Re: Only The Horses 1080p Torrent Chaos Passer Boeing
Nadia Grubb
At the gate, the inbound flight was on time and appeared to be full. Deplaning, even of wheelchairs, was efficient. Cleaning and turning were prompt. Boarding began 28 minutes before scheduled departure.
The plane must be old, I reckoned, because of the signs of wear. Later, I discovered that the Embraer 190 and 195 planes were recycled from Azul in Brazil, which founder/CEO David Neeleman also controls.
My wife and I admired his utter candor and cheerful attitude. But it was then past the scheduled departure time of 800am, and I needed to get to RDU before noon (scheduled in at 1106am). The door closed at 817am. We pushed back 819am.
I asked if Namutoni had a gas station, and the answer was yes, but it was also out of gas. Is the truck coming Monday there, too? Again, the shrug. Who would know? Another shrug. Lots of shrugs for answers on Etosha, it seemed.
The accommodations at both Okaukuejo and Namutoni were shabby and shopworn. The air conditioning barely functioned at either place despite the hundred-degree temps. Several lights were out, including one in the lav. My maintenance requests went unanswered. I expected more for $140 nightly.
The Shametu River Lodge lies on the Okavango River that feeds the Okavango Delta in Botswana from the Angolan highlands. Photos are of the lovely Shematu River Lodge luxury river tent I booked ($147/night, including full dinner and breakfast).
When planning the trip, I viewed Shametu as simply a stopover place to hang my head en route across the entirety of Caprivi to reach Ngoma and then Kasane in Botswana at the end. My expectations of its offerings were low. It was, however, hard to leave the beautiful and restful lodge the next morning. A return visit to the tranquility and comfort of Shametu River Lodge and the natural beauty of the Okavango River at Divundu is on my radar.
Leaving the Chobe Safari Lodge in Kasane at 6:00 AM, I drove 737 km (458 miles), the last 65 km of which took 2.5 hours because of maneuvering on sandy, muddy, rough roads sometimes blocked by trees pushed over by elephants. I arrived at the Khwai Guest House, a rustic Bushways camp 1.7 km from the Moremi Game Reserve North Gate, at 3:10 PM.
Many, many elephants at various places blocked the way in, as did a giraffe and some warthogs, but not much else. Too hot, I think. I had booked a morning and afternoon game drive the following early morning back into Moremi National Park and saw much more then.
The bush roads to get to Moremi have deep holes, but the flood season was mostly over except for residual mud in some places. Lots of deep sand that the Toyota LC tackled with hardly any effort. I was surprised to see that the flora was predominantly mopane woods.
Entering the Park near the Moremi South Gate, a tree blocked the dirt track a few kilometers in, knocked down by nearby elephants, with no way around. Other trees were toppled all around. I could not make my own path to avoid all the downed trees and the elephants busy chewing on the foliage.
At the Khwai Guest House in the small, remote community of Khwai, I was told not to leave my cottage after dark because elephants come through regularly. Other creatures, too. I followed that advice. No sense getting smushed or eaten. I was glad to have my own private toilet in the little cottage.
The Priority Pass Lounge in Windhoek which I wrote about two weeks ago was a godsend during some of the time there, but I first had to wait two hours at the Airlink counter before it opened. I was already getting tired then.
Boarding as a business class passenger on Air France at Johannesburg was a nightmare of insensitivity and misdirection. I got to the gate early (my habit) and found a chaotic scrum of every class of passenger vying to be admitted. I literally fought my way to the front of the confused masses because people took pity on me as looking elderly (which I am) and reluctantly let me through. The agents directing boarding traffic did not have good communication with the AF personnel on board. Air France flight attendants were in no hurry to get themselves and their cabins ready and three times halted business class boarding while they fiddled around. It was stifling hot and exhausting waiting in the Jetway for another half hour while the AF crew made their late preparations.
Boarding my final flight was marginally better than in Johannesburg but with familiar delays. The Air France flight attendants on board made business class passengers on the Jetway wait standing for twenty minutes after the gate agents had cleared us. No apologies or explanations, Just a long, uncomfortable wait, this time in the cold, as it was still winter in France. I retrieved a jacket and needed it.
The Air France airplane from Paris to Raleigh was a Boeing 787. Both A350s and 787s are smaller than 777s like the one I was on the previous night from Johannesburg to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport. Consequently, the business class cabin configuration were also different. Seats were far less spacious, though comfortable.
Air France has opted for the angled seat option rather than staggered like some business class cabins. Thus, seats on the port and starboard sides all partially face the windows. Inside (center) seats are scalloped inward, with a center partition that can be lowered for couples or friends traveling together.
By the time we reached Raleigh, however, the thirty-seven hours had taken its toll. Sure, I had been in business class and airport lounges all the way, but I was running on empty. Never will I again let myself be subjected to such a long and tiresome trip.
Only two of us signed up for the day trip from the Chobe Safari Lodge in Kasane to Victoria Falls. The logistics seemed complicated to me for the tour operator: One van to transport us from the lodge to the Botswana-Zimbabwe border and to shepherd us through the immigration formalities ($30 in US cash for a visa, or 420 Pula).
Our Zimbawean driver-guide, Kali, was a Victoria Falls native. He made the round trip from the Kasane border post to Vic Falls and back. He expertly guided us through the Falls, to a delicious peri-peri chicken lunch afterward in the park, to the Overlook Cafe that sits precariously on the Zambezi River gorge, to have a gander at the magnificent grandeur of the 1905 Victoria Falls Hotel (below), and to a crafts market. Kali was an expert, patient, and good-humored professional.
The 1905 railway bridge connects Zimbabwe and Zambia. The bridge was designed and built in England and shipped in pieces. Lots of freight traffic in both directions. Copper from Zambia to Zimbabwe, and coal to smelt copper from Zim to Zam. Occasionally Zim Railways still fires up one of the ancient Garrett-type steam locomotives. I saw one parked in the yard.
The picture above was taken from the Overlook Cafe perched on the precipice of the Zambezi River gorge. You can see the 1905 railway bridge across the deep gorge in the distance. The falls begin just beyond the bridge.
Flying home to Raleigh from Windhoek, Namibia recently with a long airport wait, I discovered a wonderful Priority Pass affiliate in which to relax and pass the time. Called the Paragon Premium Lounge, it is the sole oasis of its kind for premium customer needs in the remote Windhoek airport. I was impressed with its roominess, comfort, quiet, excellent service, and array of food and beverages.
The airport is tiny for an international facility serving the capital of a country. It looks like a big small-town airport. Facilities for passengers are Spartan. Thank goodness Paragon Premium Lounge accepts Priority Pass Club members.
Paragon offered very strong wi-fi, top-shelf food and liquor, and comfortable, well-kept furnishings and appointments that made the lounge appealing. Paragon was delightfully over-staffed with friendly people eager to help. The toilets were spotless and modern. Paragon is not gigantic, yet seems more spacious than expected for such a modest airport.
It was the refuge I needed for a three-hour wait for my Airlink flight to Johannesburg, where I was connecting to Air France to Paris CDG and on to RDU the following morning. Once again, Priority Pass saved my bacon in an out-of-the-way place.
I stole that quip from a fellow frequent flyer. He and I independently concluded that, except for the seat (the hard product), international business class on every carrier is not worth the fare. Airlines now offer little or no personalized, differentiated service in business-class cabins.
This fact dawned on me after several recent business class legs to and from Asia, Europe, and South Africa on Delta, Lufthansa, American, Air France, and United. The slight service differences among carriers are not worth parsing. They are all mediocre and very similar.
Once in my business class seat, I must fight for overhead space with neighboring passengers among the acres of seats now crammed into the front cabin. The seats are bigger, but the crass feeling of competition for a place to put my carry-on luggage is no different from coach. The large bins are over the outside seats only, leaving inside-seat flyers to shove theirs in as best they can. No assistance from flight attendants, either. Just like coach.
Air France did offer real champagne on boarding, but it was not chilled. I overheard two people near me ask for a second glass during the long boarding process. Both were ignored. That happened to me on two different Air France flights. I assume the flight attendants have been trained not to refill or even to speak to passengers who have the temerity to ask for more.
The spacious lie-flat seats in business are the main advantage over the lesser classes. That said, the degree of comfort and privacy is highly dependent upon the seat type. On a recent Air France 777-300, I was astonished at the amount of room. Then my next Air France flight was on a 787 in a biz class seat that was claustrophobic
Premium economy seats are roughly equivalent to domestic first-class chairs in the USA, perhaps slightly larger and with slightly better recline. Certainly light years better and more spacious than coach.
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