So I was sitting at the pub the other night with a girlfriend, enjoying a few Gin & Tonic’s talking about the paths we take in life and the situations we get into looking for adventure. She has just moved to Vila from Melbourne for a complete sea change. With no job but friends in the right places, she just packed herself up and moved to this topical paradise. So that got me thinking about some of the roads I’ve travelled with a sudden impulse that left many people around me questioning my sanity and the experiences my impulsive nature has afforded me to have.
Case in point – Dubai.
To set the scene I need to be fair to myself and inform you all that this was my first trip out of Australia and I was more than happy to engage this expedition on my happy lonesome – much to the dismay of the worried parents I left behind. Granted, I will admit that I only set out on this journey solo because I had the sweet satisfaction of knowing that I had one of my great friends waiting for me at the other end. But still, with no life experience outside the comfort of the land down under, I should have realised I was in for an adventure of a lifetime.
Dubai was the first of 3 stops in my world wind trip followed by Italy and Russia. The first little bump in the road came when I didn’t request a specific seat during check-in. God knows I was well informed on the requirements of domestic air travel but the hype surrounding my approaching trip left me tongue-tied and unable to think clearly. So I ended up squashed between an unresponsive male who hogged the window view for the entire trip and an elderly Turkish woman who could not speak a word of English. Knowing I was spending 15+ hours like this, I began what I now consider a lifelong and satisfying relationship with my girls - Bombay and Sapphire.
Landing in Dubai, I felt the relief of more than just being able to get out of my seat. We were herded like cattle from the plane into the most elaborate looking terminal man will ever see. So remembering this was my first time to a new country, new airport terminal and new arrival rules, my first thought was ‘what the hell do I do now?’ There were signs for passport control and customs clearance but really, what did I know? So I just followed people that looked like they just got off the same flight from Melbourne (as if there weren’t 20 other flights landing and departing at the same time) and aimlessly followed them through to what turned out to be the customs area. Making my way to the end of the longest congo line I’ve ever seen, I was approached my an Arab man who seemed to know exactly who I was without a doubt and ushered me towards the front of the line. Now I don’t have to tell you how much that freaked me out!Turns out I was regarded as a kind of VIP (for reasons unknown at this stage) and fast tracked through the check point. After helping me collect my bags he then left me to fend for myself and to make my way out into my new world. Exiting the arrivals gate, I was bombarded with men of all nationalities asking if I wanted a cab. I picked one and proceeded to get into the car while he put my suitcase in the back. I still to this day can clearly hear him saying in a rising panicky voice ‘I drive! I drive!’ Little did it register that I was getting into the driver’s seat not at all caring that there was a steering wheel staring right at me. Lack of sleep and copious amounts of gin will do that to a person not to mention the fact that they drive on the other side of the road so naturally the driver sits on the left. Once recognition reared its head, I hopped out of the car and into the front seat of my Arabian chariot.
I soon came to realise that taxi drivers all over the world are just as bad as each other. Sense of direction is shockingly bad, communication is poor and the fact that they want you to tell them where to go is highly amusing seeing as though I was now in the middle of a desert. So after countless calls to my friend (who had organised my VIP treatment at the airport) I took directional control over the vehicle and eventually found my new home for the next 8 days.
I played the tourist role perfectly down to a T. My friend had to work so she left me to fend for myself a lot of the time which was not a worry for this self confessed Miss Independent. On my first day I was dropped off at what can easily be described as the world’s largest shopping centre. There were gold hand rails, polished marble floors covering the 3 story building and enough gold on sale to warrant more security guards than Obama. All heads turned my way upon entering the shopping kingdom and I quickly realised I was not in Kansas anymore.
Once I got over the stares I wandered around and set off to go shopping. I scored some pretty neat stuff and found the most amazing place for lunch. The comfort of seeing a TGI Friday’s wasn’t what made me choose this restaurant. It was the window seat that I sat in that made my day. I spent my lunchtime gazing out a wall sized window watching hundreds of people ski and snow board down an authentic looking snow slope in the middle of the Arabian Desert.My trip to this foreign land was possibly the best way to start my overseas experience. Yes it was way over the top at times but who wouldn’t want to have an all you can eat seafood buffet lunch at a 7 star hotel, built on the pristine navy blue water complete with an underwater restaurant and views of man-made islands in the shapes of palm trees and the earth as we know it? Or to go sand dune bashing with the windows rolled down in the jeep because the air con didn’t work or climb up onto a single hump camel hanging on for dear life while making chitchat with a family from Dubbo? (For those out-of-towners, Dubbo is a small red-neck town in country NSW, Aust)
So as I finished off my 4th and final G & T for the night and lingered on some of the finer details of that first stop in my travelling career, one of my many future paths in life took formation as I said the words out loud for the very first time. This is one I am extremely excited about but have a lot of work ahead of me (and friends to get onboard) to get it to fruition. It wouldn’t be worth it if it was easy.
It is a little known fact that life will throw you many curve balls but it is how you decide to catch or block them that will define your time here on this earth. I for one have my mitt ready and waiting, ready to catch that next ball. And as a good country girl, I am patiently but eagerly awaiting my next world adventure.
