8 Places People Who Are Right in the Head do NOT Spend New Years
Jan 7, 2012, 10:23 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: anywhere and everywhere
Programs: UA GS, AS MVP 100K, DL Diamond, Marriot Lifetime Titanium, AmEx Centurion
Posts: 5,555
8 Places People Who Are Right in the Head do NOT Spend New Years
...but then again, I'm not right in the head. I was probably dropped as a child, or something similar, but something clearly isn't quite right up there.
You might remember the last two years where I spent New Years Eve...yes, Iraq and then Iran/Afghanistan. I was taught in High School that things always seem to happen in threes...some sort of natural law thing. If you wanted to catch up on those previous reports, they're here:
London to Iran and Afghanistan in a mix of C, F, and LCCs
Above the Arctic Circle with UA/CO/LH and SK in whY, C, and F
Around the World in 40 Days for 40 Years
But, that brings us to this year. I had a good friend working in Djibouti, and that got my head to spinning...what's perhaps the only place worse than Iraq and Afghanistan in the mind of most? Could I...I mean, Somalia is only about 20km from the capital of Djibouti!
Of course, when planning, that wouldn't be enough. That would just be two new countries. I had to add more...and they couldn't be boring. So, the final trip came out looking like a place of 8 years that normal people don't spend new years:
1) Djibouti
2) Somalia
3) Ethiopia
4) Rwanda
5) Burundi
6) Kenya
7) Egypt
8) Yemen
Now, I admit normally a couple of these are a little tame. But Egypt's been more than a little exciting lately, and Kenya is all a-twitter about Al Shabaab reprisals. So that made things a little more exciting. Things got more exciting when Yemen pulled my transit visa...boo hiss! Must find another way from Addis to Cairo. A normal person would have booked the direct flight even though it was at 3am. Nope, that wouldn't do.
So Yemen was replaced with the world's newest country: South Sudan!
Sit back, buckle up (well, unless you're on the one of my flights that didn't have seat belts, and prepare for a very very wild ride!
Part I - Washington Dulles (IAD) to Kigali, Rwanda (KGL) on United and Brussels Airlines in First and Business Class
Part II - Two Days in Kigali, Rwanda
Part III - Kigali, Rwanda to Bujumbura, Burundi on Kenya Airlines and the mystery of the Visa on Arrival
Part IV - Day and New Years Eve in Bujumbura, Burundi
Part V - New Years Day from Bujumbura, Burundi to Nairobi, Kenya
Part VI - Day in Nairobi, Kenya
Part VII - Nairobi, Kenya to Hargeisa, Somalia on East African Safari Express Airlines
Part VII - Hargeisa, Somalia - Part I
Part VIII - Day Two in Hargeisa, Somalia
Part IX - Hargeisa, Somalia to Djibouti on Daallo Airlines
Part X - Two Days in Djibouti
Part XI - Djibouti to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and a day in Addis
Part XII - Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to Juba, South Sudan and a day in the World's Newest Country
Part XIII - Day Tour of Cairo, Egypt
Part XIV - Cairo to Washington, DC on EgyptAir and United - Final Chapter
You might remember the last two years where I spent New Years Eve...yes, Iraq and then Iran/Afghanistan. I was taught in High School that things always seem to happen in threes...some sort of natural law thing. If you wanted to catch up on those previous reports, they're here:
London to Iran and Afghanistan in a mix of C, F, and LCCs
Above the Arctic Circle with UA/CO/LH and SK in whY, C, and F
Around the World in 40 Days for 40 Years
But, that brings us to this year. I had a good friend working in Djibouti, and that got my head to spinning...what's perhaps the only place worse than Iraq and Afghanistan in the mind of most? Could I...I mean, Somalia is only about 20km from the capital of Djibouti!
Of course, when planning, that wouldn't be enough. That would just be two new countries. I had to add more...and they couldn't be boring. So, the final trip came out looking like a place of 8 years that normal people don't spend new years:
1) Djibouti
2) Somalia
3) Ethiopia
4) Rwanda
5) Burundi
6) Kenya
7) Egypt
8) Yemen
Now, I admit normally a couple of these are a little tame. But Egypt's been more than a little exciting lately, and Kenya is all a-twitter about Al Shabaab reprisals. So that made things a little more exciting. Things got more exciting when Yemen pulled my transit visa...boo hiss! Must find another way from Addis to Cairo. A normal person would have booked the direct flight even though it was at 3am. Nope, that wouldn't do.
So Yemen was replaced with the world's newest country: South Sudan!
Sit back, buckle up (well, unless you're on the one of my flights that didn't have seat belts, and prepare for a very very wild ride!
Part I - Washington Dulles (IAD) to Kigali, Rwanda (KGL) on United and Brussels Airlines in First and Business Class
Part II - Two Days in Kigali, Rwanda
Part III - Kigali, Rwanda to Bujumbura, Burundi on Kenya Airlines and the mystery of the Visa on Arrival
Part IV - Day and New Years Eve in Bujumbura, Burundi
Part V - New Years Day from Bujumbura, Burundi to Nairobi, Kenya
Part VI - Day in Nairobi, Kenya
Part VII - Nairobi, Kenya to Hargeisa, Somalia on East African Safari Express Airlines
Part VII - Hargeisa, Somalia - Part I
Part VIII - Day Two in Hargeisa, Somalia
Part IX - Hargeisa, Somalia to Djibouti on Daallo Airlines
Part X - Two Days in Djibouti
Part XI - Djibouti to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and a day in Addis
Part XII - Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to Juba, South Sudan and a day in the World's Newest Country
Part XIII - Day Tour of Cairo, Egypt
Part XIV - Cairo to Washington, DC on EgyptAir and United - Final Chapter
Last edited by ironmanjt; Feb 8, 2012 at 8:27 pm
Jan 12, 2012, 8:00 pm
#5
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: anywhere and everywhere
Programs: UA GS, AS MVP 100K, DL Diamond, Marriot Lifetime Titanium, AmEx Centurion
Posts: 5,555
So off we go! Now that I'm back home, I feel a bit safer posting this trip report. As you'll notice above...these are not exactly the safest of countries and I wanted to put a distance between the actual travel time and the trip report. In fairness, I posted the teaser first post from Juba, South Sudan since the trip was nearing the end, but figured the real report should wait.
But, here we go!
Part I - Washington Dulles to Kigali, Rwanda on United and Brussels Airlines in First and Business Class is now live - please enjoy!
But, here we go!
Part I - Washington Dulles to Kigali, Rwanda on United and Brussels Airlines in First and Business Class is now live - please enjoy!
Jan 13, 2012, 7:21 pm
#6
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: anywhere and everywhere
Programs: UA GS, AS MVP 100K, DL Diamond, Marriot Lifetime Titanium, AmEx Centurion
Posts: 5,555
The next part of the trip is now posted - our two days in Kigali, Rwanda.
First off a very fair warning: This post will likely be a bit depressing, but as a famous quote says those who forget history are doomed to repeat it.
Who goes to Rwanda on vacation? After a massive genocide that left somewhere around 1 million dead (nearly 10% of the country's population) Rwanda wasn't exactly on most peoples' tourist map. Recently, the government changed the official language from French to English and has been on a major campaign of investment promotion, anti-corrpution, and doing "all the right things" to become a full member of the international community. From what I saw, this is clearly a country that is going places, and if I had capital to invest it would certainly be high on my list.
That said, the ghosts of 1994 still haunt Rwanda, although it amazed me just how much people have moved on. How can you see your neighbors, family, friends, etc butchered in such a brutal fashion, and just move on? I'm not sure I'd be as brave as these people, and I have to admit I kind of fell in love with Rwanda.
For more details, click here....
First off a very fair warning: This post will likely be a bit depressing, but as a famous quote says those who forget history are doomed to repeat it.
Who goes to Rwanda on vacation? After a massive genocide that left somewhere around 1 million dead (nearly 10% of the country's population) Rwanda wasn't exactly on most peoples' tourist map. Recently, the government changed the official language from French to English and has been on a major campaign of investment promotion, anti-corrpution, and doing "all the right things" to become a full member of the international community. From what I saw, this is clearly a country that is going places, and if I had capital to invest it would certainly be high on my list.
That said, the ghosts of 1994 still haunt Rwanda, although it amazed me just how much people have moved on. How can you see your neighbors, family, friends, etc butchered in such a brutal fashion, and just move on? I'm not sure I'd be as brave as these people, and I have to admit I kind of fell in love with Rwanda.
For more details, click here....
Jan 14, 2012, 7:33 am
#7
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: anywhere and everywhere
Programs: UA GS, AS MVP 100K, DL Diamond, Marriot Lifetime Titanium, AmEx Centurion
Posts: 5,555
Now, "they" always tell you that you need to arrive at the airport at least three hours in advance to avoid cancelation of your reservation on international flights. Kigali has precisely around 15 flights per day from the entire airport, and I can't believe this is really required for a plane that only seats 70 people. This is africa, however, so we weren't sure how much we wanted to risk things. We got there around two hours in advance, which was more than enough time - in fact, I think we were two of the first five or so to check in!
The check-in folks were rather efficient, we were allowed to carry the bags on and security was a breeze. The airport has even built an "executive lounge" for waiting if you're in business class or have some other sort of card. However, there was no Diet Coke on offer - what kind of a lounge is this! Regardless, it was a quiet place to wait for the flight.
A quick view of the airport from outside:
Read More...
The check-in folks were rather efficient, we were allowed to carry the bags on and security was a breeze. The airport has even built an "executive lounge" for waiting if you're in business class or have some other sort of card. However, there was no Diet Coke on offer - what kind of a lounge is this! Regardless, it was a quiet place to wait for the flight.
A quick view of the airport from outside:
Read More...
Jan 14, 2012, 1:58 pm
#8
Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 2,558
Anticipate your reports.
Ethiopia, Kenya and Egypt are not unusual places for people to take their holidays - you don't have to be "crazy", so to speak, to visit - many people go to these countries as tourists every year from the UK and Europe.
Ethiopia, Kenya and Egypt are not unusual places for people to take their holidays - you don't have to be "crazy", so to speak, to visit - many people go to these countries as tourists every year from the UK and Europe.
Jan 14, 2012, 2:06 pm
#9
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: anywhere and everywhere
Programs: UA GS, AS MVP 100K, DL Diamond, Marriot Lifetime Titanium, AmEx Centurion
Posts: 5,555
Although, right now, people are still avoiding Egypt...the place was empty! It was a PERFECT time to be there as a tourist.
Jan 16, 2012, 8:06 pm
#13
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: anywhere and everywhere
Programs: UA GS, AS MVP 100K, DL Diamond, Marriot Lifetime Titanium, AmEx Centurion
Posts: 5,555
When I started planning this trip, my goal was to complete the trifecta of three years with New Years Eve in unusual places. After Iraq and Afghanistan, Somalia was the logical choice. No matter how much I played with the flight schedules, however, it just wasn't going to work. So, I had to settle on Somalia being part of the trip and then building some fun stuff around it. That's how we ended up in Bujumbura for New Years Eve.
Talking to a few friends and colleagues who had spent lots of time in Buj, it was quickly apparent there wasn't too much to do. But, with just over 24 hours, we were going to make the most of it. We found a good driver online, hired him, and it turned out to be a great idea. Quite on the expensive side, but the amount of sightseeing we crammed into just over six hours was insanely impressive.
We got to our hotel quickly thanks to the hotel's complimentary airport pick-up, the "Hotel Club du Lac Tanganyika." We got offered an upgrade to a "junior suite" for very little, and took it for the awesome view onto the beach plus the bigger room:
Lots more to the post, feel free to check out the rest on my blog Read more....
Talking to a few friends and colleagues who had spent lots of time in Buj, it was quickly apparent there wasn't too much to do. But, with just over 24 hours, we were going to make the most of it. We found a good driver online, hired him, and it turned out to be a great idea. Quite on the expensive side, but the amount of sightseeing we crammed into just over six hours was insanely impressive.
We got to our hotel quickly thanks to the hotel's complimentary airport pick-up, the "Hotel Club du Lac Tanganyika." We got offered an upgrade to a "junior suite" for very little, and took it for the awesome view onto the beach plus the bigger room:
Lots more to the post, feel free to check out the rest on my blog Read more....
Jan 17, 2012, 7:16 pm
#14
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: anywhere and everywhere
Programs: UA GS, AS MVP 100K, DL Diamond, Marriot Lifetime Titanium, AmEx Centurion
Posts: 5,555
When I booked this trip, I really tried to find a way to go to Rwanda, Burundi, and end up in Kenya, with two one-way flights. It wasnt to be. Lots of flights between them all, but also lots at 2am, 3am, etc. Since these are pretty much hour-long flightsand I have a really strong aversion to redeyes, its how we ended up in this situation. Flying into Rwanda from Europe was easy, so that was the jumping off point. Rwanda to Kenya or Burundi was easy.but to get out of the region you have to be in Kenya.so Rwanda-Burundi-Kenya was the logical order. Unfortunately, the only Bujumbura to Nairobi nonstop is at some awful hour in the morning, so we took the one-stop back via Rwanda again. Little did we know it would be such an adventure!
Read more at this link....
Read more at this link....