Doodle and Divs drop me off at Dulles for a United flight to Frankfurt. I watch Salt and try to get some sleep to prepare for the even longer flight from Frankfurt to Johannesburg. I wake up an hour before landing, eat United's mediocre breakfast (which, sadly, is better than the United Ramen they gave on my flight from Washington to Beijing last year-yuck) and land in Frankfurt. Having an eleven hour wait there, I wait for everyone else to get off the plane. The flight attendant says "Are you going back with us to Washington?" I tell him I have a 11 hour layover. He suggests I go into town and try the asparagus as it is in season. Getting off the plane, I enter the transit area, see the long lines at immigration and decide it's better to stay in the terminal and read and relax. Now I know how Tom Hanks felt in that movie!
Monday, July 09, 2012
Thursday, June 07, 2012
South Africa
I always wanted to go to South Africa. I first learned about it when I looked at the back of my old Indian passport and saw the big red letters stamped "Valid for travel to all countries, except the Republic of South Africa."
I was in the 11th grade at Woodrow Wilson High School when Nelson Mandela was elected first post-Apartheid President of South Africa and vividly remember that day because South African students at Wilson sang "Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika" over the PA system and it was an emotional moment for everyone.
I tried going in May 2010 but Ejafjallajokul had other plans for me. My KLM flight was cancelled as I was on my way to Dulles and rescheduling, at that time, was not an option.
I tried again in December 2011 but my Dad got sick a week before I left and I cancelled the trip. Lufthansa was kind enough to give me a flight credit.
When my birthday rolled around in March, I though, well, now or never and I used the flight credit to get a ticket to Cape Town.
I was in the 11th grade at Woodrow Wilson High School when Nelson Mandela was elected first post-Apartheid President of South Africa and vividly remember that day because South African students at Wilson sang "Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika" over the PA system and it was an emotional moment for everyone.
I tried going in May 2010 but Ejafjallajokul had other plans for me. My KLM flight was cancelled as I was on my way to Dulles and rescheduling, at that time, was not an option.
I tried again in December 2011 but my Dad got sick a week before I left and I cancelled the trip. Lufthansa was kind enough to give me a flight credit.
When my birthday rolled around in March, I though, well, now or never and I used the flight credit to get a ticket to Cape Town.
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