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RE: Day 12 - Team Beck heads home to South Africa, and Kiligirl reveals a second alter ego
Sounds like a adventurous journey back home! It is always problematic to estimate how much time one will need at the airport. lucky that Emma noticed her phone was lost before you went through the security check!
And what a gorgeous view you had at the flight, Sahara looks a lot more exciting than I thought it would too! I imagined only sand, those sand dunes must be enormous when they can be seen so clearly from a airplane.
Loved your funny writing once again! ^_^
Well, as you can tell, I milked every little detail - it was actually a pretty tame journey. I could have done without the cellphone episode, but you're right, at least she noticed quite soon! So you're a "bright side finder" too ;-).
I have only done that day flight once before and insisted on it for a couple of reasons this time.
The main one: It's the only one that lets you see the whole continent of Africa from top to bottom - Emma took good photos but it's impossible to capture how it really looks from up there; truly awe-inspiring. The Sahara is far more complex than we've been led to believe.
The second reason, more practical: you arrive in the evening, can get a night's sleep and be functional the next day. None of the night flights allow that.
I'm glad you enjoyed my writing - I appreciate being appreciated on Steemit 😊😊
But it is amazing how you can write about quite daily things and all the little details on your journey and still make it so interesting for the reader!
Those are actually some great reasons for taking a day flight. I usually try to take night flights, and then I end up not sleeping at all and being really tired. I should try to catch a day flight next time. On my last flight the window seats were more expensive, so I ended up sitting in the middle of the middle row of seats. I decided that for a long flight it is worth it to pay more for a window seat.
Well, I'm heartened if the reader finds it interesting!
Africa is plagued by night flights and the fallacy that you can work all day, take a night flight, sit in economy, arrive, have a shower and be useful the next day. I've been doing this close to 30 years and all I can say is it's too bad there aren't day flights UP to Europe from Joburg! You'd be amazed at the circuitous routes they have us take if we want an affordable flight. We can go via Dubai, or Istanbul, or Cairo (often with Nairobi as a stop in between) so a more affordable trip can take up to two days and involve as many as four flights. We bite the bullet and fly SAA, Air France, Lufthansa, KLM...at least here they don't charge us extra for window seats! I'm such a fanatic for an aisle seat near the front that I wouldn't be a good candidate for their marketing strategies anyway. Travelling with Tim and Emma this last time, it was a no-brainer: Emma had to have the window seat so she could see for the first time the continent she comes from.
Yes, I remember that it took my friend something like 30 hours to get from South Africa to Finland. I think it is a bit silly to charge extra for window seats, but maybe that is how some airlines can keep there flight tickets more affordable. I guess it is a good thing in that case. I have to remember taking a day flight and a window seat when I fly to Africa for the first time! I would not want to miss that scenery :)
Don't worry, they don't charge extra for window seats - I think they're happy to get people coming on these routes!