Some people get vegetarians, others get Camels.

So I survived my flight fears and made it all the way to Dubai. I stressed out for days, because I only had a 1 hour stop-over at Hearthrow and was afraid I'd miss my connecting flight. I was lucky that the flight to Dubai left a bit late, so though I stressed and ran through Heathrow, I did not miss my flight. In fact I had to wait about 30 minutes... was good, got me to de-stress.

One thing you can say about the Brits is they sure are anally retentive. I had just come out of a flight from Canada, where I was searched before I left, and was not carrying any offensive liquids, had just one carry-on of regulation size, but before I could board my plane to Dubai, I had to rego through the whole security process. Including removing my shoes. Thankfully I didn't carry any water, because we all know how incredibly dangerous water is.

The vegeterian meals on the Air Canada flight left a lot to be desired. The breakfast was a crappy refined flour bun, with jam and margerine, some heavily syruped fruit and a cup of orange juice. The veggie meals on the Emerates flight where so much better. Their breakfast consisted of 2 whole wheat buns, with jam & margerine [yellow too I might add], along with a bowl of fresh fruit [including mango.. Yum], and some apple juice. The other meal was absolutely kick ass. There was a hot main dish which seemed to be some indian veggie dish sitting on a bed of rice and some cooked carrots, that was awesome, and 2 salads. One just of greens, with cucumber and tomato, and one with some greens and lots of chickpeas and beans. This was accompanied by a whole wheat bun and some fresh fruit [with mango again]. Air Canada has a lot to learn about vegan/vegetarian meals. Most vegetarians go to that diet for health reasons. They don't want refined flours and overly sugared meals.

Overall while the service on the Air Canada flight was decent, the service on Emirates airlines was top notch. I also enjoyed fact they have screens in back of every seat, so basically you get your own TV, and they have camera's outside the plane you can watch your plane leave and arrive and they also have a channel that tells you where you are at all times, and the speed plane is going and the altitude. I found that pretty cool. Gives you an idea of what you're looking at when you're looking out the window.

I think my stress levels went down once I spotted my sweetie when I finally made it out of Dubai airport. The corridors seemed endless. I felt nervous, not knowing what to expect. But it was fairly stress free. Once I showed my canadian passport, it got stamped with a 60 days Visa, and all I had to do was pick up my bag, which convieniently just happened to be passing by when I reached the right carousel.

It was so incredibly cute, he was waiting for me with this pink stuffed Camel. He spotted me before I did, by a few seconds.. but it was such a relief. Though we were both a bit shy, fact that I only managed to sleep tops 1 hour in 15 minute segments over the two 6 1/2 hour flights, had me talking his ear off all the way back to his place. I suppose this is better then sitting there quietly and nervously.