The Journey

2011 was quite a journey. Although I had some great adventures, I am not going to review the past year, but  rather look forward to the road ahead.I went for a long run/walk in the forest by my house today. The sun was shining and the Vervet monkeys and dik-diks were abound  - it was a great way to start 2012.

But..talking of journeys, they are sometimes my favourite part of a holiday; anticipating the unknown or excited for the familiar. It was like that when I was little. I used to love the bus ride from the village primary school to the swimming pool for lessons, which is half an hour away. Arriving always seemed a bit disappointing.

The idea of journeys reminded me of a conversation I recently had with someone over a beer before the holiday exodus from Nairobi. He was telling me about the new KLM booking feature (have you heard about it?) that lets you use its Facebook page to pick who you want to sit next to on the plane. It is basically like a matchmaker service, you decide who you fancy and choose to sit next to them. Not quite sure if the other passenger has any say in the matter!?? My friends and I were then discussing the subsequent scenarios that this may cause.

This booking feature is not (yet!hhhaaaa) available on Ethiopian Airlines (hello- in flight entertainment would be nice!). So, when I checked in for my recent flight from Nairobi to Addis and was declined an upgrade (How dare they?Don't they know who I am!?), I then requested not to be sat near any children...harsh, but I am on holiday you know! I did however, forget to say, "Or next to any morbidly obese people that read broadsheet newspapers"....just my luck!

This time the journey was just about the arrival...

...then the real adventure began!

PS- Another bizarre moment on the plane, was when I realised that the music on the plane tannoy system was 'Do They Know It's Christmas' by Band Aid...on repeat (quietly, but still-repeat all the same!)...to Ethiopia...!

The funny thing about flying

Everyone has a  story about air travel; funny, frustrating, frightening or even sad. Sitting next to hooded falcons in first class, the fundamental Christian that stands up to bless everyone and the one I heard yesterday, from my friend Ali, about being charged the add-ons for the low budget airline; the bag, the meal, the seat! Hilarious!

funny image of Gibraltar airport

As you know, I had trouble with expedia recently. Long story short (deep breath)... my flight got cancelled and they put me on a new flight that would get me to Cape Town two days after I was supposed to have run the Two Oceans..helpful!

Then...yeahhh...my dad steps in to save the day (much hand clapping!!!!) "Of course!!... Brilliant idea !! ...Why didn't I think of that before!!"

So, it looks like everything will be OK after all! Phew. I may even just have to go business class as nothing else is available.

I told this to my friend and she laughed and reminded me of my last experience in business class:

I was flying from Entebbe to Kuwait via Addis Abba. The 'maid-mobile' was pretty packed and I was sticking out like a sore thumb. Anyhow, I got upgraded. "Nice!" I thought! I looked forward to choosing my wine off the list and selecting my cheese from the trolley. Hmm not quite.
My friend asked what it was like on this particular airline and I told her that I watched ' the map' for the 6 hour flight. She thought this was a new movie. Nope,  for  the 6 hour flight, I had the route of the plane to watch!! Hahah...business class (!)...thank goodness for the free cava.

I'll let you know how it fares this time round!

I'll be taking my running gear as carry-on...just in case!