February 15, Wednesday

February 15, Wednesday

Well I had another very stressful day, but this one finally ended on a happy note.

First good thing from last night was that the loud music from the bar completely stopped at 11 pm.  It's a law !  Bars must close at 11 pm.  

During the night I flip-flopped about where to go next and by the time I went down for breakfast I had decided to skip Mauritius and head straight for India.    My guide O'sesmus showed up so that we could settle the hotel bill.   They want to be paid in advance rather than at check-out since too many people skip out without paying.   The deal was that if I paid cash instead of with a credit card, they would charge me the equivalent of only $100 / night instead of $120.    That meant going to an ATM to get some $.   I also told him that I had decided to fly to India and would be going to the embassy to apply for my visa.    He said he would come with me and we would get everything done today, visa and the flight to India.   Since I was not feeling too comfortable about roaming the streets on my own I accepted the offer of assistance; it would be worth spending the extra money.  

First stop was the ATM at a Barclays Bank (British & secure).   None of my cards would work !   I thought it might be because of the amount I was trying to withdraw in cash, since I usually only take out about $200 at a time.  I needed about $700 equivalent in Kenyan Shillings so we went into the bank instead and I was able to get a cash advance on my VISA card.   (I'm going on-line today to transfer funds to cover that off so I don't pay exorbitant interest fees).   From there we went to the Indian Embassy and I filled in my forms and waited in line (still had two photos from my visa for Brazil) but found out that there is a 5 working day waiting period !  Only Kenyans can get their visa on the same day.   So I'm stuck here for 1 entire week.
The good news is that while we were walking around I realized that the Delta Hotel, where I am now staying, is just on the border to the "nicer side" of Nairobi; so I will be able to walk around and see some of the sights (just not carrying my purse !).
  From the first night I arrived, in the "not so nice" area of Nairobi.
  The doors of a Hindu Temple
  The streets near where the first and second hotel were located.
  The nicer section of  Nairobi.  From the main plaza:  the conference centre.
 The main plaza, a view of City Hall (White Building)
  The Judicial Building in the same square.
  The gates to the Judicial Building
   A statue of "Kenyatta", the first President of a free Kenya
    The main plaza with a view toward the Parliament Buildings were the Clock Tower is located.

Had to leave my passport behind at the Embassy, don't like that but no choice, so O’sesmus went to make a photocopy so I would have it with me to make airline reservations.   Next stop:  Airline reservations at a travel agency in the main conference centre.   Not only could they book me a flight, but the lady reserved a very nice hotel for me in Mumbai and arranged for someone to pick-me up at the airport.
And then the problems started happening again !   Main Visa Credit card refused,  backup Visa Credit card refused !   Notice indicated to contact my bank.  So the travel agent used her cell phone to dial the 416 number in Canada; unfortunately, when they asked me to punch in the numbers from my card, her cell phone did not have that feature !   So I kept listening to the voice at the other end repeating that I needed to punch in the card numbers, until it FINALLY said it would pass me on to a real person.   Excellent !     NOT:  "Sorry, our office hours are from ___ to ___"   (#*R%&@)% ! ! ! !   Since the travel agency land line did not allow international calls,  we had to find a phone that I could use to call TD Visa.

I put a cash deposit so that she could hold my reservations, and off we went, first to a few banks to try my cards again..... all rejected,  and then finally to an internet centre where they also had 1 phone booth for international calls.   After waiting about 20 minutes, the person who was already in the booth finally came out and I was able to call directly and punch in the numbers for my main card. Finally a person at the end of the line.  In less than 10 minutes everything was solved:   Blocked for security concerns !   Large amount withdrawn at the bank = reached my limit for the week.   Continued efforts to extract more funds at ATMs with my Debit Card = blocked for security reasons.   Second credit card:   limit had already been reached (I keep this one low on purpose).

Kind of nice to know that they are "watching", even though it can be embarrassing to have all 3 cards rejected, but it was a huge amount of money for the flight & hotel.

By this time it was about 1:30 and I was parched, had a headache, and really needed water and juice because my blood sugars were too low.   So we stopped at a restaurant, where I treated O’sesmus to lunch.   He ordered a T-bone steak with roasted potatoes and a side order of salad, plus water and juice.   I had a big plate of fruit and a toasted tuna sandwich with a glass of juice.   The total amount was for less than $12 CANADIAN !   So strange, but it was a local restaurant, and the prices are geared so that people can afford to eat in restaurants.  Salaries here are very low.

Back to the travel agency we went.  Credit card went through without a problem.  I HAVE MY TICKETS to “get the hell out of Dodge”.   Now let's hope that the visa is ready on Feb 22 as promised.
By the time we got back to the hotel, I felt good about being able to wander around on my own.   I paid cash for 5 nights here and will pay for the two other nights next week.

My throat is still sore.  Not a good sign for me since it is usually a harbinger of a cold.   I took a shower, some medication, and spent the rest of the evening watching really bad TV.

Hopefully that's it for the "hic-cups"  in Nairobi.