After only 2 days to prepare for myself (I have already prepared for Hubby), finally Hubby, Cindy and I left Guangzhou last night via Emirates. It was my first time to fly with this airline and they quite impressed me - the seats were the most comfortable seats I've ever tried before (even in economy), the inflight entertainment was superb and the food was great. So even if the flight to Dubai (our stopover city) took almost 8 hours, I still felt comfortable and although not really well-rested (I never really get any sleep on the plane) but good and in high spirits.
I was also looking forward to stopping in Dubai (even only in their airport) because of the many nice things I've been hearing about the place. I've even considered looking for a job there many times in the last 2 years. But now to be honest, I was quite disappointed with their airport. Dubai likes to make things "grand". A good example is their 7-star hotel which is the only one in the world so far and also now the tallest building in the world is there. I thought their airport would be "grand" too knowing that a lot of international flights especially from Asia to Europe stopover there. Unfortunately, it's not as what I had expected.
One of the problems that their airport should address is the lack of toilets. Yeah I know there are quite a few in there but they are quite small and hard to find at some point. The queue is always very long that if you can't really hold it, you can pee in your pants. They should put toilets in every gate or make them bigger because they always have a lot of people flying in and out of their airport. The second problem is the lousy wifi connection. Hubby and I tried to connect many times and only ended up draining our batteries. Third, and this might not be important to some, is the lack of shops. All these considered, I couldn't help but think that to me, the Hong Kong airport is still the best airport in the world.
I was also looking forward to stopping in Dubai (even only in their airport) because of the many nice things I've been hearing about the place. I've even considered looking for a job there many times in the last 2 years. But now to be honest, I was quite disappointed with their airport. Dubai likes to make things "grand". A good example is their 7-star hotel which is the only one in the world so far and also now the tallest building in the world is there. I thought their airport would be "grand" too knowing that a lot of international flights especially from Asia to Europe stopover there. Unfortunately, it's not as what I had expected.
One of the problems that their airport should address is the lack of toilets. Yeah I know there are quite a few in there but they are quite small and hard to find at some point. The queue is always very long that if you can't really hold it, you can pee in your pants. They should put toilets in every gate or make them bigger because they always have a lot of people flying in and out of their airport. The second problem is the lousy wifi connection. Hubby and I tried to connect many times and only ended up draining our batteries. Third, and this might not be important to some, is the lack of shops. All these considered, I couldn't help but think that to me, the Hong Kong airport is still the best airport in the world.
looking a bit disappointed with the Dubai airport
Unfortunately, we had to stay there for 5 hours so we had no choice but to make do with what they have. We also met with the rest of their company's delegation to the Spoga Exhibition in the airport (6 girls from Indonesia). I actually felt a little left out since I'm not working with them and this is the first time I met them. Luckily, a girl named Strela was so friendly and talkative, we hit it off right away during this first meeting.
Finally, at 8.40AM Dubai time, our flight for Dusseldorf left and it was another 7 hours on board the plane. Hubby and I were more excited this time because this is both our first time to Germany and first time to any country in Europe for that matter. We were more excited after touch down and after clearing customs and immigration and aboard the taxi to the hotel with Cindy. We all had to take separate taxis because the one sent to fetch us is the small version and can only fit the 3 of us plus our luggages.
The drive from Dusseldorf airport to Cologne took more than 30 minutes I gather because of the traffic. Normally, according to the driver, it should only take 30 minutes. I was very much impressed because the taxi was a black Mercedes and still looked and felt quite new. Well, I soon found out that most of their taxis are Mercedeses so it wasn't a big deal after all.
During the drive, I couldn't help but be in awe once again with the beauty and cleanliness and comfort of a first world country. This is, after all, my first time in one since we left Australia 2 years ago. I had been very observant with our surroundings the whole time and I couldn't help but feel like I'm in Melbourne once again: the highway looked a bit similar (although they drive on the other side), the trees, plants and even weeds are also the same.
Our hotel is located in a quiet residential area. But I know the reason why their company chose this is because of its close proximity to the Koelnmesse (the exhibition center). After settling in and waiting for the other girls to arrive, we all headed out to dinner in the city. Three of the girls are already experts in the city of Cologne so we just trusted them to bring us to the city and to dinner. We had our first dinner in Cologne at the Cyclo Vietnamese Restaurant. The food was alright but not as good as the Vietnamese food in Melbourne. Sorry, I really can't help but compare all the time.
There wasn't much to do after dinner because the shops close at 8PM so we all just headed back to the hotel to get some rest. Tomorrow, all of them will have to be at the exhibition center to help in preparing their booth and for a product training to be conducted by Hubby.
Finally, at 8.40AM Dubai time, our flight for Dusseldorf left and it was another 7 hours on board the plane. Hubby and I were more excited this time because this is both our first time to Germany and first time to any country in Europe for that matter. We were more excited after touch down and after clearing customs and immigration and aboard the taxi to the hotel with Cindy. We all had to take separate taxis because the one sent to fetch us is the small version and can only fit the 3 of us plus our luggages.
The drive from Dusseldorf airport to Cologne took more than 30 minutes I gather because of the traffic. Normally, according to the driver, it should only take 30 minutes. I was very much impressed because the taxi was a black Mercedes and still looked and felt quite new. Well, I soon found out that most of their taxis are Mercedeses so it wasn't a big deal after all.
During the drive, I couldn't help but be in awe once again with the beauty and cleanliness and comfort of a first world country. This is, after all, my first time in one since we left Australia 2 years ago. I had been very observant with our surroundings the whole time and I couldn't help but feel like I'm in Melbourne once again: the highway looked a bit similar (although they drive on the other side), the trees, plants and even weeds are also the same.
Our hotel is located in a quiet residential area. But I know the reason why their company chose this is because of its close proximity to the Koelnmesse (the exhibition center). After settling in and waiting for the other girls to arrive, we all headed out to dinner in the city. Three of the girls are already experts in the city of Cologne so we just trusted them to bring us to the city and to dinner. We had our first dinner in Cologne at the Cyclo Vietnamese Restaurant. The food was alright but not as good as the Vietnamese food in Melbourne. Sorry, I really can't help but compare all the time.
There wasn't much to do after dinner because the shops close at 8PM so we all just headed back to the hotel to get some rest. Tomorrow, all of them will have to be at the exhibition center to help in preparing their booth and for a product training to be conducted by Hubby.
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