On covering the Hajj

As story assignments go, this one's a doozy. 

Four million people, all crammed into an area smaller than downtown Toronto, from all continents and regions of the world.  The colours, the sights, the electric atmosphere... throw in the potential for bad things to happen (stampedes, fires, flu outbreaks, etc.) and it has all the ingredients for a journalist's dream come true.

Touchdown -- a true sense of equality

Touchdown.

As arrivals go – and I’ve been through some lengthy ones here – this one wasn’t so bad.  In fact, it could’ve been worse.  Much worse.

You know the saying “there’s no such thing as a free lunch.”  It applies here too.  There’s no such thing as a free Hajj.