Travel weary and bleary.

That describes most everbody in the transit area at Dubai.

Somehow though there is a contingent of people who still look a million dollars.They are the ones who hog the on- board toilet towards the end of the flight in economy or spent the last 15 hours at the pointy end of the plane with the all encompassing luxury we can only all dream about.

We are the majority. Crumpled looking, dazed and watching the clock for the next marathon flight.

For some strange reason the Dubai transit area has a smokers room right in the middle of the transit area. Not only is it in the middle but it has glass walls so non-smokers can see the smokers puffing away furiously. Not only can we see it but we can smell it. The exhaust fans must not be able to cope adequately with the torrent and selfish smokers jam open the door to let the smoke pour out. I know all airports have smoking rooms usually discretely to the side, but this seems so bizarre right in the middle. Obviously the smokers don't like it too much either being on display and choking on each other's filthly smoke. Each to their own but sharing their vice with non-smokers is a bit rich.

Finally our flight is called and we are off again for 15 hours of the surreal atmosphere of the long distance flight.