Dubai Airport

As is always the way, I made myself promise to do some coursework and write an entry for this blog whilst in the air. After all, flying to Bangkok was sure to take longer than a trip to the shops and I made every effort to go through with my plan: taking my laptop, course books, notepads and assignment guidelines as hand luggage, leaving my ‘good’ headphones in my suitcase to ignore the temptation to listen to music or watch the tv, and having my kindle as my backup for when my laptop was sure to loose power.

I started off so well!

…And then I made the fatal error of looking at what films were available throughout the flight.

On the 15-hour total flight from Manchester to Dubai to Bangkok, I managed to fit in more films then I’d likely watch in a month. My laptop – and all the heavy books I’d lugged with me – remained untouched.

Well done, Keira.

From ‘Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters’ (a surprisingly good take on the book), to ‘Diana’ (an exceptionally long-winded film that could have been summed up in a quarter of the time). Not forgetting ‘The Butler’ (a brilliant film of a man trying to make a life for his family as a butler to the White House, whilst set against the American civil-rights movement), and the good old reliable episodes of ‘Friends’ (when Ross finds out Carol is pregnant). Then there was the internship (a pretty decent comedy) and the obligatory documentary on Australia that I felt I should watch (though, admittedly, I spent most of this time attempting to eat the vilest plane food instead).

It didn’t help that it the first seven-hour leg, I’d managed to get sandwiched between TWO infants. One of which decided to test its lungs for the majority of the flight, whilst the other was force-fed calpol and horrific smelling food. The same baby decided to throw its rattle to the ground near the beginning of the flight, and I instantly leant over to hand the damp toy back to the mother. This led to hours of the child throwing the toy at my feet, whilst I felt obliged to pick the toy back up again.

I literally spent hours playing fetch with a baby – and I wasn’t even the one throwing.

Dubai airport completely fulfilled my expectations. It’s reputation as a place for the super rich – and large gap between those with less money - was shown through the 24-hour designer shops, the connecting train between terminals, the unneeded waterfall, and the flashy technology in every glance you took. There were parts of the airport that seemed completely at odds with the glossy airport – like the loos, for example, when I walked through one door to find a hole in the ground. In another, I tried to figure out how to lock the door – presuming it was some up-to-date technology that was needlessly complicated - and turned out to just be a broken lock.

I also noted the differing styles at the airport, including some complete contrasts between couples – there was one woman who was dripping in designer items head to toe, whilst her husband wore the more traditional white robe and head cover (I still have no internet and can’t think of the correct term).

Otherwise there’s really not too much to say about Dubai airport due to only being there for a couple hours. I had a cookie… which was pretty good… but that’s really about it.

The flight to Bangkok was uneventful and I managed to get a window seat – though the large Dutch man beside me meant that my face was pressed against the window several more time than I would have liked.