Gloucester Via Addis

Last sunset in Kigali for a while. Had a wonderful final evening with Harris. Went out for beer and an Indian at Khazana. Garlicy breath be damned!

 

Then it was off to the airport. My friend Emmy collected me and we sat in a stationary queue for half an hour. Kigali's got a new car scanner. As you approach the airport, you put the car on a rail, like for a car wash, then get out and walk through body scanners to the other side to collect your vehicle. It only scans one car at a time and takes forever. You need to add another hour to your arrival time just to get into the airport. Never seen anything like it.

My first flight was a three-hour stint to Addis Ababa on an extremely cramped Ethiopia airlines plane that appeared to have no air conditioning. I made the mistake of falling asleep in an aisle seat, only to be woken by the drinks trolley smashing into my knee. Not a pleasant start to the journey. They left the lights full-up the entire way and kept offering us scrambled eggs, which absolutely nobody needed at two o'clock in the morning. 

 

It was my first time in Ethiopia. Aramaic is a truly fascinating language, both to look at and listen to. As Harris said, it's hard to compare it to anything else. This was one of the gift shops. The clothes look like something from ancient Greece - very floaty and pretty - and there was a giant tourist billboard next to the shop showing the standing stones of Tiya. It gives the impression of a very old culture, even in a modern airport.

 

Like all airports, this one was pretty uncomfortable, and I had a seven-hour layover. I slept on the floor, I slept on benches, I cried into my coffee - when I could find a seat to sit down in. When I arrived, there was hardly anyone there. I slept for an hour and when I awoke the place was heaving. I was very glad to leave. 

The international flight from Addis to London was extremely comfortable. There was hardly anyone on it, so I had a whole row to myself and personalised in-flight entertainment. 

I've come to the conclusion that internal flights in Africa, and flights going East (such as Rwanda to India) are dreadful. Whereas flights from Africa to Europe tend to be really comfortable. A friend flew Nigeria to Rwanda with Rwandair recently with no in-flight entertainments at all. I had that experience on a seven-hour flight to India. The internal Ethiopia flight was hellish. Then you get luxury flying West. You wouldn't mind the discomfort so much if it was a budget flight, but flights in Africa are really expensive. 

Ethiopian Beer

Still, I made it in one piece. Utterly bizarre landing at Heathrow around 7 p.m. to hear the captain say 'Have a good night'. I looked out of the window and it was bright daylight! In Rwanda, it gets dark at 6 p.m. every night of the year, but during British summer it's light until 10 p.m. My brain is still struggling with that.

Dad and Marilyn were there to collect me. We headed home via a Harvester in Swindon, where I made Guinness my first drink and scoffed a plate of scampi and chips. Dad's garden in the centre of Gloucester is in full bloom at the moment.

   

 

 

Strawberries