Friday 26 July 2013

Day 0, Windhoek: The Countdown Begins


The flight from Frankfurt to Windhoek landed at the Hosea Kutako International airport in the morning. Air Namibia preponed the flights by 1.5 hrs and they didn’t had the courtesy to inform the passengers about it. I think that's what they call as customer service! I got lucky as I phoned them in the morning before to reconfirm the tickets. Afterwards it was a mad rush to reschedule my train connections to the airport. Somehow everything went on fine.
I felt very tired when I landed at Windhoek. Felt like I have mild fever, and also little bit of an upset stomach. Could be an outcome the late night drinks at the Christmas market the day before.  Took some medicines for fever and hoped for the best. It should. Now I am at the Chameleon backpackers, which is kind of a traditional accommodation for me whenever I am at Windhoek.  The Lady will be arriving in a few hours. Eagerly looking forward to it as it has been almost an year since we last met.

In the afternoon I walked around the city. Nothing seemed to have changed at all. The people at the hostel warned about the dangers of walking in isolated places. Also they advised me against taking any backpacks to the city - a sign of a typical tourist! The safety issues seemed to have worsened since the last time I was here, about 2 years back. At that time the danger was only at night. Anyway, we are not planning to stay here for long. Just pick up the car tomorrow, do the shopping and drive north.
The weather was hot, like in India, as expected. But it was less humid. Though it looked like it has rained in the last days. Not a good sign for the trip as I was expecting the rainy season to begin much later. More rains mean a demanding track conditions, especially in Botswana. However, I was more than happy to be away from the cold, grey and cloudy Germany. I feel at home in Africa, of course without any family. I missed my father, wished he was still alive. I feel like I have lost a part of me.

The Lady came in the evening. A bit later than I expected, as her flight was delayed. I got worried unnecessarily. In the end everything was ok as the taxi arranged for picking her up from the airport was there on time. It was really nice to see her finally. I missed her I think!

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