The Sudan Trip (1) - My 2007 Odyssey to Khartoum

Written March 2007 to my colleagues....an account of trip to Khartoum


I have been quiet trying to gather the energy and liver to write about my trip to Khartoum........

The Friday before the trip, in the morning, I decided to call the CEO to confirm that the strategy workshop will still hold on Monday and Tuesday... he picked his cell phone, they were not at work.. Friday is a weekend in Sudan... I should have known that I silently reprimanded myself... Don't want this people thinking that Head office people aren't culturally sensitive.. I apologized in the sweetest tone and words I could muster... while also wondering why they refused to acknowledge mails all week.. He assured me that a visa will be waiting at the port of entry...

I went off to Executive floor to sign off the trip with my colleague... we operate on last-minute basis on my team... that's another long story..they knew I was going to Sudan and we didn't not get the travel requisitions (reqs) signed. Anyway my colleague got a scolding from the HR Director's PA...

Papers signed, we took off (a long walk) to the in-house American Express travel team... left the req and my colleague decided she had finished her end of the deal.. So I sat in the office firing off mails and sms to the team in Sudan and the consultant... No response except from Nick who confirmed that the trip will hold... I scrambled to finish a leadership learning DVD developed by my office.. I needed some clips from the DVD for the sessions.. and it has been designed in such a way that you have to finish the 3 modules to access the DVD freely...and I was still on Module 1.... most of the clips were in Module 2 and 7. I tried... I really did try that evening but gave up at 5.30 and went home... By 6.00pm everyday, my office is a ghost town... you'll think there is a race the way everyone gets up between 4.30 and 5pm and heads home... Friday is worse with all the pub lunches that go on... people have a way of fixing outside meetings on Friday...

Anyway I went home to my sisters and my niece who always stands at the door waiting for me to drive in... It was their last weekend and I had planned to shop till we drop on Saturday... not that I know my way to a lot of shopping malls... I know just 3… Randridge, Clearwater and Cresta... We spent the Saturday shopping and the night packing for my trip... when I say packing, how many clothes can you pack for a 2 day visit in a little bag...

Meanwhile, on my way home on Friday, the travel consultant had called to tell me she had sent my e-ticket and voucher for my perdiem and cash advance for the hotel... She said I had to pick up my ticket from Kenya Airways counter and cash from American Express office in the airport... but to do that I need my id or passport (naturally i thought to myself) and proof of residence... At that point I sparked... I said I had no proof of residence and if AMEX wasn't going to give me without one, all well and good. I mentally made a note to collect usd from my sisters and give them Rand.. But I was really upset...Proof of residence or Proof of Official Residence (POOR), like my friend K reminded me

Sunday morning, I was promptly picked up at home and taken to the airport. I took slow steps to the Amex counter and met Nick (the consultant) picking up his cash... I pushed my passport to the consultant and he printed a bunch of papers from his PC and just asked me to sign two... no request for proof of residence... Nick waited with bated breath cos he knows my stand on POR... I heard him exhale when the guy counted the cash and wished us a safe trip... I nearly did a little Igbo dance of relief..

We walked to the KA counter and checked in without issues... no one asked for the visa but we volunteered that it will be waiting in Khartoum... At 11, we boarded the flight and thanked our star that for once KA was on time... 4 hours later we were in Nairobi... The flight to Khartoum was leaving immediately and we walked to the gate to board the flight... We were told that we couldn't board until they sighted the visa to Sudan... all attempts to explain fell on deaf ears... I put a call through to Khartoum from my MTN Nigeria phone (wasn't roaming my SA phone) and the CEO answered... he called in Mary the Office Manager who spoke with the airline that she had a copy of the visa.. they gave her a fax number so she could fax it to them and they promised to transfer us to the 8.30 Ethiopian Airline flight...

We were taken to the lounge to wait for the fax to come through... Mary called to say she had faxed it... I went to the desk to tell them... they said nothing had come through... Mary kept calling that they should check the fax machine, I went back and forth trying to convince the ladies that Mary had sent the fax... I think they found the coming and going irritating so one of them volunteered to go and check herself and find another fax number... W e both went downstairs and she asked me to wait at the transfer desk while she went downstairs to their office.. I asked the ladies at the desk if there was a place I could check my mails and they gave me direction.. I walked in confidently paid the $2 they asked for and checked my mails on this old system... I called Mary to scan and send the mail to me and waited for nearly 10 minutes of like 15 calls from Mary asking if I had received it... I was getting irritated and wondering if I shouldn't return to Joburg when I looked again and the mail had walked in.. Excited, I asked the lady if I could print... she said she had no printer... I was like a balloon pricked with pin... deflated... I walked back to the lounge and asked the lady (a new one) at the counter if they had received the fax... she said she was told that the fax machine wasn't working... this was nearly 2 hrs after they had given Mary the number.. I asked her if Mary could send her the e-mail and they could print it so we don't miss the 8.30 flight.. I had never me someone so rude... she told me I had to wait 30 minutes for her to think about it, that they have just changed shifts and no one told her anything about me and my issue... I was tired... I stood there… harassed, begged, quarrelled...anything to get her to do anything...Reluctantly she gave me an e-mail address... which I promptly gave to Mary. Meanwhile Mary was calling like every minute and I was getting irritated because if they had made the calls on Friday or Saturday I won't be in the airport being insulted by a young lady who I guess hadn't even finished school. The young lady then volunteered when I asked her to check if the mail had come, that it was the duty manager's e-mail address she gave me...


Oya now call the duty manager and ask her if the mail has come... that started another round of quarrel, begging, harassment until she caved in and called.. the DM said she'll check and come upstairs... Nearly 30 minutes passed before I was told that the DM was looking for me... I walked all the way back to the desk and met this pleasant lady who apologized nicely and said she printed 2 copies... that we should go to Ethiopia Airlines that our tickets were at the boarding gate...

I lugged my bags downstairs with Nick and went to the gate.. the ticket was waiting, the lady pleasant but we had to wait for the flight to arrive.. It was going to be 35minutes late.. At that point I sat on the floor and rested my now throbbing knee... Nick sat beside me and we looked like 2 homeless refugees... The flight came, we checked in and boarded after like 10minutes... The flight was empty and I prepared myself to sleep.. alas it was a short flight... 1hr 30 minutes.. No problem that's enough to rest my head for the next hop to Khartoum... we then looked at our ticket and realized we were booked on the 9am flight to Khartoum... workshop was billed to start at 8am.. It was going to be a long night in Addis... we had no choice... the only other flight to Khartoum from Nairobi was on Tuesday.. that was not even an option...

We got to Addis and realized there was a 1am flight to Khartoum... we went downstairs and were issued our boarding pass by a beautiful and really sweet lady... she gave us meal vouchers which we tried to redeem... alas no food... All we had for the day was the coffee in the lounge at Joburg airport... We sat down with me still trying to finish the module.. I was on Module 2 now...

The flight was called and we cleared security and went to the desk... the man asked for the visa and I confidently produced the mail and the scanned copy of document sent by Mary, and he said no it was not the visa... I called Mary... Mary talked and talked and talked and the guy said no and promptly started boarding the plane... I asked for the duty manager... none... it was 1.20am... we talked and begged and pleaded and teased to no avail... at that point I started laughing... Nick thought I had gone crazy... Mary was at the other end of the phone telling me togive the phone to the guys at the boarding desk... they didn't want to answer Mary, Mary was asking me to ask a manager and complain... I found it amusing that I couldn't even get them to show the pilot the document... she said we should tell them we will bear the cost of deporting us if it came to that, that there was someone at the airport waiting... them hear?.

when we realized it was a futile effort, we carried our bags and tried to get into the lounge.. it was closed... no long story will make the man let us stay... Being the smart girl I was , I walked quickly to a long seat and quickly arranged my stuff on the chair for the night.. Meanwhile Nick went in search of coffee or a meal which sent me into another bout of laughter... he shook his head and walked off...

I lay on the bench...my handbag and laptop bag as pillow.. my little suitcase as footrest and then brought out the papers I got in the aircraft in SA... nice wide papers and covered my legs... Took out my very soft sweater and wore it... the airport was cold... next to me was this man who kept trying to rest his head on the bosom of a fragile looking young lady... obviously sugar daddy and his baby on a trip... I got irritated after a while of watching the little drama and lay down for the night... My pashmina suddenly became very small... I tried using the newspapers to cover my body and they kept slipping off.... In the movies, you see the homeless cover themselves so well with the papers... I thought maybe the papers were too fresh... I squeezed them and tried again.. no luck.. I brought out my night gown and covered my legs and tried using the cowl neck of my sweater to cover my head and ears... About 3.30 am one of the ET guys saw me struggling and went and brought 2 blankets.. I gave Nick one... That helped because I slept a little...dreaming about my SD neighbour and his sugar baby, fighting for my blanket...

I think about crying.. I am frustrated... what's even worse is that VS is out of reach... not responding to sms... I have sent like 12 sms... no response... frustrating when you can't even complain or whine... Maybe I am too dependent and it is tiring for him... He has his own life other than being my VS...but can't he sense that I need him to reassure me that it's ok... I am certainly not on the radar and that hurts a little....ouch...

Woke up at 5.30 and went to the bathroom to try and bring some semblance of order to my day... went to find coffee with Nick and started planning our day... we tried to find ET officials to clear us to fly...they needed clearance from Khartoum... called Mary...she took off to the airport, no ET official.. time was ticking by... it was 8.30.. the flight was leaving at 9.20... Nick and I decided to fly back to Joburg... Mary called she had gotten hold of the Manager in Khartoum... begged us to give her 10 mins.. It wasn't mine to give... convinced Nick to try one last time and then go back to Nairobi... handed my boarding pass to the guy at the counter... he said I should wait, he needed clearance... Mary called and I handed her over to the counter guy.. she rattles on in English with the guy looking more confused... next thing he says take your phone... flight is boarding...go downstairs... i asked him to do what... he said to board... his colleague comes over and tries to hurry us downstairs... i complain that our boarding pass was for the previous night.. he's not listening... anyway we go downstairs to join the bus and then they discover the boarding pass... while they are deciding how to handle this, the man runs downstairs, quickly writes seat numbers in the boarding pass, waves us through and we drive to the aircraft.. All this while, I am on the phone to Mary... she refuses to drop listening to all the noise and conversation and asking me questions.... My bill will be hefty... it is chargeable... I was finally on my way to Sudan..

Got into Khartoum at 11.20am...switch on my phone and it is Mary... she's waiting before the Immigration check.. Get off the plane and get into the bus.... drive to the arrival hall and Mary is standing there in a pair of black trousers, made up... she is the loveliest sight I have seen in a long while... She had Mahir, the guy in Khartoum who can walk in anywhere.... they fill out the documents, we sign, they pay and we have the famous visa stamped on our passports... We can walk into Khartoum... Great... over 24 hours for a 7hr flight... I am tired, need a bath and sleep in that order.... not about to happen, we have a workshop to run at 2pm... Head off to the "hotel". Turns out to be lovely 2 bedroom apartment for $200 per night... My apartment is large and very comfortable but the shower is tiny... Take a quick shower and dress up for the session... Head downstairs a little after 1pm clutching a bottle of coke and water... Khartoum is hot!!! and cold!!!

The workshop run well...as well as can be under the circumstances... the projector can't see my system so we can't run the clips... Finished day 1 at 8pm... out for dinner with men smoking from large pots... stayed up till 11.30 am. It is cold... very cold... Day 2 runs really well... they have a strategy, a strat map and KPIs for the team.... we head off to the office at 7pm to complete the report and the scorecard... I am proud of my Accenture experience... I do the strat map and complete the feedback from the team... was capturing while they were discussing.. Nick is impressed... In previous sessions, he had to do everything... he spends the time reviewing the stuff I am churning out.. we finish at 9pm and go for dinner... our flight is at 3am so we have time to eat and drink... little did we know that the return was going to be just as eventful.