A Long, Weird Day of Travel
My travels are currently underway. Yesterday I flew from Lusaka, Zambia to Johannesburg, South Africa. I had the good fortune of being on the same flight as Annie and Jeremy, so when we made it to the airport, we just had to kill some time before getting picked up by the backpacking place we were staying at. It was bizarre because I finally had to say goodbye to my number one compadre and neighbor, Annie, after two years of being each other's support network. Really a sad occasion.
Some guy named Mike picked Jeremy and I up to take us to Eastgate Backpackers because we needed some place to kill time while we waited 12 hours for our bus to leave for Mozambique. Mike was hopped up on some sort of amphetimine or stimulant because he was the most fidgety, nervous, hyperactive individual I've ever encountered. It provided many a laugh for Jeremy and I throughout the day. The bp was near the Eastgate Shopping Center so Jer and I walked over there to see what western style commerce was all about. It is the first time that I can ever remember being so weirded out about anything. It wasn't due to the bulletproof-vested, gun-toting guards located everywhere (JoBurg is the most dangerous city in the world), but everything moves so fast and there is so much auditory and visual stimulus neither of us could really handle it. As an easy out, we ducked into the movie theatres and caught a showing of Transformers. That was pretty awesome, by the way.
As the hour of our bus departure crept in, we got a ride to the bus depot and had dinner at an American themed restaurant called Buffalo Bill's where all the servers donned cowboy hats. The music was a Lionel Ritchie album, followed by Clarence Carter, then by a host of 80s classics. Very western-stlyed American.
Our bus was in theory a very comfortable double decker, but unfortunately, we were at the end of the line and had to sit in the only two seats that faced the people in front of you with a table in between. It would be great if you were traveling with 3 other people because cards would be an option, but alas, we did not know our neighbors and they took all of the foot room and cramped our style. So the night was passed in a fitful sleep during the 12 hour trek.
Some guy named Mike picked Jeremy and I up to take us to Eastgate Backpackers because we needed some place to kill time while we waited 12 hours for our bus to leave for Mozambique. Mike was hopped up on some sort of amphetimine or stimulant because he was the most fidgety, nervous, hyperactive individual I've ever encountered. It provided many a laugh for Jeremy and I throughout the day. The bp was near the Eastgate Shopping Center so Jer and I walked over there to see what western style commerce was all about. It is the first time that I can ever remember being so weirded out about anything. It wasn't due to the bulletproof-vested, gun-toting guards located everywhere (JoBurg is the most dangerous city in the world), but everything moves so fast and there is so much auditory and visual stimulus neither of us could really handle it. As an easy out, we ducked into the movie theatres and caught a showing of Transformers. That was pretty awesome, by the way.
As the hour of our bus departure crept in, we got a ride to the bus depot and had dinner at an American themed restaurant called Buffalo Bill's where all the servers donned cowboy hats. The music was a Lionel Ritchie album, followed by Clarence Carter, then by a host of 80s classics. Very western-stlyed American.
Our bus was in theory a very comfortable double decker, but unfortunately, we were at the end of the line and had to sit in the only two seats that faced the people in front of you with a table in between. It would be great if you were traveling with 3 other people because cards would be an option, but alas, we did not know our neighbors and they took all of the foot room and cramped our style. So the night was passed in a fitful sleep during the 12 hour trek.
posted by Brett @ 9:39 AM
1 Comments:
At 9:07 AM ,
Anonymous said...
Boy that MUST have been hard saying good-bye to Annie. It sounds like you and Jeremy are in for a great adventure!
N.
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