Sylvia's Journal

I learned from Dubai TV that the US is now officially in recession and caught up with the news of the day – International AIDS Day no less – from my multi-pillowed bed in a luxurious Dubai hotel, while eating complimentary chocolates and dates for breakfast.

KLM, true to its reputation, delivered me right on time to Dubai where we were welcomed by white clad men and black clad women wearing the kinds of scarves you see at soccer games in Europe, except the people pictured on the scarves were the UAE’s rulers rather than sports heroes. I arrived on their national holiday which is spread out over several days. The private sector, I learned from the newspaper has a mandated three day holiday because of this. With next week’s Eid El Adha, this makes for a very relaxed start of December if you work here.

I was chauffeured to my hotel by a Pakistani taxi driver who once lived in Cambridge with his Harvard-educated scientist wife (they divorced since). He congratulated me with my new president and showed that he followed the cabinet making closely. He thought Hillary was good a choice. He was at loss about what to make of the Mumbai massacres. The taxi driver who returned me to the airport this morning was from India. His English was not very good and he answered all my questions, including the open ended ones with a wobble of his head and a happy ‘yes Madam.’

Luck had it that the only seats available on the flight to Dhaka were business class and so I got to check out how Emirates deals with its business class passengers. The terminal has a separate entrance and a large reserved area of the terminal building for first and business class passengers that looks like the entrance of a high end luxury hotel. You really get a feel for the riches of a nation when there are more check-in counters for first class passengers alone than all the check-in counters for any airline at Logan. Between first and business class check in (red carpet and blue carpet) there were 36 counters. The business class lounge, separate from first class, is the size of the entire Logan terminal E with wireless internet, two restaurants, a cafe/snack bar, a fully stocked bar, a day spa, hotel rooms, showers, and, best of all, the most electrical outlets per square inch than I have seen anywhere else in the world. There is a separate first class lounge and I can’t imagine how that one can top this. I am enjoying the luxury while it lasts, as it will stop when I land in Dhaka tonight and return to the real world. I think I will treat myself to a glass of chilled Veuve Clicquot and a Lebanese mezze with the compliments of Emirates Airlines.