The adventure begins

24/2/13

Well, after a bit of a nervous morning finalising my packing (and wondering what on earth I've done), followed by an 11 hour flight, I find myself at Dubai airport at midnight. My body thinks it's 4am and is seriously berating me for depriving it of sleep (those who know me and my dubious sleep habits may scoff and laugh at this point), however I know this 24 hours will be a bit of a write-off and I'm prepared for the potential jet lag to follow (but cheerfully optimistic about my capacity to recover quickly)!!!

Dubai airport is a bustling melting pot, even in the wee hours of the morning. With another 3 hours before my next flight I have time to ................. browse the many shops, send a couple of text messages to my lovely husband, file my fingernails (what? TMI???), search out and try a few power outlets in the hope of adding a bit of charge to my rapidly depleting phone battery (alas, it seems that electricity outlets in Dubai require a UK adapter and as prepared as I am I only have European), people-watch, write a blog entry (to be published later), and walk endlessly up and down, which is actually a relief after sitting on a plane for half a day. Another 7 hour flight ahead of me before I get to Paris.
One thing to note about Dubai airport - you don't need to have the local currency to make a purchase but can shop with your Euros, USD, AUD, whatever you have on you, it seems. Very handy! But don't be surprised if you're given an eclectic mix of currencies as change - oddly quirky :-)
A flight to Australia is called at about 1.15am and a part of me wants to change my mind and get on board, fly straight back home and forget the whole thing. But I reason that I'm tired and a little disoriented, my body and brain think it's 5.15am, and I haven't slept for almost 24 hours, so I know that in a day or two, after a good sleep, I'll be very glad I kept going.
My brand new husband sends me a text message saying that he can't wait to hop on a plane and join me (3 weeks and counting.........) and I realise again how much I miss him. I need a sugar hit (a poor substitute I know) so I buy some familiar fruit Mentos. Ever the cautious traveller, I decide not to buy anything to eat or drink that's not in a sealed packet or bottle (yes, my beloved husband and my Bali travel buddy, I can hear you laughing - you know me well..........). I sit for a while to people-watch (there's only so many laps of Dubai airport terminal B that can be done before boredom sets in).
In that same cautious-traveller vein, I spend a bit of time rehearsing the directions that my apartment host gave me for getting from Charles De Gaulle airport to the apartment. By then I will have been awake for the better part of 36 hours and I'm expecting, not surprisingly, to be less than fully alert, so it would be nice not to get lost at that final juncture!
I sit for a bit and wonder how many hours the average person spends each year hanging around in airports. At 1.30am I remember I'd be waking up about now, if I was at home. At 2.15am I go to the departure gate for my flight to Paris. Nearly there.......... :-)