Dubai Stop Over

DUBAI STOP OVER

The flight was like any other i had been on in  my life, everything was the same(i find flights to be extremely boring and long) except for that little bit of apprehension of the great unknown. So after a couple of meals and what felt like a millions hours in the sky, the pilot announced that our descent had now begun, before i carry on i should explain a little bit more about my flight plan.

My flight was to Dubai and then from Dubai i would catch another flight which was headed to Bangkok, since the flight from Dubai to Bangkok was due to take off only 45 minutes after i had landed in Dubai, the officials in the Johannesburg airport gave me boarding passes for both flights in order to save time, keep this information in mind it makes for a better understanding of the story. 

As we began our descent i suddenly realized that our flight was 15 minutes delayed, not good news seeing as how i had a little over 20 minutes till my flight was closed off, but i believe in the power of positive thinking so i convinced myself everything would be fine. We land, i run, i notice many people are rushing , i realized that everyone is in the exact same position as me. So i start running but by the time we all got to the gates the flight had been closed, "OMG" what do i do is the only thought in my head. 

I had never missed a flight before, so i had no clue of what the procedures were, i was alone for the first time in a foreign country, no way of contacting my parents, i had just missed my flight and was stuck in a random middle eastern country, OMG!!

After a few minutes freaking out, i composed myself and realized this was the reason why i had traveled, to learn new things, to achieve full independence, the list goes on but i wont bore you with my life plans just as yet. I decided there and then that im going to triumph over this challenge, if i cant do this by myself how can i survive in another country for a whole year is what was running through my mind, this taught me an important lesson about life, i realized in life we will always be faced with challenges or problems, the only thing to do is have the correct mind set, believe in your own abilities and don't let fear hold you down, this happened in a matter of minutes surprisingly.With my new found courage i walked straight up to the airline counters and told them my story. To my huge relief the employees were very friendly and helped me out a lot, i think they could sense how scared i was, the next flight was later on that night, so the airline got me a hotel room and a one day visa to Dubai, now i get to explore Dubai for a day, "WOOWW" how lucky was i? or did i create that situation myself? i think it was a bit of both.

I pass through immigration, i exchange a couple of howzit bru's, with a couple of South Africans i met who were also on their way to Thailand and were staying at the same hotel as i. The feeling of meeting compatriots is one i could never explain except for it feels as though there are fellow brothers that are looking out for you. 

i get to the hotel but for some reason i am not tierd, so i decide to go for a little walk. On my walk, a man approaches me and offers me a personal tour of the city, he presents a business card, and seems very keen in giving me a tour but i politely decline  due to fears of being kidnapped etc, there it is again FEAR. I walk to the bank to withdraw some money, but as i walked to the bank i thought to myself i was looking for adventure and i had such an awesome opportunity to see a city i had never seen before, this moment made me happy as i was starting to notice the negative effects of  FEAR in my life more and more frequently. 

So i went back to the well mannered tour guide and told him i accept his offer, we exchanged money, he opened the door for me, then we were on our way, he told me in Dubai it is custom to offer the tourist a meal as part of the tour, luck was working for me again as at the precise moment i realized how hungry i was and received a free meal.

After our McDonald meal we started the tour....

This is a picture of the well mannered tour guide, wish i could remember his name.... 

A Symbol Of Human Brilliance.

First stop obviously had to be one of the tallest buildings in the world, i love buildings and amazing innovations, for me its an actual real life symbol of how amazing human beings can be and at times like these were there is so much fighting and discrimination among humans, to notice the little things that make us such an amazing and unique species is what will unify us.

Boring Mall 

The next stop was some famous shopping mall that all tourists go to, this was the least interesting place i went, i mean there are so many shopping malls back home, it just didnt feel like anything new but in situations like these i just go with the flow, even though i felt like telling the well mannered guide to skip this part, i decide to see what happens, you never know what you might be missing out on, my mom's words were coming to me.........

So things did not work out as planned 

and the mall was as boring as i thought 

it would be, life is like that sometimes,

 things don't go according to plan but

the important part is what you do after, 

i believe in looking at mistakes/failure 

as lessons and a chance to do better.

Wow i had learnt so much in the past 

couple of hours, THIS WAS ONE OF 

THE HAPPIEST  MOMENTS IN MY 

LIFE.

The remainder  of the tour was just seeing the rest of the tourist attractions, nothing much stuck out or was of great significance. 

After the tour, the well-mannered tour guide took me to my hotel, i thanked him for everything and we both said our goodbyes, as i walked away i realized that i would never see this very nice stranger in my life, this made me a little sad, so when i got to my room, i just slept.

Well-Mannered Tour Guide

I woke up and showered preparing myself for the journey ahead, the airline also organised a dinner for us before we left, very good news. After eating and getting all my bags i was ready to be taken back to the airport. We got to the airport, which by the way is one of the best looking airports i have ever been inside, i checked in, went to my boarding gate an hour early just to make sure. As i sat there i just thought and reflected on the couple of hours i had just experienced, i realized 2 things:

• Growing up as an individual and facing the big world by myself was what i was planning on doing and currently i felt like i was on the right track and
• the path i had chosen was not going to be easy but will be as challenging as possible but this made me feel excited instead of scared.......... finally i felt i was ready for Thailand.

I wish i had a better picture of the airport but if you really want to see if you can go there.

• As i was walking in the airport i felt like doing something fun, dangerous, adventurous and all the nice words adrenaline junkies use, so i decided to take a picture of something, i know this does not seem very dangerous or adventurous but being a 19 year old in a new country by myself for the first time in my life aswell as being at the airport, i had very little choice............ 

So this picture was my last  adventurous and dangerous activity in the middle east........ GOODBYE MIDDLE EAST

He often used to say there was only one Road; that it was like a great river: its springs were at every doorstep and every path was its tributary. “It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out of your door,” he used to say. “You step into the Road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there is no telling where you might be swept off to.”

Frodo Baggins about Bilbo, The Fellowship of the Ring, Three is Company

New Beginnings

Its been two years after high school, all my friends have started their university degrees with a clear view of what they are expecting out of life. I on the other hand have been drifting from one job to the next for the past two years. Did i have a plan on where my life was headed? There answer to this question was no but i knew one thing, i needed to be doing something that was much more fulfilling than my then current job as a cocktail bartender in Cape Town. After pondering on my dilemma for one month, i decided what had to be done. i needed to leave my comfort zone and take on a challenge that i had never faced before in my life. I found a company on the internet by the name of Chilli Adventures that offered placings for teachers in Thailand. All that was needed was a Matric Certificate( High School Diploma) and you had to be from a native English speaking country. Luckily for me i met both these requirements. So after a month of organizing everything i found myself at the airport with my mother, father, my friend who I'd known since childhood and his mother. Everything happened so quickly, the gravity of what i was planning on doing only really hit me when i was at the airport, i had never traveled without my family let alone in South Africa and now i was two hours away from leaving the country by myself. All kinds of thoughts were racing through my head, a part of me wanted to tell my mother i don't want to do this anymore but i knew these were childish thoughts that everyone who goes through this experience will think of. next thing i know im standing by the gates, hugged my friends and family goodbye and i was on my way. When i was about to disappear through the gates, i looked 'back at my family one more time and the weirdest thing happened, i realized i wasn't going to see these people for a whole entire year but instead of being sad, i was happy, happy that i had the courage to leave everything i knew behind and step on forward to new beginnings. I suddenly realized that some people go through all their lives being afraid of change and will never know what their full capabilities are, at this point i made a promise to myself, i will never let fear of the unknown control the actions of my life. With that very important thought in mind, i stepped on to the plane with a courage and readiness i had never felt before to face the great unknown.....