Road Trip Rwanda: "Post-COVID" edition
Jun 20, 2022, 6:23 am
#31
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Washington, DC
Posts: 244
Thanks for this trip report! I’ll be in Rwanda in September after a safari in Kenya, and will also be staying at the Retreat at Heaven and doing two gorilla treks, so I appreciate the detail. Did you ever find out what happened to the couple who didn’t make it to the hike? I can’t imagine deciding last minute to skip it given the cost!
Jun 20, 2022, 8:49 am
#32
Join Date: May 2005
Location: London, England, United Kingdom
Programs: Marriott (Lifetime Titantium), whatever other programs as benefits make sense.
Posts: 1,920
Jun 20, 2022, 9:46 am
#33
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: YYC
Posts: 2,073
Thanks for this trip report! I’ll be in Rwanda in September after a safari in Kenya, and will also be staying at the Retreat at Heaven and doing two gorilla treks, so I appreciate the detail. Did you ever find out what happened to the couple who didn’t make it to the hike? I can’t imagine deciding last minute to skip it given the cost!
I hope you enjoy the Retreat. I really, really liked it there and wished that I hadn't booked a different hotel for the back end of the trip! Feel free to PM if you have any specific questions about my experience in Rwanda.
Jun 21, 2022, 2:03 am
#35
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: YYC
Posts: 2,073
Waking up to a peaceful morning view for the last day in Rwanda.
The pool looks quite inviting - maybe later!
After breakfast, I go out for a walk - here's a typical residential street in this area. I've got to get an antigen test as it is not only required for US entry, but also to leave the country by air! I found a clinic about 20 minutes walk from the hotel and the procedure was painless and inexpensive (5000 RWF - about 5 bucks).
The traffic lights in Kigali all have visible timers on them. Love the concept.
I go over to visit the Kigali Genocide Memorial in the early afternoon. No photos allowed of the interior. Very moving place of a sad time, certainly worth a visit.
Here are some the gardens and burial spots at the memorial site.
It's the 28th anniversary (if you can call it that) of the genocide: kwibuka means "remember".
Here's new Kigali from the memorial site.
Afterwards, I take a late lunch and get caught up on a bit of work and administrative stuff at the poolside lounge back at the hotel before my loung journey home.
On the way to the airport, Friday evening traffic in Kigali is a bit congested so Innocent makes use of some shortcuts down back alleyways to divert around the traffic. Wouldn't be able to do this without the Land Cruiser!
As we arrive at the airport there is a preliminary checkpoint where all luggage is screened by dogs and passengers obliged to walk through a metal detector. A few cars in front of us there was a group with a ton of suitcases and boxes for screening and I was getting a bit worried that I'd miss check in cut off time as the deadline is 90 minutes departing from KGL.
Worry wasn't necessary, as soon as the generously equipped group moved on the line moved steadily forward and I was outside the terminal within a few minutes.
The first thing checked before you even enter the building is your departure COVID test results. Next, there's a document check station for all airlines right when you walk in the door. You'll get a sticker here stating docs checked so you don't have to produce them again at the check in counter.
Which is right over here.
Up an escalator to a very slow moving queue at passport control and you're in the smallish departures area.
There are two lounges, one for Rwandair and one for all other airlines and Priority Pass - the Pearl Lounge.
It's pretty busy in here with both a KLM and Brussels flight departing close to the same time.
There is a bar with bartender to mix drinks, pour wine, and make espresso based drinks from local coffee beans.
Also a self service area for snacks and basic drinks.
I just grabbed a local beer since I hadn't been able to try one all trip. The food on the plane was going to be more interesting than the bites on offer in here.
The Rwanda tourist trail seems like a small world. Not only did I hike with the French group on both the chimpanzee and gorilla hikes, purely by coincidence; but in the lounge I spotted a couple from Texas that had been sitting beside me at the coffee station the morning prior at Volcanoes National Park - and they were sitting right behind me on the flight!
SN467 KGL-EBB-BRU
Aircraft: Airbus A330-300
Seat: 3A
Flight Time: 0:40 + 7:52
It's time to head through security and over to the gate now.
Walking across the apron again to the plane. KLM is almost ready to go.
Here's our bird.
'
Love boarding widebodies from the tarmac.
I easily grabbed a throne seat again shortly before OLCI opened. I remembered to take some snapshots of the hilarous SN safety video.
This is a triangle route meaning that some of the passengers from Brussels remained onboard and would be continuing on to Entebbe.
Uganda is one of the countries that requires inbound aircraft to be sprayed for vermin.
We've arrived at Entebbe for passenger/crew exchange. The stop takes about an hour.
KLM beat us here.
Here's tonight's menu. I wanted to pass out quickly so ordered the pasta - it was pretty good!
I woke up over Croatia which was overcast but it started to clear over Austria with some nice views of the Alps in the distance.
Coming into Belgium it was quite cloudy. I declined breakfast since I'd have some hot food in the lounge.
I was notified by SMS that my flight to YUL would be at least an hour late, so with a longer layover I cleared passport control and took the train into Brussels and walked around for about an hour.
The center was pretty much deserted at this early hour on a Saturday morning.
Back at the airport.
I visited The Loft lounge on the Schengen side of the terminal since I'd already cleared passport control.
It was certainly one of the best non-long haul lounges I've ever visited. Very impressed! Nice self service food stations, apron views, comfortable seating...
I took my all important shower in the shower facilities back in the spa area. The shower was awesome, steam shower function, multiple automatic settings...
And a washlet toilet also with automatic functions (!!)
I left the lounge a bit early to clear exit passport control. Wow, glad I did. Border control was a mess this morning. Took 45 minutes to get through, there were many people complaining and trying to bust the line as they were going to miss their flights....
AC833 BRU-YUL
Aircraft: Boeing 777-300ER
Seat: 5K
Flight Time: 7:03
As I walked up to the gate boarding had already started so I just snapped a photo of our plane then headed to my seat.
Here's the menu for today.
It's cleared up as we depart Brussels.
Nice views as we exit continental Europe
Due to the departure delay, this isn't looking too good...
After I have lunch, I get an email from AC indicating that I've been rebooked to go through ORD instead of YVR since my flight will arrive after the departure of the YUL-YVR flight.
Here's the light lunch served before landing.
No views over the ocean since we stayed well south of Greenland, but there were some nice views on entering Canada - like this one of the Saguenay.
On arrival in YUL I headed to the AC service counter in the International to Domestic transfer area, who issued new boarding passes to ORD and PDX. Then I had to wait an eternity (1 hour!!) in the CBP preclearance area for my bag to be rerouted before I could go through. And then ended up in the Transborder MLL.
The lounge is very basic but it has nice apron views - like of the QR retro livery 777.
I just had some chips for a snack
Onwards to ORD with some nice views leaving Montreal
And still nice views arriving Chicago
I had very little time in ORD since the flight again, was late - AC has got to be near the bottom in on time performance these days, so I basically just walked up the gate and boarded once I'd moved between B and C concourse. And after getting on the ORD-PDX flight I was so tired that I had a glass of wine, threw on my noise cancelling headphones, and slept the entire way! So, no pictures or anything to report from that - and that's the end of the trip.
Ironically, I'm finishing this trip report, from my last day in Africa on a second trip that I took just 5 days after returning home from Rwanda.... Cheers!
The pool looks quite inviting - maybe later!
After breakfast, I go out for a walk - here's a typical residential street in this area. I've got to get an antigen test as it is not only required for US entry, but also to leave the country by air! I found a clinic about 20 minutes walk from the hotel and the procedure was painless and inexpensive (5000 RWF - about 5 bucks).
The traffic lights in Kigali all have visible timers on them. Love the concept.
I go over to visit the Kigali Genocide Memorial in the early afternoon. No photos allowed of the interior. Very moving place of a sad time, certainly worth a visit.
Here are some the gardens and burial spots at the memorial site.
It's the 28th anniversary (if you can call it that) of the genocide: kwibuka means "remember".
Here's new Kigali from the memorial site.
Afterwards, I take a late lunch and get caught up on a bit of work and administrative stuff at the poolside lounge back at the hotel before my loung journey home.
On the way to the airport, Friday evening traffic in Kigali is a bit congested so Innocent makes use of some shortcuts down back alleyways to divert around the traffic. Wouldn't be able to do this without the Land Cruiser!
As we arrive at the airport there is a preliminary checkpoint where all luggage is screened by dogs and passengers obliged to walk through a metal detector. A few cars in front of us there was a group with a ton of suitcases and boxes for screening and I was getting a bit worried that I'd miss check in cut off time as the deadline is 90 minutes departing from KGL.
Worry wasn't necessary, as soon as the generously equipped group moved on the line moved steadily forward and I was outside the terminal within a few minutes.
The first thing checked before you even enter the building is your departure COVID test results. Next, there's a document check station for all airlines right when you walk in the door. You'll get a sticker here stating docs checked so you don't have to produce them again at the check in counter.
Which is right over here.
Up an escalator to a very slow moving queue at passport control and you're in the smallish departures area.
There are two lounges, one for Rwandair and one for all other airlines and Priority Pass - the Pearl Lounge.
It's pretty busy in here with both a KLM and Brussels flight departing close to the same time.
There is a bar with bartender to mix drinks, pour wine, and make espresso based drinks from local coffee beans.
Also a self service area for snacks and basic drinks.
I just grabbed a local beer since I hadn't been able to try one all trip. The food on the plane was going to be more interesting than the bites on offer in here.
The Rwanda tourist trail seems like a small world. Not only did I hike with the French group on both the chimpanzee and gorilla hikes, purely by coincidence; but in the lounge I spotted a couple from Texas that had been sitting beside me at the coffee station the morning prior at Volcanoes National Park - and they were sitting right behind me on the flight!
SN467 KGL-EBB-BRU
Aircraft: Airbus A330-300
Seat: 3A
Flight Time: 0:40 + 7:52
It's time to head through security and over to the gate now.
Walking across the apron again to the plane. KLM is almost ready to go.
Here's our bird.
'Love boarding widebodies from the tarmac.
I easily grabbed a throne seat again shortly before OLCI opened. I remembered to take some snapshots of the hilarous SN safety video.
This is a triangle route meaning that some of the passengers from Brussels remained onboard and would be continuing on to Entebbe.
Uganda is one of the countries that requires inbound aircraft to be sprayed for vermin.
We've arrived at Entebbe for passenger/crew exchange. The stop takes about an hour.
KLM beat us here.
Here's tonight's menu. I wanted to pass out quickly so ordered the pasta - it was pretty good!
I woke up over Croatia which was overcast but it started to clear over Austria with some nice views of the Alps in the distance.
Coming into Belgium it was quite cloudy. I declined breakfast since I'd have some hot food in the lounge.
I was notified by SMS that my flight to YUL would be at least an hour late, so with a longer layover I cleared passport control and took the train into Brussels and walked around for about an hour.
The center was pretty much deserted at this early hour on a Saturday morning.
Back at the airport.
I visited The Loft lounge on the Schengen side of the terminal since I'd already cleared passport control.
It was certainly one of the best non-long haul lounges I've ever visited. Very impressed! Nice self service food stations, apron views, comfortable seating...
I took my all important shower in the shower facilities back in the spa area. The shower was awesome, steam shower function, multiple automatic settings...
And a washlet toilet also with automatic functions (!!)
I left the lounge a bit early to clear exit passport control. Wow, glad I did. Border control was a mess this morning. Took 45 minutes to get through, there were many people complaining and trying to bust the line as they were going to miss their flights....
AC833 BRU-YUL
Aircraft: Boeing 777-300ER
Seat: 5K
Flight Time: 7:03
As I walked up to the gate boarding had already started so I just snapped a photo of our plane then headed to my seat.
Here's the menu for today.
It's cleared up as we depart Brussels.
Nice views as we exit continental Europe
Due to the departure delay, this isn't looking too good...
After I have lunch, I get an email from AC indicating that I've been rebooked to go through ORD instead of YVR since my flight will arrive after the departure of the YUL-YVR flight.
Here's the light lunch served before landing.
No views over the ocean since we stayed well south of Greenland, but there were some nice views on entering Canada - like this one of the Saguenay.
On arrival in YUL I headed to the AC service counter in the International to Domestic transfer area, who issued new boarding passes to ORD and PDX. Then I had to wait an eternity (1 hour!!) in the CBP preclearance area for my bag to be rerouted before I could go through. And then ended up in the Transborder MLL.
The lounge is very basic but it has nice apron views - like of the QR retro livery 777.
I just had some chips for a snack
Onwards to ORD with some nice views leaving Montreal
And still nice views arriving Chicago
I had very little time in ORD since the flight again, was late - AC has got to be near the bottom in on time performance these days, so I basically just walked up the gate and boarded once I'd moved between B and C concourse. And after getting on the ORD-PDX flight I was so tired that I had a glass of wine, threw on my noise cancelling headphones, and slept the entire way! So, no pictures or anything to report from that - and that's the end of the trip.
Ironically, I'm finishing this trip report, from my last day in Africa on a second trip that I took just 5 days after returning home from Rwanda.... Cheers!
Jun 23, 2022, 6:42 am
#37
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: SYD
Programs: Too many golds, no plat: OZ*G, AC*G, NZ*G, VA Gold, QF Gold, HH Gold, Bonvoy Gold
Posts: 5,350
Fascinating report, thanks for sharing. Rwanda looks like a clean, orderly and friendly little place - and the primate shots were phenomenal.
I'm also pleasantly surprised by how good SN's soft product appears to be. Hopefully I'll have a chance to try them one of these days. Though your convoluted routing sounded like a fairly punishing way to return home from a holiday!
I'm also pleasantly surprised by how good SN's soft product appears to be. Hopefully I'll have a chance to try them one of these days. Though your convoluted routing sounded like a fairly punishing way to return home from a holiday!
Jun 26, 2022, 4:41 pm
#38
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 4,966
Fantastic TR! Going to Rwanda myself soon so this made me even more excited.
What camera did you use for photos? Or just phone? Either way they turned out well.
Also did you encounter any issues with plastic bags? I know they are banned in the country but the airlines also require their use for toiletries so it seems like something that might come up.
What camera did you use for photos? Or just phone? Either way they turned out well.
Also did you encounter any issues with plastic bags? I know they are banned in the country but the airlines also require their use for toiletries so it seems like something that might come up.
Jun 26, 2022, 8:59 pm
#39
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: St. Paul, MN
Programs: Delta Platinum Medallion, IHG Gold, HH Silver
Posts: 448
Great report and photos! I'm sorry to hear about your bags being delayed until the next evening, but glad they arrived. My parents flew on a trip recently where one of the people with them on the tour they were on, had their bags lost and the person had to buy all new clothes - definitely not good when you're half-way around the world.
Thanks for sharing, and looking forward to reading more of your reports!
~Matthew
Thanks for sharing, and looking forward to reading more of your reports!
~Matthew
Jun 27, 2022, 12:51 am
#40
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: YYC
Posts: 2,073
Fantastic TR! Going to Rwanda myself soon so this made me even more excited.
What camera did you use for photos? Or just phone? Either way they turned out well.
Also did you encounter any issues with plastic bags? I know they are banned in the country but the airlines also require their use for toiletries so it seems like something that might come up.
What camera did you use for photos? Or just phone? Either way they turned out well.
Also did you encounter any issues with plastic bags? I know they are banned in the country but the airlines also require their use for toiletries so it seems like something that might come up.
No issues with plastic bags but I was prepared for it - I didn't put things in plastic bags that I normally would such as my hiking boots. I had a few ziploc bags, for toiletries, sunscreen, bug spray, etc, but no issue with those.
Thanks and I hope that you enjoy your trip!!
Jun 27, 2022, 9:04 am
#42
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: YYC
Posts: 2,073