When I starting thinking about taking this trip I wondered
how much planning I should do ahead of time and how much I could just figure
out as I went. When I backpacked through
Europe it was during the high season, and I had to make reservations well in
advance to secure a seat on a train or a bunk in a popular hostel. In contrast, when I travelled through Central
America I planned nothing in advance (save my return flight) and was able to
make my way around three countries with no problem.
The more I read about the tourist infrastructure in East
Africa the more I thought I should make some key plans, like flights and hotels
in popular spots (such as Zanzibar around the holidays). But when I tried to book these reservations I
found some companies and countries more accessible than others. Kenya Airways, for instance, has an
easy-to-use website and processes credit cards.
Precision Air, out of Tanzania, is more of an “email with our
Reservations desk” kind of process, and they don’t take credit cards; you
either wire money in advance or hope they don’t cancel your booking and pay in
person. RwandAir was the worst of them
all. You “book” online, and they
(supposedly) email you back with details a la Precision Air. But the one email I got three weeks ago never
allowed me to follow up, and when I went to their website again this past week
the flight I wanted didn’t exist but a different one, three hours earlier,
did.
So I arrive in Kilimanjaro intending to finally buy this
ticket (RwandAir doesn’t have offices in many airports so this was the first
time I’d be near a ticket agent) and the office is closed. Apparently my flight from Dar was too late
and everyone at the airport went home.
So I show up yesterday morning to buy it. He’s not there; he will arrive at 3pm for the
5:30 flight. So the flight is at 5:30,
even though the website says 2:30? Yes,
we promise, 5:30. (I get very nervous when someone promises me something here… I’ve
found that people generally give the answer they know you want to hear, whether
it is “15 minutes” when I ask how long the flight has been delayed for –
correct answer: 4 hours – or “no stinging nettles in this forest, flip flops
are fine” as the wretched plants sting my ankles.)
So I return at 3pm and wait outside the ticket office. No one is there. At 3:30 one of the janitors from the airport
comes out and tells me to wait inside, I’m making people nervous just standing
there, he’s coming, just be patient. At
3:57 the ticketing agent shows up and proceeds to chat with a security guard
until 4:10, at which point the janitor points me out and he ushers me into his
office.
“I need to buy a ticket to the 5:30 flight to Kigali. I have a reservation” (show printed email
with booking and price of $194) “and just need to pay the price listed.” No, the price is now $277 he says. “Why?” Because you were supposed to wire money and
that has a $50 fee on top but now you are pay in cash the price is more. “That makes no sense. If there was a $50 fee for wiring money then
by paying in cash I am bypassing that fee; moreover, the new price you are
trying to charge is $85 more than the booking so the math doesn’t work out.” He grunts.
He types things. It’s now
4:20. He clicks and types and avoids
making eye contact. “I’m a student if that
can help you find me a lower price.” He ignores
me and keeps clicking, though the speed has been greatly reduced over the
previous few minutes. Finally, The price
you pay is $207. (It’s 4:35.) “Okay.”
With 55 minutes to go, I pay the man and he follows me into
the airport, puts on a yellow vest, and stands behind the check-in
counter. He grabs the ticket he just gave
me out of my hand and tells me to put my bag on the scale. I check in, go through customs, hit the
restrooms, and make it to the gate just as they are about to board. I look through the big windows to the tarmac
and our awaiting plane: the same guy is now driving the trolley with our bags
on it. And as we settle into our seats
he comes on board the plane to count passengers and give the manifest to the
pilots. Perhaps that is why there is
rarely anyone in the ticketing offices… they are multi-tasking?
In any case, I made it to Kigali, city of rolling hills and
paved roads. The contrast with Tanzania
and Kenya is stark, and not just because the official language until last year
was French (they are trying to join the East African Community and that
requires English apparently), they drive on the right side of the road, and
their power outlets are European instead of British. No, what’s strange is that this almost feels
like Europe with its functioning traffic laws, little use of horns, and
policemen who act as security forces instead of nuisances looking for a
bribe. (In Zanzibar I was in no fewer
than three taxis who were pulled over and had to pay bribes for transporting
white passengers – apparently white passengers require a special permit, and
while my drivers all had that permit, the police were insisting it was the
wrong one.)
I’m looking forward to seeing more of the city today with
some friends, Greg and his colleague Nathalie, who work for the UN in the DRC
and are in Rwanda for the holidays. We’re
meeting up for coffee at the Hotel Milles Collines (the “Hotel Rwanda”) then
heading to the genocide memorials.
Tonight we will snag a bus to Ruhengeri, with the current plan to trek
Mount Bisoke and see the grave of Dian Fossey in Volcan National Parc tomorrow. We’ll see how that all works out… Cheers!
