Airports

Well. We had a good flight I guess even though it seemed to go on forever. We actually got quite hungry after a couple of hours and were pleased to see the food trolley, but they timed the service just as we got to an area of turbulence, so after taking my order, the stewardess quickly wheeled the trolley and all the food on it, to the back of the plane!

Back again after forty minutes, and I was impressed when the stewardess promptly placed exactly what I ordered on my tray! Chicken biryani too!

A very smooth landing at Bahrain Airport and I was so pleased to be off the plane. Did the usual walk to the transfer area and couldn't believe it that with just a handful of passengers there, we still had to do a very long and elaborate zigzag to get to the scanners. OMG. How dumb can you get, except I guess it got our limbs moving.

We had a three-hour wait here, so bought a coffee and I checked out if I could enter one of the lounges, but was told "NO" because I hadn't registered in advance (?!). G & I decided to look for a place near the light to do some people watching. Airports are such interesting places; it always amazes me how one place can have such a diverse range of people in it. In the Middle East though, the first thing that becomes apparent is how many more men there are than women. I won't go into the work demands that causes this demographic. I guess coming through Bahrain was a good way to ease us into being back in this part of the world.

Our departure gate area though was something to photograph, except it is forbidden. It really felt like a shed and there seemed to be some altercation going on with a large group of South Asian men and the security forces. Our time finally came to board the bus which would take us to the aircraft. We got on and waited, only to be told to disembark and wait in the building, with no explanation.

About twenty minutes later, we got back on the bus and this time we got on the aircraft. It was, I have to say, a bit disconcerting to see engineers working on an open engine with a toolbox closeby as you go up the steps. Fortunately, we were on the other side, so couldn't see them finish up.

A short flight back to Sunny Dubai. It was overcast. We actually managed to be out of the airport in an hour. It would have been faster if G's SMART eGate worked! Great to be back in the flat... I love the space here and all my creature comforts. :) Dubai is challenging us to the limit at the moment. They have banned free worldwide VOIP services like Skype and Whats App and we are now to use locally produced apps and pay a premium to do so. We'll have to see how G can do her online lessons with her two kids in Switzerland.

It was great though, to get a delivery of a favourite meal from our favourite restaurant. Nice way to start the year back here. All suitcases emptied and most things put back.