welcome to africa

Well it’s been an interesting day.

I’m at Ryalls in Blantyre once again.

I was told yesterday at work that I would be taking up some computer hardware as excess baggage

When I got to the check-in counter this morning the man said he wouldn’t book anything in until I paid the excess baggage. I paid that and when I got back to him, the suitcase was nowhere to be seen but the computer hardware still standing there on its trolley. I showed him the paperwork and he called someone and they wheeled the trolley off.

I was only given a boarding pass for SAA in Cape Town, and told that I would get my Malawi boarding pass when I checked in in Jhb. At Johannesburg’s OR Tambo airport I waited for the luggage. Nothing, so I then went to Baggage Enquiries where they asked to look at the tags – they said CPT BLZ means Cape Town to Blantyre and that the luggage would be there.

When I checked in (with no luggage) nothing was said, but when I tried to get on the plane they pulled me aside, and said I was to wait for a phone call. The call came through and the lady said she had been called by SAA to say that one of the pieces of baggage had been left in Cape Town, but that it was ok I could pick it up when I returned tomorrow.

Tomorrow? Who would ever spend the entire day flying to Malawi to return to Cape Town the following day? Turns out they read 17th July as 17th June: Air Malawi promised to contact SAA and tell them I’d be gone a month, and could they send the baggage through tomorrow, and Air Malawi would guarantee it would be sent on the flight tomorrow afternoon.

They then let me get onto the plane.

At Blantyre’s airport, Chileka, I stand and watch everyone getting their bags, wondering which piece of my luggage would come out – was I going to have clothes for tomorrow, or would I have a big shiny box to give the computer man here in Blantyre?. Three loads of luggage later and nothing is left.

Standing alone in a baggage claim area has a certain air about it, a kind of forlornness that makes officials come up and ask you if anything is wrong. I explained to a man who asked to see the tags. He read them, filled in a form, tore off a piece, and gave it to me. The driver from the company then appeared – he wondered if I’d got lost.

So.. I’m in Blantyre.

I know one of the two pieces I had is in Cape Town, or en route to Jhb. The other one, whichever it is, is sleeping peacefully in an unknown room… someplace.

Now I just bought a $10 cellphone top up,  only to find that my sim card has been deactivated. So no phone calls, no clothes, and no server.

At least I can eat tonight.

I cannot help but smile… what is God up to now?

welcome to Africa!

Dennis

Well it’s been an interesting day.

When I got to the check-in counter this morning the man said he wouldn’t book anything in until I paid the excess baggage. I paid that and when I got back to him, the suitcase was nowhere to be seen but the server was still standing there on its trolley. I showed him the paperwork and he called someone and they wheeled the trolley off. I was only given a boarding pass for SAA in Cape Town, and told that I would get my Malawi boarding pass when I checked in in Jhb.

At OR Tambo I waited for the luggage, then went to Baggage Enquiries where they asked to look at the tags – they said CPT BLZ means Cape Town to Blantyre and that the luggage would be there. When I checked in (with no luggage) nothing was said, but when I tried to get on the plane they pulled me aside, and said I was to wait for a phone call. The call came through and the lady said she had been called by SAA to say that one of the pieces of baggage had been left in Cape Town, but that it was ok I could pick it up when I returned tomorrow. Turns out they read 17th July as 17th June: Air Malawi promised to contact SAA and tell them I’d be gone a month, and could they send the baggage through tomorrow, and Air Malawi would guarantee it would be sent on the flight tomorrow afternoon.

They then let me get onto the plane.

At Chileka, I stand and watch everyone getting their bags, wondering which piece of my luggage would come out – was I going to have clothes for tomorrow, or would I have a big shiny box to give Paul. Three loads of luggage later and nothing is left. I explained to a man who asked to see the tags. He read them, filled in a form, tore off a piece, and gave it to me. The driver from NBS then appeared – he wondered if I’d got lost.

So.. I’m in Blantyre. I know one of the two pieces I had is in Cape Town, or en route to Jhb. The other one, whichever it is, is sleeping peacefully in an unknown room… someplace.

Now I just bought a $10 Zain top up, and find that my sim card has been disabled. So no phone calls, no clothes, and no server. At least I can eat tonight.

The network is too slow to log in on Squirrel (gmail took long enough to load!), and so you are all blessed with GMail..

I cannot help but smile… welcome to Africa

For what it’s worth I’m in Room 309, same room I started in last time. It’s like greeting an old friend.

Dennis