It started great this morning – perfect breakfast at the hotel, lovely gym workout followed by a dip in the pool and then a wonderful lunch with the friendly Viceroy staff getting us all checked out and ready to depart.

A decent car drive back – it’s a long way with lots of traffic but we made it.

And then there’s the Emirates check in desk……

We handed over passports and our luggage vouchers with the lost luggage report as these need to be transferred to get another flight. Then the fun began:

Ah Mr Fogg, your luggage is here in the arrivals hall!

Eh? We’ve been waiting to be told it’s here for a week!

Did you not get our Emirates emails sir?

Er NO!

Ah well, we just need to take you downstairs to arrivals to collect the cases, confirm they are yours and then take them through customs so you can come back here to check them in

Needless to say we were quite excited! Albeit a little annoyed that we’ve been waiting for them all holiday.

So off we trek, following Mrs Emirates junior through the back doors of the airport down to arrivals and to the lost luggage desk where we started when we arrived. After queuing for a time (plenty of people still also reporting lost luggage then), the arrivals lost luggage lady at the counter said – oh it’s not here, it’s still in Dubai we think. But I guess you can walk to the top of arrivals and check our room full of bags.

Another trek only to confirm no cases. Cue long winded explanation from lost luggage lady saying they don’t know where the cases are. no one can explain why they sent us down to arrivals though.

So that’s another 40 mins wasted.

Only to then be told Mrs Emirates junior cannot take us back through and up to departures – no, we’ve got to take ourselves through arrivals customs declaration (but we’ve been here for a week), bag security checks for arriving passengers (deep breaths…) and then into the arrivals hall to be bombarded by taxi drivers offering us a lift to start our lovely holiday in Bali. But we’ve NOT JUST ARRIVED!!!!!

It’s at this point that divorce becomes entirely possible as tempers fray a bit.

So, back through arrivals, up to departures to see the Emirates check in desk to go through the whole rigmarole again.

No they could not explain why they thought the cases were here, no they don’t know where they are. Then the corker…..

Go see lost luggage when you arrive at Manchester as they need to file a report.

Aaaaaaaarrrrggggghhhhh

And breathe……..