The Move to Tanzania. Part 2- The Journey There.

The worst part of any journey, for me, is getting through Cairo airport. Whether it is the shiny but overcrowded “Old Terminal” or the decrepit, rundown “New Terminal” (another Egyptian oddity I know), arriving at the airport is always my least favourite part of any flight.

Having said our goodbyes to Mohammed and headed into the departure area with the most overloaded trolley in existence, the check- in was pretty trouble free. No stroppy policemen, pestering porters or clueless check in staff. The last of these was mostly due to the fact that, thanks to some major price cuts by Emirate Airlines, we were travelling Business Class the whole way- once you’ve turned left on a plane for the first time, you never go back! I was twenty six when I first went business. Our two boys have beaten that by decades the lucky so and so’s!

After an uneventful hour or so patrolling the terminal- mostly the foodhall and the play area- we boarded the plane. If you are travelling Business just once in your life then make it Emirates- you are treated like royalty. We all took our seats (so large that each seat was a play area in its own for the kids) and awaited take off. Kieran and I said a last goodbye to Cairo as the plane powered up on the runway and then we were off. The three and a half hour flight to Dubai was quite uneventful. Kieran was completely absorbed in the various videos practically the whole flight. When we started our descent, the man in the window seat next to me kindly allowed Kieran to look out of his window. We saw sea, clouds and, off in the distance, the Iranian coastline all of which Kieran took in avidly before he had to be belted in for landing.

Rohan was well behaved too. For the first hour he had slept soundly, and would have done so for longer had his mother not spilled a glass of wine over him at lunch! Even after that rude awakening, Rohan was no trouble. He looked around, watched videos and, in the end was congratulated by some Australian passengers for his good behaviour!

Dubai is simply another world- we felt as if we’d emerged from the darkest recesses of some jungle! The first thing we found upon arrival were these long lost virtues of customer service and common sense. Immediately upon disembarking we were able to take a complimentary buggy for Rohan. The visa queue was brief and painless and bagges came quickly. Before we knew it we were in a car, headed to our apartment at the Golden Sands Hotel.

After check- in, we needed to sort out the kids’ (and our) dinner. This being Dubai, a large supermarket was just over the road, so off we headed. What should have been a quick jaunt took much longer, due largely to two adults, freshly off the plane from Egypt standing and gazing in awe at the sheer mass of choice. Wines, branded goods from home and, most amazingly of all, a pork section! No longer did you have to source this illicit meat from a local “dealer”- you could buy it in a shop! Needless to say, four of us got into bed that night, tired but well fed and happy.

The next day was a busy one. We were due to meet up with an old friend from Cairo. Marianne had spent the tail end of 2006 in Maadi with her husband Doug and her two kids- same age as ours happily enough. When their time in Maadi came to an end, they were so taken with expat life Doug took up a new post with his company in Abu Dhabi. In fact, working for Doug was one of the options presented to me when the Egypt assignment was drawing to a close.

Full of optimism we headed out onto the roadside to hail a taxi. After ten minutes in sweltering heat, discretion duly overcame valour and we returned to the hotel to order a cab instead. A half hour drive past landmarks such as the Burj Tower (7 star hotel) and another building which apparently going to be the tallest in the world, saw us arriving at the entrance to the Emirate Shopping Mall- a place highly recommended by several friends.

Marianne was not due for at least another hour so we got down to our shopping. Half an hour (and a projector, a Nintendo and several games) later, we stopped for lunch next to an immense indoor ski slope. It was at this point, Kieran decided that Dubai was his favourite place on earth- this was not just a small artificial slope but an entire indoor, climate adjusted world of snow. Sadly our planning for a journey to Tanzania via Dubai inexplicably omitted ski suits so we were not able to go- next time will be different, our eldest was assured.

After lunch, we made our way to the soft play area where we met Marianne. She seemed fine and all was perfect. The boys played, the ladies chatted and I headed off to buy more Nintendo games. After a long day of shopping and playing, we got back into our taxi and headed to the hotel for dinner and bed- the toughest part of our journey lay ahead.

It would be fair to say that, despite the best efforts of Emirates, the second part of the journey was a good deal more frazzled than the first. Things got off to a bad start when our Emirates pickup called in late. I contacted the airline to confirm that we would not miss our flight and was told I should have booked him earlier. After much exploding on my part (they had suggested the pickup time in the first place after all) profuse apologies were offered. The driver turned up forty minutes late blaming traffic “traffic bad- what to do?” was the lame excuse “leave home earlier” the fairly curt response. After a pleasant ride through suspiciously uncongested roads, we arrived at the airport in good time. We trundled our bags into what was a snobs’ paradise (ie heaven for me)- the business class terminal. Not only did our tickets mean a separate queue but a completely separate, posh part of the building- these guys know how to do luxury too! We spent a happy half hour in the lounge working our way through the buffet (bacon, eggs and champagne anyone?) before boarding the flight to Dar es salaam.

This flight was, at five and a half hours, a good deal longer than the first, and Rohan had slept in the airport as well. It was no surprise therefore that this time was a bit tougher than the last. Both boys behaved quite well though and, in mid afternoon sun, we landed at Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es salaam. Unlike Dubai (and just like Cairo) there were no buggies on hand to place Rohan in. Dubai was a welcome aberration in our slightly more flustered and sweaty “emerging markets” existence, we reminded ourselves. At this point (and in retrospect entirely understandably given the length of the flight), Kieran decided not just to blot his copybook of good behaviour but to well and truly dye it black. He was impossible in the passport queue, staging a lie- down protest in front of the official (who, had it have been me would have deported him!!) and then played havoc with the luggage belt. After retrieving all our bags, we headed outside into the hot humidity of Tanzania. The first face we saw was that of Joyce, a Songas administrator. She brought the car up to us- Rohan nearly brought his Tanzanian existence to an abrupt end by running so suddenly in front of a car that even Soma’s reflexes did not catch him! After all the bags were packed, Soma and I got into the back of Joyce’s car, a kid on each lap. We left the airport headed towards our temporary apartment on the Msasani Peninsula, both boys gazing avidly out the window at their new homeland. Rohan practised his Swahili by repeating “Jambo” over and over. Kieran practised his diplomacy by loudly asking why everyone outside was black. Soma and I were absolutely dog tired but glad that at least the journey had come to a close.