We took Honey and Bentley over to Chris's about 10,.30. They were not happy but we made a speedy exit and went over to say goodbye to mum. Some tears flowed as who knows what the next few weeks will bring. Edie made sure that the garden was thoroughly watered. Last minute things were thought of, but we were ready about 4.30. Glen & Rob came about an hour later & we set off for the airport. We made good time and were there before 7.00. They left us on the kerb and we lined up to book in. We had over 2 hours to wait so we had a curried egg sandwich (nothing special) and watched Home and Away. Finally we were called and we boarded and made our way to the back of the plane - aisle 82. Edie had the window seat and I sat next to an American girl. We took off on time and wondered how we were going to spend the next 14 hours in this cramped space.. We both had trouble getting the TV to work but finally we managed to see a couple of movies. I watched Quartet & Guilt Trip & Family Guidance. We tried to sleep & I realised the sleeping tablets were in the bag in the overhead locker, so we went without. I managed some sleep ((particularly during a very rough patch) but Edie had next to none. The American girl slept totally under her blanket and it was so hard to wake her when we needed to go to the loo. Overall the service was poor. We had to ask for a drink some two hours after we boarded. The dinner was OK, but they ran out of the breakfast we wanted and the other was not good. We had flown in total darkness since leaving Melbourne. About 4.15 Dubai time Edie saw lights out her window. They stretched on for ever. We were in the terminal by just after 5.00 and walked a long way before we realised that we had to catch a train to collect our baggage. It was a five minute ride. We then passed thru passport control, picked up our bags which unbelievably were together on the roundabout. We walked straight thru customs and headed for our private car to take us to the hotel. By 7.00 I was in the shower and Edie was asleep. I tried to ring Glen but couldn't get the travelsim to work. Finally I emailed Glen. The room is very nice and Edie assured me the bed was wonderful. So ended day 1.