What I did on my summer vacation.

[PastorMikH]

Cool trip. Our trip, my dad and I, was kinda similar. Except instead of the long plane ride with fuel stops, it was a truck ride halfway to your house. Instead of cape buffaloes, we saw cows, in place of the leapard it was a badger. The lawn mowers were actually prairie dogs. It was a pasture instead of a refuge. Oh, and instead of shooting photos we were shooting guns. But other than that, it was kinda similar.

[Subterranean Alien]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

First off, you know it's a long trip when your airplane has to make a fuel stop partway through. They wouldn't let me off the plane, so here's my only photo of Dakar, Senegal.

I was on the second-longest commercial flight in the world - Washington DC to Johannesburg, South Africa. The flight originates in New York, and the New York-Johannesburg route is the longest flight in the world. It was 17 hours on the schedule going out, and 18 coming back due to differences in winds. About an hour is spent on the ground in Dakar refueling.

I love the plane window photo. I do not envy an 18 hour flight. I flew to Ireland last June from Kansas. The flight home was absolutely brutal. The human body isn't conditioned to that much air travel, no matter who you are.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by Subterranean Alien

I love the plane window photo. I do not envy an 18 hour flight. I flew to Ireland last June from Kansas. The flight home was absolutely brutal. The human body isn't conditioned to that much air travel, no matter who you are.

Yeah, I was really envying the business-class and first-class seats. I did some research and booked early enough to get us some bulkhead seats, though, and that gave us a fair amount of legroom, which helped a lot.

It also helped that they had movies on demand and also some (pretty bad) computer games in the in-seat consoles. I played mahjong for about three hours on the flight back, and was playing chess until I decided that the chess computer was simply incompetent.

[cardken]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

Yeah, I was really envying the business-class and first-class seats. I did some research and booked early enough to get us some bulkhead seats, though, and that gave us a fair amount of legroom, which helped a lot.

It also helped that they had movies on demand and also some (pretty bad) computer games in the in-seat consoles. I played mahjong for about three hours on the flight back, and was playing chess until I decided that the chess computer was simply incompetent.

(in Computer Voice)Would you like to play a game..?

[Hog's Gone Fishin]

Why couldn't they refuel in midair like the Air force does.

[BIG_DADDY]

I got up. I went downtown to look for a job. I hung out in front of the drug store.

[teedubya]

you take the best photos, Rain Man. Is that an expensive camera?

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by Ari Chi3fs

you take the best photos, Rain Man. Is that an expensive camera?

I have a longstanding tradition of breaking my camera on the first day of vacations. In this case, though, my batteries died on the plane on the way there, so this is from my phone. My extra batteries were in my checked bag.

Seriously, I've had 7 overseas vacations, and broke cameras on the first day on two of them, and in the first week on a third.

[Rain Man]

Another exciting part about the trip was wandering to the bathroom about 12 hours into it and seeing a guy with robes and leather cords chanting next to the emergency exit. I snuck this photo and hope it's not disrespectful to do so, but it was really interesting. Someone else said he was a Hasidic Jew, but I've never seen dress like this. If you look at his arms, he had a long cord wrapped around them. Fortunately, he didn't blow up the plane or anything.

[DaKCMan AP]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

Another exciting part about the trip was wandering to the bathroom about 12 hours into it and seeing a guy with robes and leather cords chanting next to the emergency exit. I snuck this photo and hope it's not disrespectful to do so, but it was really interesting. Someone else said he was a Hasidic Jew, but I've never seen dress like this. If you look at his arms, he had a long cord wrapped around them. Fortunately, he didn't blow up the plane or anything.

The 'robe' is a Tallis Gadol and the 'cord' is Teffilin and, yes, it's disrespectful to take a photo.

I forgive you.

[wilas101]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

Another exciting part about the trip was wandering to the bathroom about 12 hours into it and seeing a guy with robes and leather cords chanting next to the emergency exit. I snuck this photo and hope it's not disrespectful to do so, but it was really interesting. Someone else said he was a Hasidic Jew, but I've never seen dress like this. If you look at his arms, he had a long cord wrapped around them. Fortunately, he didn't blow up the plane or anything.

an acidic jew, eh? You should have gotten the poor dude a rolaids or something. Heartburn on a long flight sucks big time.

[Hog's Gone Fishin]

You should have taken him down, you'd be a hero just like Tony Gonzalez.

[Rain Man]

A random street scene from Durban, South Africa, on my first day. My hotel was apparently in a predominantly African American neighborhood.

[Adept Havelock]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

A random street scene from Durban, South Africa, on my first day. My hotel was apparently in a predominantly African American neighborhood.

Are you sure they weren't South African Americans?

[Rain Man]

Getting ready for a boat tour of Durban's harbor. In a theme to be repeated over and over, my wife and I were the only people on the boat.