This was the beginning of our 'Big One': five and a half months away from Gupole over the winter months in climates more sublime. The itinerary comprised lengthy stays in two places - Cape Town and Phuket using Dubai as a hub and a place to break up the journeys. As with our previous Phuket trip earlier this year, a side trip to Hong Kong was also thrown in to the plan.
After what seemed like weeks of preparation involving sorting out the house, garden and cars, booking flights and places to stay, convincing friends we were not abandoning them forever and deciding what to take and not to take for the five and a half months away, the 5 November dawned along with Franco to drive us to Arezzo station to catch the 7.14 Eurostar to Rome. Owing to the quirks of the Italian rail system, we had no choice but get this train. It got us to the airport far too early - 9.30 for a 14.30 flight, but when you're travelling, the day is gone anyway and sitting a couple of extra hours at an airport is neither here nor there.
We were a bit concerned about the luggage - 47 kilos in the hold and rather too much hand luggage, weight-wise. The latter was mainly camera stuff and two laptops packed into two back-packs that we carried as jauntily as we could so they looked as light as a feather. Possibly because we'd checked in on line and therefore had only to go to the baggage drop desk, the lady didn't bat an eyelid. She was far more concerned that my credit card didn't register - a system fault for which she was full of apologies. Certainly in the regular check-in queue next to us, two nuns were sent off to get divine intervention regarding the amount of luggage they had. I guess the cloth doesn't cut any ice with Emirates unless it's a dishdashah.
Dubai. Emirates lived up to their excellent reputation - service and food great, a huge choice of movies on the on-demand entertainment system and comfort not bad given we were flying cattle class. The flight disembarked into the new terminal 3 at Dubai. This has only just opened and is vast and very efficient. Unlike the older terminal where the queues for immigration can be dreadful, there was no queue at all at T3. The luggage emerged pretty fast too. So within about 20 minutes of landing, we were in a taxi on the way to Daniel's apartment in the Dubai Marina where we arrived to a bottle of bubbly at around 00.45.
It had been almost two years since we'd last been in Dubai - Christmas 2006 - and although it was night time, it was clear that they are still pouring the concrete. More roads, more high-rise, more malls. The place is incredible.
Daytime traffic in Dubai is ghastly, especially downtown. A new overground metro system is presently under construction and scheduled to finish in mid-2010. It will go from the airport and should make a big difference to cross-town travelling time as long as your destination is near a station - Dubai is not a place to walk far, particularly in the summer and especially if you're carrying luggage.
I suppose you either like big cities or you don't. For us, having spent 28 years in Hong Kong, cities do have an appeal, and if you can get above them either on nearby hills, which you can't in Dubai, or on the higher floors of high-rise buildings, then they can look pretty dazzling, especially at night. Check out the view from Daniel's apartment.
