Khat market in the old city

I am on the plane on my way to Eritrea. Flying with Yemenia is always a bit nerve wracking to say the least. The take off from Sanaa was certainly not smooth. Part of the reason why I was in the hotel back in Sanaa was because my connecting time was so long. Yemenia waits until all of their flights have arrived back in Sanaa before they take off to Asmara, the capital of Eritrea. Passengers arrive from Dubai, Frankfurt, Jeddah, Abu Dhabi and Khartoum and are filtered thought the tiny international transit lounge before boarding another plane to reach their final destination. A few Eritreans have already approached me to say hello. One gentlemen who spoke fluent English, was very excited that I was visiting his country and wrote down a bunch of helpful information on a napkin for me, including directions to his favorite cafe in Asmara as well as a good hotel in Massawa. I was also approached by an Indonesian stewardess who seemed surprised that I was traveling to Asmara. "Not many Western people travel to Asmara" she said. I guess because of the ongoing political tensions between Djibouti, Ethiopia and Somalia, not many tourists choose Eritrea as a vacation destination. The plane wasn't even half full and she seemed a little bored so she sat down beside me for takeoff and we had a brief conversation. She told me that although Yemenia didn't pay her nearly as much as other Middle East airlines like Etihad or Emirates she was very thankful because they gave her a job at such a young age. She explained that she was only 18 when Yemenia offered her a job at a convention in Jakarta four years ago. She just turned 21 a few months ago. The other big airlines don't hire stewardesses until they reach the age of 21. At 19 she saved enough money to pay for her family to go on the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca. "It would have been impossible in Indonesia" she said. "There is a 20 year wait period for applicants, but Yemenia helped me get the Hajj visa for me and my family." After the plane reached cruising altitude I watched her as she conversed with the other stewardesses in English. One of them was Yemeni, another was Moroccan and another two were from the Philippines. All of them communicated with each other in English. As the plane began it's descent into Asmara International Airport she sat down beside me once again, this time explaining how Yemenia's small fleet of aircraft (six in total) meant that she was able to travel to many destinations. As the plane shook violently on the descent she kept babbling on about how the planes, pilots and crew are all overworked because of budget constraints. I tried to maintain my composure as I heard the landing gear deploy. "I just got back from a four day trip to Frankfurt" she said, as the plane roughly touched down on the tarmac. "Well, enjoy your trip." She got up to help the weary old man beside me gather his bags and disembark. Yet another interesting conversation with a non native speaker. It felt completely natural and we both felt completely comfortable. Aside from the terrifying descent and landing, it was an excellent start to the trip.