DEPARTURE FROM
MUMBAI :
As per the
itinerary scheduled by the tour agent M/s Kulin Kumar, the CA members who had
opted to participate in the tour started assembling with their family members
at the Terminal 2 of the CSMI Airport at Mumbai around 2345 hours (onwards) of
Thursday, 9 May 2019. The airline was Ethiopian & the flight number was ET
611 with take off time of 0400 hrs on Friday, 10 May 2019. With full of
excitement the passengers completed their check in, customs & security
clearance. After a brief wait the boarding started around 0300 AM. Having
boarded, most of the passengers belted up & started catching up on some
much wanted sleep oblivious to what was happening around. The others unable to
sleep in the congested seat were waiting impatiently for the flight to take
off. 0400 hrs passed; 0430 hrs passed too without any communication from the
officials of the onboard Ethiopian Airlines. Around 0500/0530 there was an
announcement stating that a component of the aeroplane is malfunctioning &
that the flight will be delayed & would take off around 0700 and that the
mechanics / engineers were working on the same. Come 0700 hrs & the
announcement came that the Captain in charge of the flight is not satisfied
with the condition of the aeroplane & that the passengers have to disembark
& wait at the airport for further instructions. As of now the passengers
have been sitting in the stationary aircraft for almost 4 hours without any
clarity as to what is going to happen. After the Captain's announcement the
passengers disembarked & returned to the airport waiting area. After a wait
of another 90 minutes in the airport shifting from gate 72 to 76 (apparently to
board our next flight we would need to wait in gate 76) the airline arranged
for some snacks & beverages on production of the boarding pass! Around 0900
the airline issued an instruction that the replacement flight would take off
around 1700 Hrs & that arrangement had been made in some of the local
hotels for the passengers to rest / freshen up. The next step was to get the
immigration departure stamp cancelled at the Mumbai Customs counter &
proceed to the hotels in the bus arranged by the airline. After some
unavoidable wait in the hotel's reception (where chaos was reigning supreme due
to the temper of the irritated passengers) the passengers checked into their
allotted rooms for some much wanted rest. The Ethiopian flight finally took off
around 1730 Hrs with the passengers still not sure about the connecting flight
from Addis Ababa to Capetown!
Having landed in
Addis Ababa around midnight on Saturday 11 May 2019, the next challenge was to
collect the passes from the representative of the Ethiopian to the hotels where
the airline had made arrangements for the overnight stay of the passengers. The
total passengers travelling in the flight were distributed to around 8/10
different hotels. All the passengers were now travelling with their hand
baggage as the checked in luggage would be shifted to the Addis Ababa -
Capetown flight directly!
View from Adis Ababa Hotel ..
View from Adis Ababa Hotel ..
Checking into
the hotels in Addis Ababa, spending the night in an unknown country, no local
currency in hand should any emergency arise, being driven around by shady
looking drivers at midnight, was an unique experience. After an early
breakfast, and return to Addis Ababa international airport, and a loooooong
wait at the security clearance, we boarded the flight no ET 847 to Capetown.
After flying for around 6 hours we finally landed in Capetown International
airport at 1400 Hrs on Saturday 11 May 2019.
VIEW FROM AIR BEFORE LANDING IN CAPE TOWN
At the Capetown
International airport we were met by Kulin Kumar's Representative Mr Dev Bhagat
alongwith a local tour guide Mr Charl and the driver of the coach Mr Riaard ;
these 3 were to be our companions during our stay in SA over the next 8/9 days.
If one were to tell that over the next 8 days the entire unit consisting of the
passengers alongwith Dev, Charl & Riaard will become as close knit as a big
family; it would have been difficult to believe, but that is exactly what
happened.
