breakfast and stayed in as Fouzia said she had a headache. I so badly wanted to go to the Casbah but had been advised it isn’t safe to go on our own. What a shame when we had managed everything else we planned despite misgivings by even our Algerian friends. Instead, we stayed in the whole morning. It did rain but more like a drizzle than a downpour. Sigh...

We performed prayers and then had organic cous cous lunch before leaving for the airport. It didn’t take long to reach the airport as it was Friday.

We went to browse the shops (unlike in downtown, shops at the airport operate on Fridays) before dropping off our bags and collecting our boarding passes. Then we went through immigration. This was a slow process so we were glad we were there when we were because when we turned, there were suddenly a lot of people behind us. We couldn’t sell off our Algerian dinar so we ended up buying some souvenirs. I bought some fridge magnets of the Casbah in Algiers. Small consolation ;’(

We boarded the plane and I spent the whole journey reading. I also performed prayers and it was a good thing too as there was heavy air traffic and our plane had to hover over Istanbul before we could land about 25 minutes later than scheduled. I was too sleepy and only managed to browse a few shops (prices are quoted in € and some looked to be much lower than in KLIA).

Saturday, 3 February 2018

Our flight back to KL was also delayed by 30 minutes and we had to board a bus to get to the airplane. I managed to fall asleep while waiting for take-off and CT later told me that even take-off was delayed by an hour. We landed just after 18:00 and I only got my bag almost an hour later.

So that was my trip to Algeria and Alhamdulillah, we did it! Well, except for Casbah of course...