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August 15, 2005
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Myself and the team leader turned up at the Air France Ticket desk at about 5.30am. There were tickets available, no problem. There was even availability on the connecting 12.40 into Dublin, meaning I'd be getting home 3 hours early!
The ticket desk guy wasn't used to selling tickets(!) so they took about half an hour each to process. It was a Herculean task of concentration that required the furrowing of brow and much sucking of teeth, finally after an epic of stamping and transcribing the precious items were handed over. Luckily for him there were only the two of us from the cancelled BA flight looking for tickets.
The BA desk next door was empty when we arrived, but a worried looking staff member had just turned up as we were leaving. He knew that he was about to have a very bad day.
The connection in Paris was pretty tight, I had about 30 minutes to get from one plane to the next and I did myself no favours by jumping on a bus which took 15 minutes to get to the other terminal when I could have walked there in 5. Terminal 2F is a pretty amazing piece of architecture, but with minutes to go, I had no time to appreciate it properly.
My return flights were confirmed today, going through Heathrow both outbound and return. I think I'll pack a few sandwiches..
Posted by Richard at 05:56 PM | Comments (0)
August 12, 2005
Just get me to Europe.
Well the outward bound flight didn't take off, so it looks like I'm going to have to find another way home.
There's an Air France flight to Paris at 07.30, but there's no online booking for it. There might be another flight to Paris later in the morning with Syrian Air, but their website is woeful so I can't be sure of that either. Otherwise I'll take anything that gets me to anywhere in Europe with a direct-ish connection to Dublin.
God knows when I'll get home, but I'm off to the airport now to try my luck. If I have any luck left the place won't yet be swarming with the 200+ people who were due to be on the BA flight.
Posted by Richard at 02:14 AM | Comments (1)
August 11, 2005
Oh Shit...
Food fight grounds BA - The Guardian
Typical. It looks like all BA flights from Heathrow terminals 1 and 4 have been grounded by a wildcat strike. Guess which terminals I'm using tomorrow?
BA are saying that BMED flights aren't yet affected (they operate the Heathrow-Damascus route on behalf of BA) but if tonight's outward flight doesn't take off I'm snookered. I'll be keeping a close eye on that one.
My flight from Heathrow to Dublin is a codeshare with Aer Lingus, so I have no idea what the story might be with that one.
The prospect of a day spent hanging around in departure lounges might delight Michael O'Leary but the last time I was a 'captive customer' I was locked (in more ways than one) in here. Much more enjoyable.
Posted by Richard at 06:22 PM | Comments (1)
Finished!
Right, that'll have to do.
My draft report has been handed in. I have a few bits and pieces to finish when I get home, but I'm done.
The last week has been hard work, late nights hammering away, plenty of meetings and no socialising. It was a great experience and I'd do it again in a shot, but perhaps not for as long next time.
Now it's time to pack the bags and have a celebratory beer or two. Not too many though, it's an early start for the trip home tomorrow.
Posted by Richard at 05:44 PM | Comments (0)
August 08, 2005
Almost done, sort-of.
T minus Three days and cooounting Meester Bond...
Almost there. Only about 50 pages of reports to write and I'll be free to go. But they want me back. Maybe they should wait until they've read what I've written so far!
Yes, it looks like escape is impossible, I'll be back in Damascus for a week at the end of the month. The pressure is really on to get everything done by then, and the more hands they have the better.
I finally have someone working with me, he only speaks French though, which isn't making things easy. My schoolbook French isn't up to scratch for much more than asking if he's ok (he's 'bien' apparently) Zut Alors!
Posted by Richard at 09:42 PM | Comments (3)
August 07, 2005
Still alive, just...
Last Thursday we decided that a trip up to the mountain overlooking the city for a beer or two and a quick bite would be the perfect way to round off the week.
After turning down a couple of taxi's on the basis of expense (we could have gone to Beirut for what one guy was trying to charge) we ended up in the car of a madman.
You know the type, bug-eyed, chain smoking, cackling and rattling off a list of his favourite whiskeys over the arabic warbling screaming from the stereo. He revelled in the extra power of his car (a massive 1.4 rather than the 1.1 engines in most taxis) He threw it, and us, all over the road, screaming up the inside lane of the wrong side of the four lane highway that leads up to the hills.
As he dropped us off he insisted we take his number, we were too speechless to refuse.
Still, the view was worth it. Unlike the food, which the kids serving us tried to charge 40 euro for. We must have had our gullible tourist t-shirts on.
The USB port on my laptop has finally gone west, so the photo's will have to wait until I get home
Posted by Richard at 07:46 PM | Comments (0)
August 02, 2005
A rooftop beer.
A good day's work, a cold beer and a view out over the city.
Nice, eh?
That's the Jesus Minaret of the Umayyad mosque in the left of the picture. Legend has it that this is where Jesus will appear on the Day of Reckoning. No sign of him there last night, so I reckon we're all fine for the next few days at least. I'll keep an eye out though..
Posted by Richard at 09:43 PM | Comments (1)
A walk around the Old City.
Finally, internet access has been restored in the hotel.
I haven't been able to access the net from my room for nearly a week, there was something wrong with the government-owned server through which traffic from the hotel passes.
I managed to get a few good pictures during a walk around the old city last Friday. The city was very quiet, as most things shut for the day.
This lane is normally jammed with people, the Friday effect in action.
A view to the mountain which forms the northern edge of the city. The citadel is the building to the left. The Mosque in the centre of the picture is across the street from my hotel
Another typical street. There must be thousands of cars parked up at the side of the lanes throughout the Old City.
This is Straight Street, as referred to in the Bible. Paul had his eyesight restored here. Speaking of which, I might get myself a new pair of glasses here, they're about a fifth of the price I'd pay at home.
This street is near the Citadel. The streets in this area are arranged a grid pattern and are quite a bit wider than the lanes that cover most of the Old City.
A covered Souk, or market. Again this lane is normally packed full of people and the occasional minibus, complete with driver sitting on the horn and yelling at people to get out of the way.
The famous Souk al-Hamidiyya. It's a bit like a glitzy department store when the shops are open. It's not possible to buy anything which hasn't had gold inlay or trim added. Apparently those are bulletholes in the roof, shot by French planes during a rebellion in 1925.
Posted by Richard at 08:20 PM | Comments (2)