LONG DAY

It's been a long day and I'm only finished the first of three legs of this journey.   Basically, it has been uneventful.  The flight from Calgary to Toronto was only three hours and twenty odd minutes but seemed to take forever.   I slept a little and watched the movie Inception, but didn't get to the end before we arrived in Toronto.   As we were coming in for the landing and while the aircraft was somewhere in the sky at 10,000 feet +, it suddenly and without warning banked hard to the right and them just as quickly banked left and straightened out.   It was sudden and fast enough to cause me to mutter WTF to myself.   Someone came on the intercom and apologized three or four times stating that we had come too close to another aircraft and had to evade their turbulence.   It was worth a chuckle after it was over but at the time I thought, WTF are we going to crash?  I'll never make it to Kabul.   But all was well and the rest of the landing took place without incident.  

I left the secure area and headed toward Terminal 3 which is where I thought I connected to Emirate Air.  When I got there I discovered (again) that I should have put my glasses on before reading the ticket.  We arrive at Terminal 3 in Dubai, but we leave Toronto from Terminal 1 where I had arrived from Calgary.  So it was back to Terminal 1.   When I got there I realize the ticket that was printed for me in Calgary didn't have a gate number.  With well over 500 gates at Terminal 1 I had no idea where to go.  So I approached the Emirates Air desk to ask.  Buddy had a look at my itinerary and told me that my booking didn't show the connection to Kabul and that meant that I would have had a very hard time leaving Dubai without a Visa.  So he added my Kabul connection and issued me with a new ticket.  I may have screwed up on the Terminals but everything does happen for a reason and if I hadn't screwed up, I probably would have gotten jammed up in Dubai.  

Finally, when I got through  security I scouted out a place to eat.  I hadn't eaten in about 11 hours and by belly was starting to think my throat had been cut.  I had a beer while waiting for the grilled salmon I'd order and had quite a buzz on by the time I finally ate.  Just to make certain the buzz was a good one, I had another pint.  $46.00 for two beer and a bite to eat.  Good thing the UN is paying me good money.

Waiting for Reg to make an appearance.  We will make the rest of the journey together.  The adventure continues although I still have another 25 -26 hours in transit.

THE POWER OF SUGGESTION

I know that people only mean well when they express concern for my well being, but I wish they wouldn't.  I know from experience that it's the fear of the unknown that plays most on the mind and all this expressed fear for my safety only adds to the apprehension.   Fortunately, I also know from experience that apprehension starts to disappear once the actual travel begins and, it usually totally dissipates once I'm on the ground.   It was the same in '93 when everyone was so negative about going to Mostar.  I had the feeling that there was no way I was going to make it through the six months and if I did, I would return home with both legs and both arms gone, blinded and struck dumb.   Of course it was dangerous in Mostar, but nearly as dangerous as people had led me to believe and once the "street" rules were learned it wasn't anymore dangerous than when I was 20 years old, working alone in violent Canadian communities.  I guess it's all relative to what people perceive as dangerous.   I just wish people would be a little more upbeat and not so morbid.

MAYBE IT WILL HAPPEN THIS TIME

Well, I've received my itinerary for travel to Kabul.  I will be approximately 36 hours in transit.  Hence, I do think it will be a long day.   I am hooking up with a fellow named Reg Pitts, a recently retired Toronto Metro copper who will be working for UNODC as well but in a different area than me.   It will be good to have someone to travel will to Dubai and Kabul.  We have already discussed purchasing access to the Emirate Airline business class lounge in Dubai so we have a place to relax during the 10 hour layover.

Today, I will be doing the final finishing touches on my packing.  All of my main gear has long since been packed and all I have now are the few odds and ends that will be going into my carry on bag.

I guess this is it.  The next entry should (God Willing) be about the trip to Kabul.

LET THE ADVENTURE BEGIN.

FOURTH TIME THE CHARM?

Because of the time difference between Calgary and Kabul, I've been checking my email during the very early hours.  I checked it at 4 am today and was happy to see an email from Muratza providing a travel itinerary for a Friday departure.  So, the next attempt, attempt #4 will be made on Friday, April 8.  If all goes well I depart Calgary on Air Canada for Toronto.  There I will switch to Emirates Airline for the flight to Dubai.  After a lengthy stop over in Dubai I will fly on FlyDubai to Kabul, arriving early Sunday morning.   It promises to be a lengthy transit time and I suspect I will be very tired by the time I reach Kabul.   I will, in all likelihood, purchase access to the Emirates business class lounge in Dubai so I can have a place to rest and relax before the final leg.  I'm trying avoid getting too geared up to go after having been ready and delayed three times already.   I'll believe it when it happens.  Perhaps the fourth time will be the charm and I will be able to report that the adventure has begun.

TWO SLEEPS AND A WAKEUP OR DELAY

Events of the past two days in Afghanistan my delay my departure.  Two days of protests, some violent and a multiple suicide bomber attack on a US military base outside Kabul as resulted in a UN lockdown.  Why the lockdown?  The first protest, in northeast Afghanistan resulted in the killing of several UN international workers and some of their Nepalese security guards.

So, will this cause me a further delay?  My guess is yes it will.   For how long I have no idea.  I expect to hear something tonight or early tomorrow morning.   If I'm wrong and they still want me to travel, will I given the situation?  Yes.   My only fear is that I get stranded in Dubai on my own nickel.  My contract does not kick in until my boots are on the ground in Kabul, so I don't think they will cover any of my costs if I should be delayed enroute.   This is something I will have to clarify before I leave if asked to leave during the current troubles.

Why all the troubles in Afghanistan?  Well it seems that a very narrow minded pastor in Florida decided to publicly burn a Quran after holding a "trial" and finding it guilty.  Guilty of what I'm not sure.  And, although the burning of the Quran went almost unnoticed in Afghanistan, the president of Afghanistan, Mr. Karzai decided to speak out in a speech about the incident.  This brought it to the attention of the Afghan people who's Mullahs urged them to protest.  It is commonly thought that insurgents highjacked what started out as peaceful protests and turned them violent.

So here I sit and wait.  Not just for my flight but it find out if there will be a flight.

COUNT DOWN

So every thing that needs to be done, is done.  All the paperwork, the visa, the medical and evacuation insurance.  Even the flight is booked.  

It's Thursday and I leave next Monday.  Four days to do all those little things that need to be done.  Four days to keep busy so the days don't drag while I wait for that day of departure.

I posted on Face Book.  Friends tell me to keep my head down, to be safe and not take chances.  All those things that people say when they think someone is heading into harm's way.   It reminded me of my first tour in Bosnia.

I was in Zagreb, Croatia waiting for a flight south.  To Mostar, the city in Bosnia where I would be stationed along with another RCMP member.  But we couldn't get a flight for three days.  So we scammed a room at the military officers hotel at PLESSO, the UN airbase in Zagreb.  We wandered around PLESSO meeting many interesting people who all uttered a similar opinion.  "You guys are going to Mostar!  You poor bastards."  By the third day, both of us believed we would be dead by the end of our first day in Mostar.  When we finally got there, it was bad.  But not as bad as everyone thought because although we worked in Mostar, we lived about 30 km away in a relatively safe location.

So, I've been through this before and while I very much appreciate their concern, experience has shown me that perception and reality are often distant cousins.

But Mostar is another story about another planet in another life.

My new reality will see me board a flight from Calgary to Toronto followed by a flight to Dubai and then onto Kabul.   Once in Kabul I expect to be processed, provided  UNODC identification and if I'm lucky some sort of familiarization process before being whisked off to the city or Herat where I'm told I will spend most of my time in country.   At this point it is all so abstract.

Thursday is almost over.  Four sleeps and a wake up and then the adventure will begin.