Malawi Journey Day Zero: Slipping Up & Leaving Home, 27 September 2013


Alan Wilson , CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Click here or below for a placeholder with links to the photographs, itineraries and even (if you dare) scans of the hand-written journals from our amazing journey to Malawi.

If you prefer to read the typed up journals illustrated with pictures, these shall be going up during November 2020, starting with Day Zero below.

Having taken a tumble on the way home from Michael’s [Gresham] lecture the night before, Ged [I] had more work still to do then had planned, plus a freezer to defrost.

Gosh yes I remember taking that tumble near Chancery Lane tube. Michael had delivered this lecture at Barnards Inn Hall. We’d have hosted a drinks reception in the “Headmaster’s Study” after the lecture, during which at least one person will have sidled up to me, pointed at the Chandos Portrait and said, “has anyone ever told you…”

But I digress. In my hurry to get home, I lost my footing and went face first, luckily breaking my fall without injury. A very kind, strong young chap picked me up, checked that I hadn’t concussed myself and then went on his way with his mates. Lucky escape.

Ended up rushing.

Meanwhile Daisy’s [Janie’s] packing is also far from a problem free activity. I got to Daisy’s place around 14:00 which gave us time (just) to get her car in for bodywork, have a snack lunch, get the packing finished, 15 to 20 winks and then off to Heathrow.

The highlight of that fraught morning have been the discovery that we’ve been upgraded to club by our fairy godmother [Toni Friend]. So, we had the benefit of the club lounge once we got through airport formalities.

Toni (a client/friend of Janie’s) worked for BA and often ways to get us upgraded, sometimes far enough ahead of time to get us airport as well as aircraft hospitality. Gosh we were lucky. Thanks Toni.

The flight was pretty much on time and the club class hospitality was good. We tasted the beef dish despite both fancying the chicken dish as the latter had proved enormously popular. Winters Drift Chardonnay and a very jolly burgundy.

Breakfast was okay too. In between we both slept well, partly the bed like sitting in club but mostly the sheer exhaustion probably.

While disembarking [at Johannesburg], the safety procedures announcement started again, humorously.

Goodbye Aditya, Goodbye Southern Asia, Time To Go Home, 25 & 26 February 2011

Took exercise in the suite and also took a little sun before checking flights and then breakfast.

Aditya breakfast included juice and fruit, kola kanda, breads and danish, sausages, eggs, baked beans, roti potatoes and yoghurt!

Took more sun and reading until about 1400 when we washed, paid up, finish packing and left Aditya with Samantha pronounced Saman-dthe.

Very long drive, horrendous traffic and Ged started to panic a bit although we reached the airport with a good 90 minutes before takeoff.

Comedy urgent search for club lounge and many many security checks.

Then at Chennai we had a farcical transit missing the chance to go out for a few hours in favour of some comedic transit fun including upsetting security by sitting on the only free seats and BA having to go through the motions of taking us back in baggage wise and reissuing our boarding passes.

Still we spoke some interesting folk e.g. the Norwegian businessman pulling out of Sri Lanka and a nice bloke from DHL outsourcing to Chennai.

Amazingly we and our luggage arrived home in a timely fashion.

China (Beijing, Yunnan and Sanya), A First Class Journey & Arrival In Beijing, 3 & 4 April 2010

We were very keen to see a rural and scenic part of China; Yunnan Province seemed to fit the bill. We’d also seen little of Beijing on our first visit to China, which in any case had been so long ago.

The journey was a bit of a contrast too.

Got ready at leisure – the cab wasn’t due until 1400 in any case. But the cab didn’t show – blind panic!

Arranged a local cab and we set off 25 minutes later than intended – good job there was no traffic.

Got through procedures pretty quickly – fast track and all – went to Dixons where Ged splashed the cash on a new camera and accessories.

Then to club lounge where we learnt that we have been upgraded to 1st class. Snacked at smaller “club lounge” by gate. Then boarded.

Plane slightly delayed at this point but with three staff attending to the three first class passengers the journey passed remarkably quickly.

Ged watched Sex & Drugs & Rock’n’Roll. Daisy same plus several other movies.

Toni Friend, who worked for BA, had helped us to get a good price on Club Class tickets. She then went the extra distance for us and got us upgraded to first class – our only ever experience of flying first class. Extremely luxurious and pampering it was; quite unsettlingly so in fact. But a super kind treat and it is nice to have done it once.

Arrived in Beijing on time – huge airport. Much changed in 16/17 years.

Met by guide Sophie and taken to DuGe Courtyard Hotel [a beautiful Hutong]– very nice.

Go through mandatory room change/upgrade procedures followed by room safe failure procedures too. In the midst of all this go for a stroll around the Hutong district, in particular walk Nanluogu Xiang a few times, partly in vain search of recommended restaurant.

Return to enjoy new room (suite) and a beer on our stoop which looks out onto the lovely courtyard.

Slept plenty in the afternoon, then fiddle around with camera and water system. Bath and get recommendation from hotel for a local restaurant.

End up at home your roast duck restaurant. Unprepossessing to look at but superb meal for a tenner plus unexpected tip – certainly a local place! Very tired on return.

There is a placeholder and links piece for this trip, with links to all the photographs, the full itinerary and stuff – click here for that.