Article Contributed on: 4/23/2008 7:46:18 PM
It's been almost 24 hours since we left Denver International Airport, amazingly enough. We're all sitting here in the food court in the Dubai International Airport, feeling a lot better after some much-needed food and perhaps a scoop of Baskin Robbins ice cream.
It's nearly 1 a.m. here. After an 8.5-hour cross-Atlantic trip from Detroit to Amsterdam, a 6-hour flight to Dubai, an d periodic naps along the way, our internal clocks are completely upside down. Right now many of us are trying to connect with loved ones over the Internet, Skype or even by cell phone. We're going to be leaving the food court in about 3.5 hours to head to the other Dubai terminal to take our flight to Kabul.
The trip itself went smoothly enough. The only hiccups came with the two Rons. Ron A. was pulled aside at the DIA checkpoint because of his cell phone and the video camera in Ron B.'s bag caused some of the security here in Dubai a little bit of concern.
The ever-decreasing value of dollar led to some painful transactions in Amsterdam. I spent 6 Euros, converted to about $15.50, to get on the Internet for half an hour. Ashley traded out a $20 to get just over 8 Euros. On a nicer note, the vending machine was selling Pepsis for 2.50 Euros - that's more than $5 for a soda.
Trying to understand the signs in the airports was no problem. English was, by far, the second-most dominant language (even in Detroit). All of the signs in Dutch or Arabic had an English translation right next to it. Here in Dubai, the walls are lined with advertisements in English for luxury products and real estate deals. Apparently, they're going to open an amusement park here in 2010 called "Dubailand."
The Dubai airport reminds me of Las Vegas. Lights dangle from the ceilings, and some of the marble floors sparkle. Flights are coming in throughout the night. Ron B. said it was because daytime temperatures get so hot here, and also because having red-eye flights make Dubai a perfect junction for travelers going from Europe to the Middle East. The Dubai airport is weird. We have to go to two different terminals to arrive and then to take off to Kabul. We also had to go outside to get back into the building so we could hang out in the food court. Like Las Vegas, it's hot here even at night, although the nearby ocean adds an unpleasant level of humidity.
Decent views from the plane were a little tough, since we spent most of the time over water and Detroit and Amsterdam were a little hazy. However, along the last half of the Amsterdam-Dubai flight, I saw a mountain range that seemed to go on forever. I think we were over Iraq or Iran at the time. Then as it got dark, isolated lights appeared that looked like candle fire sparsely populated the mountain range and then the Persian Gulf.
We should be in Afghanistan by mid-afternoon there, which would be about midnight back in the United States.