Last night was an incredible evening as Intelsat employees and customers gathered at a spectacular hotel in Jo'burg to watch and celebrate the launch of New Dawn. The night went off without a hitch until the actual countdown to the launch itself when the rocket boosters failed to ignite. No one is sure right now what happened but I am linking a website with an explanation about the aborted launch as best they understand.
http://mybroadband.co.za/news/telecoms/19415-New-Dawn-satellite-launch-delayed.html
To top off Jon's disappointment over the launch failure, we got stopped by Jo'burg police at 2:00 am in a road block. Jon didn't have his international driver's license with him and the cops were ready to take him to jail for the night. Jon offered to drive home, get the license and return to the officers but they wouldn't go for it. After much discussion, Jon asked "the question" we have been taught by locals when in this situation: "How can we resolve this situation between us tonight?" 800 Rand later ($110 US) we were on our way home. Welcome to Africa!
But the party was an event all by itself. It was held at the
Westcliff hotel, an extraordinarily beautiful property. It is an Orient Express hotel and I hope you will go to the link and explore if you are interested. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves, the hotel service was impeccable and the Intelsat employees responsible for planning the event did an amazing job right down to the last detail.
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| The Westcliff |
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| The Main Party Room |
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| Another View of the Room |
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Ferzana and Ange from the Jo'burg office.
They are wearing traditional African costumes that every attendee received as a gift. |
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| Amazing table centerpieces |
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| Jon making his rounds and speaking with everyone he could. |
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| Addressing the room |
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