In Dubai

The journey from Jakarta to Dubai was full of uncertainties. My flight was pre-poned and I went to the airport 2:30 hour early. But there were large queues in all the Emirates check in counters. It took me 2 hours to check in and at one point of time I became scared alongwith other passengers that we are going to miss the flight. The Boeing 777-300 must have been full booked with more than 400 passengers which created more chaos. I don't know whether the computerized system or the check in staffs were slow - but I must say they had enough counters to process all these passenger. Finally we flew 1 hour late (7:30 hrs flight time).

I got a 24h visa sponsored by Emirates before they transferred me to a hotel. I checked in at the hotel and saw a sign of a night tour going in 45 minutes. I decided to make the most of the Dubai Visa and took it after some rest and light refreshment.

The night tour was great - wonderful views of Dubai skyscrapers at night. We also drove through the palm Islands and got off near Burj Dubai, Burj al Arab etc. to take pictures (will upload later). It was a fascinating experience. I came back at around 4:15 AM all exhausted and caught some sleep.

Now I am again at the airport waiting for the flight to Sao Paolo. The flight is more than 17 hours long. Hope I will still be fit for my onward connection to Santiago, Chile.