Madagascar > Long queues for a visa

When I set off for Schiphol, it is still dark outside. The roads are quiet. The first commuters are already on their way to work. I arrive at Schiphol Airport at ten to six. Here, however, it is busy. I see numerous travelers making their way to the check-in counters. By coincidence, I meet one of my fellow travelers at check-in. He is checking in next to me. Together we join the long queue for passport control. When it is finally my turn, it turns out there are still several teething problems in the new hand luggage checks. Because of this, everything takes longer. Still, I have enough time left for a cup of coffee. At eight o’clock, flight KL1229 takes off towards Paris. On the plane I meet most of the other group members. Everyone is seated together on the flight. In Paris, I look for gate L47 for my connecting flight with Air France. Luckily, I have a two-hour layover, because it is quite a long walk to the other terminal. I arrive at the gate well in time and wait to board. Shortly before twelve, I take off for the second time, this time for a ten-hour flight to Antananarivo, the capital of Madagascar. Again, I am seated with my fellow travelers, which gives us the chance to get to know each other. As the plane enters the African continent, I see darkness fall outside. Eventually, after more than ten hours, we land in Madagascar. By then, I am quite tired of sitting. It is a quarter past eleven in the evening when I leave the plane. In the arrivals hall, I see long lines at immigration. From the signs, I gather that for a free visa I need to stand in the line on the right. Unfortunately, this is also the longest and slowest line. Soon it becomes clear that the other counters can also be used for passport control, but that the line for the visa only starts afterwards.

Madagascar - Two lemurs curiously watch from the table

By then, switching lines makes little difference anymore. At the visa desk, the chaos is even worse. It is unclear how the lines are supposed to run. Slowly, I make my way to a counter. The lady takes my passport, fills in some details on the visa form, and places my passport ready for her colleague. Unfortunately, she keeps putting new passports on top of mine, which are always processed first. This makes it a long and frustrating process. When my passport is finally processed, there are perhaps only twenty travelers from the flight still behind me. Quickly, I walk outside with my visa and luggage. There I meet Zoe (spelled “Zo” but pronounced “Zoe”), the local guide for this trip. I also meet Faly, the driver. He takes me to the bus, where Tahina takes my luggage and ties it securely to the roof. In half an hour, the bus brings me to the hotel in Antananarivo. It is past half past two at night when I crawl into bed. I am exhausted and fall asleep quickly.