Frankie's Travels - Hello Beirut!

So my missed flight was rebooked via Beirut.
Flying in I sadly did not have a window seat but I saw that the airport is Right On The Beach! It is the highlight of this insane flying non-sleeping day that I have a window seat flying out of here.

Sea on one side, Runway on other side, Sand strip in the middle. Gonna be a kick ass view!

The airport is manned almost entirely by people in army uniform. (based on my observation only) This is a little scary and intimidating. However after 3 flights I am used to the Take Off Shoes and Belt security routine.

Zoom Zoom Zoom in 5 minutes!

This post was written a full 2 and a half days ago... Sadly my window seat was on the wing... On the wrong side of the plane. Booo.

I am not gonna cry

... but I want to.

My flight was delayed by 2 hours. Which is exactly 10 minutes less than the time I had to get to my next flight.

So now I am standing at a Flight Transfers desk with hundreds of other people waiting to find out when I will be able to get on to my holiday. Since by missing this flight I will also be missing the third and final flight.

I am afraid to wonder what the fate of my luggage is. This hasn't happened to me before.

In hindsight, the lesson learned is to not book consecutive flights less than 4 hours apart.

Part of me wishes I could go home and forget this whole incident and live a boring two weeks instead of standing for another few hours in this stuffy hall that smells like a lot of people who have all been on long haul flights.

Trying to channel the Explorer enthusiasm again.

... This above was written at 3 hours past midnight and 4 cat-naps ago.

I have managed to get flights and arrange to arrive at my destination without missing too much of my tour. And with an assurance that my luggage will arrive at the same time as me. I will be travelling via Beirut except Ill be sprinting from one terminal to the next so no time to relish the additional destination.

Trouble is now that I have to phone and wake tour-leader people up to tell them that I will be late and I have to catch another 3 flights and hope for no further delays.

The only big risk on the horizon is that I have a 10 hour stop over night in Casablanca and I am not sure if Ill find a hotel. But at least Ill be almost at my destination by then :)

Second lesson of today is that Abu Dhabi is really cold. Colder than I remember Dubai being. I have dipped into my holiday pocket money to buy a scarf to stop me shivering and to keep my head warm.

So three more hours and I can zoom zoom zoom off to Beirut! (then sprint sprint sprint then more zooming... You get the idea.)

hmm Spoke too soon

I am still sitting in the Joburg Airport. It looks like I am going to be departing an hour late at least.

Not cool. Not cool at all. I don't know what I am going to do if the delay becomes longer than the time between my next connecting flight...

It's out of my control so I might as well go with it and hope for the best.

Frankie's Travels Morocco Day 0

I still was feeling ill when I got to the airport but my belly and I have now a tenuous agreement that it will stop wriggling if I feed it boring plain flavourless things for a while.

sigh - annoying physical response to stress.

Next thing to fret over is a) hoping my flights are all on time. And b) hoping I manage the international-domestic transition at Casablanca in 2 hours. If those two things go past without hitch then Ill be all good and looking for my airport transfer in Marrakech.

It's gonna be fun fun fun! And I think I am beginning to take my normal more relaxed approach to travelling now :)

Let the feel good I deserve this holiday feelings rush in and the bitter You look happier than me feelings wash away.

Too much more of this perkiness and Ill have "leeeaaaving soon a jet plane" stuck in my head...

Oh (insert expletive of choice here)!

I am ill. I am flying in 5 hours and I am ill. I couldn't eat last night and my belly is empty and all my body wants to do is puke. Ever vomitted on an empty stomach? It is vile.

I have been ill like this before. I know what causes it... (Nope Not Pregnant - Let's not be jumping to cliched conclusions now) Lets say it's a kind of mental allergic reaction that I wish I had better control over.

Anyway there isn't much to do about it but to wait it out and hope it really is all in my head and that the symptoms will pass before it affects my holiday. Please not the holiday.

For now I gotta sip some tea and hope to feel better soon. Like Really Soon. Immediately if possible.

Past midnight - it's officially Leave for Morocco Day!

I took a moment to reminiscent over past night-before-overseas trips here and a little more than two years ago I was ridiculously excited for my very first trip flying to UAE and Italy. Freshly graduated and on the tipping point of a whole wave of life change. Starry eyed and way too excited (and in hind sight a little naive)
A little less than 18 months ago I was less excited and more stressed over being a leader of some willful young women but not afraid of where the weeks to come in Germany would take me.

Now today I have been almost sick to my stomach nervous and crazy stressed out over my trip to Morocco. So many unknowns! So many things to organise! I am second guessing this exercise of independence. However it's all paid and organised and I am packed, I have nothing more to do but Be Kinda Excited. I hope only for dreams of being the Explorer and not to wake every half hour thinking of something more to not be forgotten.

Morocco! Morocco! Morocco!

And that is all I will say about Anything going on today. Any words more must go unsaid.

Morocco Countdown 19 days

..... eeeeeeeeeeeekk! And So much to still do!

9 work days left
only 60% christmas shopping complete.
House sitting for a week
I must collect my passport from the embassy
I must do a little shopping for my trip (clothes and forex and stuff and things)

Either way I am getting excited... As well as a little nervous if Morocco was such a great choice. Why I say that is that when I was in Dubai, there was this odd smell that I noticed everywhere. Kinda like a sweet smokey spicey smell. Now the blend of sweet smokey and spice may sound like something out of a novel, the smell made my stomach turn. It does explain why I spent most of the time there feeling ill and not hungry at all...

Now I know that while Morocco has a big Islamic element it is not really the arab middle east... I have noticed that All the Sahara/Middle Eastern/Moroccan themed restaurants in Joburg seem to smell the same when I walk past...

I do know that this may be my minds Nervous worries getting creative again... Is it possible that this poetic "smell of the Sahara" and exotic arabic smells are just not right for the nose on me?

I guess Ill know in 19 days.

(yippeeee!)