The flight to Dubai went by really fast and was very comfortable. We flew on Emirates via Alaska Airlines from San Francisco. One small little hitch that could have been a nightmare was resolved for all. We had a young mom with a toddler in the middle seat who did not have a seat for him. Our seats were on the perimeter of the 777 with the 3 seats configuration. I could not imagine this young mother travelling 15 hours holding her toddler on her lap in the middle seat. Fortunately for her and us-the flight attendant was able to help us when I asked if there was any other seats that was open so that mom&toddler could be more comfortable...she found a bulk head seat for the mom and left Shari and I with a middle seat open the entire trip. We were soooo grateful and relieved.....I could not imagine what a nightmare that could have been for the mother and us! Both Shari and I saw that as an omen of the Universe taking care of us!!!!!
One fun adventure -Shari and I got to visit the cockpit. I had never been on a 777 and was very curious to see what the cockpit looked like. Check the pictures....the Kiwi pilot was very generous and even took a picture and put me in the pilot seat...How cool is that? It turns out that on a long flight such as this one-they have two crew that take turns halfway through the flight. One sleeps on the way and then switches...Dubai airport was amazing-I have never seen such a rich and luxurious airport. I don't even know how to describe it. Everything was new, clean and first class. Sanitized and out of this world comes to mind when trying to describe the wonder that is Dubai! I have to admit that I liked landing in Kenya and being in its airport better-maybe it was small but it had so much charm...I did not feel so overwhelmed by the grandeur of the place like I did with Dubai.
We were met with our driver Ben right outside the gate and he drove us to our hotel-http://www.fairviewkenya.com/. It is a gorgeous oasis and if you ever make it here-I recommend it! We got to Nairobi in the middle of rush hour and got to experience what traffic land everyday life is like as everyone headed home. It was refreshing to see people walk and take these "buses" that are really small minivans that hold about 14 passengers. really amazing as well to see how 3 lanes become 5 lanes. I was very glad that I did not have to drive in that traffic. Also, we saw students getting out of school all wearing their uniforms. It turned out that our driver's wife was a headmistress -we think that means "principal"at one of the government run schools. Ben was saying that recently the government started to pay for education from kindergarten to 8th grade but it has many glitches since they did not plan it well and there is a lack of structure and money. He was very quick to offer us hospitality when we said that we would love to visit a school being that we are both educators. It is a very friendly country so far....I am looking forward to discovering Nairobi later on today...
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