Dubai Day 1

I am in my second day in Dubai and have to admit that I haven’t really seen or done much just yet. However, I thought that I would write anyway. :D

Starting with my nearly 24-hour travel from Portland, Oregon to Salt Lake to Paris to Dubai, it was a very long day to say the very least. The travel was okay for most of the journey. However, we were a bit late arriving in to Paris and I had about a half hour to de-board, find my next gate, go through security and get on my next flight. Of course, my next gate was the furthest from where we came in and the security line was ridiculous long. After sweating and wondering if I was going to make the flight, I just barely went through the ticket gate and found myself waiting on a crowded bus to get us to the plane, which was a good 5 minutes away! Thinking that I would be one of the last groups to board the plane, I was a little concerned about finding a place for my carry-on backpack. However, when I got to the plane, it was relatively uncrowded and I had no problems finding space. Thinking that it might not be a full flight, I settled in to my seat…and proceeded to wait for another hour in the plane!!!! We were an hour late and though the pilot claimed that we would still arrive on time in Dubai, I had my doubts.

I have to give props to the flight attendants on Air France. They were professional, nice and efficient. I wish I could say the same for those on Northwest and Delta….

Anyway, I arrived around 11pm in Dubai and got out of customs by midnight. We caught a cab after a mad dash and I finally went to sleep around 1:30am!

Thus, my first day was spent basically trying to orient myself to the time change and place. Allan’s apartment is ridiculously HUGE! I will try to get some pictures soon, I promise!

I took advantage of the free gym downstairs, where there is also a pool (I’ll be using that later!). Then, around 11:30am, I decided to brave the outside and see just how hot it is mid-day. Well, I have concluded IT’S HOT! The humidity is really nothing at the moment, but by the time I made a short 5 minute walk to the nearest supermarket/mall, I was sweaty and knowing why there seemed to be no one around. They are all inside!!!! So, I got a few food necessities and headed back with a stop off at Subway for lunch. By the time I got back, I determined it is not wise to go out at all between 11 and perhaps 3 or 4pm. I did venture out again with Allan in the afternoon to use the Internet at a kiosk. I managed a short nap in the afternoon and then we went out to Wafi for drinks with one of Allan’s new colleagues, who also lives above him. I did get a couple of photos of Wafi, so I will put them up in the next post.

So ends my first day posting!