Flying to Sana’a
My Emirates flight from Kuala Lumpur to Dubai departed at 0030. It was the perfect flight on the Airbus A330 with four seats to myself. I guess it is because there was another flight on a Boeing 777-300 a couple hours later. After a snack of an open sandwich after take-off, I took half a sleeping pill which gave me 3h of sleep. It was super-silent where I was seated.
Breakfast was a delicious Malaysian meal of roti jala, chicken curry and sayur lodeh. We landed 40 mins early into Dubai but with remote gate parking for the plane, there was a bit of fluffing around.
I had 3h50 of scheduled connecting time which gave me time in the lounge for a shower and a bite.
We had a slightly delayed departure from an airbridge due to no-shows. One of the cabin crew on board was very sultry and rude to the Yemeni passengers which she must have considered to be “below her”. She should wear a badge “I don’t want to be here and I love to show it”. The flight was rather empty today.
After 3 flights (Kuching – Kuala Lumpur – Dubai – Sana’a) totalling 17h including two transits of about 3h each, I landed at Sana’a. I had to wait for the second tarmac bus to take me to the terminal. As a result, it was a long wait at immigration. I was picked up by the school driver Mohammad.
Getting settled back in
I was heartbroken to be accommodated in a room near the Saila (the city’s drainage canal cum road), on the edge of the old city. It didn’t have the charm of the old city and I’d be separated from the companion of friends in the school hostel. Also, I was sharing a room. I was frustrated as well as disappointed. Only two days ago, Jameel (the principal) told me that I had a room in the school hostel. Things don’t always work as expected in Yemen. Also, tomorrow’s trip to Socotra was also in jeopardy. We only had two tickets out of the four that were advised as available … and there’s four of us going!
Tired as I was, I hit the roads (and alleys) to change money and get my local prepaid SIM so I could organise my social life and remain contactable at an economical price. I had hit a snag at the airport ATM which only dispensed USD rather than YER (Yemeni Rials).
Once my SIM card was operational, I rang Marie. I met her in school and after grabbing some lunch takeaways, we went to her apartment. I returned to my room for a rest in the afternoon to recover from my flights. I made the mistake of agreeing to return to her place for dinner. The French eat quite late and with a bit of dilly-dallying it was too late for me to bear. I kicked off the dinner prep so I could eat and get going to bed at my place.
As I went about my errands I noticed some changes in Sanaa after my nine month absence. Somehow it felt more touristy and modern. My favourite diner which was black with soot is now tiled to head-height and repainted. It certainly lost its rustic atmosphere.
Also since Saddam was executed, he seems to have been beatified. There are many shops displaying photos of him, photos pasted in the rear windscreen of cars. Maybe I should sell some bumper stickers while he is still hot. In stark contrast, last trip I didn’t see any icons of devotion to Saddam (even though a friend said that there was a photo of him at the juice stand near school).
My friends at the juice shop. Saddam seems to have been beatified by locals since he was executed.