October 7, 2010
My game of intercontinental hopscotch has reached it's end. After three attempts, I have finally made it to Madgascar, though precisely where is not entirely clear. More on that later.
The first hop was Zurich. Somehow, I failed to notice the 18 hour overnight layover until the night before my flight. I scrambled to find an affordable place to sleep in ?ber expensive Zurich but, ultimately had to defer that decision until arrival. Fortunately, I also checked out SleepingInAirports.com to see if there was a backup plan because that is what happened. Using expensive roaming minutes, I called from the airport. The cheapest option was full. The not quite as cheap but actually very nice option was also full. The third option was passable and a bit expensive but claimed to have a bed. I navigated Zurich's confusing subway and tram system with terse directions from the hostel and the rail system information booth and found... Well, actually, I didn't find it. Eventually, I found a map at a tram shelter and determined that the hostel was not all that close to the tram line and the routing to get there wasn't all that simple. I briefly considered trying to find it now using the shelter map from memory. But it was late and I wasn't sure how long the trains operated. It also seemed likely that the hostel was already full. Back to the airport, I went. The couch at Starbucks wasn't exactly luxury but it was free.
In Nairobi, I at least, had a bed. Still not my favorite town but I managed to get Larium and socks (minor packing failure) before taking flight for a third time. Curious observation: bikes, motorized and not, are uncommon in Nairobi. There are many cars, and many more well dressed people walking but 3rd world Asia's transportation choice has not caught on in East Africa's largest city.
It was well past 10:00pm when my taxi finally reached my hotel in Antananarivo. This is place that came recommended online as good, lower cost alternative to the pricey standards. It wasn't in the guide book but I didn't really trust my four year old guide book. It is a decent place but I'm not quite sure where it is. It is off the map compared to what the guide book shows. Other maps aren't portable and don't completely agree with each other anyway. I needed a Malagasy phrase book, more currency, and a solid plan to get to Andasibe. None of these things will accomplished today and I can only stay here until Saturday. I have some improved navigation information (but still no complete map) so I try again tomorrow.
No photos this time. Antananarivo and Nairobi are both risky places to pull out a camera and the opportunity to stop and take pictures never really came up in Zurich.