OP
OP
Yellow7
Über Member
- Location
- Milton Keynes
Hi Shane.
The Angolan visa wasn't difficult to get but trying to get it at Matadi and bad timing meant it took longer, but this wasn't the embassy's fault:
1. Having read on the web it was issued easier at Matadi (of where I planned to enter Angola from) I cycled there, from Kinshasa ('Kin-shithole!), in four days.
2. Arriving at the embassy in Matadi i'm told the consular has gone to Kinshasa for 2 weeks and i'd need to go back there to get it...Here we go!!
3. Mini bus back to Kinshasa on the sunday.
4. Monday morning go the the embassy and apply. Here i'm told I need a letter from the British embassy confirming who I am?, ur,....Passport??
5. Tuesday mid-day and $50 lesser I collect the letter from the British embassy.
6. Wednesday morning back to the Angolan embassy and drop the letter off, here they also ask for a copy of my vacination certificate...silly me had departed from Matadi in a rush and forgot to bring it! Fortunately I was able to get it scanned and emailed to me and back to the embassy on Thursday where i'm told to wait until Monday or Tuesday to see 'if' they issue the visa.
7. Monday morning "come back tomorrow"
8. Tuesday morning Icollect my visa stamped passport, only problem they issued a 5 day TRANSIT visa, NOT the 30 day tourist visa I had asked for by typing a letter (in French and Portugeuse). The visa was valid for three months and would start upon entry in Angola. Getting to Luanda from the Northern border town of Noquai in 5 days was not easy though and expired visa's can be due to a $150/day fine!! Luckily i made it in 6 days and some careful bullshit from Gorge, a Couchsurfer who helped me out avoided the fine.
9. Extending the visa was still hassle, I had (again) asked for a longer period and they still gave me another 5 day visa, of which one day had gone as it started the day before they gave it back!!
10. Luckily (??) Gorge's wife had a friend who's cousin was a General in the Embassy and said he wouild re-issue the visa and not to worry, the visa was never issued but he said I could continue without problems, who was iI to query what he said?...Strange as 10 days later at a checkpoint my passport was withheld until I coughed up a few dollars. That's the main problem with Angola, corruption capital. Saying that it was a friendly country and some excellent scenary in the south.
So with the appropriate letter from the British embassy and a copy of the vacination forom it would have been less stress but ya live n learn. I'd definately recomend the country though but it was the most expensive of countries i went through. Africa is by no way as cheap as we think though.
I was looking at your website. Some interesting info for my next adventure, I plan on doing Argentina to Alaska with a slight US 'blip', the last section of my South African blog post explains it all.
From my experience take at least TWO spare sprockets fro the hub as they wear pretty quick in Africa, unless you have a full (sealed) chain guard.
What's that rear stand you have on your bike?
Mark.
The Angolan visa wasn't difficult to get but trying to get it at Matadi and bad timing meant it took longer, but this wasn't the embassy's fault:
1. Having read on the web it was issued easier at Matadi (of where I planned to enter Angola from) I cycled there, from Kinshasa ('Kin-shithole!), in four days.
2. Arriving at the embassy in Matadi i'm told the consular has gone to Kinshasa for 2 weeks and i'd need to go back there to get it...Here we go!!
3. Mini bus back to Kinshasa on the sunday.
4. Monday morning go the the embassy and apply. Here i'm told I need a letter from the British embassy confirming who I am?, ur,....Passport??
5. Tuesday mid-day and $50 lesser I collect the letter from the British embassy.
6. Wednesday morning back to the Angolan embassy and drop the letter off, here they also ask for a copy of my vacination certificate...silly me had departed from Matadi in a rush and forgot to bring it! Fortunately I was able to get it scanned and emailed to me and back to the embassy on Thursday where i'm told to wait until Monday or Tuesday to see 'if' they issue the visa.
7. Monday morning "come back tomorrow"
8. Tuesday morning Icollect my visa stamped passport, only problem they issued a 5 day TRANSIT visa, NOT the 30 day tourist visa I had asked for by typing a letter (in French and Portugeuse). The visa was valid for three months and would start upon entry in Angola. Getting to Luanda from the Northern border town of Noquai in 5 days was not easy though and expired visa's can be due to a $150/day fine!! Luckily i made it in 6 days and some careful bullshit from Gorge, a Couchsurfer who helped me out avoided the fine.
9. Extending the visa was still hassle, I had (again) asked for a longer period and they still gave me another 5 day visa, of which one day had gone as it started the day before they gave it back!!
10. Luckily (??) Gorge's wife had a friend who's cousin was a General in the Embassy and said he wouild re-issue the visa and not to worry, the visa was never issued but he said I could continue without problems, who was iI to query what he said?...Strange as 10 days later at a checkpoint my passport was withheld until I coughed up a few dollars. That's the main problem with Angola, corruption capital. Saying that it was a friendly country and some excellent scenary in the south.
So with the appropriate letter from the British embassy and a copy of the vacination forom it would have been less stress but ya live n learn. I'd definately recomend the country though but it was the most expensive of countries i went through. Africa is by no way as cheap as we think though.
I was looking at your website. Some interesting info for my next adventure, I plan on doing Argentina to Alaska with a slight US 'blip', the last section of my South African blog post explains it all.
From my experience take at least TWO spare sprockets fro the hub as they wear pretty quick in Africa, unless you have a full (sealed) chain guard.
What's that rear stand you have on your bike?
Mark.
