Rashed's View

I stopped in Dubai on my way back from New Delhi to have dinner there (photos here). After dinner, I arrived at the airport 4 hours ahead of time. We hung out at the café with Papa who had just landed from Bahrain. At 12:30 – with 2.5 hours still to go, I went through security and stood in line for check in. Everyone for all flight check-ins was in the same queue. By the time I got to the counter, there were only 30 minutes left for the flight and Emirates would not allow me to check in. After much haggling, they changed my ticket to a Heathrow flight (instead of Gatwick) for another flight that leaves 20 minutes after mine. But they made me go through security again, and by the time I was at the counter the gate was closed, again! Finally I had to move everything to 24 hours later. I missed the Atlanta team celebration that was 4 months in the making, and the main reason for returning so quickly. But I got time to locate my friends in Dubai and hung out with them for a few hours and then we went to check out Dubai. This time, I arrived 4 hours early at the airport and checked in within 30 minutes. I am now safely in London, waiting to board the Atlanta flight.