South Africa – A World in One Country – Travel Days

South Africa – A World in One Country

Travel Days – 20/21 Sept 2013

When I go east, I usually have to fly west to Toronto first but Air Canada’s London flight means I can go direct for a change. The only problem is that the flight leaves at 10 pm and is only 5 hours long, so one can’t get a lot of sleep. The flight to Johannesburg also means this is the first time I would have to fly two nights in a row.

The flight to London left on time and I lucked into an empty seat next to me. Once we were airborne, I plugged my earplugs in, pulled on my eye mask and snuggled in for as much of a 5-hour nap that I could manage. I “think” I got four hours of sleep. The funny part is I honestly don’t know if I slept. Usually, I get that nod that wakes me and then I check my watch, see that I’ve slept and go right back to sleep. Not this time. All I know is that I smelled breakfast which I never did see first nor last. (And thankfully, the girl in the aisle seat didn’t wake me for breakfast…yeah, had that happen once).

We landed early and I was off the plane, through customs and out of arrivals by 7 am. I stopped by the Visitor Information Centre that was just outside the exit and they were able to sell me a Fast Track ticket for The Eye for twenty-eight pounds – ten pounds more than a regular ticket. Worth its weight in gold!

From there, I went down the nearby escalator, found the auto kiosk and bought a day pass. I was happy I had gotten some pound notes before I left home. It made it pretty quick. I was onto the subway by 7:15. By 8 am, I was emerging at Piccadilly Circus.

And there wasn’t a soul around.

I was beginning to wonder if I was walking onto the set of The Walking Dead.
Well, it was 8 am on a Saturday morning. I found the closest McDonalds to have an egg Mcmuffin and then went to find Trafalgar Square.

My first thought as I got there…where are all the birds?

Do they sleep in on Saturday like all other Londoners?

I walked down towards Big Ben and across the bridge to The Eye. I was under the impression it opened at nine, but nope. Tickets opened at 9:30 and it didn’t start moving till 10 am.

With the Fast Track invoice from Heathrow, I could walk right up to the Fast Track counter while 99% of everyone else filed in for the regular tickets. Then I lined up for The Eye in the Fast Track lane. There were like 10 people ahead of me. In the regular line, there would have been like 100. I was able to get on the third car.

The Eye took about 25 minutes to make the whole circuit. Great views of Parliament and the area.

As I waited for the car before us to empty, I noticed two employees go in with mirrors to check the car for left packages and the mirrors to quickly check under the bench in the middle of the car.

From here, I started a walk I had done in 1981 while en route to Spain for my first overseas trip with my school. The flight to London had a 10 hour layover and the teachers from my school were seasoned travelers and brought us into London for that time. The other school sat in Heathrow for the whole ten hours.

Remember. That was before the internet. Yeah. They were hitting their heads off the wall when we got back.

The original walk started at Big Ben and moved west. I walked by Westminster Abbey and the lines were too long to even consider. I saw it in 1982 and expect to be back again. So, using my poor Google map, I headed for Buckingham Palace.

Heck, all I had to do was follow the crowd. It was 11:15 by the time I got there.
Guess this was where everyone was hiding.

Yup, I’m guessing most camped there overnight. There was no getting close to the gates. Though someone mentioned here that the views from the Victoria monument in front of the Palace were good and there weren’t a lot of people there. I should have made a run for it at some point.

I did manage some pics then a few drops of rain started, so I continued on towards the Natural History Museum. En route, I found the colony pillar for Newfoundland. Took the same picture I took 32 years ago.

The rain didn’t materialize so I sauntered down past Harrods thinking I should have dropped down into the Tube at Hyde Park Corner and saved myself a long walk. I found the Natural History Museum by 1 pm and went inside to see my buddy from 1981 was still there, right where I left him.

Now if only my cats were that easy to care for. He doesn’t eat much, doesn’t poop and sleeps all day. Doesn’t need brushing either.

I got my fridge magnet and found Kensington South tube station and by 2:30, I was back in Heathrow for my 7 pm flight. I found the South African Airways ticket counter by 3 pm and it was just opening. I asked if they could switch my seat and she said no problem.

Fist pump!

They double checked to make sure my luggage was there (gotta love electronic luggage monitoring) and she double checked that I wasn’t staying in South Africa past ninety days. Then she turned her screen to me and showed me the seat layout.

Sweet! There were two D seats left. One had an empty seat next to it. Not a hard choice.

So, I went through security, checked out the shops, had the first food I’d had since popping up out of Piccadilly that morning and waited for my gate to open. It was a fair walk to the gate when it did open and I boarded only a few minutes after I arrived.
And yes, the seat next to me remained empty.

Twice lucky on overnight flights and not a hitch to speak of.

Something has to happen to make up for this. I’m just not this lucky.

I was impressed with South African airlines. My only gripe is that they don’t turn on the entertainment system until well after takeoff, so we were sitting in the plane for almost an hour before takeoff. And they turn it off well before landing so I missed the end to “Hitchcock.”

I managed to sleep on the flight for most of six or seven hours. At least, I think I did.

And I dreamed of that glitch that was about to surprise me….

 

 

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