Monday 20 May 2019
Sunday night was
conclusively the last night we spent in South Africa. Monday morning dawned
bright but chilly. After a hearty breakfast everyone proceeded to pack their
bags for the return flight to India. As instructed by Dev the coach would be picking
us for the airport drop by 945 AM. By 930 AM one by one the group members started
to assemble at the reception. Kulin Kumar had made arrangements for a packed lunch;
Dev & the maharaj handed over the lunch packets to the passengers as they
boarded the coach.
We reached the O.R.Tambo
International airport by 10 AM.
It was time to bid adieu to Dev who was our
constant companion, guide and friend for
the past 10 days.
The passengers
who wished to have the GST reimbursed (on the purchases made by them in South Africa) proceeded
to the relevant Government counter at the airport. This entire process of claiming
the GST took about an hour. This involved getting the invoices &
merchandise checked by the officer who stamped the said documents. The stamped
documents were to be handed over at another counter, where the passengers were
handed over a voucher. The vouchers were then encashed at the exchange bureaux which
handed over cash.
After checking
in the luggage and completing the security we reached the boarding gates. Some
of the passengers used the waiting time to open their packed lunch box &
have the lunch in the spacious waiting area rather than have it in the confined
space within the aircraft.
Ethiopian
Airlines’ ET 808 to Addis Ababa from Johannesburg took off at 210 PM local time.
After a flying time of around five and half hours we landed at Addis Ababa. The
connecting flight to Mumbai was scheduled for 1120 PM. Effectively a waiting
time of around 3 hours. Someone suggested, don’t remember who, & an
impromptu game of dumb charades began in the waiting area. The theme was
Bollywood film names. Very soon the area where we were playing became a sort of
centre point with several other passengers joining & cheering the players.
Eventually we boarded the Ethiopian Airlines' ET 610 around 1130 PM. Another five and half hours. flying time & by around 7 AM next day (Tuesday 21 May 2019) we landed at T 2 Terminal of the Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport at Mumbai. I am sure this trip will remain in the memory of all the group members for a long long time, if not for a lifetime!
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