Day (1) Arriving in Dubai

Our flight was delayed by an hour, so our transit in Doha was short - as was our flight to Dubai.

Before we knew it, we arrived in the concrete jungle that is Dubai. We were greeted by the friendly staff of Arabian Adventures who escorted us to immigration. Getting our luggage was done with ease and we soon made contact with my dad and brother to wish them Merry Christmas!

We realized that the airport was very close to the hotel we were staying at - Ibis One Central. Check in was hassle-free, but we were a bit surprised to learn that there were no porters around. Made me wonder if we are too spoiled in South Africa!

 

Dubai (0) Getting ready to go

Friday, 23 December 2016
We were lucky to be able to leave work early, giving me a little extra time to run some errands, do my laundry and pack my suitcase. I'm usually a bit anxious the day before I travel, but I took it easy and decided to go with the flow.

Saturday, 24 December 2016
On Saturday, packed and ready to leave home, I had a really nice Uber driver take me to the airport. I still can't believe that I passed out and slept through almost the entire flight to Johannesburg. I knew that when I arrived in Johannesburg, I would head straight to Woolies Cafe for a nice hot wake-me-up drink.

At first, I sat at the counter, chatting to the barista, but soon met two sisters who just arrived back from Mauritius. My mum arrived shortly afterwards and we were just in time to meet Chancharmasi, who had just flown in from Cape Town. We didn't spend too long with her as we needed to start making our way to international departures. Mum and I had a light bite to eat before making our way to the boarding gate. The excitement was definitely starting to bubble!

Dubai (0) The idea to go

I remember calling my mum, saying to her: "Mummy, I don't know about you, but I need to travel. I need to use my passport! Let's go to Dubai."

My mum actually seemed quite keen and it was from then that I knew the ball would start rolling very soon!