Tuesday, February 13, 2007

MARATHON FLIGHT DEUX


12 FEB07 Monday. [Incerlick, Turkey] Departed toTurkey without incident. Survived the 3.5 Hour flight to Incerlick, Turkey [https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/tu.html] Watched the Movie “True Crime”. Dozed off at 1:00PM. We can see Dark on the Horizon and are quickly chasing midnight. After landing, we were ushered into the terminal which seats about 50. We number about 300 strong. Scrambled Eggs are provided to all at 8:00PM. Moreover, we are informed that Bishkek, (our final destination) is under blizzard conditions with Zero Visibility. We wait in the Terminal for 5 Hours. Finally, we depart at 8:00PM and are scheduled for Landing at 4 Hours Later. While airborne, we are treated to snacks, Hot Towels, and the Sitcom Fraizer. Moreveoer, we are chasing Sunrise again….We finally land at Bishkek, Kyrgyztan. Details regarding this little-known garden spot can be seen at the links provided below:
Map: http://www.centralasiatravel.com/default.html
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bishkek
Country Page: https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/kg.html
Weather: http://www.wunderground.com/global/stations/38353.htmla
The Base Commander and Staff. Load onto Buses and escorted to a big tent for the In-Brief. During this time, we are told where lodging (tents) are, phones, chow-hall, and how to get on the Manifest into Afghanistan. We are all tired (about 23hours flight time) and are beat. We stumble around the little base of Air Base Manas (same as Bishkek). Not much here. Stowed our gear. Break out our weapons. Wandered around to see the few sights here. Managed to send an email to Terri. Got something to eat. Then determined when the next aircraft to Afghanistan will depart. The Air Force Guys tell us it’s at 8:00AM Tomorrow Morning. We hit the rack at about 8:30PM at night.

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