Global Poverty Monitor

My flight went overtime because of a strong headwind, and it ended up being over 12 hours long. We ‘parked’ quite a way from the airport and boarded a bus which took us to the airport. Once inside, we lined up for ages to go through immigration and have our passports checked. Then I went to baggage claim and didn’t have to wait long for my suitcase – it was pretty hard to get it off the conveyor belt though! Went through customs which was really easy – just walked straight through the ‘nothing to claim’ line and handed in my customs declaration, no questions asked. Then I went outside and it was really cold and getting quite dark. I followed some signs that said about transfers, and almost ended up at the right place, but instead went to a hotel called Intercontinental Sun and asked whether that was the same as the Southern Sun, and was told it wasn’t, but was pointed to where to go to get a transfer bus. I finally found the right bus, and we left. The funny thing was that I could see the Southern Sun really clearly from where the bus left, but it took ages to drive there because we had to go through the airport car park again. Once there I checked in with no troubles, and organized a wakeup call for 5am. A guy took my suitcase to my room, then left me alone. The room looked exactly the same as the last time I stayed there, when it used to be the Holiday Inn. The room was really nice, with two double beds, cable TV, and a great bathroom. I rang Mum and spoke for a while, even though it was after 1am, then woke Robin up as well. He was surprised to hear from me, and said that he had just woken up anyway, right before I rang. After that I ordered breakfast for the next morning, then went to bed. I watched Princess Diaries II on TV for a while, then went to sleep.

I was woken up at 5am by my wakeup call, and my breakfast came soon after. It was enormous! It only cost around $AU13, but there was a huge bowl of muesli and dried bananas, more than I could get through, another huge bowl of fruit yoghurt, four pieces of toast, various jams, freshly squeezed orange juice, and a pot of coffee. It was so good, and I was wishing I could have brought the rest of it with me! I had a shower and got ready to go, then packed up the rest of my stuff and was downstairs just after 6am. The shuttle bus took me back to the airport, by myself this time. I had a few attempts at checking in before I finally found the right terminal. My luggage was weighed and I was directed to another counter to pay for the extra 7kg. I was really relieved because it seemed it would go smoothly. The extra weight cost R160, which is just over $30! I couldn’t believe it. I checked my suitcase in and had about half an hour to look around the shops before boarding. I was wishing I was hungry because there were some great places to eat, even a sushi bar. I bought two elephant key rings. I found the check in place and went through the metal detector, then found the gate and waited there until it was time to board.

Lets continue our travel journey, and head to Phoenix, AZ.