Dubai to Home

Dubai is a soulless airport, but what else is possible in a place so big you see almost only at night, and only when tired?

Jakarta airport is smaller, and might be nicer were it not plagued by the delay-riddled Indonesian visa and passport control system. A circle of gates, scanners, and new forms, even though we had the required visas. Definitely a transit to avoid. We were here a month ago, but again could not find the lounge based in their plans and signage. Jetlag? Go figure…

A little bit late leaving Jakarta, but landed in Melbourne on time. Immigration a shemozzle with fleets of Asian airlines coming at once, then a wait to check in for our flight to Sydney: there were no seats on earlier flights, so we had a wait until 9:20. It was the earliest flight we could get when we booked, but next time we might take a different route altogehter. Still, every flight was comfortable and punctual (other than the very last one to Sydney, which left a little and landed very late because only one runway in Sydney was open), and airports are unchangeable.

And at 9 deg at 9am only a fortnight from summer, Melbourne Airport was colder than any morning in late Autumn in Italy or Greece.Читать далее