I am actually writing this as I am sitting on the plane. We have been in the air for 7 hours now, with another 5.5 to go! I am en route to Hong Kong, and then after a very long layover, to Hanoi - where the current night time temperature is 78 degrees! I am trying hard not to imagine the day-time temperature.
Anyway, it was my sister's birthday yesterday, and with a family gathering last night, it was a little bit of a crazy day, and there is still so much I felt I needed to do, including changing Rands into US Dollars :)
Try explaining to the Foreign Exchange Bureau at the airport that you do not have proof of residence with you, because you have not lived in he country for the last 10 months. So, now I have Rands with me that I sincerely hope can be changed in Hong Kong.
And then the drama at the airport with my excess luggage. As you can imagine, moving to another country means the one little standard suitcase allowance will not do. So I have 24kg in excess luggage. Well, I had more than that when I moved to Boston (seems like yesterday), both going and returning two weeks ago, and on both occasions the fee was around $155 - thank you British Airways for being reasonable. Well. Let me tell you, Cathay Pacific; whole different ball game. Their fees are in excess of R600 PER KG. The final bill, for those not in the mood to do quick math: over R15,000! Considering that my flight ticket was only R10,700, it would have been cheaper to buy a 2nd seat, and have 2 people's luggage allowance. Lesson learned: never fly Cathay Pacific when relocating to another country. They are not likely to see me on their flights ever again!
Anyway, it was my sister's birthday yesterday, and with a family gathering last night, it was a little bit of a crazy day, and there is still so much I felt I needed to do, including changing Rands into US Dollars :)
Try explaining to the Foreign Exchange Bureau at the airport that you do not have proof of residence with you, because you have not lived in he country for the last 10 months. So, now I have Rands with me that I sincerely hope can be changed in Hong Kong.
And then the drama at the airport with my excess luggage. As you can imagine, moving to another country means the one little standard suitcase allowance will not do. So I have 24kg in excess luggage. Well, I had more than that when I moved to Boston (seems like yesterday), both going and returning two weeks ago, and on both occasions the fee was around $155 - thank you British Airways for being reasonable. Well. Let me tell you, Cathay Pacific; whole different ball game. Their fees are in excess of R600 PER KG. The final bill, for those not in the mood to do quick math: over R15,000! Considering that my flight ticket was only R10,700, it would have been cheaper to buy a 2nd seat, and have 2 people's luggage allowance. Lesson learned: never fly Cathay Pacific when relocating to another country. They are not likely to see me on their flights ever again!
