A Desert Return

Travel from Zanzibar to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Monday, March 4th, 2013

Finally my vacation has come to an end. What a horrible thought. It certainly was a lot of fun. I managed to see and do (almost) everything I wanted to. Best part is I managed to leave the country without seeing a single snake (YEAH!!!!! successful trip) although I did see one gigantic tarantula (seriously it could have eaten your face off) but I just imagined him wearing roller skates (like in Harry Potter) every time I walked by the rock he lived under and it was fine.

It was a little rainy again today so it definitely was time to head out.  No drama getting to the airport although the little airport seemed to not quite be able to handle the number of passengers that were moving out, but hey, that's why you get there early.

My flight took me back to Addis Ababa in Ethiopia, where I got to see a very different terminal than the one Lola and I spent our first layover in. This one had duty free shops galore and lots of places to eat and sleep. It is clearly the "new terminal". Eventually I got to my gate where I was surprised with a free upgrade to first class (that's seriously never happened to me before). The nice guy answering questions apparently liked my "enunciation" when I spoke so moved me to the front of the plane. I was really happy that he did too. Not only did it mean I got to relax in the big seat and read my book (I was half way through the final book of The Hunger Games Trilogy and I really wanted to finish it) but it kept me separated from the 100ish little Ethiopian girls sitting in the back who were apparently VERY excited to be heading to Saudi Arabia. It also meant my glass of red wine was never allowed to empty completely. Ahhhh, best flight ever.

I arrived safely back in Riyadh, made it through immigration relatively quickly, managed to collect my bag in a decent amount of time was home in bed without much delay.

To summarise my trip.....AMAZING. Not sure what will ever compare to this. I finally got to experience what so many people say about Africa, how you will fall in love with the music and the food and the people and the feeling of life that just seems to ooze out of everything you see and touch. I know for one I will never forget this experience and cannot wait for a return visit.

Julie