THE OIL SERIES, DAY 6.1
SUDAN – KUWAIT
An hour that made all the difference. A short but fun time in Sudan had come to an end and it was time to head to Shiraz in Iran for 4 days as the highlight of my trip.
WE HAVE CLOSED THE BORDERS
Coming into the airport at Khartoum I was immediately approached by a gentleman in a suit and tie, ‘what have I done now?’ I thought.
The gentleman and his counterparts could not have been nicer but had a bit of bad news to break.
“Your flight to Shiraz has been cancelled.” The gentleman said apologetically.
WHERE IS SHIRAZ?
CORONAVIRUS
It all made sense, I had been getting various messages and news screenshots that Iran was in a real problem with the Coronvirus. But I was adamant I wanted to go as it wasn’t yet clear how much of an issue it was going to be so I had him put me onto the Tehran flight, Iran’s capital.
An hour that made all the difference
SHARJAH
Regardless where I was ending up, my flight was always going through Sharjah, which is an airport in Dubai and probably one of the worst. However I found something new this time, a quiet corner with reclined seats, result!
An hour that made all the difference
CANCELLED
After 3 hours of hanging around I made my way to the gate only to find there was no destination on the screen. ‘What is going on?’ So I got myself to the transfer desk and told them the issue. All flights to Iran cancelled, we have shut it down.
IT WAS THEN I GOT MY FIRST TASTE OF HOW MUCH OF AN IMPACT THE CORONAVIRUS WAS GOING TO HAVE
The airport was insanely chaotic, most likely due to the late cancellation of so many flights. There were people beside me lived in Iran and needed someway to get back home. Other flights were also being cancelled, Dkhaka for one.
An hour that made all the difference
ONE WAY OUT
I asked to be put onto the Bahrain flight but it was cancelled too so my only option left was Kuwait, a country I had visited 3 years earlier but was keen to see again. Regardless of that I just wanted to keep moving before the entire middle east shut down.
NEXT UP
An incredible shock at Kuwait National Day! Click to read.
SAFE TRAVELS, DS x
143/229
This post is part of The Oil Series, click to explore or for episode 1 click here.
To watch the video of my trip, head to my highlights on my Instagram.
