And so it begins

We’re currently sat in Dubai airport. That’s quite an understatement actually, it’s more like a palace doubling as an airport; with marble floors and glinting columns. And so clean. You could literally eat off the floor if you wanted to. It’s a bit of a contrast having said goodbye to our families in Birmingham airport that, although it holds a special place in Alex’s heart, is a grubby place. Saying goodbye was hard and emotional, as we are both close to our families and not going to be seeing them for a year, but still full of excitement at heading off to see the world.

We were therefore a little drained on boarding the plane and looking forward to a nice film before a nap. The flight over proved to be a little more eventful however as one of the screens wasn’t working. We had a very nice neighbour who kept on making a point of it to the stewardesses and we also rang the bell a couple of times but were outright ignored for the majority of the flight. It wasn’t a very nice experience (the ignoring part, the screens we could deal with) but in the end we were seen by the flight manager and we got some magazines and some immigration passes to take us straight through in Dubai. He also put us on a special list so that we can be upgraded during one of our future flights.

Now we’ve just got to lug our heavy bags over to the taxi rank to find our hotel before hitting up the dusty streets of Dubai!

Rex’s Rules of the Road

• Don’t get too emotional when waving off, remember you’re going off of the trip of a lifetime, they’re stuck at home. Try taking the piss, it helps!

• Be prepared for the night on a plane, look forward to hours of films and playing pacman or, if your screen breaks, staring into space. Have a book to hand just in case (trust us!).

• If you complain, be nice. It might just get you an upgrade.