Dubai: And so it begins.

I thought my pre-journey had started out badly, with my luggage way too heavy and my airline limo 30 minutes late. Aren’t they always early? Here comes the stress. Doing my best to stymie the flow. It’s working. But still. Slight possibility I could be late.

But that wasn’t the true beginning. The beginning of my trip to Dubai, my somewhat last-minute journey to a faraway land that I thought would only be known to me through awe-inspiring photos and architectural citations, starts with a magical moment. And that moment was when I was handed an even better boarding pass – to fly Business Class on Emirates.

I am travelling to Dubai to visit a close friend who I hadn’t seen in more than 10 years. How many days had passed us by, so much life … it would be a wild catch-up. Leave it to the dreamer in me to think my airline limo was late for a reason. Here I was standing in the right place at the right time for a ticket agent to notice me lugging my overweight (but six kilos underweight for Emirates rules!) bags and dragging my coat on the floor. He asked my last name and went back to his counter, and next thing I know he is handing me a one-way ticket to Business Class. Note Business Class is uppercase, because it deserves it. So I had heard.
TIP: Look like a hot mess in line to check in and maybe someone will take pity on you. And always make time for your true friends, no matter how long it's been and far away they are.