Today was Thursday, then became Friday very quickly.
Our flight was scheduled to board around 3:30pm from San Francisco, but the incoming flight was late so we ended up taking off in the Emirates A380 about an hour and a quarter late. I’d locked in seats at the bulkhead which I thought were close to the front. We ended up quite close to the rear, and still on the bulkhead. Not sure if we’d got moved, but anyway, IT WAS GREAT being able to stretch out, feet with socks on the wall, no one in front of us – an enjoyable 16 hours in the air….. well, almost. Zipping over the north pole again the time seemed to go quickly. A bit of reading, a movie or two, a nap now and again, being fed, and again. I set my watch to Dubai time and didn’t try to do anything to sleep or not – just went with the flow.
Before all this, we spent the morning sorting ourselves out and figured out how to catch a local bus south to the BART train (Bay Area Rapid Transit) that would take us to the airport. A walk DOWN the hill to a local cafe for an easy cheap brunch, then a longer than expected wait at the local shopping centre bus stop before 515 came around the corner. They’ve a nice system that displays the ETA at the bus stop, so you’re not left wondering too much. The driver was pretty helpful in that I had mapped out where to swap onto another bus to take us to the BART. He said not to get off as he knew the other bus didn’t go via there anymore. We had plenty of time, so him taking us to the terminus to make sure the transfer worked wasn’t a concern. Despite me planning the route using the up to date online app, the driver was right and the second bus didn’t go past the stop we had expected it to.
These experiences weren’t uncommon on public transport. People were genuinely helpful and interested. Us dragging suitcases made us stand out for interest everywhere we went.
Ticketing for the BART confused us to the point we…… sigh…. had to ask for help. Turns out you have to find out how much the fare is you want to pay to start off with, then as a separate thing put that amount of money into the machine and select the tickets you want. Makes easy sense in hindsight.
BART took us right into the international airport. Check in went smoothly, security wasn’t unpleasant, and then the long wait at the gate. Why people push and shove is beyond me – it’s not going to make any difference to when they arrive in Dubai in 16 hours time!
BART – Bay Area Rapid Transit
Traffic jam on the runway
This is our plane arriving. Maybe the elephants made it heavy and late.
Sea ice
Neither of us were very awake for the take off, napping already.