Scotland/Poland

A frustrating drive to the airport through Melbourne's permanently gridlocked traffic. But we arrived in plenty of time for our flight.
We caught the tram from passport control to the departure gate.  Then a direct flight to Dubai in a full Airbus A380. They hold up to 880 passengers and I didn't see any spare seats. Sixteen hours, three films, three meals and no sleep later, we arrived cramped and tired in Dubai.




 
Coming in to land at Dubai.



A large network of freeways weaves through the city. It is hard to believe that Dubai got its first paved road as recently as 1970. There are dozens of skyscrapers, including the tallest building in the world - the Burj Khalifa.

It was 34C when we landed. Tolerable. But it wasn't yet 5am and it promised to be a hot day.

The Dubai Mall claims to be the biggest shopping centre in the world, and also the most visited place on Earth in 2023. Among other things, it has an ice skating rink and a fountain the size of a Melbourne city block.
This photo is of the Mall's waterfall. Some may say it's a bit of a dive.  :)

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