BootsnAll Travel Network



lost in space

sleeping at Dubai airport….onwards towards Auckland

We lose most of today somewhere.
We left Istanbul yesterday evening and took a four hour flight (just long enough to watch a movie and enjoy dinner) to Dubai, arriving when it was pitch black. Ribbons of orange lights stretched out beneath the plane as we landed. Having just spent a couple of weeks taking in mosque-ish architecture, the airport itself struck us as very mosque-like; big glass domes with star patterns. Men in turbans, leather sandals and flowing white robes set this place apart as different to anywhere else we’d been so far.  Security was very tight – shoes and belts had to be removed for x-raying in addition to the usual bag searches just to get into the transit area. Might be something to do with the plane that some dude tried to bomb the day before we flew!
We spent from 1am local time through to 10am perched on semi-reclining seats or spread out on uncomfortable seats or the floor and tried to sleep. The adults each managed an hour, the kids significantly more. 


                                                                                             4am 

Then taking off in daylight, our eyes flitted between the massive highrises of the main strip and the fenced mansion compounds creeping into the desert. Interesting to see roads getting covered with sand – do they plough them like the snow in colder climes? We flew over the manmade islands forming a map of the world – reactions of various family members ranged from *twee* to amazing, from creative to *won’t it all be wiped out in a tidal wave one day?*
A thirteen hour flight followed. Most of the children sat glued to their personal television screens for the duration, taking breaks only for meals. Adults enjoyed the babysitting service and took in a few movies ourselves! (Two recommendations: Julie and Julia, and Food, Inc.)
Meeting the sunrise somewhere over Australia, we marvelled at the hours and hours we spent winging our way across that massive continent of red dirt throwing up dark green trees. After another transit hour in early morning drizzly Melbourne, we were on the last leg.
The screens continued to perform their magic..
Forty four hours after waking in Istanbul, we flew over Lion Rock and our-favourite-beach-we-always-go-to, Karekare, and finally touched down in Auckland. It would be another five hours before we would let anyone go to bed!
But now we’re getting ahead of ourselves – that all happens on the 28th.
As I said, we lose the 27th.

PS When we checked in at Istanbul we were carrying 130kg – considerably more than we had been with our last days’ shopping, and that also included 20kg of pot and wok that we had been lugging round since the motorhomes. So if we took all that off, we’d estimate we clocked in at about 10kg per person, which doesn’t sound like a lot! But you know what? If we went again we’d take even less. We’ve discussed what we could leave behind, what extras we would take (only one thing, actually – a tripod)….and I really hope we have the opportunity to try out our theories sometime!



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3 responses to “lost in space”

  1. Yvette says:

    Funny, I always clocked in at 10kg at the airport too! (Well, not counting the daypack that slowly increased in weight due to saving all my ticket stubs in a journal- turns out paper weighs a lot.) Very definitely agree that it can be done with less, but at the end of the day I was happy to have my Birkenstocks and cocktail dress even if they technically could’ve cut down on the weight- had a bag with a wheels/detachable straps combo tho that hardly ever went on my back (maybe five times?), so it wasn’t as big an issue.

    Anyway, just wanted to say thanks so much for keeping your lovely blog all this time, it was wonderful to read while anticipating my own rtw and great to come back to after I returned! If I ever make it back to New Zealand (hard not to plan RTW #2, you’ll see) I’ll drop you guys a line. 🙂

  2. Leah says:

    I have COMPLETELY enjoyed your journey over the past few months since finding your site!!!!!!!! Your photos are amazing, and your writing was (is), so honest and vivid….just like being there in the moment! I am very sad to see your travels end, as I have been hooked 🙂 I am happy that you have made it home now to familiar faces and places! We did a 18 month RTW trip (before kids), and I remember well the feeling of coming back, as if everything had been a dream….weird, huh?!

    It took many months before we finally had sectioned off a place in our world where the memories of our travels could live side by side with our everyday living. Photos (traditional…before digital!), lots of small souvenirs & piles of journals!! It’s wonderful that you have this great blog share your experiances, and that your kids have journals too!!

    We are now planning a second big trip with our 2 sons (7 and 1), ….thus the admiration and fascination and education of your blog!!!!! A caravan or motorhome is in our future trip too, and we are going to try and do mostly Europe. We are now buying gear and such for our trip, and was wondering what items your thought you brought but didn’t need, and which ones you wished for?!? I am *certain* that I am over thinking everything and going to bring too much…lol!! Travelling as a couple is much ‘lighter’, and we could wing it back then….but now, I don’t want to be caught without some ‘vital’ item for the kids in the middle of nowhere at night?!!

    I am wishing you smooth days ahead of resettlement!! It’s great that you have come back to your old home!! We will not be returning to even the same town, so I am trying to come to terms with what our re-entry will be…..nothing familiar (people or stuff) when we get back for chidlren to look forwad to is a bit sad! But the plans continue! New Zealand is one of our fav places, as we spent almost 2 months there! My grandfather lived there 20+ years as did my aunt and lots of cuzzies. I know that you will really get an appeciation for all the rich blassings of your home and family, which is why travel is such a treasure!!!

    Happy New Year to you all!!

  3. Victoria says:

    I’ve had a long break from reading blogs, so not caught up with yours recently. I’m glad to hear you are home safely and look forward to catching up with your Turkey posts and find out how you settle in now you are back home. We booked our tickets last week, and fly to LA on 1st November!

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