I left Toronto Pearson on December 30th for Mombasa via Amsterdam. I arrived at Schipol on the 31st, early in the morning.
So here I am at Schipol Airport in Amsterdam awaiting my return flight to Toronto. Yes, you read correctly, back to Toronto.
If you haven't heard, Kenya recently had presidential elections - the opposition candidate Raila Odinga was expected to win; early in the polls he had what appeared to be an insurmountable lead, however after delays in the count, the incumbent, Mwai Kibaki ended up winning the elections.
After accusations of voter fraud and election rigging, violence and riots have erupted all over Kenya. From what I hear, Kibaki has already sworn himself in as president elect, while Odinga is also swearing himself in as the "People's President". I don't get it either.
When I landed at Schipol, I called home to see how everything was - I was told NOT to come due to the violence which, by this time, had hit Mombasa, my final destination. I tried to see if I could fly directly back to Toronto, however due to my ticket limitations, I was forced to buy a brand new ticket which would cost me $850.00 Canadian.
While I was on the phone arranging payment, a gentleman, RGC Bischoff at the KLM counter tracked me down to the phone I was using and said that from the time it took me to get from the counter to the phone, a travel advisory has been issued which qualified me to get use the return portion of my original ticket.
Mr Bischoff will probably never come across this tiny little strand of the web, but I would like to offer him my sincerest thanks for going out of his way to get back to Toronto and back to safety. I will writing KLM a letter commending Mr Bischoff for going above and beyond to accommodate me.
Right now it is 10:50 am in Amsterdam, my flight to Toronto leaves at 1:30 PM Amsterdam time and arrives at Pearson International Airport at 3:30 PM EST.
Now I am going to the bar to order a stiff one!
4 comments:
Wow! What a story! I'm sorry to hear about the whole violent outbreak. I hope your family members will be OK. There must be something between you and Darrell about being stranded at airports. I'll let him explain what I mean. Let's just say, he almost didn't make it to Sidney.
Thanks Al. My family have been laying low and do not leave the house unless absolutely necessary. Since my return to Toronto things have gotten even worse!
Heh heh, Darrell filled me on his little adventure getting to Australia - He is there now, safe and sound, hope he has a good time.
That was very nice of Mr. Bischoff to do that!
Sorry you didn't get to go on your trip though. Hopefully the violence in Kenya settles down soon.
Thanks Nhi. It seems things are beginning to settle down. The transportation is up and running, even if sporadically and the family have gone back to the office after a two week absence. I think even Oginda and Kibaki are heading to the table for some talks... all good signs.
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