My trip through Addis Abeba

Forget about the government ban on international travel for people employed by the government. I had critical travel to make so I looked the other way of the ban and travel to some destination through Addis Abeba. Some of you are judging me already as to whether I know or don’t know the correct spelling of this great city. Let me boomerang the same question to you. Do you know the correct address? Is it a double bee (bb) on the ‘surname of the city’? Is it the same thing with Lilangwe or Lirangwe just 25 miles out from Blantyre on the M1 road to Lilongwe? Which is the correct spelling? Is it Lirangwe or Lilangwe? May be we need to get back to the Addis story.

I started off from Blantyre’s Chileka Airport. First I wanted to change my Malawian Aloe vera into some useful foreign currency. So I went to the bank there. They told me they had only  95 and some South African Rands. As my travels were to the north of the African continent, I did not believe the Rands would be that helpful. So, I got the Euros and proceeded to checking in.

There were no surprises on the check-in desk. It took the same 30 minutes it normally takes for me regardless of the fact that I was the third in the queue. First, it was that the system was done. Then the printer was not working. Then they did not enter my frequent flyer miles despite that I had asked that this be done. Since the queue was not that long and I was at the airport way ahead of time, nothing worried me.

Then I was on the mighty Boeing. My seat was 15A, next to the emergency exit. I went to the stewards to ask that I be changed. Why, I was intending to be working on my laptop and writing in my notebook throughout the flight. Having a laptop on my lap (was it not a laptop) may be an obstacle in the event of an emergency.

Soon, it was time for lunch.  I thought hard about what I was having. The stewards came and without warning, handed me a beef meal. I thought they would also ask me what I wanted. In fact my thoughts were strengthened when just after my seat, the persons sitting there were asked what was it that they wanted. I blamed myself for not making a meal booking when the tickets were being bought. I suffered in silence.

Then came the time when the captain had announced that we were now descending into Addis. I am well aware that such kind of announcement is made to prepare the cabin for landing. If it is at night, all the main lights to be dimmed, tray tables to be stowed, seat belts put and no moving up and down. I wanted to go “quickly” to the toilets but was stopped and advised to take a seat. A woman of a different race from mine tried the same and she was allowed. I complained. I was allowed. I felt extremely good.