Friday 25 June
With just an hours sleep after the previous evenings excursions, still celebrating England's 1-0 thrashing of the mighty Slovenia, we head to Heathrow in good spirits.
The first moment of panic arises when one of the check-in girls suggests I might not be able to board my flight due to an issue with my passport. The corner of the scanning page is slightly damaged and the lady says she will let me board but cannot guarantee my entrance into South Africa at the other end. Either way, she tells me that this should be my last trip on this passport. Understood.
My flight starts well, as I slip into a nice sleep only to be nudged by my fellow traveller, just as I nod off. He wants to know if I want to swap seats to which I respond tersely "no". My annoyance is increased as I cannot get back to sleep. This frustration continues as I am later awoken in similar circumstances as my companion wants to know how to work his tv. "Don't ask me. Do I look like I work for Kenya Airways?" I don't. Which is just as well. If I did I would have to deal with regular complaints about the entertainment system and the food, both of which are crap.
Eventually we land in Nairobi. Our layover is about eight hours but first I have to try and get out of the airport with my problematic passport. This I successfully manage - after 20 minutes of negotiations. The good thing about the Kenyans is they do everything with a smile. The bad thing is they tell you bad news with a smile so it gives you know indication of what is about to come.
Nevertheless, I leave the airport and make my way to Milimani backpackers which will be my home for the night. This journey from the airport turns into a lengthy one.
A kind lady on the plane said I could hop in with her, and her family, in their car, and they'd take me to the hostel. Great, I thought. Unfortunately, this meant leaving the car park which took over an hour because of a traffic jam.
Furthermore, I wasn't scared once whilst in the car. I was scared on 14 separate occasions as we careered through the traffic, miraculously avoiding all and sundry.
As for the hostel, it was pretty good apart from the fact that we just missed out on ribs and potatoes due to our late arrival. And the nearest pizza place had closed too. Chocolate and crisps had to be dinner.
Saturday 26 June
After three hours of sleep, my alarm goes, which, I have learned, is a sign to get up. The taxi journey and check-in are uneventful experiences, which comes as a welcome relief.
Then, comes the moment I'd been dreading. Customs at Johannesburg International Airport (O.R. Tambo). My heart was in my mouth but it proved to be an unnecessary moment of panic as it passed by without trouble. Now all we needed was an England victory tomorrow. Easy.
First up, I got myself a South African sim card for my phone. This was not the only thing I managed to pick up in the store, actually. A Serbian guy (careful!) said he had a ticket. We agreed a price, 1100 SA Rand (about 100 quid), which was face value. Job done.
Next we had to collect our tickets for the games. This was a new process compared to other years whereby you had to go to a ticket machine with the credit card used to purchase the match tickets. Very similar to the process of picking up train tickets. This was another painless procedure. What made it even more fun was the mayhem surrounding the machines as hundreds of people were buying/selling/exchanging their tickets.
All I needed to do now was sell my Argentina-Mexico ticket for the same day. I made myself a poster indicating my wishes and within seconds I had sold it to a nice chap from Mexico City. Got my money back. Job done.
Reserved a car at a reasonable price, 50 pounds (excluding fuel), for the following day so we were all set.
Got a free pick up from the airport from the backpackers we were staying at, Mufasa Backpackers, and settled down to watch South Korea-Uruguay. Uruguay won but still my mind was on the big game tomorrow.
Ordered a pizza, which was nice, but a bit weird. Can't really describe its weirdness. It was just weird. But for less than a fiver, I think a pizza is entitled to be a bit weird.
Watched Ghana beat the USA in extra time but still my mind was on England-Germany.
A nice twin room assisted my sleep but still my mind was on...
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