We kicked-off our much-awaited vacation even as the monsoon stayed away from Pune in the first week of June. I was yearning for an international vacation for a long time and it was time for one as we planned to visit the UK.

It would be a sort of family vacation as we planned to visit my sister in law in Hull and her parents were touring UK as well. Even though I had just visited London a few months back on work, I absolutely did not mind going back there in summer in vacation mode.

Our flight from Mumbai was at 7 PM so we set off from Pune by cab at around noon. My wife was at work so I picked her up, after which we set-off for the Mumbai airport. Around three hours later, the all new swanky terminal 2 welcomed us at the Mumbai airport. As expected, we were totally mesmerized by the swanky look of the terminal. Everything had a shine to it and you could see your face on the polished marble floors. We had ample time in hand so we enjoyed checking out the terminal. It is not fully functional as currently only international flights operate. Thus, around 50% of the facility is being utilized. The highlight of the terminal was the brilliant displays of art adorning the walls. There is even an art museum within the premises.  The airport looked truly out of the world and showed how much progress India had made. It looked a far cry from the days when I had once arrived from a vacation in the US as a young twenty year old and even the ACs were not working.  Mumbai is a major port of entry for foreign tourists and we all know how important it is to create the first impression. Along with the swanky terminals of Delhi, Hyderabad and Bangalore this was much needed and it would sure create a good first impression on anyone entering India. However, one thing which was missing and which is a part of every airport or railway station was a book store. Indeed it was a surprise and a bit of a dampener. By this time we were hungry so we duly helped ourselves to some snacks – I treated myself to a KFC meal while my wife had some South Indian dosa.

We boarded the Emirates Boeing 777-300ER from Gate no. 74. Before that I had a great time taking some photos of the other aircrafts on the tarmac which included a couple of more Boeing 777s belonging to Air India and the Emirates. Thanks to great entertainment systems in the Boeing 777 aircrafts, we had a great flight. As expected, the entertainment system “ICE” provided a lot of movies to choose from. I had the same experience in Air-India when I flew earlier this year.  One major difference I noticed was that while Air-India had a 3-3-3 seating arrangement, Emirates had a 3-4-3 arrangement. I wondered how that can be possible in an aircraft of the same model.  The only way would be a narrower isle. Thus, the chances of a flight attendant getting stuck with her food trolley in the isle are higher in Emirates than in Air-India.  We arrived in Dubai at 8:30 PM and our flight to London Gatwick was at 2:30 AM which meant we had a long six-hour transit ahead of us. Both of us were very familiar with Dubai airport as we had spent many an hour in transit here in the past thanks to Emirates being a hugely popular airlines providing good connectivity to European cities from India. One of the best parts of international travel that I enjoy in this transit period. Its that moment when you are in the middle of nowhere between your origin and destination and you are free from your usual thought process. Its a moment where you can roam about aimlessly in a swanky place without any guilt or any sense of urgency. The buzz created by the passengers pacing up and down between boarding fates, the screens raising your Geographical awareness, the hordes of Black Label, Chivas Regal and Lindt chocolates adorning the racks of the duty free shops, a traveler like me can spend hours and revel in it. A common sight at a major transit hub like Dubai is a number of people with long gaps between connecting flights, blissfully asleep on the floor. I recalled a moment four years back when I did the same when I was travelling to Prague, via Dubai. There are times where, if the gap between flights is more than a stipulated time, you get a transit visa along with a hotel stay. We got lucky at Istanbul once but it was not to be the case here in Dubai this time around.

We first walked up and down the entire duty-free area, stopped at a shop to buy our morning essentials like toothbrush and toothpaste as toilet bags needed to be checked in due to my shaving razor. Our next stop was at a plug point where we did the most important activity of the times that of recharging our phones. 

As the body clock ordered us to sleep, we settled for some hot chocolate at Costa Coffee.  Finally we boarded our Boeing 777-300 at 2:30 AM and as soon as we took off for a six-hour flight to London Gatwick, I crashed on my seat.  An overnight flight is all about sleep and we got some much needed sleep over the six hours even though we just about managed to have our meal.