The Travels of Jerry, Kathy & KC


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Houston, TX

All Star RV Resort November 2, 2007 - ??? Going to be here awhile
 
May 27, 2008 - Houston, TX - I just thought I would fill everyone in on my recent trip to South Africa.  It will probably be one of the most memorable trips I have ever made.  I left Houston at 3:30 PM on Friday, May 16th on my first business trip in quite awhile.  I flew for 9 hours to Amsterdam and then a couple of hours later boarded the plane for the 10.5 hour flight to Johannesburg, SA.  I arrived at the Johannesburg airport at 9:30 PM on Saturday night and walked up to the passport control counter.  The guy there took one look at my passport and declared that it was full.  I said what do you mean my passport is full.  There are places for stamps.  He informed me that I need 2 pages, preferably facing, for them to put their visa on and the other for their stamp.  Boy was I surprised. 

I talked to another guy but there was no dealing and I was hauled off to the immigration office. The guy in the immigration office took his own sweet time doing the paper work and telling me it would do no good to call the American Embassy.  I borrowed the cell phone of another man that was there to call my business contact to let him know that I would not be using  hotel they had booked for me!!  I spent the next 18 hours in their "lovely" detention center...or as they call it an airlines holding area.  So according to them I was NOT detained, just held until the airline could come pick me up!!  There were bars on the windows and a locked bars at the entrance!!  I was detained!
 
Eighteen hours later KLM printed a ticket and came to get me.  They took me to the Air France Lounge where I had my first shower since Friday -- this was Sunday night at 6 PM.  I did call the American Embassy but they could not get South African immigration to make any accommodations like them bringing me pages or anything else.  They did try to negotiate a flight somewhere closer than Amsterdam where I can get pages added and then return here.  But they said I had to fly out back to the destination from which I had come.  What a freaking nightmare.  I finally called my business contact and ask him to call Jerry so he would know that I was all right.
 
 
So....the bottom line is that I flew 46 hours out of about 80...AND technically I have not been to South Africa since I never left the airport!  Lesson learned..know what the country requires before going to it.  I guess I relied on my Travel Department to let me know..but I won't do that next time. All in all, it is funny now but it was definitely NOT funny while I was going through it!  I might go back in a few weeks and I will be prepared.

 



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