The Good News and the Bad News

So after writing a couple of postings for the blog, the Traveling Hillbilly decided to see if I could get into the one lounge that’s here.  I was hoping that given Kenya Airways is a sky mile partner with Delta, they would honor the American Express access.   Unfortunately, it was a no go.  My economy ticket certainly didn’t help matters.   However, as I was on the hunt for the lounge location, I came across, a sign that said Spa.  I was so excited to think there might actually be a spa at this little airport, even one of those “express spas” you often see.   Turns out the “spa” is actually right next to the lounge so after being turned down at the lounge, I headed over to the spa.  It looked more like a nail salon, but they did have a massage room in the back.   After 14 hours on a plane, the Traveling Hillbilly needed that massage.  The massage was great. 

It was after my massage that I was informed there was no water at the airport.   Not only was there currently no water in the airport but it was day 2 without any water.   This means, no washing hands, no brushing teeth and most critical no bathroom break!   Six hours in an airport without water, makes you appreciate all the things we take for granted.  I know there had been a major water shortage in South Africa and residents had been severally limited on usage.  Have been wondering the longer term impact of the shortage.  We truly do take so many things for granted until something happens that reminds us how much we should appreciate things like running water and electricity. 

A Long Journey for the Traveling Hillbilly

I must say as excited as I am about this trip, I have been dreading the actual travel part.  Just over 25 hours in travel time, more than 30 hours if you include time to/from airports.   A 14 hour non-stop flight to Nairobi, a 6 hour layover in Nairobi before taking off on my flight to Cape Town and all in economy.    Simply brutal.   I’ve been telling myself for months, just accept it going to be awful, but it will be amazing once you get there.   When I originally booked my flight it was only 19 hours of total travel time, however, the changed the flight out of Nairobi to a much later flight, leaving me in the airport for hours.  And it’s a small airport.   Not a lot to do for 6 hours.    So what’s a Traveling Hillbilly supposed to do with all this time?   Get the blog postings started!

So how was the flight from JFK to Narobi?   Long, very long.  The service on Kenya Airways was great.  It was just a very long time to not be able to get up and move about much.   I probably need to spend the next 6 hours stretching!   I got no sleep on the plane, maybe 15 -20 minutes.   I just could not fall asleep, even after taking some Nyquil.   The Traveling Hillbilly watched 3 movies, 2-3 episodes of some TV sitcoms and our flight tracker. 

I’m still hours away from my final destination for the first part of the trip.  I will try to keep myself awake   so when I do finally get to my hotel in Cape Town late this evening, I’ll be ready for what I hope will be a good night’s sleep so I can have some fun tomorrow!