Day 5- early morning Dubai Airport

We arrive in Dubai on time around 11 p.m. Our flight is not scheduled to depart for Ethiopia until 5:00 a.m. This makes for a long night…. The Dubai airport is interesting. The clocks are Rolex and there is a “shopping mall” in the airport.

My sister and I could not really sleep on the first flight as the anticipation is too much. So we grab something to eat in Dubai as the food of the Air France flight is not really eatable.

We have to be back at the Ethiopia Airlines counter at 1:30 a.m. to check in so we decide to try to rest for an hour in the quiet area.

You have got to be kidding me- no one can sleep in Dubai! The airport security decided to park some loud beeping cart outside the “QUIET AREA.” We give up and head to the counter. Once we try to check in, we learn that Air France did not handle our baggage correctly. They forgot to give us a voucher for Ethiopia Air. After another 90 minutes dealing with the luggage and $100 dollars we are able to finally go try to lay down again under some palm trees.

I guess 2:30-4:00 a.m. must be a popular arrival time, because flight after flight comes in and the passengers move through the airport. It was impossible to get any rest- IMPOSSIBLE.

We board the flight. Interestingly, they are supposed to board by zones, but instead it is like mass chaos. The people mob toward the plane, and only let the elders or people with small children board first.

It is the first time in my life that I have felt like a minority. The passengers are all staring at us, but it is something that we will need to get used to. It is just the beginning of major culture shock…