Travel to South Africa and Mozambique: Return to Europe
The entire route of the trip to South Africa and Mozambique, as well as useful tips, information and costs, you can read Here.
To the previous travelogue: Arabs and Bulgarians in Cape Town
From Cape Town via Johannesburg to Nairobi
The next day I got up at 3:00. (!) to get on the flight from Cape Town to Johannesburg with Flysafair. Happily, the flight arrived on schedule, as only after a short stop was my other flight of the day - from Johannesburg to Nairobi with Kenya Airlines. During this second 4-hour flight all the time outside, the weather was clear and sunny, and as we approached Nairobi, it broke down. Locals claim that such a rainy season, accompanied by multiple floods like this year, did not have.
I had booked dinner online at a traditional Kenyan restaurant Carnivore Restaurant, but due to lack of sleep I gave up on going. Otherwise, the price for buffet type consumption is $40-50 and this restaurant can be reached both with Uber and organized transport. (See here)
There are 2 other interesting restaurants in Nairoji (Brazilski) - Fogo Guaco Nairobi, which again offers buffet consumption for 2850 KES = BGN 40 incl. soft drink and the establishment mamaashanti.
The hotel I had booked through Booking was called Lantern Apartments (see here) and to my dismay it was located in the Indian neighborhood (ie it is not safe). The room itself was perfectly furnished with decent furniture and kitchenware, but the building was terrible, terribly noisy. At night it didn't stop raining and every drop was heard, as well as every conversation and especially the alarm (type of SOT) in the parking lot next door, which when it started to howl in half an hour there was no stopping! There was also a bonus - a balcony and what a pleasure it was to go out on the balcony... and find yourself in the staircase of the building!
–> Browse and book a budget hotel in Nairobi at a discount. see here!
MY MOST “BLACK” FLIGHT
The next morning, I took another flight—from Nairobi to London, again on Kenya Airlines. It was inexplicable to me that my “blackest” flight wasn’t somewhere in Africa, but rather on the flight from Nairobi to London. I was stunned. In that huge 3x3-seater plane, there were probably fewer white people than on the 2x2-seater flight from Johannesburg to Maputo. On this 8-hour flight, I literally gorged myself—there were two main courses and a snack of nuts. Thank you, Kenya Airways! During the flight, there was severe turbulence as we flew over the Sahara Desert, but the captain never turned on the seatbelt signs. Strange…
Landing at Heathrow Airport in London there were several ways to get to the city of Luton. There is a free shuttle bus between the separate terminals of the airport. The metro in London is divided into zones and the more distance you cover, the more expensive the ticket.
How to get to Luton from Heathdrow Airport?
1. Direct bus National Express connecting directly the two airports - costs about 30 pounds one way (see here)
2. Metro + bus - with the dark blue Piccadill Line metro line from the airport get off at the Hyde Park Corner stop, then walk to the Victoria Station stop and from there by bus to Luton (Route 757 Greenline) - Metro costs around £6-7 + another £11-12 for the bus (see here)
3. Metro + train - with the dark blue Piccadill Line metro line from the airport get off at the London St Pancras International stop and from this station by train to Luton - the subway costs 6-7 pounds + another 10 pounds For the train. Important: Most train tickets are for a specific train and time! There are employees who check the tickets on the train itself. (See here)
Am I really in London?
I decided to move with option 3 - metro+ train. Getting on the subway inside was a group of Indians who spoke in Indian; French - in French and some other foreign group in their own language. There were also some Englishmen here and there with purple and pink hair dyed and other even stranger hairstyles. Where have the normal neat English gone? Echo?
Since my last flight of all this unforgettable trip would be from Luton airport to Sofia the next morning, I had booked a room in Luton. I walk to the lodgings in Luton and everywhere Indians and here and there negroes. I check into the room and the landlord was also an Indian. Seriously? That in Africa there were more whites. So the mystery now is: where did the average English people hide? Those with white skin and light hair? Any ideas?
Otherwise, the apartment (see here) was quite extreme with its super steep and narrow staircase I had to climb my suitcase on. And the toilet-bathroom was unique - you could brush your teeth at the same time as you were sitting on the toilet. It was so small and narrow, but apparently people think rationally. 🙂
–> Browse and book a budget hotel in London at a discount. see here!
My last flight - from Luton to Sofia was with Wizz Air. A few months ago, there was an accident in the parking lot at the Luton airport - a car caught fire and now the multi-storey parking lot was not functioning, and the cars and taxis stopped at an improvised parking lot, which was located about 500 meters from the terminal. This distance had to be covered on foot, carrying the entire Baga with it. Only city buses could reach the terminal directly. And the terminal itself - wow (!) - was teeming with people. Many flights in the morning, from various places, employees were called for certain flights, so that if there were passengers for them, they could transfer them faster during the inspections.
Here for the second time I checked my suitcase and here they broke it for me - this time on the other side... For more symmetry, maybe 🙂 again filling out a baggage damage form. Such claims must be made immediately after landing. Complaints about broken suitcases in Bulgaria are being implemented by the Svetlabag company (see here).
In the end, Kenyan Airlines did not send me any suitcase, although I had to, but Wizz Air through this Bulgarian company gave me a brand new suitcase in a color similar to the broken suitcase.