The journey did not really start as planned and the delayed flight from Lisbon to Munich ended up in me missing the connection flight to Cairo and having to stay the night in Munich. The plan b (somehow my life in the past few months has been based on plans a, B, C, Z...), was to catch the same flight the next day and arrive one day later in Khartoum.. Not planned, but not the end of the world either, I thought. Checked in a nice central hotel, I made my way through the streets of Munich hoping I could still get to know a little bit of this typically Bavarian town. If it wasn't for the freezing cold (5 degrees celsius) and my summer-type clothes (come on, I was going to Sudan, 35 degrees, of course I was wearing light clothes!) it would have been a nice walk around. I ended up red-nosed, freezing and rushing to the hotel and watching some dubious german tv shows (the more I know european television, the more I think portuguese TV is actually not that bad..). The complete tour in Munich is, therefore, postponed.
Sunday, 10th February: Back to Munich airport and heading to Cairo after a turbulent quest for a paper ticket that would check me in. Arrival in Cairo was ... how should I say..odd..All the transit passengers were put in a so-called Trasnfer Desk that was basically a small room, and asked to wait for someone who would drive us to the correct transfer's terminal. Everything would have gone alright and fast, I supose, if it wasn't for the final match of the African nation's cup: Egypt vs Cameroon. The airport litteraly stopped, there was noone at the desks, everyone with their eyes glued to a TV screen in a corner of the terminal.
Eventually a guy came to me and asked me where I was going to. 'Khartoum', I said. 'Ok', he said, ' you wait here 10 minutes...no, 20 minutes and then I will drive you to the right terminal, ok?'
of course, I quickly understood that those 20 minutes corresponded exactly to the time for the match break!
Anyway, almost 4 hours later I finally got the boarding pass and my passport back. Surreal, at minimum, but things work somehow... By the way, Egypt won the match (1-0) and is again the african champion. After the game, life in Cairo International airport went back to normality.
Flight 321 from kenya airways departed Cairo at 23:25 and landed in Khartoum at 03:05 am. Watched 'The Darleejing Limited' during the entire flight. Nice movie, by the way! A bit weird, but good...
And that' s how I finally got to Khartoum..
Sunday, 10th February: Back to Munich airport and heading to Cairo after a turbulent quest for a paper ticket that would check me in. Arrival in Cairo was ... how should I say..odd..All the transit passengers were put in a so-called Trasnfer Desk that was basically a small room, and asked to wait for someone who would drive us to the correct transfer's terminal. Everything would have gone alright and fast, I supose, if it wasn't for the final match of the African nation's cup: Egypt vs Cameroon. The airport litteraly stopped, there was noone at the desks, everyone with their eyes glued to a TV screen in a corner of the terminal.
Eventually a guy came to me and asked me where I was going to. 'Khartoum', I said. 'Ok', he said, ' you wait here 10 minutes...no, 20 minutes and then I will drive you to the right terminal, ok?'
of course, I quickly understood that those 20 minutes corresponded exactly to the time for the match break!
Anyway, almost 4 hours later I finally got the boarding pass and my passport back. Surreal, at minimum, but things work somehow... By the way, Egypt won the match (1-0) and is again the african champion. After the game, life in Cairo International airport went back to normality.
Flight 321 from kenya airways departed Cairo at 23:25 and landed in Khartoum at 03:05 am. Watched 'The Darleejing Limited' during the entire flight. Nice movie, by the way! A bit weird, but good...
And that' s how I finally got to Khartoum..
2 comentários:
Oh... Cairo aeroport!! That fantastic weird place... where they won't let you inside the terminal, just because a taxi driver asks them to :)
Boa sorte para tudo!
What's life without a plan X?
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