layover Archives - Page 5 of 5

Africa Burkina Faso Trip 2016 Morocco

7 Hours in Casablanca

I had two choices when booking my trip to Burkina Faso: a 2 hour layover in Casablanca or a 7 hour layover in Casablanca. The choice seemed obvious. There is a train from the airport and no visa is required, so with a bit of planning i figured i could pull off a quick visit to the city. And so i did.

Everything fell into place. Bag checked straight through, flight on time, no line at immigration, easily found the train which was just pulling into the station. About a half an hour later, past rural areas and industrial zones, i was at Casa Voyageurs Station. Form there i bought a ticket for the tram and took it 5 stops to the old medina, which was the area which most interested me.

The signs were now in French and Arabic. The weather, thankfully, was in the 20s and sunny. Everything was busy. People bustling about dressed in everything from traditional Moroccan clothes, to American outfits. People were selling nuts, water, coconuts, popcorn, balloons, and a collection of odds and ends. And that was even before reaching the medina. Outside the main gate of the medina was a water seller dressed in the traditional costume, offering brass cups of cold water to passersby. I tried to surreptitiously take his picture, but he saw me, smiled, waved me over, posed for a selfie, and then put his hat on my head. He refused to take any money.

Once inside, i was welcomed by every salesman and would-be guide. People were friendly even when i made it clear i was not buying. One fellow walked with me for a while and we chatted about movies and music and he pointed out some historical sights, which was nice, as he did so even after i said i didn’t want a guide and wouldn’t be paying. A couple of guys weren’t so great and there was a bit of ‘accidental’ groping, but it wasn’t the end of the world; i admonished them harshly and they scurried off. I had a good time, wandering the alleys past people selling produce, spices, clothing, house wears, and carpets. People were gutting fish, tending to chickens, cutting hair, smoking, and drinking coffee. Tucked into the commercial enterprises were mosques, cafes, and doors and passageways leading where i know not.

I tried to keep track of where i turned so i could find my way out of the labyrinth. That was a folly, but eventually (through nothing but luck) i made my way outside the wall and back to where i started. I thought about taking a taxi to see the big mosque but i was mindful of the time, so instead i just wandered around some more and then sat down on the patio of a nice cafe, where i smoked a Bolivar Belicoso Fino and watched the sun set and the rise of what i understand to be some sort of super moon.

Back at the airport, via the same route in reverse, through customs and awaiting my flight. From Brussels to Morocco and now to Burkina Faso. Big day. Posts to follow from Ouagadougou (internet permitting).

Asia China Nepal Trip 2016

Shanghai

One of the things i was delighted about in terms of my flights on this trip was that i had a 12 hour, daytime layover in Shanghai. For some reason I’ve never been that excited about visiting China but the pictures of Shanghai that i had seen all looked very nice and i seemed like an ideal spot for a long layover. The really great thing is that China has a 144 hour layover thing where if you have a long layover on the same ticket you can enter the country without a visa. I expected to be hassled at the border, but i was not; i only had to show my ticket onward. The other really great thing is that the airport is connected to the city by the Maglev train – the world’s fastest train, topping out at 301km per hour.

It is more expensive than the slower means of reaching the city, but when time is short, why would you not ride the world’s fastest train? Finding my way and getting tickets was a breeze and before i knew it my train ride was over.

I switched from the Maglev at the end stop to the subway and got off a stop 2 blocks from the Bund in central Shanghai. Success!

The weather in Shanghai was a bit of a shock after blisteringly hot and oppressively humid Delhi. It was cool and raining and the clouds were socked in. It felt like…Vancouver. My first order of business was to get an umbrella. Fortunately the subway ejected me on a decidedly commercial street – high-rises, neon signs, familiar retailers, and less familiar shops all unpleasantly (but interestingly) crowded with shoppers.

Armed with my cartoonishly tiny (child’s?) umbrella i walked to the Bund to get the postcard view of the Pudong district across the river. The Bund is a stately strip along the river, lined with a pleasant pedestrian walk and large, European looking buildings. Across the river is Pudong, which is notable for its conglomeration of modern, almost futuristic looking buildings. Unfortunately, my view was obscured by the clouds, but it still was a pleasant sight.

On a nicer day i might have walked longer along the Bund, but in the rain i decided to take my pictures and head elsewhere. Following my now-soggy map, i easily found my way to Yu Gardens and the surrounding neighbourhood. It was a good walk. I passed through a park, past a bamboo ‘forest’, past small shops, down narrow lanes which were not picturesque, but were filled with interesting dingy eateries and lines of street vendors grilling up meat, fish, tentacles, and tofu.

Exiting the temple complex i found my way to Yu Gardens. At this point it was still raining and everything was so crowded that the gardens didn’t have the serenity i imagined, but they were very beautiful, even as I was constantly assaulted by umbrellas.

From the gardens I was ejected into a super busy area filled with shops and restaurants, super crowded, and surrounded by traditional style buildings. It was a fun area to wander around in. I was starving at this point though so I didn’t linger too long in any shops, but tried to find a place to eat. This proved difficult, as I speak no Mandarin or Cantonese (and for the layover I hadn’t learned anything aside from hello and thank you) and i could not determine what, if anything was vegetarian. Almost every place I went into sold dumplings, which are a vegetarian’s nightmare – doughy mystery bags of (likely) meat. Or there were vendors selling things on sticks that might have been fish, meat, tofu, or gluten, but I couldn’t tell.

Finally i found a place that was buffet style, not as in ‘all you can eat’ but as in i could walk around from station to station and help myself to plates of pre-made food, so i could select identifiable tofu cubes, broccoli, and mushrooms. None of it was particularly good or cheap, but it was filling.

After that i wandered aimlessly. Had i had more time there were other areas i would have checked out, but i started to get nervous about missing my flight (and it was getting dark) so i walked a bit (still in the rain) before heading back to the airport. Shanghai didn’t strike me as a place i would want to purposely holiday in (it just didn’t capture my imagination), but it was a great place for a layover and i would love to have another there (hopefully with better weather). I am aware that some of my lack of enthusiasm for Shanghai was likely due to the weather and the fact that prior to arriving i had gone without sleep for a night, so i was exhausted. A rested me on a sunny day might have had a more favourable account of the same visit.

And with that, another trip concluded and planning for the next to begin.

Ethiopia Trip 2015 Europe Germany

Addis Ababa to Frankfurt

I arrived in Frankfurt from Addis Ababa and had a brief layover – 7 hours or so – but it was long enough to leave the airport and go for a walk in the city. Frankfurt was kind of a perfect place to have such a layover. I have never been interested in going there and it lacks ‘must-see’ sights, so i could wander without feeling any pressure to do or see anything in particular. I did do some planning and determined ahead of time where the best/most scenic places would be to go (the less time in a place, the more planning required).

I passed by the disinterested customs/immigration officials and caught the easy and efficient train to central Frankfurt.

After my weeks in Ethiopia, and most recently Addis, the air felt so cool and fresh. I arrived early in the morning and it was a Monday so the streets were mostly quiet and then filled with suits off to work and a few buses of tourists, waving a plethora of selfie sticks.

The city was…nice. Attractive and clean, with some pretty, historic and very German buildings, some public art, waterways and bicycles. It wasn’t remarkable or amazing, but it was nice. Sort of like a German version of Vancouver.

I had a great coffee and bread and cheese for breakfast from a cafe on a pretty square. My first non-Ethiopian food in a while, which made it especially delicious.

The best thing about my hours in Frankfurt was that no one spoke to me unless i spoke to them first. No one said hello or smiled. No one asked me where i was from or what my name was, how old i was, if i had children, etc. I think i dealt fine with the constant barrage of attention from locals on the street in Ethiopia, and it is nice, i suppose, to have connections and interactions with strangers, but at my heart i like to walk down the street and have no one care or pretend to care. That urban, western disinterest felt so welcome and comfortable on that morning and was probably my favourite thing about Frankfurt.

Back to the airport, i flew to Vancouver, another trip concluded.

England Ethiopia Trip 2015 Europe United Kingdom

No Place Like London

When I was booking my flight to Ethiopia, i chose the one with the longest possible layover, which was through London. I had about 10 hours. Not a leisurely visit, but more than enough for a good afternoon.

I lived in London briefly from 1994-95 and loved it, but have not been back since. The idea of being back there was exciting and actually being there was awesome. In some small way i was able to tap into the excitement of young me arriving in London for the first time. I couldn’t stop smiling and i just wanted to walk around and see everything.

Of course though, i didn’t have time for everything, so i planned a strategic walk past some key sights and old haunts. I took the train to Westminster and caught a glimpse of Big Ben and Westminster Abbey, before walking up to Trafalgar Square.

I was struck by how lovely everything was and how thoroughly British everything is. Almost to the point of cliché. The architecture, monuments, flags, black cabs, red phone booths and double decker buses, chip shops, mind the gap, and every wonderful variation on the British accent you could imagine. Delightful. Trafalgar Square was teeming with people, but the inside of St Martin-in-the-Fields was serene.

The streets were busier than i remembered and there seemed to be more advertising and you can’t smoke everywhere anymore, but all of the stuff i cared about was the same. I wandered in all of the squares and parks i passed, enjoying the flowers and sculptures and meandered through the streets, enjoying the bustle.

Then, I turned down a street and was met with the Dunhill shop. For those of you who don’t smoke, it is a famous tobacconist shop. I went in and it was beautiful and I suddenly became very conscious of the fact that i looked very shabby. I apologized for my attire and immediately began prattling on about cigars and Dunhill and the man working there – with a posh accent and nattily dressed in fine tweeds – could not have been nicer. I picked a Partagas from the walk-in humidor and settled into the lounge, for a smoke and espresso.

The only other guys there were two very handsome and super fancy looking young men, smoking Cohiba Behikes and playing cards, immaculately dressed. We chatted a bit and then i was on my way and discovered that there are in fact 3 more cigars stores on that block. If i hadn’t had a plane to catch i would have spent all day there, but instead i walked past Buckingham Palace, through Piccadilly Circus, the theatre district, Leicester Square, Soho, and Chinatown, before ending at Covent Garden. I didn’t really do anything; i just walked and took everything in. Finally it was time to head back to the Airport.

Georgia Trip 2014 Poland

Return to Warsaw

My flight to Warsaw landed a bit late, at 7am. I flew through security and passport control and hopped the train to the city centre. Unlike my last layover in Warsaw, this time it was not cold and raining, but a beautiful, blue skied, sunny day. Due to this change in the weather i decided to re-walk the path from the train station up Nowy Swiat to and around the old city. Everything looked so much more beautiful in the sunshine, all of the churches and, narrow, decorative streets looked so much more colourful.

So i walked that route again, although a bit quicker than i did a week ago. I didn’t venture inside any churches in the old city this time, but the streets themselves were so much more lively, with throngs of people walking, sightseeing, and lunching, buskers, and crowds and crowds of soldiers gathering and preparing for some event. The streets were lined with flags, as were the churches and public buildings. I don’t know if it is a holiday or what, but the atmosphere was festive.

Finishing my route through the old city, i got on a tram headed across the bridge, past the zoo, and to the Praga district.

The Praga district is one of the only parts of the city that is fairly intact from before the war. It is truly the old city, with aging brick buildings, old seedy market places and wonderful graffiti, as well as an abandoned vodka factory (which is, it appears, about to be renovated into flats and offices). I also stopped by one very crowded orthodox cathedral and watched a bit of the Sunday mass, with its singing (admittedly not as beautiful as that in the Georgian churches). It was a very different walk than on the other side of the river and far less touristy. Unfortunately, it was so early that very few things were open, but it was still a lovely walk.

I probably meandered a bit longer than i should have before heading back. I got back on the tram and to the old city about two hours before my flight, but rather than heading back to the airport immediately, i opted for one plate of piergoies on the old town square, before hailing a cab back to the airport.

As i write this, i am somewhere over Sweden. It has been a wonderful trip. Georgia exceeded my expectations (seriously, it’s great, i don’t know why more people don’t go there) and My two short visits to Warsaw made me look forward to visiting Poland properly one day.

Alas, back to reality…and time to start planning the next trip.

Europe Georgia Trip 2014 Poland

Warsaw Whirlwind

I arrived in Warsaw at around noon and zipped through security and immigration and onto a train which got me into the city centre speedily and without incident. I did a bit of reading up before leaving and knew where i planned to roam around. Of course, upon leaving the train station I promptly set off, quite confidently, in the wrong direction. Walked for about a half an hour before I realized something had gone wrong. No matter though, I got to see some of the more ordinary parts of the city, filled with traffic, cafes, milk bars, and kebab shops.

Once i had my bearings i walked up the lovely Nowy Swiat (street), lined with cafes, churches, palaces, the university, and oodles of inviting cafes and eateries. There were certainly people about but the streets weren’t particularly lively as it was pouring rain and windy. A winning combination. First purchase: an umbrella. Nevertheless, the walk was lovely. The churches were filled with worshipers and three of them had weddings underway, so I watched for a bit. In each case, the bride & groom sat on chairs, which led me to believe that these are long ceremonies. I didn’t stay long enough to find out how they ended.

One church stood out for the fact that it (allegedly) has Chopin’s heart in an urn inside one of the columns in the nave. I was disappointed that it was not on display in a box, like something out of Snow White, but it was cool anyway.

At the end of that street it opens up into a beautiful square in the “Old Town”. I am using quotation marks because this part of the city was decimated in WW2 and then later re-built and restored, painstakingly, into an exact replica of what it was before. So it isn’t technically old, i guess, or at least not entirely, but it really is beautiful. Wonderfully open squares with outdoor cafes are surrounded by colourful buildings, often ornately decorated with design or paintings of people and animals. Of course there are countless places luring you in with their pastries, vodkas, meats, and dumplings.

After walking for quite a while (and getting quite soaked in the process) i cozied up inside a warm eatery with wooden…everything, and lots of books lining the walls. (An observation: there are still tons of bookshops here. Awesome.) i had a plate of golden pierogies and a cabbage salad, washed down with a pot of tea. Perfect rainy day fare.

After that, more walking, including poking around in an antique store filled with soviet and WW2 odd and ends, where i picked up an (allegedly) antique, wood-lined, silver cigarette box with a skull on top of it – with a cigarette in its teeth. There was no way that wasn’t coming home with me.

This really was just a Warsaw sampler. There are so many wonderful looking museums and areas to explore, but i only had 10 hours, and there is still the airport to factor in. I spent the last hour or two in the most perfect cigar lounge, settled into a leather chair with a Bolivar Belicoso Fino and a Punch Limited Edition torpedo, watching the rain and reading. There were some other guys in there, but they were in pairs, talking in hushed, conspiratorial sounding Polish, so i didn’t make any new friends.

I then confidently got on a train back to the airport, with just enough time to spare and rode three stops before i realized i was on the wrong train and did not know any words in Polish to assist. After drawing a picture of an airplane and something that was intended to be Chopin (after whom the airport is named) for a foursome on my wrongly chosen train, much to their amusement, they pointed me in the right direction, and, well, here I am back at the airport, waiting to board my flight to Georgia.

I’ll be back here for a sequel to this Warsaw whirlwind next Sunday, at which point I should have a better idea of where I am going.
On to Tbilisi!

But first, a few more photos: