Fine and sunny 31-39deg. Thank goodness we didn't go riding around Dubai or even going outside.
We both managed a couple of hours sort of sleep, half sitting up in the Emirates Lounge . After a shower and some breakfast we almost felt human again. The joys of international travel. Like everything with Emirates, the Business Class Lounges in Dubai are huge. There are several of them, the one we left from is about 500m long, has six eating points, four shower blocks, three shoeshine points, numerous games, computer, babies and meeting rooms and dozens of different types of sitting and lounge areas. They have 100s of staff hovering around ready to pounce on a dirty cup, fetch your food and drink or fill an empty glass. There's an endless variety of food and drinks. We resisted the urge to break out as we knew that too much food or drink is the worst thing to do before the 13.5 hour leg we were facing to Brisbane.
Boarded on time about 10am and the A380 pulled back pretty well on time. We then spent a fair amount of time sitting on the taxiway waiting for incoming traffic, which resulted in us taking off an hour late. We were glad when it finally took off as the aircon was taking its time cooling the plane down while in that heat .
Greg started the flight with an empty seat next to him, otherwise it was a packed flight. The empty seat was soon taken by a lady who changed seats destroying any chance to stretch out.
The flight was fairly well uneventful except for a foul-mouthed Aussie bloke who decided to start a dispute with another passenger four seats away. By the sound of it they knew each other. The aggressor wanted a beer as soon as he stepped on the plane, therein lies the problem. The hosties kept a close eye on the situation. It didn't develop into anything serious however some ladies in front of us showed real concern and seemed stressed by the incident. With everything going on in the world with aeroplanes, the last thing people need is a clown like that.
Landed in Brisbane about 6:30am, (30mins late) and due to congestion in the customs and baggage hall we missed our early flight to Hervey Bay. To rub salt into that the baggage handlers absolutely destroyed our bike boxes. Will check the bikes when we get home. Don't know how they managed that, we had them taped up really secure. Even the boss at the oversized luggage section couldn't believe it and took photos of the boxes for further investigation. Greg has never had any problems on all the tours he has been on with his bikes. The next available flight is 4pm, joy, another 8 hours in an airport. At least with the Qantas Club we were able to shower, shave, (Greg only) shampoo etc and have nice food and drink whenever you wish.
By the time we get home tonight (6pm Wed 30 Jul) we would have been traveling for 49 hours. The Europe timings have blown out since Qantas climbed into bed with Emirates who have a 10 hour stopover in Dubai. We will consider our options for next time.
Our 'wrap-up' of the trip will be posted on-line as soon as we get our heads around it.