my flight left Hong Kong at a little past midnight and landed about eight hours later in Dubai at a cheery 4am. about to go through passport control, i tried my best to choose a kind looking agent that wasn’t going to give me any trouble. of course, last time i thought i got a nice agent in Dubai, he cursed at me in Arabic and stamped my passport with a violent stabbing motion.

thankfully, i was able to enter the country with little problem. i found the pre-arranged meeting point at the airport and sat down. i called the guy who was supposed to pick me up but could barely hear or understand him. he mumbled something about langoustines in Copenhagen and showed up 15 minutes later with a frown and a sign with my name on it.

i stood up, walked out, tossed my bag into the back of a beaten up Range Rover, and suddenly arrived at an extravagant house-turned lodge. i immediately put my bags down upon entering my room and flopped down onto the bed. ‘time to catch up on sleep,’ i mumbled to myself. then the room began to rumble as the first of many massive jetliners flew directly overhead. i slept on and off for about five hours.

i’ll probably wake everyone up when i leave for Kabul tomorrow morning.