Saga de Aapharika

Last Tuesday, I received a call from Nairobi and in just few minutes, it was decided that I should be there during the weekend...

It was tough time getting the ticket but thanks to my travel agent that he got me ticket in time. Since Emirates flight was via Dubai, I planned to stop over Dubai on my way back. I checked on Internet and found that I will need Visa for Dubai and to get it in two days was just impossible. But Emirates' Dubai Stop Over program helped me to opt for it before flying from Ahmedabad and I got the visa before leaving Nairobi.

I was booked on Emirates' Friday early morning flight. That evening, I got a call from Dinesh in Nairobi and he asked me about my Yellow Fever vaccination. It was mandatory for any Indian nationals to have this vaccination if traveling to any African countries. I just did not know about it and when I checked about it with Dr VP, he said that vaccination is available only in Government hospitals and after injected, one has to wait for at least 12 days to get if effective... I had just few hours left for my flight and I planned to take a chance of traveling without this vaccination.

When I reached at the airport, there was a long queue at the entrance. While I was positioning myself in the queue, one of the Emirates girls noticed my Skyward tag on the bag and she pulled me out of the line. She escorted me all the way to Business class counter and hola! I got my boarding card in few minutes. Then, there was a long queue at the immigration check and again, another Emirates girl cut the queue for me and brought me straight to one of the counters. Immigration officer there happened to be familiar face and he just stamped my passport and let me go through!!! Bingo! One hurdle for vaccination was over...

When I entered the plane, I was a bit surprised to end up in a business class... IMG_0240
I first could not believe that I was upgraded to Business class as my boarding card was just ordinary economy class one... But my seat was in Business class and I think it was due to my Skyward miles, I was given a Business class seat...

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The seat was very comfortable and had such large leg space... IMG_0242
It had lots of reclining controls that it was almost like a bed when fully reclined.

Since flight to Dubai was just 3 hours, I could not use the best of this Business class travel :(

My connecting flight to Nairobi was five hours later and I loitered in Dubai airport for a while.
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This airport is rated as one of the best airports and its just like a shopping mall... Many duty free shops and international brands have their outlets in this airport.
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Many promotions were going on and lots of people shopping there... I noticed that everything there was much expensive compared to their street prices.

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While at the gate to board Nairobi flight, this little girl was so playful and naughty that it drew attention of many passengers... I liked her hairstyle and I found that it takes around half an hour to make it...

When landed at Nairobi, during immigration check, the officer did not even look at me and stamped my passport. She even did not put how many weeks I can stay in Nairobi... So, final hurdle for vaccination also got over without any problem! Friends at Nairobi were so surprised that I could make it there without Yellow Fever Vaccination...

Last year, almost same time, I was in Nairobi and had made few close friends here. People in Nairobi are very warm and kind. Nairobi resembles very much to Mumbai without Mumbai's humid weather. Each house here needs to have an electrical fence to safeguard it from any robbery. Each building has private (and armed) guards and even during day time, one can easily be robbed if not careful. I remember that in my last trip, we were driving a Corolla to downtown and at a traffic stop, a 10 years boy came and snatched away side mirror...  That's why, all glasses are itched with the vehicle number... So that next day, you go to flea market and pick up your glass by paying good money... :)

Next three days were very busy and we had to finish a lot in between. While all team members were amazingly receptive and active, our team efforts paid up and we finished all tasks beforehand.
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One afternoon, we had a chance to have few sips of African coffee at Nairobi Java House - a popular coffee outlet.

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One of the friends there is a local reseller for Dell parts and he forced me to upgrade my laptop to 4Gb RAM..

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On last day, on the way to airport, I noticed this beautiful blue sky... I wish I had my DReb with me... but iPhone camera did good job in capturing the blue...

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It was a five hours flight to Dubai and before boarding, I spent some time at Nairobi Java House in airport...
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It was less crowdy and bigger compared to the one we went earlier.

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The flight was uneventful except that I had a seat on a right wing... It was 2330HRS when I landed Dubai.

Its 30 minutes to midnight and I have to EOB here to finish my current design before calling a day.

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