The Long Slog To Ghana

I got into Accra last night at about 6:30 PM local time after 47 hours of travel. One can certainly get from Albuquerque to Accra in less time and I have. But the imperative during this early phase of the project is keeping costs down. Essentially Wife and I agreed that we could only put so much of our own money into this project before we'd have to call it quits. I have addressed that limit in two ways.

First, I have picked up my regular business game and brought in more money. Since we pay the expenses of this project out of the business if the business is able to pay the cost and still make its expected contributions to the family income, we are not using any of the personal money we've put aside.

Second, I have been extremely aggressive in finding the best airfare I can for these trips. Now with full disclosure remember I am still flying business class (there is no way my 70-year-old + body could withstand this kind of travel in coach). But I've used free frequent flier mile tickets and shopped aggressively for the best fares. I have succeeded in getting flights now that were around double a coach ticket. That may sound like a lot but a regular business class ticket is usually 4 to 6 times a coach ticket.

Now to get that kind of fare means taking some convoluted routes. In this case, I flew from Albuquerque to Chicago, was scheduled for a 5-hour layover and then took a 10+ hour flight to Istanbul, Turkey. I was to leave Albuquerque at 1 PM local time, take off from Chicago at 9:40 local time and arrive in Istanbul at 4:15 PM local time the next day, Friday. Then I had a 21-hour layover in Istanbul leaving on Saturday at 2:40 PM local time arriving in Accra at 6:50 PM local time. Take into account that Accra is 6 hours ahead of Albuquerque and Istanbul is 9 hours ahead. So this route meant jumping 9 hours forward but then the next day giving 3 hours back.

In the event, our plane out of Albuquerque was 2 hours late departing. In this case, the schedule meant that the Magical Unicorn Pony God of Travel wasn't even given an alert. Then in Chicago, we sat on the ground for an extra hour because of weather-related delays. Again with all the time in my schedule, not an issue.

This is the first time I have flown Turkish Airlines on a long haul flight. Their food service and seat size in business are superior. Ranks up with the best Asian experiences I have had (Singapore and Asiaaa). And the new business class lounge in Istanbul is crazily the best food and comfort in business class I have ever had.

I stayed overnight at a hotel in Istanbul, walked to a local neighborhood place for doner and manti (dumplings with yogurt). But I will tell you that the 7-hour fight from Istanbul to Accra was a killer.

One saving grace, I have learned important lessons from Venerable Pulisha, Daughter #2, that when one travels in countries were folk is generally less fortunate than we in the USA, using help and spreading the wealth around is a blessing. So I have a wonderful driver that has proven incredibly reliable so my ride was waiting at the airport and my business travel for the week is taken care of. And I have a woman who has proven to be a reliable personal assistant. She checked out the apartment I am renting ahead of time. She does the shopping and cooks some for me. The amount I pay her is way offset by not having to figure out where to go out to eat after long days. Plus I know that what I pay her is really appreciated.

So today Sunday, I went food shopping with the assistant, got stocked up. After a nice home-cooked meal, I collapsed and let my body acclimate. Tomorrow the fun and game start.