An early start this morning. We are up, cases loaded into the car, and on or way to the airport just a few minutes after 3am. We have a good uneventful journey without the drama and expense of last week’s blowout, and we are parked up and in the terminal in plenty of time.
For the first time, I have booked airport assistance because I know how long it takes to get from the departure lounge to the boarding gate, and I have to say that the experience (which I had been worried about) was very positive. Once the gate for our flight had been announced, we were transported directly to the aircraft steps – no standing around in long queues, which made a hell of a difference. Once we were airborne, tiredness caught up with me and, although I had real difficulty in falling asleep, I spent most of the journey with my eyes closed.
Assistance at Marsa Alam airport was a somewhat different experience, but they did their best and we were safely delivered to the arrivals hall to queue for our visas and to get through passport control.
We had booked a private taxi firm to take us to our hotel, so we avoided the usual hassle of being transferred by coach and visiting every other hotel in the area before reaching ours.
We had some dinner and a drink or two, and then retired to our room to have an early night.