Category: Travel

So yesterday was my day off. I didn’t go in to work or do any posting, instead I decided to stay home with Nat who was still exhausted from her evacuation. Thanks to everyone who left comments welcoming her, she will most probably post about her experience today. One thing I realized is that leaving Lebanon isn’t a problem, its the Syrian airport that is.

According to a Kuwaiti lady Nat spoke to at the Damascus airport, it seems some Kuwaitis are really pissed off at the Kuwait embassy. According to that lady, the Kuwaiti embassy dropped them off at the airport with the promise they would be able to find a plane back to Kuwait but she had been in the airport for 2 day and she still is on the waiting list. There are also no representatives from the Kuwaiti embassy at the airport either, they were just dropped off and left alone. Hopefully the lady is back in Kuwait now and that there are no more people stuck like that at the airport.

update: just spoke to a friend who arrived yesterday from Damascus. She told me that she was able to get on an earlier Jazeera flight because they has 16 seats free so I guess there shouldn’t be any more Kuwaitis stuck waiting for a vacant seat.

As I mentioned earlier today Nat arrived at the Damascus airport around 1:40PM. Her flight takes off at 9PM so she wasn’t able to check in until after 7PM. I spoke to her on the phone and she told me the airport is a disaster. Its understaffed, overcrowded and it seems like there is no AC even. She told me a lot of Gulf nationals were panicking and having nervous breakdowns and that the situation at the airport is unbearable.

She called me up at around 1AM telling me one of the cab drivers she was talking to earlier in the day called her and told her that drivers found a diversion around one of the roads they bombed yesterday. He told her if she wants he could take her to Syria for $500. I told her it was her decission to make and that I was half asleep and wanted to go back to sleep. She told me she was going to do it and the driver was going to come pick her up at 11AM, he is coming from Syria to pick her up.

So a few minutes ago I message her asking her what she is doing and if she is packed yet since it was nearly 10AM and I know she leaves things till the last minute. She messages me telling me she is at the Syrian border which pissed me off. I called her up and told her this is no time to joke around but she tells me she IS at the Syrian border. Turns out the driver picked her up at 8AM and when I called her up she had just crossed the Lebanese border and about to enter Syria.

Her cellphone signal was weak so I couldn’t talk to her much but I will post updates when I get them.

update: she crossed the Syrian border

update 2: Nat messaged me at 1:40PM telling me she was at the airport and to call her. I call her up and she sounded a bit freaked. She told me the airport is over crowded and she can barely move. She told me she couldn’t even find a trolley to put her bag on. She was also feeling dizzy since she had been in the car since 8AM and there was no AC so her head was spinning everytime she stood up. Her flight is at 9PM and she can’t find a magazine stand or anything nearby. She is resting now before she goes looking for the Jazeera Airways stand.

You really have to owe it to these guys, they have done an amazing job so far.

Jazeera Airways is ready to fly travelers with tickets from other airlines to return to Kuwait at NO cost. Travelers must report to Jazeera Airways’ Damascus office with their tickets

Jazeera Airways accepts Kuwaitis with NO tickets at NO cost, with letter from Kuwait Embassy in Damascus

All Beirut flights re-routed to Damascus for 7 days (until July 21). Booked travelers have the option of flying to Damascus (or flying from Damascus to Kuwait), or canceling their flight and receiving credit in the amount of their ticket to be used to any Jazeera Airways destination within 12 months

[Link]

I purchased Nats ticket with my Jazeera account so they just sent me the following message:

We hope you are safe. Beirut airport is closed. You can travel via Damascus, or cancel and receive credit for future travel. Call 4338540 for more info.

This article I am linking to talks about the art of one carry on and gives tips on how to travel light. Its in response to Marzouqs British Airways post on how they recently decreased their baggage weight limit from 32KG down to 23KG. Jazeera Airways travellers have already mastered the technique of light travel since Jazeera allows only 20KG of baggage weight. [Link]

I figured this is a good time to post this link since many people are travelling. Seat Guru is the ultimate source for airplane seating, in-flight amenities and airline information.

Say you are flying with KLM on their 747 jet and you reserved seat row 30A and want to know if you made the right decision. With Seat Guru you would know you didn’t since they have that seat marked as “Be aware”. On the other hand seat 35C is marked as a “Good seat”. Flying Lufthansa on their Airbus A340? Lucky you since you will have internet access plus if you are seated in either business or first class you get your own power port.

Very helpful info. [Link]

I have been using Moleskines ever since I first saw one with Nibaq. I usually buy the plain pocket sized notebook and its actually the only version I have ever bought since I never needed anything else until I saw the Moleskine City notebook. The Moleskine City notebook is made for travelling and they come in various city editions. I want the Montreal and New York editions but they don’t come out till 2007 so for now I am probably going to order the Amsterdam one. I think these notebooks would be cooler if shared amongst friends. So I could travel to Amsterdam, mark my notes down and then pass the notebook to my friend when he travels to Amsterdam. That way he could get some tips from me and then fill in his own notes. It could be really useful. [Link]

Book to any Jazeera Airways destination and get the following prices:

Book on April 2nd and pay KD 2 (USD 7) one-way
Book on April 3rd and pay KD 3 (USD 10) one-way
Book on April 4th and pay KD 4 (USD 14) one-way
Book on April 5th and pay KD 5 (USD 17) one-way

These very low fares are for flights between April 23 and May 23 and are only for bookings made through jazeeraairways.com and travel agents.

Update: More info on this offer is available [here]
I just bought a two way ticket to Lebanon for Nat and the total came out to KD26 after taxes. Someone else in the office tried to get a ticket for the same day but their total came out KD62. The prices are going up quickly as more and more seats are being filled so hurry up.

Update 2: In case I wasn’t clear I meant to say that tickets on certain dates are getting more expensive because a lot of people are choosing the same day (ie weekends for example). You can find KD2 tickets but it most probably will be during the weekday.

Nataly just called me from the airport, her Emirates flight was delayed and arrived 45 minutes late! So let me get this right, last week my sister faced delays when she flew with Emirates to Dubai and back. A couple of days ago Nat’s flight to Dubai using Emirates got delayed over 2 hours, and now, on her way back to Kuwait it got delayed 45 minutes. Why is this the best airline in the world again?

I just got off the phone with Nat. I don’t think she is coming back to Kuwait, she is in love with Dubai… must be the alcohol..

Nataly is stuck at the airport, her flight to Dubai on board Emirates was delayed 2 hours and 15 minutes. Last week my sisters flight to Dubai also on board Emirates was delayed an hour and a half. So why are people still flying with Emirates instead of Jazeera I don’t know…

I just checked my email today morning and found an interesting offer by Jazeera Airways. Two return flight tickets to Beirut plus a one night stay at a 4 star hotel for only KD129. Not a bad deal and not a bad idea at all. [Link]

I took my Holga Camera with me to Lebanon and while I was there I took some pictures. A bunch came out a bit blurry I am guessing either because I wasn’t holding the camera steady enough or the fact that the focus system on this $20 camera isn’t very reliable. Some pictures turned out interesting and I am really starting to get a handle on this camera. Its terrible for indoor shots (no flash, shutter speed 1/100 with 8f, my film is iso 100) but does a great job during the day outdoor. Its definitely a landscape camera. Here are my favorite pictures from my trip. [Link]

Its not as bad as Kuwait’s Airport (its pretty close though) but it still sucks. First of all it stinks of something, like coming into a house that hasn’t had their windows open for years. The AC is also off and its really hot and stuff.. I am in my tshirt nearly sweating. There is Internet but its like $10 for 75 minutes. There is no entertainment, and 1 very over priced restaurant. My flight has been delayed, way to go Kuwait Airways. I am bored.