If someone had told me that I could only come to Saudi to experience the flight via Etihad airways, then I would have said yes. The flight just does not compare to Easyjet. Enjoying hours of endless entertainment combined with great brainstorming sessions with the Arabia Offscreen team was the perfect start to what will surely be one of the most life changing experiences of my life. Stephen inspired me from the moment I met him. Hearing about his personal experiences, what we can expect from the expedition and how the team managed to get a Saudi Arabian princess to issue the ‘impossible’ Saudi visa, has allowed me to appreciate my achievement even more so than before.

I also enjoyed finally meeting the winning participants, especially the UK team. The funniest part of the day involved Lizzie’s baffled face when meeting Lujain for the first time. Most people from the Gulf greet with a hand shake followed by a kiss on both cheeks. It came as a huge surprise to Lizzie when Lujain leaned forward. It was extremely awkward to watch, but that moment made me realise I will be in the company of people who are not only older than me, but have also experienced a totally different upbringing. This will be chance to learn directly from my peers and not from the box in the corner of my front room from which most of my information comes from these days.