Finally, after months of preparation the day finally
arrived. At the airport! Anything forgotten or not done no longer mattered. We’re
on HOLIDAYS.

The 14 hour flight that I so dreaded, turned out not so bad
after all. Both the take-off and landing was smooth and the plane relatively
comfortable – I even managed to sleep a bit. There is a lot to be said for the
new A380’s. Stan got in 3 movies and I two – Both musicals.

Dubai airport! We had to catch a train to the baggage carousel.
The self-serve passport scanner only worked if you had been to Dubai before so
we uselessly dragged our passports over the device until a gate was finally
opened for the newbies.

A lovely man from the hotel was waiting for us at the exit
and before we knew it - the first day of the adventure was done.