I had an hour to kill before boarding, and another before takeoff, so I wandered along the concourse looking for somewhere to get a final Thai massage before leaving. I found somewhere, but the prices were six times what you’d pay in town, plus there was a queue. I found an internet area and had to buy prepaid credit in blocks of 100 baht, so I wasn’t exactly rushed. I spent an hour online, chatting to friends back home (where it was still early evening), checking my email and reading the news. Thinking about Palm and her upcoming trip to the states, I checked into the climate in Utah – wow, cold.

The gate had been open for some time, but I knew I still had at least 45 minutes until it closed, so I walked leisurely towards the gate, stopping to pick up a few things to munch on the plane. I glanced up at a clock.

01:16

I stopped, looked again, still 01:16. I checked my boarding card for the flight time.

01:15

I sprinted to the nearest flight information display and found my flight listed as ‘final call’, flashing in red. Milliseconds later I was running towards the gate with a passing thought for where the hell my 45 minutes had gone. I passed though security control as quickly as I could and arrived at the gate a couple of minutes later. There was no plane.

The clerk looked at my defeated expression, and asked if I wanted EK083 for Dubai. I nodded, depairingly.

“The gate for that flight has been changed to 56, sir”

This one was 54. 56 was … the next one down on the right. There was an Emirates tailfin! I took off in the direction of gate 56 with a shout of thanks over my shoulder. The gate was open, just.

After four minutes of hyperactivity, I spent the next six and a half hours wondering if there was anything more dull than being wedged unconfortably in an economy seat.