November, 2013 | Jason Around the World

Frankfurt to Dushanbe, Tajikistan on Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines

Airports, Tajikistan, Tajikistan Moscow Serbia and Montenegro, Turkey No Responses »

Nov 292013

After relaxing in the lounge in Frankfurt for a few hours, catching up on espresso and a shower, it was time to head to the next flight. Nice ride to the plane in a Porsche Cayenne-S which gave the chance to drive by this fun plane:

Got up to the plane, and the driver insisted on carrying my bags up the stairs, and stowing them in the overhead bin for me. That was definitely a first. I mean, a ride to the plane in a Porsche is way beyond expectations, but to have the driver handing your baggage as well, well, this one really went the extra mile. When I boarded, I was the only one on the plane for over 15 minutes with the flight attendants. I joked with them that I was ready to go, so could we take off already? Wait, this isn’t a private jet? Finally at departure time, the other passengers started to arrive…30 minutes later, we were finally boarded.

Lufthansa flight 1300
Frankfurt, Germany (FRA) to Istanbul, Turkey (IST)
Depart 12:45, Arrive 16:40, Flight Time 2:55
Airbus A320-200 Registration D-AIZX, Manufactured 2013, Seat 5F Continue reading »

Washington, Dulles (IAD) to Frankfurt in Lufthansa First

Airports, Flights, Germany, Tajikistan Moscow Serbia and Montenegro No Responses »

Nov 272013

Ok, so I lied. I initially intended to make one long post about the travel all the way to Tajikistan, but since I normally post trip reports so late that I forget the details I’m going to do this entry while it’s still fresh in my mind. By fresh in my mind, I mean Lufthansa’s beverage offerings haven’t completely erased my memory 😉 So, live from the Lufthansa B-Terminal First Lounge in Frankfurt…

This is mainly going to be a pictures post. If you’re not interesting in airline food and drink porn, you might want to stop reading now. So, thanks to Mohammad from Über, the trip to Dulles was completely uneventful, despite the heavy rains in Washington. Check-in at the Lufthansa First counter went smoothly, and the upgrade from business to first was confirmed. A very promising start to the trip! Tried to use pre-check, but Lufthansa doesn’t participate, so it was downstairs to security theatre with TSA. Wasn’t feeling like a nice dose of radiation today, so decided to opt out since I’ve never done it before. There appear to be two types of TSA agents: those who get their jollies when they get to do the pat-down, and those who get really uncomfortable with it. Today’s lucky TSA winner was somewhere between 100 and 200 years old, and moved slower than most snails. He changed rubber gloves three times before finding a pair he liked (OCD much?) and then the TSA tug and grope could begin. After reading the speech about what he was going to do, he started telling me his life story. I mean, come on, it’s awkward enough you’re groping me but I don’t need your life story. Just because you’re getting frisky with me doesn’t mean we’re gonna date…

Soon enough it was over, and I was on the way to the United Global First lounge. The Lufthansa Senator lounge is usually way too crowded, so I opted to go hang with United for a few glasses of Veuve. Or so I thought. It appears that the one thing I didn’t think United would dare Jeff Up (champers in the first lounge) they did. The Veuve has disappeared some time in the last month, replaced by Heidseck Monopole Blue Label. Perfectly drinkable, but another example of United doing the cheap. At least the shrimps are still there – for now.

Turkey for Thanksgiving….with a side of Tajikistan, Serbia, Montenegro, and Moscow

Austria, Germany, Montenegro, Montenegro Trip, Russia, Serbia, Serbia, Tajikistan, Tajikistan, Turkey 1 Response »

Nov 232013

Having just returned from 5 consecutive weekends on the west coast thanks to the United $10 fare sale, I was ready to be home. Seriously I was. Especially since I had 7 visas to sort for my New Years trip to Africa coming up. Work, however, had other plans for me.

No Thanksgiving this year, but rest assured I was going to have Turkey. As in the country, not the bird.

It actually started as a week-long trip to Tajikistan…and the easiest way there was through Istanbul. Then, a week in Moscow got added on. Now, mind you, last time I was in Moscow was 1988 when it was still part of the Soviet Union, and it was my 3rd country visited after Canada and the UK. I’m going to guess Moscow is a bit different 25 years later.

I’d planned on taking a few days of vacation after that, to visit 2 of my 3 remaining countries in Europe, when fate intervened I was needed in Montenegro. Score! This would also mean an overnight in Vienna. …and business would finish on Friday, allowing me a weekend connection in Serbia at no charge. That will leave poor little Andorra as my last country to visit in Europe.

I’m going to try and keep up with this in real time. Just managed to secure 10 visas in a little over 3 weeks, which is some sort of personal record, and especially impressive giving they included DR Congo, Angola, Russia, and several other places in West Africa where I’m headed in just five weeks! Then, it’s back home for a grand total of five days, before a few day Christmas with the family, and then off to West Africa for two+ weeks.

Hopefully, I’ll be able to keep up in real time. The flight routing is:

Off we go!

Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire to Washington, DC via Lufthansa and Brussels Airlines First Class

Airports, Cote d'Ivoire, Flights, West Africa 2012 No Responses »

Nov 212013

Got to the airport, check-in was nice and easy, and the line for security and passport control were non-existent. So far, this was definitely the most modern and well-kept airport I’d seen in West Africa. It was clean, good facilities, and everything seemed to, for lack of a better word, work. Wandered around for a couple of minutes, before heading to the lounge.

The lounge was a multi-airline lounge, and it looked like my Brussels Airlines flight would be sharing it with Air France tonight. The attendant brought over a small plate of finger snacks, and offered me a drink. It was warm, so I asked for a bottle of water…when she brought it, she asked for my lounge invite and marked it. Seems you only get TWO drinks, and I’d used one of mine on a bottle of water. Eventually she did say you could BUY more drinks if you wanted, but only two were included. Why can’t Brussels and Air France pay for their business class passengers have drinks? Poor image in my book.

There was one other major shortcoming for the lounge – a lack of outlets. I’d arrived early and managed to get one to charge my phone, but many others were wandering looking for them. I think there were a total of maybe 4 or 5 for the whole lounge. Having consumed my water, free glass of wine…and another glass of wine I sweet-talked my way into, I decided to wander the airport for the 45 minutes left before boarding. It grew old pretty quickly, and I decided to sit at a gate cafe and people watch. You can’t really tell well in this picture, but those are discoball-studded silver stillettos. I know that’s what I always wear to fly. Wasn’t going to post this picture, but it also shows a bit how the airport is really rather nice as well.

Another shot of the gate area:

Soon, it was time to board,which was done through a jetway. A rarity in west Africa!

Brussels Airlines flight 231
Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire (ABJ) to Brussels, Belgium (BRU)
Depart 22:50, Arrive 07:25, Flight Time 6:35
Airbus A330-300, Registration OO-SFU, Manufactured 2000, Seat 5K

On board, and welcomed with a flight of bubbly…and thanks to a friendly flight attendant a second.

Day in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire

Attractions, Cote d'Ivoire, hotels, Restaurants, West Africa 2012 5 Responses »

Nov 172013

Slept in a slight bit, but not too much thanks to what was rapidly becoming a very, very warm hotel room. 24C in the morning. Enjoyed a couple pain au chocolate for my last day in Africa, and then headed down to grab a mid-morning taxi to the centre city to walk around and explore a bit. It was a short, 10-15 minute ride, and then it was time to explore. With no plans of how to get back, this promised to be an adventure. When I’d shared plans for this trip with people I knew who’d traveled west Africa recently, Abidjan was the one place they cautioned to be a little careful. The recovery from the recent war is still somewhat fragile, and there’s a bit of tension.

I had the taxi drop me off at the Place de la Republique, where I snapped a couple of shots:

Ouagadougu, Burkina Faso to Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire and first day in Abidjan

Airports, Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Flights, hotels, Restaurants, West Africa 2012 No Responses »

Nov 152013

Got up relatively early thanks to being early to bed, and decided to explore the hotel grounds a bit more. Breakfast was included in my rate, and it turned out to be extremely good. The Laico Ouaga 2000 put on quite a good spread. Super fresh baguettes, lots of nutella, fruits, omlettes made to order and fresh-squeezed juices. I was quite impressed.

Walked around a bit, and then caught the hotel shuttle back to the airport. I can’t say enough good things about this hotel. Reviews online were pretty mixed, but the rooms were comfortable, clean, and cool, fastish WiFi, free airport shuttle, nice grounds, etc etc etc. The only negative at all was that it was a hike into downtown, but that was honestly a plus in this case. I can’t recommend this hotel enough!

So, back to the airport, and time to try and find my passport, lolz. My driver was kind enough to try and assist because “I know how things work in Ouaga” but I decided to brave it alone.

Inside the airport, and walked towards the door where you exit from immigration. There were two guards there, and I told them they have my passport inside for a visa and I need to get it. That worked, and they let me in. Walked past the immigration booths, and straight to the counter from yesterday. Told them I was there for my passport, gave them my name, and voila…got it back. Did a quick check of it, and there was no visa inside. I asked where the visa was, and they told me I didn’t need one for a one day transit. You may go. Back out the door, and into the departures hall. It couldn’t be this easy…and cheap…could it?

Over to the Air Burkina counter, and no trouble checking in. Then, it was off to official immigration to leave Burkina…with stamps in my passport, but no visa. This is where it got entertaining. “Ou est votre visa?” “J’ai pas besoin d’un visa….chu en transit.” Um, yeah, that went over about as well as a lead brick. I tried to explain. See, the lady inside the arrivals area kept my passport last night, because I had an overnight transit. She gave it back to me 10 minutes ago, and told me I didn’t need a visa. “Ok, so you leave Burkina Faso now?” “Yes.” Ok. Stamp stamp, and that was it. One hurdle down!

Then, it was security. They, surprise surprise, wanted my passport…and started hunting for a visa. Not finding one, they asked for it. Time to tell the whole story again. “Oh, American. Barack Obama!” Great, that again. “Ouais, chu Americain, mais j’ai pas besoin d’un visa pour transit.” They were a bit thrown off. I continued to explain to them. They’d never heard of someone getting in…and out past immigration…without a visa. They tried a different strategy. “Vous avez un petit cadeau pour nous?” Um, no, no gifts for you. Bags on the xray belt, and I walked through the metal detector. They all just laughed, handed my passport back, and wished me a good journey.

This stop completely validated the biggest lesson my 2013 travel has taught me. When confronted with “officials” who smell blood and want a gift or bribe, the best strategy is to stay happy, joke with them, be nice, but not give in. Almost every time they end up respecting you, and you get out of it without paying anything.

Then…it was time to find the lounge. Up the stairs, and look, there’s a sign!

Before you get too excited, however, let’s talk about the lounge.

On the positive side, bathrooms were clean. Free water and Coke Zero…but working Wifi? Hahahahah, um, no. The chairs were pretty awesome, big overstuffed leather chairs, and the AC worked nicely. It was overall, 75% of what a lounge needs to be in my opinion. Only serious downside was the total lack of functional WiFi. I waited out the last 15 minutes before boarding in the gate area, which also wasn’t too bad at this time of day. Then, it was time to board!

Air Burkina flight 515
Ouagadougu, Burkina Faso (OUA) to Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire (ABJ)
Depart 12:25, Arrive 13:55, Flight Time 1:30
Canadair CRJ-200, Registration TZ-RCA, Manufactured 2000, Seat 2A

Yup, it was the same plane that brought me into Ouaga the day before. I was curious to see if service would be any different on a slightly longer flight. Business class was only booked to three people again, so time would tell.

Shortly after takeoff, the crew sprang into action, delivering a cold meal along with choice of drinks. Champagne? Of course! Now that was quite the pleasant surprise. For a flight that was just over an hour, I was quite impressed how Air Burkina performed!

Soon, it was time to land. Parking, we exited the plane onto a bus, where I had a chance to snap a picture as we headed to the terminal.

Niamey, Niger to Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

Attractions, Burkina Faso, hotels, West Africa 2012 3 Responses »

Nov 142013

Woke up relatively early, because although things had gone smoothly until this point, I was still convinced that airports and flights in Africa could be seriously unpredictable, so wanted to get there in plenty of time. Check out at the hotel yielded a lower than expected bill – when I put my company’s name on the bill, they reduced it to the corporate rate which I hadn’t expected. Saved me over 15,000 CFA – $30+ and still a free shuttle to the airport. Can’t really beat that!

I was excited for this part of the trip. Ever since I had heard about it when I was young, I thought Ouagadougou had to be the coolest city name ever. I just hoped it would live up to the hype!

Got to the airport about 1.5 hours before the flight, and check-in wasn’t even open. There were some chairs in a covered area of the airport, and just a few minutes later they opened the check-in hall. We were the only flight leaving, and it appeared only about half full, so there would only be about 25 people checking in for the flight. Check-in was super easy, no problems, and 5 minutes later I was clearing immigration and security which were both also a complete non-event.

The waiting room for the flight was completely empty, but there was also a “VIP” room. It was nothing more than a couple of overstuffed chairs and sofas – nothing special, and I’d call it a nice quiet place to wait, but the regular hall was pretty quiet itself. I suppose it was probably a bit different when the Air France flight left, but today it was nice and quiet. A shot of the waiting hall:

An ancient Government of Niger 737 right outside on the tarmac:

Niamey, Niger – Part II

Attractions, Niger, West Africa 2012 3 Responses »

Nov 072013

Driver picked me up as promised, and we were off to see more of Niamey. First thing on my agenda was the mosque. Built around 10 years ago, it was a gift from Colonel Qadaffi of Libya when he was in his big rah rah I’m the uniter of the African people phase and was lavishing gifts around the continent. Real sorry how things ended for ya bud….

On the way to the mosque, some goats hanging out on the side of the road.

The mosque’s minaret:

We walked up to the mosque, and were met by a curator who had keys to show us around. No money expected, but there were more than enough places we could make a “small donation” to show our appreciation. So it began… Continue reading »

Niamey Niger – Part I

Attractions, Niger, West Africa 2012 No Responses »

Nov 072013

Lots of pics of my day in Niamey, so I’m going to split this day into two parts to make it a bit easier to read. Slept in a bit this morning, and definitely needed it. I felt like I’d hit the ground running when I landed in Benin several days prior and hadn’t let up until now. Plus, the room was nice and cool and dark so pretty easy to sleep.

Made my way down to the hotel breakfast, and there wasn’t much there except a few baguettes, a jar of store-brand hazelnut spread (aka imitation Nutella) and some instant coffee. It was pretty sad, but I was starving and it was only 3,000 CFA (around $6.50) so I went for it. Plus, it would allow me to wake up in the safe confines of the hotel while coming up with a plan to tackle my day.

The strategy was to find a driver who I could hire for the entire day who would take me to the sites I had read about online, as well as show me some things I might not consider. After breakfast, I headed out into the courtyard area of the hotel to hang around and see who approached me. Didn’t take long until one of the guys sitting around under the trees asked if I was looking for a taxi. First strategy “sure, how much would it cost to take me to the museum?” “Hmmm, 10,000 CFA” “That’s pretty steep – let’s say we do that and make it the whole morning, how much then?” “20,000 CFA” You see where this game was going. Finally, I asked him a price for “3 hours in the morning” then “2-3 hours in the afternoon after lunch” and finally take me to dinner, wait, and bring me back. “30,000 CFA.” I knew $65 was a fortune for a day’s work in Niger, but considering I was trusting this guy with perhaps my one and only time ever in Niger it would be worth it.

He seemed very happy with the deal, and was very anxious. He didn’t speak a word of English, but was very easy to understand in French, and I feel like even if I overpaid I got some great French and cultural lessons out of it too. Told him first thing I wanted to see was the Niger River. So off we went. The car even had AC, and he had no problem turning it on. It wasn’t very powerful, but just enough to turn unpleasant, dirty, dusty, smoggy air into mostly clean indoor air. I’ll take it!

First stop was the “Pont Neuf” or “Pont Chinois” – the “new bridge” or “Chinese Bridge.” Built by the Chinese just a few years ago, this was the second bridge in Niamey over the river. Until this, all traffic was on one narrow old bridge. Not exactly a picturesque river:

Not a bad bridge though…

The mud on the banks of the river give you an idea just now nasty and brown it was. Continue reading »

Lomé, Togo to Niamey, Niger and Hotel Terminus in Niamey

Airports, Flights, hotels, Niger, Restaurants, Togo, West Africa 2012 No Responses »

Nov 012013

My driver showed up right on time in the morning, and soon we were off to the airport. About one or two miles into the drive, the car started going slower and slower…and slower…until it completely stopped. I asked what the problem was, and the driver said he didn’t know…but it seemed pretty clear to me that this had happened to him before. He just pulled over to the side of the rode, and flagged down a passing taxi.

He loaded my bags into the new taxi, and said we would go together to the airport. I am guessing since I was paying him a good rate, he wanted to settle at a lower rate with the replacement driver, so he came along. Clearly, the new driver was pro-America:

No problems at all, and soon we were at the airport post office to mail my post cards. After I got them mailed, the original driver walked me over to the terminal so I could check in. I settled the bill, got a passport check by a security guy, x-ray of my bags, and was in the check-in area. While I was waiting to check in, there was a very loud (and apparently drunk) man yelling at the security officers. It seemed, he was claiming, that someone had planted drugs on him and security found them. Of course, they were asking him to pay a fine on the spot or turn him over to the police…

Finally got to the front of the check-in line, and they said the flight had some problems, and was not open for check-in. Please step aside for 15 minutes. ut oh…are we going to cancel? I went back up to the counter 15 minutes later, and checked in no problem. Who knows what the original drama was about.