The Grandeur That Was Greece
I was not impressed by Emirate’s omelet served at 3 AM before we touched down in Dubai. Airlines should just abandon omelets. But the chicken makhani served soon after takeoff on the flight to Athens was really good. I found myself thinking of set and setting; how good would I think that dish really was if I had paid 200 dollars for it (well I did but included was transporting myself back to the Euro Zone from Darkest Southia.)
My first thought on arriving to the continent of chocolate and cognates is, gee, a hundred dollars sure gets you a lot more hotel in Dubai than in Greece. I <em>definitely</em> felt like I was making an extra £15,000 per year in the Arabian Courtyard Resort than in I do at the Hotel Adonis. I think there may be cuter parts of it than my room, which is pretty Spartan, if they will let me say that here. I will venture out in a bit. It is a tiny culture shock being in Europe, even after easing into it via Macau, Hong Kong, and Dubai. I must rest. I wonder if I can drink the water from the tap? Better not. I wonder if there is WiFi?
Not so you would notice. Pan is dead. Angry children glare across borders in defiant virginity. People quit smoking to the extent that dry cleaners would be hurting if dry cleaning were still permitted. Anyone under 40 will not know what I mean when I say that the airport parking lot viewed from the taxiing 777 at Eleftherios Venizeios Airport in the sunny summer afternoon garishly glittered like puddles of mercury as the sun played off the windshields and the chrome. And WiFi networks are a lot more protected than they were last summer. Very few LINKSYS opportunities. KING in Macau was of a dying race.