The Journey

14th May

All set to go for the next day. At 5:30 pm, Sharvil(my travel-partner) called and informed that our connecting flight at Heathrow, London was preponed by three hours leaving just an hour in our hands to catch it, thus making it impossible for us to board it. In haste, we cancelled the Air-India tickets and booked Emirates, depreciating our bank accounts by about 6 grands, but that was no problem with the experience we were going to have the next day. Happiness was due to one more reason - Emirates allows 30 kg baggage in comparison to the meagre 20 kg by Air India.

The Emirates Airlines

Plus, our connecting flight was to be taken from DUBAI.

15th May
We had a 9:50 pm flight and we were in the check-in line of the airport at 7 sharp. The link failed about two times and we reached the tip of the line only after standing in the queue for one and half hour. General procedure takes no more than twenty minutes. Left irritated by the services, I just pledged inside that I am not going to board an Emirates flight ever again.

During check-in, God had in store for us another set of adventure. Our luggage exceeded the limit by about 10 kg, i.e. the total weight of our baggage was 69.7 kg, which is way off than what is allowed(60 kg per two persons). Luckily, Mom dropped two packets in my bag and I took out all the excess baggage into the packet, making the luggage weight to be 61.5 kg, huh, lucky me. The packets were now our hand-baggage in addition to the laptop.

After a dozen of scrutiny, I finally boarded the flight - Boeing 757 jumbo-jet - Emirates. The mere sight took all my fatigue. It was big, bigger than every other flight at the Indira Gandhi International Airport.

Greeted by an Arabic air-hostess dressed in the traditional Arabic dress, I entered the flight. With screen with a thousand movies, a million songs, equi-numbered radio-podcasts and hundreds of TV shows, Emirates left no stones unturned to make me feel blessed. "Emirates is the only airline that I'll travel in" was the slogan my mind kept reciting. It took just two minutes for Emirates to shift my paradigm. The delicacies were an icing on my cake, delicious and served with courtesy.

This is the view inside Emirates Airlines

16th May - DUBAI
If I close your eyes and drop you inside the Dubai Airport, I bet you would think that you are inside a grand shopping mall. Electronics, foodstuff, cigars, bags, furnitures, apparels and what-not! You name it and you will get that. A fully wi-fi enabled area, I went online at the airport. To my surprise, Orkut was banned in UAE - it was written that it has prohibited content - God knows what! Meanwhile, Sharvil had a 12$ pizza and I too got a bite.

The Dubai Airport - Terminal 3

The airport is so beautiful, that I had an eerie feeling even while using the toilets, since it would make the thing dirtier, which I didn't want.

We had an eight hours stay in Dubai. I had a nap in one of the easy chairs, which was in no-way easy. In the morning, we had another flight to catch - flight to our destination - Glasgow.

16th May - Dubai to Glasgow
It was morning and the take-off was from Dubai. What more a man wants to please his eyes? WOW is the word. Had a look at the Burj Al Arab 7-star hotel and the Marina Dubai, a splendid sight.

The Marina Dubai and Burj Al Arab 7-Star Hotel as seen from my plane

We then towered over the clouds and had occasional looks through the clouds to the lithosphere downwards. Crossing through Iraq, Ukraine, Romania, Poland, Germany, North Sea to finally UK took almost 9 hours.

Though plenty of episodes of Friends, the movie - The Dark Knight and about a dozen tracks from all across the globe provided some entertainment, the real entertainment came from the yum delicacies. They serve so passionately. The delectable food with all kinds of beverages - ALL KINDS(except champagne), mind it tastes better with the graciousness of the air-hostess. I tasted Jack Daniel's whiskey, it was like a homeopathic liquid, and brought a strange comforting warmth to my throat when I gulped it.

The flight toured over the clouds, the horizon seemed endless and eyes seemed astonished to see the mirth of nature.

The Panorama

The flight lowered down the clouds and the pilot announced that we are going to land in 5 minutes. The breathtaking panorama beheld my eyes and I could just think one thing - two months are going to be spent in heaven. The mountainous meadows, vast stretches of land and cloudy weather was more than enough to soothe my skin burnt with Delhi's scorching sun.

The landing was safe, that's why I am alive out here writing this, and my ear buzzed with Scottish accent coming from all around. Of ten things they say, I can understand just 3-4 things, so plenty of difficulties out here. After collecting our baggage, which were in perfect condition, we boarded a taxi to the White House Apartments - our accommodation place. Yes friends, I live in the White House. The moment we entered our room, we exclaimed, "Holy Shit". This is way better than we had imagined. Everything, right from a hearth, TV, Broadband, alarm clock, microwave, OTG, Laundry service, bath-tub, dishwasher, geyser, music system and even a personal-landline; everything is here. It is like a royal suite, and you know what finally sun has arrived piercing all the clouds to my bed.

That's the first meal - hot and sour soup!

I am yet to discover this place. Today is the day reserved for all the explorations. That's all from my side, you tell, how is India.

P.S. Toilet paper, it sucks, I am never sure that I am completely clean or not.
P.S. Had a breakfast of Maggi and Tomato soup, god knows when I'll get something more Indian.
P.S. I left my toothbrush there in India, can anyone bring it? It is very costly here. :(