The trip to Johannesburg started with a taxi ride to Heathrow Airport in London. The trip was uneventful and actually quite educational. The driver gave me some great tips on alternate ways to the airport that avoided nearly all f the dreaded M25. As I will be going to Heathrow in Dec to collect my mum when she comes over it will give me a chance to test the routes.
Getting through security was about the easiest I’ve seen in years, well for me anyhow. Unlike most others around me (men and women) i didn’t need to take off my belt or shoes. A short wait on the secure side for the gate to assigned and opened, then about 90 mins ish in the boarding area. The flight was late owing to “catering and security checks”… Hmm security checks on the catering. On the flight I have seat 51J on a 747-400, flight VS601 with Virgin Atlantic.
The take-off was quite late. However it was announced the expected flight time was reduced from the original 11h5m to 10h15m or something, so this will make up for the later departure.
There weren’t many seats free on the aircraft but that didn’t put a dampener on all the people bent on moving around trying to find a better seat somewhere else. Speaking of seats, there several rows of some new fangled seat that Virgin is trialling to be the new economy seats. I wasn’t in one of these rows, oh well haha.
Shortly after take-off they started the ovens to cook dinner, I’m sitting right next to one of the galley’s and smell of dinner is starting to get to me haha… The last thing I ate was at about 12pm, its now 720pm.
Dinner was beef stew, roll, pasta salad and a small “Gu” chocolate thing.
This is the first time I have flown since all of my weight loss, and I have to say that flying is a hell of a lot easier now. Everything from simply sitting in the seats, no more need for a seatbelt extension but most of all just walking around the cabin and toilets haha.
Its now 00:49 Johannesburg time and currently we are somewhere over southern Niger. Extreme boredom is setting in. I’m in a middle seat so getting up for a walk isn’t easy. Curiously, as I typed the above House Of Pain – Jump Around has just come on the music player haha could the have been a more inappropriate song for the moment 🙂
I suppose what I am typing now should really fall under day 2 haha… I have arrived in Johannesburg. The rest of the flight was uneventful and breakfast was actually quite good. We has scrambled eggs, sausage, hash browns and beans. There was a muffin also, that got eaten and a yogurt pot, that did not haha.
Passing through Immigration consisted of first looking into the FluIR camera to check for illness, a little late if you ask me, they should be doing that BEFORE people board the aircraft. Then it was my turn with the immigration officer. This consisted of me standing silent, her thumbing to a page in my passport and inserting a sticker and stamping my entry.
The only hitch of the day… No driver?!?! I call the hotel to enquirer. She informed me the driver had waited for me yesterday morning. Clearly they were confused about my travel arrangements.. So now I wait for my driver to get dispatched… Not sure if thats a correct term to use in SA or not haha.
I finally made it to the hotel, got checked, showered and changed. Then had to get over to another colleagues room to had out too a braai across town. That was very good. It was being hosted by one some of the folks from a business partner. It was nice to meet them and chill out eating great food.
I finally got back to the hotel about 7 I think it was.. had a bite to eat at the hotel then back to the room to chill out. It was a great day but was very glad to get back and get to bed. I’d woken at 7am Saturday morning UK time and finally got to sleep about 930pm Sunday night, UK Time.
Monday was good at the office, got a fair amount done in the office so that’s good. Looks like we won’t be able to move the people in the office to new office until Wed or Thursday this week, so that means we’re a few days behind.
I’ll post more when I’ve done something more interesting 🙂
I’ll have to get some photos as well and get them posted.
