When we first landed in Bali, I was expecting that deserted tropical island vibe—white sand, crystal clear water, the whole deal. Turns out, the reality was a bit different.

Since none of us really know what goes on in Simeon's head or how he's processing this whole adventure, I'll at least try to describe the 'adventures' he put us through.

When we arrived in Bangkok, the real vacation finally began. It felt so much more relaxed and laid back compared to the Emirates. Right after landing, we took the metro, and man, the humidity was on another level.

There was a chicken (rubber chicken) in the bus and when we honked, it gave a signal to the driver. We saw monitor lizards. So many.

We landed at the airport in Bangkok. We went to pick up our luggage and then went through customs. We looked for an ATM to exchange money and went to buy a token for the metro, which went over a bridge.

We arrived at Sharjah airport in the early morning hours, still under the cover of darkness. The roads were virtually empty, making the airport's hustle and bustle all the more surprising. After checking our bags and breezing through security, we found ourselves with some time to kill.

After our trip in Abu Dhabi, we took a taxi to Dubai. The journey took about an hour and a half – approximately 100 km, which is like from Dubnica to Bratislava. I slept through the whole thing.

A great advantage is that everyone speaks English there. This is related to the fact that in "subordinate" jobs and services, there are mainly Indians, Pakistanis, and Filipinos, so everyone can communicate in English.

We were at the square where the tallest building in the world was. For me it was boring.

We arrived in Sharjah by car. (Sharjah is one of the 7 emirates, close to Dubai.) We arrived at the accommodation, put down our things and went to eat.

You know how it goes—you book those exotic flights six months in advance and spend every day counting down, planning, and getting excited... yeah, I envy you. My experience was nothing like that. But that’s a story for another time.

Johnny's perspective on Dubai and Sharjah - from sketchy apartment swaps and packed metros to the world's tallest building.

We moved from Abu Dhabi to another accommodation. Again, we chose with the airport in mind, so we wouldn't have to travel long on departure day. We stayed in Sharjah, another of the 7 emirates, neighboring Dubai.

Since we can't exactly ask Simeon what he's thinking or how he's processing this whole adventure, I’ll just try to describe the 'adventures' he’s been putting us through instead.

Our apartment in Abu Dhabi was such that it wasn't very solid. There was nothing but desert.

We flew by plane to Dubai. Dad had already called a minibus. We traveled for an hour by minibus to Abu Dhabi. We had accommodation in the desert. It was small but cozy.

As soon as we landed, the plane doors opened and I almost passed out on the spot. I've never experienced such dry heat before.

We landed in Dubai. Plus 3 hours time difference compared to our time. It's 20:20. I'm turning on roaming. I activated it for this transitional period of 10 days when we will be changing countries often.

We searched for our accommodation for a while because it wasn't exactly the expected location and appearance. In the middle of white sand and nothingness stood a neighborhood of nouveau riche mansions, and in a side alley were entrances apparently for the plebs.

Our journey to Asia became an adventure the moment Wizzair airline started gradually changing our flight. The original Vienna-Abu Dhabi flight, along with ongoing time changes, was changed via Budapest-Abu Dhabi, and finally to Budapest-Dubai.

I don't want to write this for every article, so I'll just write it once here...

This journey is special. Because it's a dream come true. It took years. Sometimes I thought it would never happen. That I was just fooling myself. And here we are...

It's getting closer, it's here! Just a few more days and we're flying away. Are we really leaving? And for that long? What will it actually be like? Am I making a mistake? Why am I doing this?

To try living somewhere other than where I was born has always been my dream. Not forever. Exactly as I write – to try. To experience something completely different. A different environment, a different culture, different everything.