Yellow Fever Shots in Dubai

Brian wrapped up Part 1 of business in Argentina this week. This Fall, we will be back in South America. We're spending the summer in Asia for Brian's business and partly for fun.

We packed all of our bags, turned in the keys to our AirBNB, and had our driver take us to Buenos Aires EZE International Airport. We arrived at the Emirates check-in counter only to find out that we wouldn't be allowed to enter Singapore.

Why?

Because Brian didn't get his Yellow Fever shots.

I was pissed! You can imagine what the conversation was like at that ticket booth.

"What! What do you mean you didn't get Yellow Fever shots? I told you to get those shots!"

"Nobody told me to get Yellow Fever vaccines. My nurse recommended like 80 vaccines and didn't tell me which ones I needed!"

First, we contemplated staying behind in Buenos Aires for one more day, so Brian could get vaccinated. But that meant we had to turn around, call our driver if he was available or wait in the long line for a taxi, and book a new hotel. On top of that the very thought of navigating emergency healthcare in Buenos Aires in a Spanish speaking country where there's tons of red tape and inefficiencies, made us real anxious.

So we decided the better option was to extend our layover in Dubai for 2 nights instead, where people spoke English and hospitals were probably a lot more efficient.

Then get this.

The woman checking us into Emirates suddenly said that they would not let us board period, without proof of outbound flights booked. (I purchased my outbound flight after Singapore because I leave before Brian does. Brian hadn't bought his outbound flight yet. GRRRRR!!!)

Brian ran around EZE Airport frantically looking for an Emirates customer service agent that could help him book his outbound flight from Singapore. An agent told him they couldn't book his flight. They directed Brian to a wifi cafe in the airport. He brought his iPad and credit card, and booked his outbound flight right then and there at that little cafe.

It turns out that needing proof of an outbound flight arriving in Singapore was COMPLETE bogus! They didn't even ask us for anything when we arrived in Singapore!

Buenos Aires EZE Airport is notorious for giving tourists and Westerners a hard time leaving the country. It's representative of the country if you ask me. Inefficient, while complicating things much further than needed. Because of corruption in all government systems including the airport, it's very common for their equivalent of TSA agents to search through luggages and steal valuables.

We hopped on our flight begrudgingly. 16 hours later, we arrived in Dubai.

During our emergency layover in Dubai, Brian and I frantically searched for hospitals and travel clinics. Thankfully we found a government hospital about 30 minutes away by taxi that administered same day Yellow Fever shots.

When all was said and done, Brian and I stopped and looked around. Despite the chaos and unexpected change of plans, we were still both in beautiful Dubai, one of our favorite countries in the world.

We had a chance to spend the rest of the Dubai trip poolside at our favorite beachside resort in the Gulf.

What our travels this year taught me is that you always have to be flexible. As someone who lives off to do lists and 1/3/5 year plans, I can try to plan things all that I want, but something will always come up that throws in a wrench. Although those sudden changes may be frazzling at first, a lot of times where you end up is not so bad after all if you stop and smell the roses.

Brian and I are both learning how to be more patient, and to not get so frustrated when these unexpected things happen. still have a long way to go like Brian does. But we're both growing together for the better, traveling around the world this year.