- 07.15 - Taxi and take-off for a 7-hour eastbound flight to our stop-over in Baku, Azerbaijan.
A few moments later, our aircraft hovers low over the clouds as the sun rises. Nobody says a word as the un-pressurised cabin let’s the noise of the four propeller engines draft through, slamming our ears, protected by ear-plugs. |
- 10.30 - After some work on my laptop, sitting on the heated ground, we are granted a visit to the crew in the cockpit, while flying over Bucharest at 25.000 feet with a cruise speed of 350km/h (220mph).
A decent lunch is served to us then I doze down for a nap, still surrounded by the engine noise. - 17.20, GMT+4 - Touchdown in Baku. |
After preparing my technical visit I have a nap on the heated floor. When I awake, we’re flying over endless ranges of Afghan desert mountains.
- 11.15 - We’re requested to fit our helmets and bullet proof vests as we could be a potential target when arriving over Kabul. The C130 does not have weapons, but a defensive system called flares. They shoot out fire balls in all directions round the plane to bluff any missiles leading them away from the plane. |
Then I take a walk around the military base which happens to be a real discovery for a civilian. It’s a kind of mini-world in here. The 5000 men and 100 women of the armed forces of each of the 24 nations taking part in the Afghan mission have their own sector in the camp, with at least one bar for each nation! So when the evening settles in there are loads of places to go around have booze, knowing they’re not supposed to have more than two drinks a night.
There are three mini-markets and a bunch of restaurants for those who want a change from the canteen: Italian, Thai, Burgers…Sports fields, a movie theatre, churches & mosques and the International Bar complete the entertainment packages. |
Dec. 21st
- 06.30 – I arrive in Melsbroek and meet up with the team we’ve put together: - Benjamin journalist and his cameraman Vincent from the RTBF Belgian TV. - Michel and Lydie: AV technicians. - Jean-Marie, a free-lance cameraman hired to cover "behind the scenes". - Jeannot, the Boss! Christophe will stay here to coordinate the event from the Brussels-side. Jeannot mentions that his and my Azeri visas are still valid when I question him on the subject… Personally I’m not that sure… - 10.45 - We take-off, two and a half hours behind schedule, direction Baku for another night at the “Grand Hotel Europe”. We’re granted with some music that manages to get over the engine noise with a nice play-list choice from the crew. Thanks to my two battery packs, I managed to use my laptop for most of the trip, working, reading and watching a movie, comfortably seated on the top of a bier cans palette under the heating vents. |
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