Before I share my first ever African memories, I thought I'll write a bit about the first and foremost important thing on the travel preparations list: to take the yellow fever vaccine. As the certificate stating that you have taken the vaccine is a prerequisite for entering a number of African and South American countries, I began to find out where I could get the vaccine in Mumbai. Surprisingly I came across a number of good-bad articles about the same.
So to sum up what all I read: Apparently there are only two government centers for the whole Maharashtra and Gujarat where you can take the yellow fever vaccine and both are in Mumbai. (Obviously!)
The center located in town (South Bombay for the non-mumbaiets) was off the mark due to the notorious descriptions mentioned on those blogs and hence the obvious choice was the one and only remaining center located at the Mumbai international airport.
I was urged to go and stand in the queue at the earliest possible hour. The reason was clear: only one reliable center to get the vaccine all over Maharashtra and Gujarat, which provides only 70 dosages per day on the first-come-first-served basis.
So to sum up what all I read: Apparently there are only two government centers for the whole Maharashtra and Gujarat where you can take the yellow fever vaccine and both are in Mumbai. (Obviously!)
The center located in town (South Bombay for the non-mumbaiets) was off the mark due to the notorious descriptions mentioned on those blogs and hence the obvious choice was the one and only remaining center located at the Mumbai international airport.
I was urged to go and stand in the queue at the earliest possible hour. The reason was clear: only one reliable center to get the vaccine all over Maharashtra and Gujarat, which provides only 70 dosages per day on the first-come-first-served basis.
I aimed to reach at 5:30 but lost about 45 mins to locate the center. Weirdly nobody in the vicinity knew where exactly this facility (!?) was located. So here's a small yet important trick to save your time: when you come from the old airport road, keep going towards the departures or towards JW Marriott. On your way, you will see a naive board stating the existence of the "Yellow Fever Hospital". Well, it is not so much of a hospital, but okay, moving on! It's basically located in the compound of the Airport Health Organization. This building is quite big but easily missable due to the giant flyover that shadows it.
Once I reached the gate, I saw that there were about 25-30 people already sitting on the footpath waiting to get their yellow fever vaccine. Apparently, that was the queue! The usual practice is: you go to the watchman at the gate and put yourself on the list. The watchman notes down your passport number and writes your roll number on the ticket copy you need to show along with your passport. Yes, you need a confirmed air ticket for your travel in order to get the yellow fever vaccine from this center.
Once I reached the gate, I saw that there were about 25-30 people already sitting on the footpath waiting to get their yellow fever vaccine. Apparently, that was the queue! The usual practice is: you go to the watchman at the gate and put yourself on the list. The watchman notes down your passport number and writes your roll number on the ticket copy you need to show along with your passport. Yes, you need a confirmed air ticket for your travel in order to get the yellow fever vaccine from this center.
However, once you have put yourself on the list, starts the eternal waiting period... Such a colossal waste of time! I'd suggest going with a nice book, music, water, and some munchies. I waited for good two and half hours before entering a pretty sophisticated waiting room. The room opens at 8, it's air-conditioned with quite comfortable seating. One thing I must mention is that once they open the doors of the waiting room, everything works quite systematically. Sharp at 10 am, the officers do the roll call for payment and give you the receipt. The fee is Rs 300 for one dose of vaccination. Once you have made the payment, you need to wait for another hour to actually go and get the shot. The center gives only 70 doses per day, so it helps to go earlier. The last person put on the list came in at 8.30ish and someone who showed up at 9 am was asked to come the next day. So you can go late if you are willing to take a risk of not being able to get the vaccine on the same day!
Eventually, as the whole waiting business starts to get on your nerves, a small canteen opens at about 10.30. (I know, so late!) The owner is a kind man but doesn't have many options to offer and whatever items are there on the menu are considerably overpriced. But oh well, like they say, at times it's better to have something than nothing at all!
Once all 70 people have paid the fees, first 25 people are asked to make a line in order to go and get the shot on the first floor. Here's where they give you the famous yellow certificate for the yellow fever vaccine. This is what you need to carry every time you travel to the following countries:
I was expecting that the taking the vaccine would be like taking any other injection. However, it turned out to be quite painful and it was smarting for about good two-three hours! Also one more thing: if you are allergic to eggs, please tell the doctor beforehand. They give you a mild dosage in that case. Though it hurt, I was happy that at least it was over and I didn't have to think about this yellow fever vaccine for next ten years and that the last hurdle of my travel was taken care of.
However, now that I am back from my trip, I can share one secret: nobody, on no airports, checked my yellow fever vaccine certificate, not in India, nor in Senegal, not on departure nor on arrival!! There was absolutely no mention of the vaccine throughout the journey. To my surprise, nobody seemed really bothered about it. I was expecting a very strict checking of the vaccine certificate along with the passports, but nada! I really want to believe in the awesome Indian immigration services, which in my imagination were informed about me taking the vaccine. But I am skeptical and little annoyed at the fuss made about taking the vaccine. If taking the vaccine is as important as the visa to enter that particular country, shouldn't there be some sort of checking? But I guess I should just be happy about having done with it and saving myself from ever contracting yellow fever!
More about the journey in next post!
