Watching telly with UN peace keepers
A few years ago i was working in West Africa, Guinea to be precise and had just managed to get my 2 weeks leave sorted...i had a pal who had procured a house boat on Lake Kariba in Zimbabwe - i was very keen to sit around a do nothing on said boat for a week or so...off i went.

On arrival in airports in West Africa it's usually a survival thing (you run to the desk and try and climb over the top of the other people trying to also get to the desk..a bit like an Olympic event...only the fittest survive) but today was different...the Sierra Leonean war had escalated, the UK had sent a battleship (yay) and generally things were ill tempered....long story short...there was about 10,000 people at the airport...ALL trying to get to the airline desk to get on the plane...in the end the plane was cancelled and we went home and drank beer...nice way to spend 5 hours!.

3 days later i turn up, get on a replacement plane on a totally different airline that wasnt even supposed to be flying (we heard a rumour off someone else that it was flying) and hopped on....i was handed a dry bun and a pickle for lunch...nice!

We had to refuel and drop off passengers in Sierra Leone....we got a flat tire on landing and had to stay there for 2 hours whilst it was repaired...anyways, the UN peacekeepers were there all living at the airport with the british army all armed to the teeth living there...great!..Anyways, there i am watching CNN on telly, with about 200 UN guys all watching a newscast about how tough it is in Sierra Leone.

So...the journey continues....i fly to Ghana 2 hours later...check into the airline for my connection to Johannesburg..."Sorry sir you aren't booked"...I had a ticket (Business class too....nooch!) but that doesnt always mean you have a seat in africa....this happens all the time, being used to this and knowing it would get me nowhere arguing i left to go to a hotel..."when's the next plane" i said"...."Monday" they said...3 days later.

3 days later i show up, get on the plane (which was late) and get to Johannesburg (ticket also invalid because i was a week late...purchased new ticket at great expense) and FINALLY almost 1 week after i was supposed to leave i arrived in Harare and sat on a houseboat in gorgeous Lake Kariba....even had a beer or two and saw a hippo in the carpark.

Good thing too...i would have murdered someone if it wasnt that good. Ooh, i also caught a fish that was smaller than my bait...yay!.

Apologies for length
(Dogzilla, Tue 7 Mar 2006, 22:02, Reply)