Sorry for the lack of posting. Even throwing me out in the middle of the dessert can't keep my social life from interfereing with blogging. I still have not taken many pictures, and I am going to start bringing my camera around. I feel kinda weird being the random person on base taking pictures. The team is telling me we will go out into the city of Djibouti at least once, and probably to the French Beach or Lake Assul which will lead to some good pictures for sure. More on that later.
Day 2 of my trip:
I woke up early so that I could use the gym and get to the airport with plenty of time left. The hotel was attached to an underground shopping mall with a grocery store in it. I threw on my gym clothes (read: conservative and not sloppy. No shorts, no sweatpants, just yoga pants and a t-shirt. Apparently I was a bit underdressed in my t-shirt). I got to the gym, and even the gym looked nice and extravant. I will admit, this was a nice hotel, but seriously - gold decor on a treadmill? Marble gym-section-separators? Dubai people even work out with class!
After the gym, I headed to the grocery store in the mall to grab some snacks for the flight/next week. Again, everything looked extravagant. It was beautiful with intricate designs and more gold and marble. (Seriously, everything is fancy in Duabi, if I find time during my layover home I will try to get out of the airport and take pictures). I tried to find some good sustaining snacks (read: protein or granola bars), but trying to find my way through the grocery store proved to be more difficult than I could manage, and all the American snacks were very expensive, and I was trying to be conservative with my spending (I only had so many Dirhams and still needed a cab back to the airport!). So I ended up passing on the snacks. I recieved breakfast at the hotel and ended up eating in the Exec Lounge where my friend Chris from the night before invited me to eat with him and Jim. We flew in on the same flight, and they were heading to Kabul for some government work. They were nice guys, and they told me stories about some of their world travels. They had great stories about some areas they have been to, some of which I can't even post about on here, and probably shouldn't share with too many people.
After breakfast, I checked out and got a cab to the airport. Since I still had some extra time before I needed to be there, I had the cab driver take me the long way to the airport. His name was Jeffrey and he was from Afghanistan. (I think it's funny that people feel the need to Americanize their names when talking to Americans, but I'll admit it is easier than saying or spelling Alman-Amit, which is probably wrong anyway). Again, he is a nice guy, working and living in Dubai and sending all his money home to his family with an 8 month old son and a four year old daughter. We did not get to go out to the island or up to Burj Khalifa, but did get to drive into the downtown area, down the main road in Dubai (which I now forget). The buildings were very tall, and then we got into skyscraper zone. It was unbelievable how tall these buildings were, and I didn't even get very close to the tallest one on Earth! Unfortunately my time was cut short and I had to get to the airport, so I didn't get to explore Dubai the way I truly intended. I can say though, for the beauty that the city had, (and the lack of litter), you could also not see more than a few blocks away from you because of all the smog. I have never seen anything like it, but was amazed by how pollution there was.
The dubai airport was nothing like it was when I left it (I arrived a different terminal than I was departing from). The airport was clean, but my terminal airport was a hot mess of activity. People were in lines with huge (yet super cheap) TVs, and luggage that was literally a bag tied or taped up with rope and their junk in it. There were lines all over the place, and instead of asking an attendent for help, I got in one line that seemed to be moving. I waited for a half hour and then got up to the counter to be told I was in the wrong line. Of course I was. It wasn't like there was a sign up or anything. Urgh. So I went to get in the line she pointed me to. I waited another 45 minutes before getting up to the gate. When I did, I was pointed to yet another line. Instead of 20+ people, the line I was supposed to be in had about 2. Wonderful over an hour of wasted time. Needless to say I got checked in, checked my baggage, and headed through customs. I made it through the second checkpoint, and waited in line in the second checkpoint. It took me about 2 hours, which left me just enough time to power up the iPhone and respond to 1 email before boarding. Let's talk about a close call!
The flight was not much to brag about. Instead of boarding a flight, we boarded separate busses (think DC Metro interior without the chairs), and took a bus out to our plane. It was fun to walk on the tarmac to board the plane, I had never done that before! (How archeaic, or so I thought...) On the flight, there was a baby screaming the entire time (three WHOLE hours). The saving grace was that I had a whole row to myself and a Toblerone bar, so I won't complain anymore about it. Plus the baby started sounding like the ambulances in Scranton - after a short enough time, you don't even hear them anymore.
Landing in Djibouti was an experience all it's own. When we landed we exited the plane (again on a tarmac) and walked into a building that could have been no bigger than a high school gym. The doors were open, there was people crammed into this entry port, and I was asked to fill out my form to enter. And then I showed them my passport and was stamped. Clearly their national security is concerned about people entering.... And then I got my luggage on the only conveyor belt there was. Meanwhile, the sticky heat was hitting, and flies were starting to land on my arms. I could feel myself getting more and more ready to get out of the crowded airport. I stepped outside, and found about 10 very kind gentlemen trying to get my bag and take me to a cab. I had no idea what my pick up person looked like, but after refusing 10 kind cab drivers and walking in and out of the airport three times, a woman finally came up to me and introduced herself to me. We immediately headed toward the camp, seeing very little of Djibouti in between. I learned that most of Djibouti just became a dumpground for HOARDS of trash, and that traffic rules do not exist in Djibouti. It's pretty much ride wherever you want to that your wheels will stay on your car.
I got set up in my room and met my team, and pretty much that was my evening. I don't have many stories yet, and I still have yet to take any pictures, but also I am now working a lot. That being said, I do have things to update you on, including my tour, the bar, Somalian check points, my trip into Douba, and the wilderness animal refuge I went to! Those stories are coming, but now I need to get some sleep. I promise to liven up this blog a bit for you! I will update on Day 3 (and maybe Day 4 tomorrow - so far they are getting more and more exciting). Want to know what I get to do Day 5 (tomorrow - Sunday 11/6?) I will be heading into Djibouti Proper to really see life in Djibouti. Whoop whoop!
No comments:
Post a Comment