IN TRANSIT: THE MIDDLE EAST

TO sleep or not to sleep. That is the question. And for months, that question has kept me awake at night as I tried to solve the problem of how to spend a 17-hour layover in Dubai on our way to London. For my final trip-planning test, I had these options: A) Book nothing. After all, we're free as a bird let out of its cage. Surely we can just wing it. B) Organise a Day Visa, catch a few Zs on the plane and waste no time heading off to see the A to Zs of the United Arab Emirates. Sleep is over-rated anyway. C) Organise a Day Visa and see the sights for several hours before check-in at 2 or 3pm in a city hotel. Who needs a shower when everyone must stink in the desert heat. D) See the sights of Dubai International Airport. All we need is to book a lounge visit for a hot shower, comfy chair and satisfied tummy. We don't need to get horizontal, so to speak, to rest. E) Suck up the cost of the Dubai International Terminal Hotel as worth it to sleep, be far from the madding crowd, take advantage of the 24-hour check-in immediately after arrival, the wake-up call for departure at an ungodly hour, plus hassle-free transit for the connecting flight to London. Like any good student, I pondered, researched, methodically tackled the assignment bit by bit ... then went and asked someone else for their answer. But with a week to go, I was SO over reading Lonely Planet and TripAdvisor forums and debating the budget with my husband. A decision had to be made. For about $243, the Dubai International Terminal Hotel is more than double what I paid per night for most of our accommodation for the trip. But the relative extravagance is worth every Dirham, ah, dollar. TripAdvisor travellers mentioned the tricky hotel location inside the Airport Terminal Buildings and I figured the sooner I flopped on a bed, the better, so I also organised the hotel's free meet-and-greet from the arrivals lounge to the reception desk. Too easy. The bonus was friendly Indian-born Thoufeeq, who carried our day packs, had us through security like rockstars jumping the queue, in and out of check-in at reception and inside Room 2262 in 20 minutes. After 14 hours or so in the air and a 30-minute layover in Singapore to refuel Emirates flight EK433, we are more than pleased to be in 23.5 degree room comfort when outside is an uncomfortably dusty 42C. The hotel itself is in the thick of the duty-free shopping action with elevator entry on the departures level. Complimentary male and female health clubs with jacuzzi and pool areas thelp weary travellers unwind and soothe tired "cattle class" muscles after the flight. Our cosy room has a flat-screen TV (complete with AFL replay to make us feel right at home), bathroom stocked with complimentary toiletries and a hairdryer, free Wi-Fi, and most importantly, one queen-size bed. A call to the concierge will check on gate and flight times, and boarding is just as seamless as arrival, taking only minutes from the moment you bid the hotel farewell. The downside? We cannot leave the terminal. We cannot retrieve our checked-in luggage. We cannot see the magnificent "sailing ship" hotel - the Burj Al Arab - up close or try indoor snow skiing among the Dubai must-dos. But with three-and-a-half months of travelling Europe ahead of us, we have sacrificed one Arabian night this time for the promise of arriving refreshed, relaxed and refuelled for the 101 European nights ahead. The first lesson learned today? Stop. Revive. Survive applies as much to long-haul flights as it does to travelling our highways and byways.