What is it about airports that makes them such dreadful places? Railway stations and ports I find fascinating. Watching people and wondering where they're going, the comings and goings of trains and ships, pregnant with possibilities of travel to other places - they are exciting places. Even bus stations, although generally rather sordid and run down, can be interesting. But airports! Maybe it's because nowadays they are essentially just large shopping centres with a few aeroplanes parked out the back. And, of course, the dismal prospect of spending the next few hours sitting in a cramped seat, watching a film on a tiny screen and eating food that tastes as if its been specially cooked to be totally devoid of taste (a side effect of being at altitude according to Frankie. She says eastern food tastes best.)

We are at Gatwick in a Pret A Manger, the best of a bad choice of places for breakfast. No chance of getting any toast here. Everyone is just sitting around waiting, playing with their phones, looking bored. At least check-in and getting through security was easy, taking about 15 minutes from beginning to end. But we could be pretty much anywhere in Western Europe. At least in places like Dubai and Delhi the passengers are much more diverse, lending a more exotic atmosphere to the otherwise indistinguishable airport architecture (Madrid is the only airport I've ever been to that is worth visiting for the architecture alone).

Still a necessary evil and for the rest of this blog I shall put away my grumpy old man and start enjoying myself.