We all managed a bit of sleep on the way to Dubai and also took in some movies. We landed just before 6am local time but the aircraft parked a long way from the terminal and we boarded shuttle buses which took us on a ride for at least 20 minutes before we reached the terminal. By the time we found our way out and made it through a ridiculously slow border control queue it was 7am.

We had a 9 hr layover before the next flight so had organised a 4 hour tour with Dubai Private Tours. We were met by our guide Sameh who was a native of the Arab Emirates and was appropriately dressed in flowing white robes. He took us to all the major sites in a well air conditioned Toyota Previa. The AC was important because the outside temperature was up to 45 degrees.

Back at the airport we grabbed some lunch at a restaurant called Giraffe before boarding our next flight.