Day 2 Lawrence of Arabia – Water water everywhere and not a drop

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Yawn and stretch, well here we are, its 07:05 local time or still 03:00 as far as my body is concerned, the only thing is instead of being tucked up in bed fast asleep, we have just landed in Dubai and its 25 degrees and bright sunshine.

Dubai was quite a sight flying in across the sea. It looks very foreign and of course it is. Sun washed buildings shinning in the desert heat. The airport is sparkling and pristine, you could eat your dinner off the floor it looks so clean and somehow I can’t imagine Heathrow or Manchester ever looking like this. It’s filled with sparkling gems, UFO saucer shaped lights and palm trees. Along with the usual airport shops there are lots of designer labels and souk type stores selling Aladdin lamps and Hookah pipes. It also seems vast.

I wish we had more time to explore but there is just barely time to take a couple of photos - I’m never quite sure if you’re allowed to take photos in airports. Even though Dubai is very Westernised, your conscious of the fact that it is an Arab state and as such it is definitely foreign and not what one is used to. Maybe it’s the medias fault but I can’t help thinking of the British Holiday makers who were arrested a few years back for taking pictures at a Greek airport, and since I’m carrying a bag full of medication the last thing I want is trouble , I’ve seen Midnight Express! (yes I know that was Turkey but the same rules apply!).

Anyway I’m not hauled off for a strip search but as I say there is just time to buy and write a couple of postcards and then to rush to the post office and find some stamps. I’m sure I got ripped off changing £10 Stirling for Dubai Dollars at the Bureau de Change just to buy a couple of stamps but hey needs must and we are back on a different 777 300. Unfortunately either because of where we are seated in the aircraft or possibly just because its an older model the seat back entertainment isn’t quite as good as the one we had yesterday, in particular it doesn’t have a charging point for my laptop or an Ethernet connection - and there I had all these plans to spend the time working and emailing people.

It turns out our route to Auckland actually goes via Bangkok and Sydney, although we don’t actually get off the plane. But I’m hoping that perhaps the passenger next to me may get off in Bangkok and then I’ll have some more room to stretch out. I also hope the guy in the seat in front of me who keeps reclining his seat and knocking my teeth out every few minutes is also going to get off.

Today’s vegetarian brunch seems to be a sort of mushroom and tomato rosti together with some fruit salad, a fruit jelly a roll and jam. Nothing to write home about but I’ve had worse. There’s a queue for the toilet after dinner but there is a really good view of Asia bellow as we are waiting so it’s not so bad. Unfortunately all those movies I wanted to see that were also listed on the last plane seem to have been taken off the menu on this one and I’m left with a list of 50’s B&W classics and some up to date but nothing to write homer about ones I didn’t really want to see at the cinema, never mind, I plumb for some back to back episodes of Greys Anatomy which I seem to have missed and dose every now and then. I wake to find Nadine has a nosebleed and is tired and we are heading towards the coast. It turns out we do get off the plane in Bangkok after all, although its only to go round in a loop pass through security so they can take my bottle of water off me and fifteen minutes later we are back on the same plane in the same seats minus my water (hmm I think its all a money making scheme by the airlines). Sorry no time for postcards from Bangkok but it did make us wish we were stopping off there. Again the whole exotic feeling of being somewhere really foreign and not just Spain… Next stop Sydney..

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