Saturday, June 4, 2022

​Click here to watch video recap.

I think my alarm was set to 4:00 a.m. I’m up and doing my morning routine. I proceed to the hotel lobby to check-out and to catch the shuttle to the airport. The hotel has a “continental breakfast.” It’s not really a continental breakfast. The breakfast is on a vacant check-in counter not in the area where one would eat. I know strange right? I’m not going to partake of breakfast since I don’t want anything to upset my stomach or have me having to go to the bathroom at the airport or on the plane. It is a 12 hour plane ride. 

Four other individuals from the group also board the shuttle. I know this because we were asked to wear the same shirt for traveling. This definitely helps to identify the Dubai travel group. We arrive at the airport and find the Emirates check-in counters. Guess what? The counters are CLOSED. They do not open up until 8:00 a.m. but the ticket I have has check-in at 7:20 a.m. Weird. An agent (I suppose with Emirates) starts a line to the side of the check-in counters. This “gap” time gives me and others the opportunity to chat with each other and make some connections. After all we will be together for the next few days as we discover Dubai.

I’m checked in and have boarded the plane!

I have a window seat. After lunch we were asked to pull down our shades. WTH. Is it nap time? The plane is dark and it is still daylight outside. I want to see the clouds. I want to look out the window. That’s why I chose a window seat, duh! But there may be a reason to have all of the shades down. Perhaps to keep the plane’s inside temperature cool? Oh and my feet are FREEZING! I have on compression ankle socks but they are quite thin. I didn’t think about my feet freezing. I was concerned that my feet would swell during the 12 hour flight. 

The flight had over a hundred movie titles. Games. Podcasts. Live TV. Music. This was the perfect opportunity to catch up on some movies. During the course of the flight I watched Encanto, A Journal for Jordan and Eternals. You would think I was pregnant how emotional I got during these movies (Encanto and A Journal for Jordan). I was not crying crying but a little choked up during some scenes.

Since the beginning my headset seemed funky. I could only hear out of one side. I asked a flight attendant before we took off for another headset. I think she forgot in the midst of the boarding process. I was on this plane for a couple of hours so decided to request (again) another headset. I turned on my light for a flight attendant but it seemed as if they all took a break. All 22 of them? I wanted a new headset. I could only hear volume out of one ear. About 15 minutes later a flight attendant came. Even the “new” pair . . . I could only hear out one ear. Ugh! 
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Well nothing much more for today . . .  today was all about flying.