Hey there all, well I am currently sat in “The Irish Village” located within the departures lounge at Dubai international airport waiting patiently for my onward flight to Jeddah. It’s 13:30 local time, and I arrived in Dubai at 07:00, and began the wait for my flight that departs at 17:00, luckily I have had free wireless access to the internet since my arrival so I have been sat in “The Irish Village” browsing the web to pass time whilst having a couple drinks.
I’ve been travelling most of my life due to family living all over the place and a lot of people don’t realise how busy the airports you use actually are, you only experience the airports for a matter of a couple hours on average, but its when you have a long layover in an airport the size of this one that you begin to really see what Airport life is like…
The panicked faces of people realising they’re late for their flight, the people sleeping anywhere they can find due to exhaustion and the tired expressions of the workers just finishing their 10 hour shift with the replacement worker dreading the next…
The airport its a totally different story, the shifts are longer and more tiresome in the “building that never sleeps” and there is no weekend here, just another day at the office.
Those who are lucky will only have to suffer the 9-5 working hours of the 5 day week don’t have so much to dread, yet in an environment like the airport its a totally different story, the shifts are longer and more tiresome in the “building that never sleeps” and there is no weekend here, just another day at the office. It’s unlikely that in an airport your hear anyone praising the fact that Friday is upon them in fact its probably the complete opposite, to have to deal with customers who are even easier to aggravate, or who already may be in such a foul mood that one wrong word will land you with abusive words tossed your direction, I would really call that something to look forward to, would you? I think people take for granted what exactly is on offer at airports even if it is only a half-hour stopover the staff still remain after you’re on your way home, or to the sandy beaches / white slopes of your planned holiday.
For those who aren’t staff, airport life isn’t so stressful, but how exactly do you pass the time? Well, of course there is duty free, but then again if you haven’t got the money to spend that isn’t going to help, what of having a meal or a drink? Well that’s all well and good but be prepared to pay that bit extra to do so… In reality, for someone with little to no money, if your not prepared for the stay over you will soon find yourself twiddling your thumbs and talking to yourself in an effort to entertain your now switched off brain. That is how you tell the real travellers from the first time traveller, look around and its pretty sure that the ones with the stone cold bored look on their faces are the ones who weren’t prepared for what was coming. Take a book, a magazine, a portable games console, or a laptop and then you’ll find your stay over the all the more pleasant & tolerable, but then again there is always the entertainment of watching those business men who are frantically trying to reach the other end of the terminal for a flight who’s gate closes in 2 minutes, and placing a little fun bet on whether he’ll make it or not.
In the same way when your bored waiting for that boarding and the final call announcement, don’t be just “waiting” for that “final call” in life, make the most of the time you have and you’ll find your journey all the more enjoyable…
It’s all about what you make of it, and the same goes for life, when things could be better, don’t just get stroppy and mumble to yourself about it, find something that will help you take the first step to that “better” level. People take for granted what lies around them a lot of the time, but those more experienced in life will know how to utilise what is around them to make their “journey” more enjoyable. I guess what I’m trying to say, is pay more attention to whats around you, there is a wealth of knowledge, entertainment & expressionism in what lays around you as long as you are willing to see it. In the same way when your bored waiting for that boarding and the final call announcement, don’t be just “waiting” for that “final call” in life, make the most of the time you have and you’ll find your journey all the more enjoyable…
Post Tagged With: airport, departure, Dubai, final call, flight, The Irish Village, work.