Oh! How I Missed Home (Part 1)

Its now been almost a month since I left home for an extremely long trip abroad. I know there are lots of people out there who would make my mere one month a non starter as far as traveling is concerned.

Anyway its not unusual for the most normal person to miss home at any one time while away from home for even a short a time as a weekend. This is my story so am going to rule it the way I want. I feel one month is a long time and my word is law. With that I miss home in various ways; however I feel like addressing the differences in the way things are down back home as opposed to how things are done out in the west.

Before I left home the Kenya government officials where on and blabbering about how they are well prepared for the onset of the annual short rains usually slated for October and November each year. Though of course we all don't seem to be able to figure out the weather any longer. I propose we all blame it on global warming.

For me there was grave concern as this year we as a country have been experiencing a stretched period of drought and to the bewilderment of those affected, this years rains are expected to come in the form of massive floods and unending showers commonly known as El-Nino.

Normally other Nations would not take this situation lightly. Okay let's not even look at a Nation as a whole. Personally I would not be comfortable with the impending weather patterns. Here is the reason. If you have long periods going months or years on end without rain in the land which is barely covered with vegetation and whatever is left is eaten down to its roots by livestock; you would be worried. I certainly am.

So anyway; this leaves the top soil all loose and vulnerable to the elements which means when the rain comes down with a vengeance then it ends up washing all the good and fertile soil away.

Okay, let's be frank and realize that's a bit of a mouthful to handle, I will drop it and go on to the rest of my story. I remember how back home after a long day's work; getting home to relax and watch what's on the daily news reel and standing there on screen is the government's spokesman mumbling about how the government is in a good position because:

• It is monitoring the situation closely – Oh Lord!
• All arms of the government are on high alert – Ouch!
• They have mobilized resources to handle the onslaught of the rain – Huh?
• They have consulted with all the stake holders on the next cause of action to take – Yeah, yeah!

The list could go on and on but these statements not surprisingly appear to be generic enough and actually work for any crisis the government of Kenya is face with. It's like our government lives on those words as a staple.

It is interesting how our lives are in the hands of people who are not pro-active at all. I say this because by the time the calamity strikes its the same old problem of the private sector doing the bulk of the damage repair as government and politicians in general and the press too get involved in the blame game and using that as an opportunity to campaign for the country's next elections. By the way which is in 2012. Why does that number sound so familiar? Oh yeah! It happens to be some movie with destruction... you get the picture.

Yeah so as I was saying, it's so not interesting how the government handles every disaster in one blanket solution (Remember the statements above?), then the disaster shows its ugly face. All hell visits Kenya.

After the destruction moves on the neighboring country (depending on the disaster) the private sector and Civil societies are left to pick up the pieces while the government turns the event into a spectacle and a grand opportunity to campaign.

To add insult to injury. While all this is going on a delegation is flown to some European country to go beg for financial and food aid to help the country rise out of the situation it has found it's self in due to no fault of our own.

That is the way we do it back home in Kenya. The good news is, I still love my country.

Next; stay tuned for more reasons why I miss home (Part 2). This could get interesting.

Your Comfort at 32,000 Feet

This may sound like yet another opportunity to give away free publicity and be biased toward a particular airline over others. Heck! Or maybe, an advertising opportunity here. Well, first I start off with assurances that this is not the case. Besides, this blog of mine would make me be sure that I wouldn't agree with that entirely as am compelled to give my strict opinions as that is my intention on this blog (I stress), to be just me and point out whats in my heart.

For those who know me pretty well, will testify that I can take time out a lot of the time to just sit back and reflect on what I have observed from what is happening around me.

So this evening I feel compelled to write about some observations I have made on a couple of the many airlines I have been privileged to fly with. At this point I wouldn't think it fair to make note of what nature throws at these elephants in the sky as that would be just plain cold and so totally out of line.

I mean; who can take care of flights' uncomforties (wish there was such a word) such as turbulence or the G forces experienced during take off.

Anyway, so lets get into the cabin and look at other stuff that separates “The” airlines from “other” airlines. Yeah! You guessed it right. The entertainment in the form of be it movies, food and drink. I have heard a lot of people mention how airline food sucks and worst still, how airline entertainment really sucks. But, to think of it what does one exactly mean airline entertainment?

Take a movie like the new X-men movie... origins or is it something like. Anyway, yes I think we can work with that one. Well, as far as I am concerned X-men on DVD in the theaters or in the airline actually happens to be the same movie. Honestly? I have really tried to think hard about what the difference is and it simply boils down to one thing. The surrounding environment.

Now that we have established that fact, we can safely take the mode of entertainment and food... and drinks out of the equation. So lets now deal with the surrounding environment. The airplane could fall into that category but again I wouldn't want to dwell on that one too reason being that the two airlines I am referring to both have the Boeing 777 seeing its the airline model I have envisioned in my mind.

So far we have variables that seem to balance out on all sides so am still digging in to look for what makes the real difference. That now would bring us to the next level in our search and at this point I would be tempted to look at the on-board staff popularly known as cabin crew.

There must be a lot to mention here. True, so true there is a lot of stuff I could mention at this point. Cabin crew! Thats a gold mine and a half, but that's for another day.

As I take this opportunity to fast forward it now brings us to this last point. Timing. Yes I said it; Timing. Here is what I mean working with Nairobi Time Zone GMT +3 we will examine two routes out of nairobi with a final destination of Washington, DC.

Here is the first scenario. Using KLM as our case study, here is the flight schedule for that flight.

Nairobi (10:50PM) – Amsterdam (5:00PM) 8hrs

Amsterdam (10:00AM) – Washington (2:00PM) 9hrs

The figures above are approximate but they are roughly accurate so please no comments to correct me on them as I wont change them.

Assuming Jack resides in Nairobi, sleeps at around 11PM on normal days, wakes up at 6AM still on normal days. He for some reason has to take the flight described above. Knowing flights to USA, he is already doomed to be subjected to the grueling security procedures for starters. By the time he is now on board the airplane he is already tired and somewhat frustrated and all he can think of is getting some much needed rest and most of all relaxation.

Now would not be the time for him to think about the possibility of his baggage being mishandled but he just needs to relax possibly to the level of getting a good nights sleep. After all it is his bed time isn't it?

Now just as the his brain is down 50% into switching off vital functions of the body by putting some of the organs to sleep, its time to serve up dinner. Helloo! I guess the digestive system is out for the night and now Jack has been forced to force the food down his throat past taste buds that are now malfunctioning and into a stomach that long drained its digestive juices.

As this is trying to happen, Jack remembers how much he coughed up just to have this ticket so he figured there is a portion that has taken care of watching a couple of movies before he gets to his destination. So now his brain already half out has to try so hard to process the information from the LCD screens and its all now a mess. At this point Jack is at the equivalent of running a mile in under a minute. Not a place you want to be in.

By the time the plane gets to Amsterdam its been a long sleepless night with partially digested food running down the digestive system and rushing well ahead of time for the finish line. So the four hours Jack has to linger around the airport as he waits for his connecting flight is doomed once again to the best period of drama he has had in a long time.

As though as an eternity the time finally comes when he can finish the last leg of the flight and its another eight hours of madness part two as his body has not rested a wink . By the time he gets to his final stop he has gotten there all beat up and swears never to fly again.. we all know he will be back.

So speaking of flying once again Jack out character is forced to fly the same route yet again and this time he goes for a different option. Qatar Airlines. Lets see what the Arab airline has to offer.

Nairobi (3:00PM) – Doha (8:00PM) 8hrs

Doha (9:00AM) – Washington (4:00PM) 9hrs

Before you go ahead and notice the 13 hour layover I would urge you to keep reading as it will all become clear. Jack this time around goes on board again from Nairobi at 3pm in the afternoon. Seeing he was at the baggage drop off 3 hours before that then he has found himself just in the right place to enjoy just about any kind of meal seeing it would be about 4pm when he is served up with lunch on top of his last meal which was probably early in the morning.

The same would happen with the entertainment. At this time of day the mind being totally alert Jack has found he is not struggling to enjoy the on-board entertainment. The same goes for later that evening when he lands in Doha and is whisked away to a 5 or 4 star hotel to get the much needed hot bath or shower, a buffet spread for dinner, lovely night's sleep and a hearty breakfast the next morning.

By the time Jack gets on-board on his connecting flight its morning yet again and he is as fresh as ever to embark on the next leg of the journey. Even though its another fifteen hours or so, Jack is as alert as ever and is now ready to enjoy more on-board meals and in-flight entertainment the flight has to offer.

The point of all this is quite simple. I believe for you to make the most of your flights if possible try and fly during the day... at the time you would normally be most alert as per your local time.