An International Incident

So Dave says I could cause an international incident. I've got the whole Texas thing on my side, he says. You know, like all Texans somehow could bring the world to a stand still with just one word. Yeah, maybe he's right. I told him I was just having a bit of fun today. I mean, I was feeling a lot better, and, well, a little slap happy. I needed to break up the stress of traveling. You know. Well, anyway, we're on the plane and to our right there are three arabs in full sheik attire--white robes, sandals, rings on top of their heads holding on their head shawls. Anyway, one of the men had his head scarf wrapped over his eyes, you know, like an eye sleep shield thingy, while he tried to sleep. So in very low tones I mention to Dave that there are many uses for the head scarf, as modeled by man number 1. To which he says I just may cause an international incident. And knowing that Dave was looking for a lightweight scarf, I mention that what he really wants is what man number 2 has on his head, a light, white, 100% cotton, scarf, perfect for Dave's travels. I told him he should ask the man where he purchased it. Dave scowls at me. A little later later after looking at the written Arabic language, I make a remark about the way it looks, how there are just straight lines in between what look to be characters, and I'm wondering if the length of the line is a character itself, and does one need a ruler to measure the length of the line to know what the letter might be. Anyway, look at Arabic written sometime and you'll know what I mean. To which Dave replies "I'm going to sleep now, so as not to provoke you anymore." And then, when the men decided it was prayer time (according to Islam) they set blankets on the floor of the plane and faced East. But really, don't you need a compass on the plane to know you are really facing East? I mentioned this to Dave and he said that he had a compass on his watch and that they were off a bit from East. I told him he should mention this to them. Again, a scowl.

And yes, this was a very multi-national flight. It was Emirates Airlines, after all. I kept waiting for some other American traveler to run up to a steward and mention that there might be a terrorist on board because there was "suspicious" praying activities going on. The xenophobia of Americans is hilarity on this kind of a plane. Half the plane "looks like" a terrorist! ha! Anyway, on this plane, no one makes them sit down, no one tells them the hour long prayer session is getting in the way. No, just business as usual. Backward airline, you may think. Actually, no. I was probably the best airline I've ever ridden on. Makes all American run airlines look like trash. It was a spotless plane with the best service I've ever received on a flight. The stewards were gracious and SO helpful and went above and beyond to make us comfortable. They LOVED the kids on board and gave Declan two stuffed animals, a Dr. Suess book, a coloring book, crayons, a backpack (I'm not kidding!), and some other little goodies. Dashel gots lots of baby treats. And they actually seated us in the bulkhead area with the bassinet set up for us to put the baby in. Unheard of! They had individual tv screens with like a trillion things to watch. It made the 7 hour trip feel like 1 hour. Really. The food was great (yes, they actually feed you on flights outside the US!). Oh, I could go on an on. Our airlines really suck. Oh, and I even watched The Ascent of Money, a series made by Niall Ferguson (for those of you who don't know, just Google him. He's entertaining and brilliant!) for PBS. I was hooked on it the entire flight. I couldn't believe they had such intelligent tv on a plane! Yeah, terrorist looking people or not, I'm flying that airline again!

Now, the airport in Dubai was a spectacle in itself, and really not to be envied. It was like a huge palace with all this unused wasted space. And it was SOOOOOO confusing. Where exactly did our flight check in? We were finally ushered to this ONE, VERY long line, whereby everyone can get their boarding passes for whatever flight they may be on. Which was funny, because the whole check in area was bigger than many terminals of airports in the US. Really massive. And all these check in areas, but no fights written on them. Just all Emirate Airline flights. We were dumbfounded and confused really. Anyway, if you ever go to Dubai, you'll understand what I mean by confusing and cavernous.

And now we're in Singapore. We're staying at a serviced apartment and it's so nice to be able to unpack and know we'll be someplace for longer than 4 days. This feels like home away from home. More later.