20260806 Globus Kenya & Tanzania: The Safari Experience Day 2 of 19 - Arriving in Nairobi

Globus Kenya & Tanzania: The Safari Experience - Brussels to Nairobi, Kenya, and Country #116

If you recall, we ended yesterday in the United Polaris Club at Washington Dulles, before our second flight of the trip to Brussels.  I mentioned that the club was a zoo with no empty seats. Before we departed the Polaris Club at Dulles, I headed to the restroom. There was a line of no fewer than 15 people waiting for the restroom. It was nuts. We decided to just head toward the gate. At the first restroom, I went in and was met with another line. Dulles is a crazy airport.

When we got to the gate, it was equally wall-to-wall with people. Whenever we fly lately, every plane is sold out, or nearly sold out. That's good for the airlines, I guess, but for passengers, the glamour of flying is gone.

We boarded and got seated in our pods, 10D for Arlona and 10G for me, both center pods, next to each other in the middle of the aircraft. 

This was a Boeing 777 and was nicely comfortable with lay-flat seats and plenty of room. We settled in for our 7:01 flight to Brussels. Well, we thought it was comfortable until we laid the seat flat. The footwell was so narrow, I couldn't fit both feet in there at the same time. Still, I was able to catch a couple of hours of sleep. 

We arrived in Brussels, Belgium, about 15 minutes late at 7:25 am local time, or nearly half-past midnight at home. Technically, this should be our 116th country visited, but since we aren't leaving the airport, we won't count it. Plus, we have a trip planned for next April that includes Belgium. That rule will go out the window on the return trip. You'll have to tune in to see why in a couple of weeks.

We walked from our arrival gate to the "T" terminal transfer bus area. It was packed with travelers.

It doesn't look like a lot, but people kept coming, and it was jammed

Brussels Airport is a major gateway for flights to Africa

The reason it was so crowded was that we were there at 7:35 am. Transfer buses didn't start running until 8:00.

With the crowds, we finally were able to get on the third bus. It wasn't a big deal as our next flight wasn't scheduled until 10:25 am.

We got to see the nice sign on the window of the Business Class lounge that we would visit

We took about the least-efficient route possible

Finally, in the "T" terminal, we stopped in the lounge to hang out until our final flight.

The Sunrise Lounge was bright, airy, and uncrowded - a pleasant change

We had one more flight to make, roughly 9.5 hours from Brussels to Nairobi, Kenya on Brussels Airlines.

Don't ask me why Canada says, "NANTH" - Google Gemini generated this

The friendly folks at the Sunrise Lounge announced that our flight was boarding, so we gathered our bags and walked to Gate 65. They checked our Kenya visas and passports, and we boarded.

Arlona, perusing the drink and dining menus

All settled in for another nine hours in the air

Arlona slept a little more on this flight, and I slept a little less. Overall, the flight was smooth and the service on Brussels Airlines, part of the Lufthansa Group, was very good.

We each received a box of Belgian chocolates as a thank-you for flying Brussels Airlines

We had to climb down from our Airbus A330 to the tarmac and get in a waiting shuttle bus that took us to immigration

It's official - country #116

We were happy that we were in Business Class because we got off the plane first. We zipped through Immigration in less than five minutes. The line was considerably longer as we walked out.

Since we only had carry-on luggage, we skipped waiting for luggage and went right outside. There was an absolute sea of drivers, all holding up passenger names or tour company signs. It took a minute, but we found our Globus rep. He called the driver and said the driver would be right there. Well, that was the plan.

After about 20 minutes, he talked with another rep who gave us a delightful 20-minute ride to our home for the next few days, the Nairobi Serena Hotel.

Africa moves at exactly one speed, and that speed is not fast. Check-in at the hotel moved like chilly molasses. We got to our room, got our bags, and got ready for bed. 

We left our home on Wednesday morning at 10:30. Nairobi is eight hours ahead of the U.S. East Coast, so that translates to 6:30 Wednesday evening in Nairobi. We were in our room at 10:30 in the evening on Thursday. That equates to a door-to-door time of 28 hours. We're pooped.

We have a driver taking us to the National History Museum tomorrow at 1:00 pm. We have a dinner reservation at a restaurant named "Carnivore" tomorrow evening at 5:30. We start our Kenya adventure tomorrow.