Arrival in DRC

Arrived in Democratic Republic of Congo today. What a long trip! 21 or so hours of flying and 11 hours of layovers. I am glad this is supposed to be my last international trip this year. I’ve really added up the frequent flyer miles!

The arrival at DRC was interesting. Plane lands, they roll up the stairs, and you exit the plane onto the air-field. Everyone then heads towards the airport building to clear customs and collect bags. Normally, when you exit the plan outside, there are people to guide you, and they force you to stay in a single path, and to go to a specific area. Here, people just disburse all directions. Makes it a little hard to figure out what you are supposed to do.

As we walk up to the building, we immediately find a person holding a sign with our names on it. This is the customs building, so we assume he will walk with us through customs and out the door. Instead, he directs us to leave the building, and we go to a small lounge in a building next door. We meet our host, and after many questions, finally figure out that the first person is an agent they’ve had to hire to help visitors get through customs and collect their bags. We surrender our passports and bag tickets, and the agent leaves. About 1 ½ hours later, he returns with our bags and our passports and we’re allowed to leave.

We were told they started using the agent as the officials in the airport were causing problems for some foreigners. While the agent charges a fee, the entry process is much safer for us, and also much less stressful. Bottom line is we were able to enter, and there were no issues with our bags.

When you arrive, the first thing you notice is the dust. This is the end of the dry season, so there is dust everywhere. It is also very flat in this area. I’m not sure where we are in the town, but so far I’ve not seen the type of village center I’ve seen in other larger cities in Africa. I’m sure it’s just because we haven’t gone that way yet.

DRC is a French speaking country. I speak no French, so ordering a bottle of water today at the hotel was an adventure. The nice gentleman in the restaurant figured it out, and has decided I need to learn some French words. He gave me several words (bottle of water, receipt, sign), and I had to repeat back. We’ll see what I learn in 4 days. Hopefully dinner will be less of an event.

Not much else today, just sit in my room, rest, and get ready for the work week ahead. The room is nice – it has hot water, air conditioning, indoor plumbing, and internet. I’m set!