TobyTime

March 10 Roster

2010-03-07T17:37:00.002+04:00

My roster for March:

02MAR DUBAI - JEDDAH - DUBAI (ARR 03MAR)
05MAR DUBAI - PARIS
06MAR PARIS - DUBAI (ARR 07MAR)
10MAR DUBAI - LONDON HEATHROW
11MAR LONDON HEATHROW - DUBAI (ARR 12MAR)
14MAR DUBAI - SEOUL
15MAR SEOUL - DUBAI (ARR 16MAR)
21MAR DUBAI - SYDNEY (ARR 22MAR)
23MAR SYDNEY - AUCKLAND
24MAR AUCKLAND - SYDNEY
25MAR SYDNEY - DUBAI (ARR 26MAR)
29MAR DUBAI - BANGKOK
30MAR BANGKOK - DUBAI (ARR 31MAR)

February 10 Roster

2010-03-07T17:35:00.003+04:00

My roster for February:

01FEB BANGKOK - DUBAI (ARR 02FEB)
06FEB DUBAI - SYDNEY (ARR 07FEB)
08FEB SYDNEY - AUCKLAND
09FEB AUCKLAND - SYDNEY
10FEB SYDNEY - DUBAI (ARR 11FEB)
14FEB DUBAI - SEOUL
15FEB SEOUL - DUBAI (ARR 16FEB)
18FEB LEAVE
19FEB LEAVE
20FEB LEAVE
21FEB LEAVE
22FEB LEAVE
25FEB DUBAI - LONDON HEATHROW
26FEB LONDON HEATHROW - DUBAI (ARR 27FEB)
28FEB SFS REVIEW 1

January 10 Roster

2010-03-07T17:31:00.002+04:00

My roster for January:

04JAN DUBAI - BANGKOK
05JAN BANGKOK - DUBAI (ARR 06JAN)
10JAN DUBAI - PARIS
12JAN PARIS - DUBAI (ARR 13JAN)
14JAN DUBAI - LONDON HEATHROW
15JAN LONDON HEATHROW - DUBAI (ARR 16JAN)
18JAN DUBAI - LONDON HEATHROW
19JAN LONDON HEATHROW - DUBAI (ARR 20JAN)
23JAN ULR STANDBY 0700-1300
24JAN DUBAI - SYDNEY (ARR 25JAN)
26JAN SYDNEY - AUCKLAND
27JAN AUCKLAND - SYDNEY
28JAN SYDNEY - DUBAI (ARR 29JAN)
31JAN DUBAI - BANGKOK

December 09 Roster

2010-03-07T17:24:00.002+04:00

My roster for December:

02DEC DUBAI - LONDON HEATHROW
03DEC LONDON HEATHROW - DUBAI (ARR 04DEC)
05DEC DUBAI - LONDON HEATHROW
06DEC LONDON HEATHROW - DUBAI (ARR 07DEC)
10DEC LEAVE
11DEC LEAVE
12DEC LEAVE
13DEC LEAVE
14DEC LEAVE
17DEC ULR STANDBY 0700-130
18DEC DUBAI - SYDNEY (ARR 19DEC)
20DEC SYDNEY - AUCKLAND
21DEC AUCKLAND - SYDNEY
22DEC SYDNEY - DUBAI (ARR 23DEC)
26DEC DUBAI - BANGKOK
27DEC BANGKOK - DUBAI (ARR 28DEC)
30DEC DUBAI - SEOUL
31DEC SEOUL - DUBAI (ARR 01JAN)

November 09 Roster (Updated (06/11)

2009-11-05T08:47:00.004+04:00

My roster for November:

02NOV ULR STANDBY (ULTRA-LONG RANGE)
06NOV DUBAI - LONDON HEATHROW
07NOV LONDON HEATHROW - DUBAI (ARR 08NOV)
11NOV DUBAI - LONDON HEATHROW
12NOV LONDON HEATHROW - DUBAI (ARR 13NOV)
16NOV DUBAI - TORONTO
18NOV TORONTO - DUBAI (ARR 19NOV)
22NOV SENIOR FLIGHT STEWARD TRAINING
23NOV SENIOR FLIGHT STEWARD TRAINING
24NOV SENIOR FLIGHT STEWARD TRAINING
25NOV SENIOR FLIGHT STEWARD TRAINING
26NOV SENIOR FLIGHT STEWARD TRAINING
29NOV SENIOR FLIGHT STEWARD TRAINING

October 09 Roster

2009-11-05T08:40:00.002+04:00

My roster for October:

06OCT LEAVE
07OCT LEAVE
08OCT LEAVE
09OCT LEAVE
10OCT LEAVE
13OCT DUBAI - LONDON HEATHROW
14OCT LONDON HEATHROW - DUBAI (ARR 15OCT)
17OCT DUBAI - LONDON HEATHROW
18OCT LONDON HEATHROW - DUBAI (ARR 19OCT)
21OCT DUBAI - LONDON HEATHROW
22OCT LONDON HEATHROW - DUBAI (ARR 23OCT)
26OCT DUBAI - SYDNEY (ARR 27OCT)
28OCT SYDNEY - AUCKLAND
29OCT AUCKLAND - SYDNEY
30OCT SYDNEY - DUBAI (ARR 31OCT)

September 09 Roster (Updated 06/09)

2009-08-24T10:22:00.004+04:00

My roster for September:

05SEP DUBAI - SYDNEY (ARR 06SEP)
09SEP SYDNEY - DUBAI (ARR 10SEP)
14SEP UAE VISA RENEWAL
15SEP UAE VISA RENEWAL
16SEP UAE VISA RENEWAL
17SEP DUBAI - SYDNEY (ARR 18SEP)
19SEP SYDNEY - AUCKLAND
20SEP AUCKLAND - SYDNEY
21SEP SYDNEY - DUBAI (ARR 22SEP)
25SEP DUBAI - BANGKOK
26SEP BANGKOK - DUBAI (ARR 27SEP)
29SEP DUBAI - BANGKOK
30SEP BAGKOK - DUBAI (ARR 01OCT)

August 09 Roster (Updated 07/08)

2009-07-26T11:57:00.000+04:00

My roster for August:

05AUG DUBAI - BANGKOK
08AUG BANGKOK - DUBAI (ARR 09 AUG)
10AUG LEAVE
11AUG LEAVE
12AUG LEAVE
13AUG LEAVE
14AUG LEAVE
18AUG DUBAI - SYDNEY (ARR 19AUG)
20AUG SYDNEY - AUCKLAND
21AUG AUCKLAND - SYDNEY
22AUG SYDNEY - DUBAI (ARR 23AUG)
28AUG DUBAI - TORONTO
31AUG TORONTO - DUBAI (ARR 01SEP)

July 09 Roster (Updated 25/06)

2009-06-24T04:06:00.000+04:00

My roster for July:

04JUL DUBAI - BANGKOK
05JUL BANGKOK - DUBAI (ARR 06JUL)
11JUL DUBAI - SYDNEY (ARR 12JUL)
13JUL SYDNEY - AUCKLAND
14JUL AUCKLAND - SYDNEY
15JUL SYDNEY - DUBAI (ARR 16JUL)
19JUL DUBAI - BANGKOK
20JUL BANGKOK - DUBAI (ARR 21JUL)
22JUL DUBAI - LONDON HEATHROW
23JUL LONDON HEATHROW - DUBAI (ARR 24JUL)
27JUL DUBAI - SYDNEY (ARR 28JUL)
29JUL SYDNEY - AUCKLAND
30JUL AUCKLAND - SYDNEY
31JUL SYDNEY - DUBAI (01AUG)

June 09 Roster

2009-05-23T17:51:00.004+04:00

My roster for June:

04JUN DUBAI - LONDON HEATHROW
05JUN LONDON HEATHROW - DUBAI (ARR 06JUN)
07JUN DUBAI - LONDON HEATHROW
08JUN LONDON HEATHROW - DUBAI (ARR 09JUN)
12JUN DUBAI - TORONTO
15JUN TORONTO - DUBAI (ARR 16JUN)
21JUN A380 SEP RECURRENT
22JUN A380 SEP RECURRENT
26JUN DUBAI - TORONTO
29JUN TORONTO - DUBAI (ARR 30JUN)

May 09 Roster

2009-04-21T14:45:00.004+04:00

My roster for May:

05MAY DUBAI - LONDON HEATHROW
06MAY LONDON HEATHROW - DUBAI (ARR 07MAY)
10MAY DUBAI - NEW YORK
11MAY NEW YORK - DUBAI (ARR 12MAY)
17MAY LEAVE
18MAY LEAVE
19MAY LEAVE
20MAY LEAVE
21MAY LEAVE
25MAY DUBAI - SYDNEY
27MAY SYDNEY - AUCKLAND
28MAY AUCKLAND - SYDNEY
29MAY SYDNEY - DUBAI (ARR 30MAY)

April 09 Roster (Updated 21/04)

2009-03-21T18:17:00.005+04:00

My roster for April:

03APR DUBAI - LONDON HEATHROW
04APR LONDON HEATHROW - DUBAI (ARR 05APR)
07APR DUBAI - LONDON HEATHROW
08APR LONDON HEATHROW - DUBAI (ARR 09APR)
12APR DUBAI - NEW YORK
13APR NEW YORK - DUBAI (ARR 14APR)
22APR AIRPORT STANDBY 0845-1245
28APR DUBAI - NEW YORK
29APR NEW YORK - DUBAI (ARR 30APR)

New Routes!

2009-03-18T18:03:00.003+04:00

Emirates have just announced the withdrawal of the A380 on services to New York. The 2 aircraft used for this route will be redeployed on routes to Toronto and Bangkok. I'm really looking forward to Bangkok as I have only been once and didn't have much time to explore. Toronto is one of my favourite cities and I'm looking forward to being able to see Niagara Falls again in summer time.
Toronto Skyline

Bangkok

March 09 Roster (Updated 30/03)

2009-03-09T08:48:00.011+04:00

My roster for March:

01MAR LEAVE
02MAR LEAVE
03MAR LEAVE
04MAR LEAVE
06MAR AIRPORT STANDBY 0600-0900
11MAR DUBAI - SYDNEY (ARR 12MAR)
14MAR SYDNEY - AUCKLAND - SYDNEY
16MAR SYDNEY - DUBAI (ARR 17MAR)
22MAR AIRPORT STANDBY 0700-1000
25MAR AIRPORT STANDBY 0700-1000
26MAR AIRPORT STANDBY 0600-0900
27MAR AIRPORT STANDBY 0700-1000
30MAR DUBAI - NEW YORK
31MAR NEW YORK - DUBAI (ARR 01APR)

Viva Las Vegas & Bye Bye bmi

2009-03-06T10:17:00.010+04:00

bmi (my old airline) are to finish long haul services from Manchester in April. I decided it was time to have one last flight with them before it's all over. I chose Las Vegas as I have always wanted to go and as Mother's Day was close I decided to take my mum with me. The place is absolutely amazing and I will definitely go back again one day if I get the chance!
A330-200 G-WWBB which flew us both to and from Las Vegas.

bmi Business Class. I had 3K which is the seat in the back corner of the photo.

On approach into Las Vegas.

A view of the Strip before we landed.

The Strip from McCarran airport.

Circus Circus.

The Bellagio.

The fountains at the Bellagio.

The Venetian.

Treasure Island.

The Stratosphere from down the Strip.

New York New York.

The golden lion outside the MGM Grand.

February 09 Roster (Updated 17/02)

2009-01-23T02:47:00.006+04:00

My roster for February:

02FEB SYDNEY - DUBAI (INAUGURAL A380 FLIGHT)(ARR 03FEB)
08FEB DUBAI - SYDNEY (ARR 09FEB)
12FEB SYDNEY - AUCKLAND - SYDNEY
14FEB SYDNEY - DUBAI (ARR 15FEB)
18FEB AIRPORT STANDBY 0600-0900
19FEB DUBAI - LONDON HEATHROW
20FEB LONDON HEATHROW - DUBAI (ARR 21FEB)
23FEB DUBAI - LONDON HEATHROW
24FEB LONDON HEATHROW - DUBAI (ARR 25FEB)
28FEB LEAVE

January 09 Roster

2009-01-23T02:36:00.003+04:00

My roster for January:

01JAN LEAVE
02JAN LEAVE
03JAN LEAVE
04JAN LEAVE
05JAN LEAVE
06JAN LEAVE
07JAN LEAVE
08JAN LEAVE
09JAN LEAVE
11JAN DUBAI - LONDON HEATHROW
12JAN LONDON HEATHROW - DUBAI (ARR 13JAN)
14JAN DUBAI - LONDON HEATHROW
15JAN LONDON HEATHROW - DUBAI (ARR 16JAN)
19JAN DUBAI - NEW YORK
20JAN NEW YORK - DUBAI (ARR 21JAN)
25JAN FIRST CLASS PROMOTION COURSE
26JAN FIRST CLASS PROMOTION COURSE
27JAN FIRST CLASS PROMOTION COURSE
28JAN FIRST CLASS PROMOTION COURSE
29JAN FIRST CLASS PROMOTION COURSE - GRADUATION
31JAN DUBAI - BANGKOK - SYDNEY (DEADHEAD)(ARR 01FEB)

Many New Yorks, So Much Fun!

2008-12-03T13:55:00.006+04:00

A few photos of the amazing time I've had in New York over the last 4 months.
Jamie (Australia) and I on the bus to Six Flags Theme Park.

Carine (France) and Gabriel (Ecuador) on the bus.

Jamie and Jaime (Canada) on the aircraft.

Natasha (Australia) making the extra flowers useful.

A whole Business Class crew in the bar.

Natasha rowing while Gabriel is the lookout in Central Park.

Carine with diner breakfast.

Lucie (Czech Republic), Justin (USA), Victoria (England), Lachlan (Australia) and I on one of the rides at Six Flags.

Elizabeth (England), Jamie, Elizabeth's boyfriend, Me, Carine and Natasha and Gabriel at the front queuing for one of the rides.

Six Flags entrance.

Mum and sister after shopping at an outlet village.

My sister in the US countryside.

Facepainting in the hotel. It seemed a great idea at the time!

Turtles in Central Park.

Natasha and I with Gabriel rowing.

Mum and sister with the Abercrombie guy.

Mum and sister outside the Hairspray theatre.

Our family sheep. Don't ask!

The Statue of Liberty.

NYC.

December 08 Roster (Updated 02/12)

2008-11-23T19:11:00.004+04:00

My roster for December:

04DEC DUBAI - LONDON HEATHROW
05DEC LONDON HEATHROW - DUBAI (ARR 06DEC)
09DEC DUBAI - NEW YORK
10DEC NEW YORK - DUBAI (ARR 11DEC)
15DEC DUBAI - LONDON HEATHROW
16DEC LONDON HEATHROW - DUBAI (ARR 17DEC)
20DEC DUBAI - NEW YORK
21DEC NEW YORK - DUBAI (ARR 22DEC)
28DEC LEAVE
29DEC LEAVE
30DEC LEAVE
31DEC LEAVE

November 08 Roster (Updated 23/11)

2008-10-27T12:27:00.005+04:00

My roster for November:

07NOV DUBAI - NEW YORK
08NOV NEW YORK - DUBAI (ARR 09NOV)
15NOV DUBAI - NEW YORK
16NOV NEW YORK - DUBAI (ARR 17NOV)
22NOV STANDBY 1100-1700
27NOV DUBAI - NEW YORK
28NOV NEW YORK - DUBAI (ARR 29NOV)

October 08 Roster (Updated 22/10)

2008-09-26T03:48:00.004+04:00

My roster for October:

03OCT DUBAI - NEW YORK
05OCT NEW YORK - DUBAI (ARR 06OCT)
12OCT DUBAI - NEW YORK
15OCT NEW YORK - DUBAI (ARR 16OCT)
22OCT STOOD DOWN
28OCT DUBAI - NEW YORK
29OCT NEW YORK - DUBAI (ARR 30OCT)

September 08 Roster (Updated 28/09)

2008-08-28T02:35:00.007+04:00

My roster for September:

12SEP STANDBY 1100-1700
19SEP DUBAI - NEW YORK
21SEP NEW YORK - DUBAI (ARR 22SEP)
28SEP STANDBY 1100-1700
29SEP BUSINESS CLASS REFRESHER

A380 Inaugural Flight & US West Coast Tour

2008-08-11T09:09:00.011+04:00

I was lucky enough to be selected as a crew member for the inaugural flight of our A380. On the 1st of August we operated flight EK3801 from Dubai - New York JFK. The atmosphere onboard was electric. The service was crazy as we were still learning where to find things. We spent 2 days recoving in New York and then we took the aircraft on a special tour of the west coast stopping off in San Francisco followed by LA. The demostration flights we did were so much fun. Buzz Aldrin came on the LA one with us. After the tour we returned to New York for 2 more days before heading home so I could then move into my new apartment. ML1 - The front door
The forward stairs that lead from economy to first class.
Front section of economy.

The Crew Work Station, also known as the Purser's Office.
The waterfall that greets first class customers as they board using the stairs.
The shower cubicle.

There is lots of room to move around inside the shower.

You can even watch the airshow while you're in there!
Me behind our business and first class bar in the onboard lounge.
We have loads of great food and there is a widescreen TV too.
On our arrival into San Francisco we were greeted by a water cannon salute from the airport fire department.

And this is what it looked like from the inside.
The crew that I worked with for the trip.
The Bay Bridge in San Francisco.
Pier 39.
The world's bendiest street.

A San Fran Tram.
Our route down to LA.
Flying over central LA.
The view outside as we approached the airport.
Approaching the runway at LAX.

Just before we arrived this American Airlines 757 had an emergency landing.
The crowds waiting for our arrival.
The route we took on the LA demonstration flight.
Our aircraft, A6-EDA.
The view from my room in LA.

The purser arranged for us to have a 6 hour tour of LA in these 2 limos.
Inside the limo.
On Malibu Beach.
Grauman's Chinese Theatre.
Resting in Central Park after the long flight back from LA.

August 08 Roster (Updated 11/08)

2008-07-29T12:28:00.007+04:00

My roster for August:

01AUG DUBAI - NEW YORK (INAUGURAL A380 FLIGHT)
04AUG NEW YORK - SAN FRANCISCO - SAN FRANCISCO
05AUG SAN FRANCISCO - LOS ANGELES - LOS ANGELES
06AUG LOS ANGELES - NEW YORK
08AUG NEW YORK - DUBAI (ARR 09AUG)
13AUG STANDBY 1100-1700
17AUG DUBAI - NEW YORK
20AUG NEW YORK - DUBAI (ARR 21AUG)
29AUG DUBAI - NEW YORK
31AUG NEW YORK - DUBAI (ARR 01SEP)

New Uniform

2008-07-29T12:27:00.002+04:00

Today we got our brand new uniforms. Don't they look amazing!?
Me flanked by Celine and Carine (both from France)
Miguel (Portugal), Me and Jason (Australia)
Waiting to go into the Auditorium for our A380 graduation
After the graduation. L-R Me, Miguel, Lynne (Australia), Arron (England), Robert (Holland)

A380 Training

2008-07-29T11:50:00.003+04:00

Our A380 training was so much fun. We learnt about all the new features as well as crowd control and practised evacuating from the upper deck both on land and in water. Jumping down the huge slides was my favourite part!
Groups A & B, The first crew to go though the training program.
Group 380A - My group and the first to be trained on the A380.
The A380 evacuation simulator at the training college.
My group just after we'd disconnected the slide raft from the upper deck in a ditching.
Some of us at the Emirates Harbour Hotel after our tour round the property.

July 08 Roster (Updated 23/07)

2008-06-29T06:20:00.004+04:00

My roster for July:

01JUL A380 CONVERSION COURSE
02JUL A380 CONVERSION COURSE
03JUL A380 CONVERSION COURSE - GRADUATION
06JUL MMI COCKTAIL TRAINING
08JUL HARBOUR HOTEL VISIT
09JUL AVIATION MEDICAL
10JUL GENERAL MEDICAL TRAINING
16JUL LEAVE
17JUL LEAVE
18JUL LEAVE
19JUL LEAVE
20JUL LEAVE
21JUL LEAVE
22JUL LEAVE
24JUL BUSINESS CLASS REFRESHER
30JUL MEDIA BRIEFING FOR US TRIP & AIRCRAFT VISIT

A380 CCEM!

2008-06-22T19:32:00.003+04:00

I've just received my Cabin Crew Emergency Manual for the A380! I'm sorry but I've promised I won't share any of the details from it until our first aircraft has been delivered on the 28th July. We're into our second day of SEP (Safety and Emergency Procedures) now and service is coming next week. It's such an exciting time for me and EK!

June 08 Roster (Updated 14/06)

2008-05-25T13:16:00.004+04:00

My roster for June:

03JUN DUBAI - HAMBURG
04JUN HAMBURG - DUBAI
06JUN DUBAI - MANCHESTER
07JUN MANCHESTER - DUBAI (ARR 08JUN)
09JUN DUBAI - DOHA - DUBAI
10JUN DUBAI - HONG KONG
12JUN HONG KONG - DUBAI
15JUN DUBAI - KUWAIT - DUBAI
19JUN NUJOUM EVENT
22JUN A380 CONVERSION COURSE
23JUN A380 CONVERSION COURSE
24JUN A380 CONVERSION COURSE
25JUN A380 CONVERSION COURSE
29JUN A380 CONVERSION COURSE
30JUN A380 CONVERSION COURSE

Cape Town

2008-04-30T17:18:00.006+04:00

After a small fight with crew scheduling (who kept trying to swap me onto a Munich as I have a German name) I managed to get to the briefing room and meet my friend Emily. The crew all hit it off straight away which I knew meant it was going to be a great trip. The flight down to Cape Town was fine. Most passengers on it were connecting from destinations in Europe. When we arrived we got changed and went down to the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront for dinner. We ended up in a steak house with great views of Table Mountain and spent the rest of the night chatting, drinking and eating.

The next day we went back to the waterfront for breakfast in a pancake restaurant recommended by my friends Paul & Jo. I had bacon and maple syrup with mine and I even got to sit in the famous 'Big Chair'. Afterwards we decided it was time to go up Table Mountain. At the ticket counter we started to chat to the cashier. When she heard we were from Emirates she called over one of the guides and we were escorted to the front of the queue! The views were amazing from the top. You could see for miles. Back down and it was time for a nap in the hotel before the 10 hour flight home.
Having dinner with Emily on the waterfront.
Enjoying our steaks.
In my big chair at Harrie's Pancakes!
I've not had pancakes for ages!

In front of Table Mountain at the waterfront.
Going up in the cable car.
The view of Cape Town city from the top.
Looking towards the other mountains.

Emily and I after the long flight home.

May 08 Roster (Updated 26/04)

2008-04-25T16:59:00.001+04:00

My roster for May:

01MAY DUBAI - KUWAIT - DUBAI
02MAY DUBAI - HYDERABAD - DUBAI (ARR 03MAY)
06MAY DUBAI - ALEXANDRIA - DUBAI
10MAY DUBAI - DOHA - DUBAI
11MAY DUBAI - LONDON HEATHROW
12MAY LONDON HEATHROW - DUBAI (ARR 13MAY)
15MAY DUBAI - ACCRA
16MAY ACCRA - ABIDJAN - ACCRA
18MAY ACCRA - DUBAI (ARR 19MAY)
22MAY DUBAI - COLOMBO
24MAY COLOMBO - DUBAI
26MAY DUBAI - DAR ES SALAAM
27MAY DAR ES SALAAM - DUBAI (ARR 28MAY)
29MAY DUBAI - MANCHESTER
30MAY MANCHESTER - DUBAI (ARR 31MAY)

Entebbe, Back In Uganda

2008-04-25T14:07:00.006+04:00

I've just returned from a great trip with some amazing crew. Everyone really bonded on this trip and it was so nice to see everyone from First Class right through to Economy having a good time together.
The view of Kampala (the capital city of Uganda) from my room.
The bar.

The hotel is in the grounds of a huge park.
Everyone in the bar. L-R Martin (Czech Republic), Eunjeong (South Korea), First Officer Maciek (USA), Me, Keenan (Canada), Irene (Kenya), Valerie (Canada), Captain Robert (Canada), Patrizia (Italy) and Tanakorn (Thailand).
The Bahai Temple we went to visit. It is one of only 7 in the world and the only one in Africa.
Chickens for sale.
Bananas anyone?

I would definately not buy my meat from this butcher!
The local cafe where we ate.
The fish that one of the crew ordered in the cafe. It was a lot better than we though it would be.
A typical street in Kampala.

Post 100!

2008-04-20T14:00:00.000+04:00

Thank you to all of you who have been following my blog and my career at Emirates. It's been really nice to hear from a few of you and about your journeys to becoming cabin crew too. I had lots of fun making the last 99 posts and I'm looking forward to writing the next 100 too!

Toby :-)

A380 Here I Come!

2008-04-16T13:25:00.004+04:00

I have just checked my e-mails and found the following in my inbox:

Dear Tobias

Congratulations!

We have now completed the selection of crew to join the A380 fleet. I am delighted to confirm that with a great performance record and your manager’s recommendation, your application has been successful.

Selection for the A380 team was exceptionally tough and your success is a great achievement. You will join the A380 fleet as part of the Business class team. You are going to be part of a whole new era in air travel and one of only a small group of people within the entire industry who work on this aircraft. This is such an exciting time for aviation, for Emirates and now for your career as cabin crew.

We expect delivery of our first A380 aircraft by the end of the summer and the second aircraft will arrive shortly after. You will be one of the first crew on these aircraft. The training will comprise of two weeks training at the new Cabin Crew Training Centre, where we have full size models of the A380 cabins to facilitate your preparation. More than ever, the professional standards of service that Emirates is known for must be delivered on the A380. We have therefore included a number of activities and training modules which you should consider before even commencing your training. Details of these and all training dates will be advised to you very shortly.

The A380 is a fantastic aircraft, with the very latest technology used in its design and our very latest products and services on board. Our aircraft will be amongst the very first in the sky and our customers, the media, the entire world, will therefore have the very highest expectations of us. You have been selected because we are wholly confident that you can meet and exceed these expectations.

I know you will find this a rewarding and enjoyable career move and I wish you every success.

Yours sincerely

Jo Burke
Manager Cabin Crew

I can't wait to start my training!

April 08 Roster (Updated 19/04)

2008-04-04T07:27:00.006+04:00

My roster for April:

01APR LEAVE
02APR LEAVE
03APR LEAVE
04APR LEAVE
05APR LEAVE
06APR LEAVE
07APR LEAVE
08APR LEAVE
09APR LEAVE
10APR LEAVE
11APR LEAVE
14APR DUBAI - LONDON HEATHROW
15APR LONDON HEATHROW - DUBAI (ARR 16APR)
17APR DUBAI - AHMEDABAD - DUBAI (ARR 18APR)
19APR DUBAI - KOCHI (INDIA) - DUBAI (ARR 20APR)
23APR DUBAI - ADDIS ABABA - ENTEBBE
24APR ENTEBBE - ADDIS ABABA - DUBAI (ARR 25APR)
27APR DUBAI - CAPE TOWN
28APR CAPE TOWN - DUBAI (ARR 29APR)

All Inclusive In Mauritius

2008-04-04T06:58:00.012+04:00

The scenery in Mauritius is quite similar to that of the Seychelles but the hotel that we stay in is amazing. It's an all inclusive hotel but as we only stay there for 12 hours it means we can't have any alcohol. We arrived just as the tail end of a hurricane had passed which meant that it rained for most of the day although that didn't spoil our fun. On the way back to Dubai I ran the Business Class galley and found that it was a lot easier than I was expecting. I'm thinking of giving it another go soon. I've had a few requests to put up my April roster. Sorry I've not done it yet, I've been having so much fun on leave I forgot. :-)
At the fountain in the lobby after arriving from Dubai.

My room was on the second floor.

My favourite part of the room was this TV area.

The view of the beach from my room.

The main pool.

The beach.

Our non-alcoholic cocktails.

The dessert buffet. My diet went out the window that night!

Messing around with the crew in the economy galley between services.

First Class To The Great Wall

2008-03-17T17:48:00.007+04:00

I was supposed to be going to Shanghai but at the last minute a swap I had sent to another crew member was approved and I found that I was finally going to Beijing. When I arrived at the briefing I discovered that one of the First Class crew had just called in sick for the flight. As it was too late to call someone to replace them the purser chose me to work in their place with someone from economy taking mine. Working in First Class was fantastic. As there is never more than 12 passengers (we only had 6 each way) the service is very personal. You really get a chance to speak to each person and find out a lot about them.

Once we arrived at the hotel the purser booked our trip to the Great Wall for the next morning. It was then time to go upstairs, change quickly and then go out shopping. We set off in a group of 6, but as the taxi drivers didn't speak English we couldn't tell them we were together, lost 3 in the traffic. The girls I was with got some handbags and I bought myself a new belt. I didn't need it but the price was so cheap! After 2 hours of shopping we found a fantastic buffet to have dinner in. It also included all the beer you could drink. Later we stumbled back to the hotel to get some sleep before the next day's events.

We met in the lobby at 8am and the receptionist spoke to our minibus driver and gave him instructions in Chinese. After a 1 1/2 hour drive (via McDonalds) we arrived at the Great Wall. It really is amazing when you actually see it. We walked a large section of the wall and then had a fun toboggan ride back down to the bottom. We bought some tacky souvenirs and then jumped back in the bus which took us to the Forbidden City next. It's the area of the city where the Emperor used to live. Tian'anmen Square (the world's largest public square) is across the road from the complex. After walking round for an hour (we really could've spent a whole day there) we went back to the hotel to get some rest before the long flight home.
This great picture is on the wall behind passport control at the airport.
The Silk Market where we got some great bargains.
Debora (Brazil) and Ruby (Philippines) show off their new bags.

The girls taking full advantage of the unlimted beer in the buffet.
The food at the buffet was actually really nice.
The duck in orange sauce was my favourite.
On the way to the Great Wall we went through a few villages and saw the locals going about their daily business.
A map of the area of the Great Wall that we walked along.

Going up to the Great Wall from the car park on the very scary chairlift!
The portion of the Great Wall we walked along. There we sooo many steps!
An arty photo we took near the top. Top-Bottom Miroslava (Slovakia), First Officer David (New Zealand), Eun Jeong (South Korean), Me, Ruby, Tufan (Turkey) and Debora.
Crawling up the last few steps...
... and on the way back down again.

I love translated Chinese signs! Luckily we didn't have any drinking pregnant girls with us so we could all go on the ride!
The track at the start of the taboggan ride.
Tuffan and David chasing me down the hill.
These soldiers were waiting for us when we got to the bottom.
Heading towards Tian'anmen Square from inside the Forbidden City.

The guards of the Forbidden City.
The main gate with a portrait of Mao Zedong (The leader of the People's Republic of China between 1949-1976).
Tian'anmen Square was so big I couldn't get it all in one photo!
The White Dagoba Temple in Beihai Park.
The First Class cabin (on one of our old aircraft) before landing into Dubai.

Business Class Promotion Course

2008-02-29T23:15:00.000+04:00

I have just graduated from a week of training to prepare me for life in the Business Class cabin. I had a really good group and we had so much fun training together. I hope I get to fly with some of them for real!
A few of my coursemates with one of our trainers. L-R Mohamed (Egypt), Ashwini (India), Ilian (Bulgaria), Our trainer Ujala (Ireland), Lavina (India) and me.
Me trying to look like a professional on the Dessert, Cheese, Fruit and Beverage service trolley.

Ashwini and Neeta (India) practise on the dessert trolly while Mohamed, Svitlana (Russia) and our other trainer Wolfram (Germany) pretend to be passengers.
Everyone on the bus to our graduation ceremony.
Being presented with my certificate.
Business Class Promotion Courses 18 & 19 of 2008.

Me with the Aviation College sign after graduation.

March 08 Roster (Updated 12/03)

2008-02-23T17:43:00.005+04:00

My roster for March:

02MAR DUBAI - PERTH (ARR 03MAR)
04MAR PERTH - DUBAI
06MAR DUBAI - DAMASCUS (SYRIA) -DUBAI
09MAR DUBAI - MUMBAI - DUBAI
11MAR DUBAI - LONDON HEATHROW - DUBAI
12MAR LONDON HEATHROW - DUBAI (ARR 13MAR)
15MAR DUBAI - BEIJING
16MAR BEIJING - DUBAI (ARR 17MAR)
20MAR DUBAI - LONDON HEATHROW
21MAR LONDON HEATHROW - DUBAI (ARR 22MAR)
25MAR DUBAI - MAURITIUS / MAURITIUS - DUBAI (ARR 26MAR)
28MAR LEAVE
29MAR LEAVE
30MAR LEAVE
31MAR LEAVE

Doha Day Trip

2008-02-07T18:03:00.000+04:00

I checked rosters and found that Justine and I both had the same day off so decided it was time we started to discover some of the other cities in the Middle East. Our first day trip was Doha and after booking our standby tickets for 210 Dirhams (around £29 or $63 Australian) we were on our way. When we got to check-in the agent asked us our destination. When we said Doha she just started laughing. "There's nothing there" she said. "Do you not want to go to Muscat instead?". Justine looked at me funny but I said "No. We planned on Doha so that's where we'll go" (I so hoped that it would be a good day!). It turned out to be fantastic. :-) We just laughed and had fun all day. I can't wait for our next day trip!
Justine on the travellator at Dubai airport.
It was great to see that other airlines deal with the same problems we do.
We travelled on Qatar Airways to Doha. It's nice to fly on another airline for a change.
Doha city viewed from the other end of the Corniche.
Justine outside the restaurant on the seafront where we stopped for a drink (She wasn't saluting, it's just very bright!).

At one point walking round the city I decided that left would be the best way to turn. It wasn't. We ended up in the middle of a building site!
Having Italian for lunch in the City Centre mall.
We asked a taxi driver to drop us off at the market and he stopped here!
We did find the Souk eventually though.
Me trying not to look too much like a tourist.

The shopkeepers were so friendly!
Justine enjoying our afternoon stop for Moroccan tea and cake.
Qatar Riyals look so much nicer than UAE Dirhams.
A view of the market as we were leaving at dusk.
Justine having a Whiskey and Coke and getting slightly tipsy on the flight back to Dubai.

Seoul Searching

2008-02-05T17:28:00.000+04:00

As I have my promotion course this month the crew scheduling department have decided to give me a whole month of Business Class flying. My first flight was to South Korea and I had a fantastic crew too. On the night of our arrival into Seoul we discovered Korean BBQ. The food looked a little dodgy but once we started eating we all agreed that it tasted great. After that we headed back to the hotel to get some well deserved sleep. The next morning it was up bright and early to start discovering the massive city that is South Korea's capital. We decided to take the bus tour which first involved catching the subway train to the bus station. After we'd negotiated our way round the maze of different coloured lines we finally arrived at City Hall station and the tour could begin! It took us to all the big sights including the South Korea National Museum, a traditional Korean village and Seoul Tower. We also managed to grab a quick lunch on the way too. After a few hours it was time to find our way back to the hotel and rest before the long flight home.
I took this photo as we were flying somewhere over Siberia. The view was amazing but it's times like this that you really hope you don't have to land anywhere quickly!
A busy night on the Seoul streets.
Korean BBQ being cooked at our table.
The view from my window in the morning.

On the platform to catch the train to City Hall.
The trains are very busy but also clean and quiet.
Karen (Malta) and Jessica (Australia) on the train.
The Seoul Tower is on the top of a big hill in the middle of the city.
The city is massive! It just goes on as far as you can see.

Jessica, Me and Karen at the entrance of the traditional Korean village.
One of the many palaces in Seoul.
The guards outside the palace.
I wouldn't mess with these guys!
We were lucky enough to see the Changing of the Guard ceremony while at the palace.

February 08 Roster (Updated 10/02)

2008-01-30T15:02:00.001+04:00

My roster for February:

01FEB DUBAI - SEOUL (SOUTH KOREA)
02FEB SEOUL - DUBAI (ARR 03FEB)
04FEB DUBAI - THIRUVANANTHAPURAM (INDIA) - DUBAI (ARR 05FEB)
08FEB DUBAI - FRANKFURT
09FEB FRANKFURT - DUBAI (ARR 10FEB)
11FEB DUBAI - MUMBAI - DUBAI (ARR 12FEB)
14FEB DUBAI - MUMBAI - DUBAI (ARR 15FEB)
16FEB DUBAI - MANCHESTER
17FEB MANCHESTER - DUBAI (ARR 18FEB)
21FEB BUSINESS CLASS PROMOTION COURSE
24FEB BUSINESS CLASS PROMOTION COURSE
25FEB BUSINESS CLASS PROMOTION COURSE
26FEB BUSINESS CLASS PROMOTION COURSE
27FEB BUSINESS CLASS PROMOTION COURSE
28FEB BUSINESS CLASS PROMOTION COURSE - GRADUATION
29FEB DUBAI - ALEXANDRIA (EGYPT) - DUBAI

President Bush In Dubai

2008-01-14T22:35:00.000+04:00

The US President made a visit to Dubai today and they closed down the whole city. It was like a ghost town.
A helicopter flew down the middle of Sheikh Zayed Road just before the President's convoy passed by.

The first few cars of the convoy.
The President's limo...
... with the Secret Service close behind.
I've never seen Sheikh Zayed like this before.
It was so quiet!

New Year's Eve In Munich (Only Just)

2008-01-02T10:54:00.000+04:00

Some were in New York enjoying the festivities in Times Square, others in Sydney watching the fireworks off the Harbour Bridge and most in Dubai partying the night away. I however was sat in the flight deck on the ground in Munich, waiting for the tug to push us back and watching the ground staff conga up and down the terminal! When the clock struck 12 (European time) on New Year's Eve my flight, EK52, was just beginning it's journey back to Dubai from Munich. We were supposed to be somewhere over Turkey at the time but due to mechanical problems we left 4 hours late. The trip had started really well. In the briefing room I met Belinda who I had heard about from some of my other friends. We hit it off straight away and were inseparable for the rest of the trip. The loads were light with only 80 passengers flying each way with us. The crew arrived at the hotel around 9pm and decided that we would have a bite to eat before bedtime. We went to the beer garden downstairs in the hotel and the food was amazing (as it usually is in Germany). The next day Belinda and I caught the U-Bahn (underground train) into the city to do some sightseeing. The place still had a very Christmassy feel to it which was really nice. After 2 hours of running around and taking photos it was time for another ride on the train back to the shopping area near the hotel. We visited the supermarket and spent a small fortune on some nice meats, cheeses and wines to take back to Dubai with us. When I got back to my room I discovered that the TV had UK channels on it so I spent the rest of my time catching up with all my favourite soaps and programs from back home. I'd been waiting for a Munich to appear on my roster for the last year and 2 months and this one definitely didn't disappoint!
Me and Bjoern (Germany) in the Beer Garden at the hotel.
My pan of Pork. It was so tasty!
Waiting for the U-Bahn to arrive.
Me in front of the town hall clock.
Me and Belinda (New Zealand) with some random fountain in the city.

The little coffee shop where we had a latte.
Belinda and Nakwan (Thailand) enjoying their coffees.
Me and the 'Give Me 5!' polar bear.
There was an iceskating rink in the middle of town. It was so funny watching the little kids trying to stay upright.
Me and the busy city streets.

Rewe, the German supermarket.
Nakwan finds the meat she's been looking for!
Nakwan and Belinda in the hotel cafe.
It snowed lightly during our time in Munich. Unfortunately it wasn't enough to keep us there for another night!

When we arrived at the airport the ground staff let us do the briefing in the lounge and invited us to have some food before we left. :-)

January 08 Roster (Updated 28/01)

2007-12-25T06:23:00.000+04:00

My roster for January:

02JAN DUBAI - BEIRUT - DUBAI (ARR 03JAN)
09JAN DUBAI - NEW YORK
10JAN NEW YORK - DUBAI (ARR 11JAN)
14JAN STANDBY 2300-0600
15JAN DUBAI - NEWCASTLE
16JAN NEWCASTLE - DUBAI (ARR 17JAN)
18JAN DUBAI - AHMEDABAD (INDIA) - DUBAI (ARR 19JAN)
22JAN AIRPORT STANDBY 0845-1215 (PRIORITY MELBOURNE/SYDNEY)
24JAN STANDBY 2300-1100
27JAN DUBAI - CAIRO - DUBAI (ARR 28JAN)

January is a month of reserve so I do not know what I am doing until the day before. My roster will be updated daily to show the changes.

Two Day Toronto

2007-12-25T04:40:00.000+04:00

My roster this month has been fantastic. My second trip was to the Canadian city of Toronto. Thanks to Canadian law Emirates can only fly to Toronto 3 times a week. This means that we must stay for at least 2 days. On the night of our arrival I was joined by my purser and one other colleague and we had dinner in 360, the revolving restaurant at the top of the CN Tower. Both the food and the service were amazing, I'd recommend it to anyone. Our second day was filled by a guided tour to Niagra Falls. I've been twice before but I've never seen them covered in snow and it was also nice to visit with crew. We were given an hour's free time in the town so I decided it would be the perfect opportunity to cross the bridge to the USA. One of the other crew came with me and we managed to get a few nice photos from another view point. I also got the 'Niagra Falls' stamp in my passport. On the last day I spent my time shopping in the maze of stores under the city. Toronto was great but the flights are so busy that I think I'll wait for them to give me my next one rather than asking for it!
My first view of the Toronto skyline as we left the airport.
The CN Tower.
My fantastic rosemary chicken dinner that I had in the revolving restaurant at the top of the tower.

Looking back down on the city centre.
The tower has a glass floor. I was petrified but I still managed to run across the edge of it!
The view down. So scary!
Niagra-On-The-Lake.

There were amazing icicles everywhere.
The American falls.
The Canadian horseshoe falls.
You could hear the power of the water as it went over the falls.
I managed to catch this rainbow in all the mist.

Me and the falls.
My footprints in the fresh snow.
The Rainbow Bridge that takes you from Canada to the USA.
I thought this sign was great. :-)
The view from the bridge.

A closeup of the plaque that can be seen in the above picture.
The lamppost is right on the borderline between the two countries.
On the way back over the bridge to Canada. I bought the jacket on my Shanghai trip so cheaply but it was fantastic.
The Eaton Centre shopping mall.
Toronto city centre is linked by a massive system of underground tunnels full of shops. You don't even have to go outside!

Howdy Houston!

2007-12-16T01:09:00.001+04:00

Upon checking my new roster I was ecstatic to find that I had been given a 3 day Houston, a trip that will only be available until the flight goes daily in January and the layover is cut down to 24 hours. As Houston is a brand new destination for the airline (service started on 3rd December) none of the crew had visited before. This was great as it meant everyone wanted to go out and see the sights. My crew was the third to stay at the hotel and to welcome us they upgraded everyone to suites on the executive floor! We even had access to the executive lounge with free canapes in the evening and breakfast in the morning. Our first day out was to the Space Center Houston. There was so much to see and do. I especially enjoyed the tram ride around the NASA complex and the visit to the real Mission Control. Our second day was spent at Galleria shopping mall, which is I'm told, the third largest in the USA. Houston was a great place to visit but I hope it won't be appearring on my roster again. I don't know if I could handle two 17 hours flights with only 24 hours rest in the middle!

On another note, I'd like to say hi and welcome to Emirates, to Ali (one of my blog readers) who I hear has just joined the company as cabin crew. Good luck with your training!
My first view of downtown Houston.
Our hotel was really nice.

The view from my room.
A downtown Houston street.
Having a steak in the hotel with the crew. L-R George (Lebanon), Me, Eri (Japan), Lucy (England), Edita (Slovakia), Jeremy (France) and Tamami (Japan).

The group at Space Center Houston. L-R Tamami, Eri, Lucy, Parinun (Thailand), Kaixiong (China), Jeremy, Linda (Indonesia), Edita, Celeste (South Africa), Me, George and First Officer Athanasios (Greece).
30 S. The building at NASA that houses Mission Control.
Inside Mission Control. The area that we are sat in is reserved for Astronaut's families on launch day.
A rocket mock-up.
The shuttle mock-up that the Astronauts train on.

I really liked this model of the Space Shuttle.
A mock-up of the International Space Station.
Spacemen.
The huge Christmas tree at the Galleria shopping mall.
Emirates advertising in Galleria Mall.

Lunch Or Lebanon?

2007-12-06T11:21:00.001+04:00

When I called my friend and asked him if he wanted to meet up for lunch he said yes. The only thing I didn't realise is that we'd be eating it on a flight to Lebanon. Pierre was due to go home to Lebanon for a week's leave when I rang him, and as I had a few days off we decided that it might be fun for me to go too. His family were so welcoming, and even though his mum didn't speak much english she always made sure I'd had enough to eat! Pierre took me to all the must see places. I especially enjoyed our visit to the underground caves. Now it's my turn to take him home, but does that mean Australia or England!?
Me and Pierre on a desert safari earlier this year. Had to use this photo as I got none of him in Lebanon!
On the highway heading for Pierre's house.
Me standing with Beirut in the background.
Pierre's house.

The scenery in Lebanon was so beautiful.
Knowing I hate heights, Pierre though it would be funny to make me climb up some old ruins. It was not.
I'm smiling because I'm at the top but you can also see me thinking 'Now how do I get back down!?'.
Pierre tought me how to hold and shoot a gun.

On the cable cars to the top of the mountain next to Pierre's home town, Jounieh.
Me looking worried on the way back down. Did I mention that I hate heights?
Jounieh from the top.
On the left you can see one of the policemen near the signpost. They all carry machine guns!
If you look closely at the building you can see all the bullet holes where it was shot at during the last war.

Birmingham With The New Crew

2007-12-02T11:20:00.000+04:00

Once again it was time to go back to Birmingham. I was supposed to visit some friends for dinner but their plans changed so I decided to stay with the crew instead. The flight had 4 new crew members on it so they were all very eager to learn which makes the flight a lot easier. Once we got to Birmingham we all went into the town of Solihull and as it was the first visit to the UK for some of them I showed them some of the most British things I could find. My other friends Stevie and Neill also came to the hotel for dinner.
Hilary (Australia) and the squirrel!
Piriyasinee (Thailand) and Hilary having a pasty outside Greggs.
Stevie and me.
Neill in the hotel.
Me and the girls! Back Row L-R Assia (England), Anzel (South Africa), Me, Hilary and Priscilla (Indonesia). Front Row L-R Amany (Libya), Yolanda (Philippines), Odessa (Philippines) and Konjit (England).

December 07 Roster

2007-11-30T10:55:00.000+04:00

My roster for December:

30NOV DUBAI - BIRMINGHAM
01DEC BIRMINGHAM - DUBAI (ARR 02DEC)
07DEC DUBAI - HOUSTON
10DEC HOUSTON - DUBAI (ARR 11DEC)
17DEC DUBAI - TORONTO
19DEC TORONTO - DUBAI (ARR 20DEC)
25DEC DUBAI - MANCHESTER (Flying home on Christmas Day again!)
26DEC MANCHESTER - DUBAI (ARR 27DEC)
30DEC DUBAI - MUNICH
31DEC MUNICH - DUBAI (ARR 01JAN)

Recurrent Training

2007-11-29T11:20:00.000+04:00

Once a year the Civil Aviation Authority requires that Emirates test our knowledge and refresh it. The day starts by completing some diagrams of aircraft showing where the safety equipment can be found on board. After that we refresh our First Aid, Security and Evacuation training. Here are a few photos from our First Aid sessions:
Our bad version of signs and symptoms of fits.
Treatment charts.
The pyramid of Hyperglycaemia and Hypoglycaemia.
The CPR dummies that we practice on.

The new training college has some amazing views over Dubai.
The new Garhoud bridge being built.
Downtown Deira.

You can see the Burj (the world's tallest building) next to the pyramid shaped building.

Paris, You've Changed My Mind

2007-11-16T12:59:00.000+04:00

I was dreading my second visit (first with Emirates) to the capital of France as I'm not a fan of most things French and I'd had a bad experience the first time I went with my brother. However I must say that this trip changed my view. The passengers were nice, the parts of the city we visited were clean and there was a romantic feel to the place. It also helped that I had a fantastic crew with me. We were all tired after the long flight to Paris but we still decided that being so close we had to go into the city. The architecture is quite amazing on some of the buildings and the Champs-Élysées is beautiful when all the shops are lit up at night. I'm glad I've now seen another side to this city.
An Air France Concorde on display at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport.
The Arc de Triomphe.
Les Invalides. Napoleon is buried here.

Having hot chocolate at Les Invalides. L-R First Officer Johannes (South Africa), Captain Werner (Germany), Roxana (Romania), Dahae (South Korea), Me.
Me holding up the Eiffel Tower.
The Seine river runs through the middle of the city.

The Eiffel Tower at night.

2 Days In The Seychelles

2007-11-08T15:38:00.000+04:00

I've wanted to go for ages and this month I finally got one on my roster, 48 whole hours in the Seychelles! The flight over was really easy. It's mainly European passengers and my german skills came in quite handy with helping some of them to complete their landing cards. Once we arrived at the hotel it was straight down to the beach for some sunbathing time. The water in the Seychelles is so clear that you can see all the way to the seabed. The next day it was time for a boat trip. We went snorkelling in one of the bays and then we had an hour to ourselves on a private beach with it's own fresh water lagoon. The trip was great but if I had to choose between the Seychelles and the Maldives I would choose the Maldives every time. All I've got to do now is see Mauritius!
Seychelles Airport.
The island had huge mountains all covered in trees.
The crew bus that drove us to and from the airport. They put our cases on the roof!
The hotel swimming pool.

The beach out the front of the hotel.
Silvia (Egypt) and myself on the front of the speedboat that we took the daytrip on.
Snorkelling in the bay.
The fish kept biting as they thought we were food!

The private beach. The lagoon was just behind the big rock.

November 07 Roster (Updated 07/11)

2007-10-27T23:46:00.002+04:00

My roster for November:

02NOV DUBAI - BANGALORE (INDIA) - DUBAI
04NOV DUBAI - MAHÉ (SEYCHELLES)
06NOV MAHÉ - DUBAI
09NOV DUBAI - NEWCASTLE
10NOV NEWCASTLE - DUBAI (ARR 11NOV)
13NOV DUBAI - PARIS CHARLES DE GAULLE
14NOV PARIS CHARLES DE GAULLE - DUBAI (ARR 15NOV)
16NOV LEAVE
17NOV LEAVE
18NOV LEAVE
19NOV LEAVE
23NOV DUBAI - PERTH
24NOV PERTH - DUBAI (ARR 25NOV)
26NOV DUBAI - BAHRAIN - DUBAI
27NOV SEP RECURRENT
28NOV SEP RECURRENT
30NOV DUBAI - BIRMINGHAM
01DEC BIRMINGHAM - DUBAI (ARR 02DEC)

Ghanaian Hospitality

2007-10-27T10:46:00.000+04:00

Ghana was a lot better than I expected. The people there are really friendly. Once again I got the opportunity to work in Business Class. As we had four flights on this trip I had a chance on one to run the galley. It's quite hard work but I'm looking forward to doing it more often once I get my promotion. The crew were fantastic and we had a really good time working together. My friend Vicky from training was in Accra at the same time so we managed to meet up for dinner and catch up on all the gossip.
The cleaners saw my camera and told me I had to have a photo with them!
The hotel pool.

The road in front of the hotel that goes to the airport.
A local street market next to the hotel.
Me and vicky getting drunk in the Italian restaurant.
Accra airport terminal.
Our aircraft parked in Accra.

Me being the galley operator in Business Class.
On Vicky's last day in Accra we swapped aircraft so we managed to take this picture in uniform.
Me, Sasa (Serbia) and Jeremy (Australia) testing the onboard safety equipment.
Does this mask suit me?
In the rear galley. L-R Sasa, Jeremy, Iva (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Joanna (Philippines), Jennifer (Ghana) and me.

Dubai Visitors

2007-10-23T20:45:00.003+04:00

My friends Jo and Paul have just been for a visit. I used to live with them in Castle Donington (near Nottingham) for 6 months before I moved to Dubai. While they were here I managed to do a few things for the first time. Riding on an abra (water taxi), using my building's jacuzzi & steam room and having brunch at the JW Marriott were just a few of them. I had a great time and I'm sure they did too.
Riding on the abra across Dubai creek.
The view up the creek.
On the double rings at Wild Wadi waterpark with Kevin.
Jo and I infront of the jeep we had on the desert safari.
Me, Paul and Jo in the desert.

Jo and Paul running from a jeep that was coming straight towards them!
The group of jeeps.
Me on a quadbike.
Us in local dress.
Jo's henna tattoo.

Around The World In 80 Hours

2007-10-19T20:44:00.000+04:00

Over the last 4 days I have been in the USA, Australia, South Africa and the UAE. It began in New York and it ended there too. I was working on the 2 New York trips and in between I made a visit to Perth to see my Nanna for her birthday and also to see my Dad's new house, then I flew over to Johannesburg to have lunch with my friend Justine and her family.
Outside my favourite store in New York, Abercrombie & Fitch, with Thanlwin (Myanmar) and Georgina (England).
The Apple store.
A few photos from Central Park.

Nanna & Grandad under the road bridge in Pinjarra, the town where I grew up.
Dad's new house in Boddington.
Dad is the police sergeant who runs this police station.

My stepmum, brother and Dad next to his police vehicles.
Justine making breakfast in her kitchen.
Justine's family with myself and our friend Nick (New Zealand).

With Adam (Australia) and Kristen (Australia) on my second New York trip of the month.

"Newcastle Like"

2007-10-04T19:41:00.000+04:00

I managed to swap onto this Newcastle trip from a Johannesburg one. As this route was only launched on the 1st of September the flights both ways were still only half full. Our day started out by visiting the Metrocentre (billed as Europe's largest shopping centre but personally I don't think so) which is just across the road from our hotel. We shopped for an hour before going back to the hotel to watch a bit of TV (British TV is the best in the world!). In the evening we went into central Newcastle to have a meal and visit some pubs. Due to the fact that it was a very early start that day I was feeling tired so went back to the hotel sooner than I normally would. The return flight was as nice as the outbound one. Now I've got four days off to prepare for my next New York trip.
The hotel where we stay.

The view from my window.
The funpark which is inside the Metrocentre. They even have a rollercoaster in there!
You can just make out the Tyne bridge behind me.
Georgina (England) and Claire (England) were both really excited about the name of this pub!
The pub food we had was great. L-R Captain Paul (England), Georgina, Claire and Me.

October 07 Roster (Updated 30/09)

2007-09-29T02:10:00.001+04:00

My roster for October:

02OCT DUBAI - NEWCASTLE
03OCT NEWCASTLE - DUBAI (ARR 04OCT)
08OCT DUBAI - NEW YORK
09OCT NEW YORK - DUBAI (ARR 10OCT)
17OCT DUBAI - NEW YORK
18OCT NEW YORK - DUBAI (ARR 19OCT)
24OCT DUBAI - ACCRA (GHANA)
25OCT ACCRA - ABIDJAN (CÔTE D'IVOIRE) - ACCRA
26OCT ACCRA - DUBAI (27OCT)
29OCT DUBAI - LONDON HEATHROW
30OCT LONDON HEATHROW - DUBAI

Najm (Star In Arabic)

2007-09-26T14:47:00.000+04:00

I received a call from my manager's secretary yesterday asking me to come in to see my manager but she wouldn't tell me why. I went to the office today and was given this award!

Orlando Holiday

2007-09-21T07:42:00.000+04:00

I have just returned from one of the best holidays I've had. In July I was on a London trip when I met up with some of my friends from bmi. They were talking about the holiday and said I could come if I wanted to. As soon as I returned to Dubai I booked the flights using my frequent flyer miles. The best part was that I had enough in my account to fly in First Class! I flew out to Orlando on the 7th of September via Frankfurt and New York. I had timed my arrival in Orlando so that we would all be landing at the airport at the same time. Everything went to plan and I met them all at the carousel whilst they were waiting to collect their bags. The reason for our visit was so that we could see all of the theme parks there. We went to Disney's Animal Kingdom, Universal Studios, Busch Gardens, Disney's Typhoon Lagoon Waterpark, Universal's Islands Of Adventure, Disneyworld and Seaworld. All the parks were great but I enjoyed Islands Of Adventure the most. We ate out nearly every day. My favourite meals were the diner breakfasts. After 12 days of fun it was time to fly back to Dubai. I left 2 hours before my friends and travelled back via Washington and Frankfurt to Dubai. It was a great holiday and one I won't be forgetting for a long time.
The view from my Business Class seat on Singapore Airlines between Frankfurt and New York. I was sat on the upper deck of a Boeing 747-400.
Our villa and hire car.
My bedroom in the villa.
The villa even had it's own pool!
The group I went to Orlando with. L-R Scott, Kate, Alex, Nat, Chris and Me.

Us infront of Mount Everest at Animal Kingdom.
The guys infront of the entrance.
I have my own department store in the USA!
The globe outside Universal Studios.
Us having a diner breakfast. This one was in an IHOP (International House Of Pancakes). The pancakes were good but nowhere near as nice as the ones that my Nanna makes!

Me and Kate under some of the signs in Universal Studios.
Mini Golf was great in Orlando. This one was pirate themed. I came 4th!
Having dinner in TGI Friday's.
The Disney sign.
The Disney castle.

Shamu the whale at Seaworld.
Planet Hollywood in Downtown Disney. We had the best meal of the holiday there.
SheiKra at Busch Gardens. The only ride that I was scared of, I still went on it though. Never again!
Kate and I loved the back seat of the minivan. It reclined into a bed. This was taken when we were both fast asleep on the way back from Busch Gardens in Tampa.
We ordered Chinese on our second last night. It was great.

The beach on our last day. The water was nice and warm.This photo was taken before we went out for our last meal.
Somewhere over Washington on my way back home.
The Lufthansa First Class Terminal in Frankfurt. It was amazing!
My First Class seat on Lufthansa from Frankfurt to Dubai.

Glasgow

2007-09-04T21:54:00.000+04:00

I have been to Glasgow many times before with my last airline so I wasn't expecting to see anything new. The flight was pretty much the same as the ones to Manchester or Birmingham are, lots of callbells and lots of people drinking. I had a nice crew which made the flight fun. I met my friend Kevin in Glasgow and we spend the evening at a friend's house. The next morning I got up late so I only had time for a quick trip into Glasgow for breakfast and then back to the hotel for the return flight. When we arrived back at the airport it was a nice surprise to find that the aircraft had been changed for a smaller one. This meant that we had 100 less passengers! :-)
The motorway on the way to the hotel.
More motorway.
A museum we passed on the bus.
A busy Glasgow street heading for the centre of the city.
Glasgow's Central Station.

September 07 Roster (Updated 18/09)

2007-08-26T21:44:00.000+04:00

My roster for September:

01SEP DUBAI - GLASGOW
02SEP GLASGOW - DUBAI (ARR 03SEP)
06SEP DUBAI - HYDERABAD (INDIA) - DUBAI
07SEP LEAVE
08SEP LEAVE
09SEP LEAVE
10SEP LEAVE
11SEP LEAVE
12SEP LEAVE
13SEP LEAVE
14SEP LEAVE
15SEP LEAVE
16SEP LEAVE
17SEP LEAVE
18SEP LEAVE
19SEP LEAVE
20SEP LEAVE
23SEP DUBAI - MANCHESTER
24SEP MANCHESTER - DUBAI (ARR 25SEP)
27SEP DUBAI - BIRMINGHAM
28SEP BIRMINGHAM - DUBAI (ARR 29SEP)

Casablanca

2007-08-26T21:43:00.001+04:00

I'm not going to tell you much about the flight, I'll just say it was so bad I'm still recovering 2 days later! All the buildings in Casablanca are very old apart from the hotels which are quite modern by their standards. We started the day by having lunch and a quick swim in the hotel pool. It was then time to go to the market so the girls could pick up some souvenirs. After we had found our way out of the maze of shops we took a taxi to a local Hammam (a bit like a lesuire centre) and had a traditional Moroccan bath. I thought it was like paying for someone to scrub my suntan off! Now I've done my first Casablanca I don't think I'll be going back again. Once is enough in a lifetime for me!
The hotel in Casablanca.
Hotel Lobby.
The hotel restaurant where we had breakfast.
The girls and I outside the entrance arch to the market. L-R Piquita (Australia), Me and Charlene (England).
Inside the market.

The view of the square outside the hotel.
All the taxis are really small. They will only take 3 people. We found this out when four of us jumped in one and the taxi driver started shouting!

The Hammam where we had our Moroccan bath.

Zakynthos Daytrip

2007-08-26T21:41:00.000+04:00

When my friend Holly told me she was moving to a Greek island to work there for the summer she made me promise I'd visit. Well true to my word I booked my air tickets and 3 months later I was there. Due to the island being quite hard to get to when flying, it worked out that I could only spend one day there. I arrived at 10pm at night (after setting off from Dubai at 6am that morning!) and had a few drinks in the bar where Holly works before it was time to sleep. The next morning we were up bright and early and into town where we had breakfast. Then we went for a tour of the island on the tourist train. It took us to a museum (which was actually quite interesting) and a winery (which was very interesting!). :-) When we arrived back we had lunch and a quick swim in the sea. I had a 3 hour nap after this and then we went out for a meal and some drinks. The next day I was up very early early again to fly back home via Vienna.
The Olympic Airways deathtrap that I had to fly on between Athens and the island of Zakynthos.
The Garden Bar where Holly works.

Holly behind the bar.
Holly made me a special cocktail which we named the Garden Surprise.
Trainaki! The tourist train in the town of Alykes.
A greek village at the foot of the mountains.
In the museum. We both sat at this old schooldesk and it nearly broke!

Rows of grapes near the winery.
Holly was quite impressed with her wrap at lunchtime.
The beach in Alykes where we had a dip.
Holly with a can of Mythos, the local beer. We decided we would rename it Mykonos as that sounded better.
Holly at the posh (ish) restaurant where we had dinner.

Hamburg & New York Shopping Trip

2007-08-14T23:46:00.000+04:00

I really enjoy this trip. I get to speak German, I stay at nice hotels and I get lots of allowance money. This time it was even better mainly due to 2 reasons. The first one was that fact that my friend Neill flew over from Birmingham to join me in Hamburg. I took him to see the city and we also had a meal with most of the crew at our favourite hangout, Hofbräuhaus. The next day it was off to New York for my first visit of 2 this month. The next day I went shopping with one of the other crew. After lunch in Central Park he showed me the Abercrombie & Fitch store on 5th Avenue. $168.95 later it was time for my first ride on the subway back to the hotel. On the return flight we left the gate at JFK and joined a queue of over 20 aircraft before we could take off. It took over an hour before we left the ground. A fantastic dinner in the hotel was followed by even more shopping the next morning in Hamburg. All was going well on the way back to Dubai until we boarded the aircraft and found out the smoke detector system was broken. 4 hours later (and a drinks service in the terminal!) it was time to fly home for a few well earned non shopping days!
Our Purser must have worked at Starbucks before coming to Emirates. She made the best coffee!
Neill and I on the 'wobbly' bridge that takes us from the hotel towards the city.
At Hofbräuhaus. L-R Neill, Me, Mat (New Zealand), Hye Won (South Korea), Mayank (India) and Andrea (Slovakia).
After a few more beers and wines at Hofbräuhaus.
Neill posing with me and Mat before we left for New York and he flew back to Birmingham.

I finally got Chinese in a Box! It's one thing I've wanted to do since my first New York trip and never had the chance.
Me on the ramp to the Brooklyn Bridge leading towards Manhattan.
The roadway on the Brooklyn Bridge towards Manhattan.
A view of Manhattan Bridge that I walked over last time I was in New York.
In Times Square.

Near Times Square.
The fountain in Central Park.

Getting ready to board a subway train.

Dhaka

2007-08-14T23:26:00.000+04:00

The Dhaka flights have many rumours spead about them. We talked about these in the briefing and were told that most of them were not true. It turned out to be a really good trip. Most of the passengers are builders who work on the new building being built in Dubai. They have never been on an aircraft before and are unsure of what to do but are very polite. Dhaka is the place that crew fly to when they are short on DVDs. This trip I managed to pick up several of the latest releases and the end of season 3 of Desperate Housewives. Crew are told not to leave the hotel so we spend most of our time eating, at the pool or on the internet in the crew room which we share with several of the other airlines. I thought the trip was fine and would have no problem if it happened to appear on my roster again.
Dalida (Lebanon) and me in the Mid Galley.
Dhaka's Zia International Airport.
The crew in the hotel restaurant for dinner. L-R Anghela (Bulgaria), Nicolette (England), Dalida, Antoine (Lebanon), Captain Peter (New Zealand), Keiko (Japan), Federica (Italy), First Officer Lars (Norway), Hanan (Tunisia), Me, Marymae (Philippines) and Vanessa (India).
A street in Dhaka city.

In Dhaka they don't have sprinklers to water the bushes in the middle of the street. A man has to do it using a jug!

Melbourne, Auckland

2007-07-31T15:03:00.000+04:00

The direct flight to Melbourne was a lot more pleasant than I expected it to be. It is mostly full of Australians who are returning home after a holiday in Europe. First stop was a few hours in bed after the 14 hour flight. I then met my Uncle and he took me down to Geelong where my Auntie lives to have dinner. We had a really good night and I'm glad I got to see them both again. The next day we did a quick 2 hour hop over the Tasman Sea to New Zealand. I was really surprised by how many Koreans lived there. I went for a walk around the main shopping area in Auckland before catching a ferry over the harbour to a suburb that faces the city. The view is really nice at night when all the buildings are lit up. We had dinner in a small cafe and then went back to the hotel to sleep. Back in Melbourne the next day I went to the restaurant my Uncle works at and had lunch before flying back to Dubai that night.
Melbourne city.
The world famous Melbourne Cricket Ground which is across the road from the hotel.
The bay near Geelong.
We stay in one bedroom apartments which are in this building in Auckland.
Justine was doing the same trip as me but a day earlier. I managed to catch up with her for an hour after arriving in Auckland before she had to leave to go back to Melbourne.

The ferry that we took over to the suburb facing the city.
In the cafe I had lamb soup for dinner. It was great!
The view of Auckland city at night.
GPO, the restaurant where my Uncle works.
Uncle Glen in his kitchen at the restaurant.

August 07 Roster (Updated 10/08)

2007-07-24T18:29:00.000+04:00

My roster for August:

04AUG DUBAI - DHAKA (BANGLADESH)
05AUG DHAKA - DUBAI
07AUG DUBAI - HAMBURG
08AUG HAMBURG - NEW YORK
09AUG NEW YORK - HAMBURG
11AUG HAMBURG - DUBAI
16AUG DUBAI - NEW YORK
17AUG NEW YORK - DUBAI (ARR 18AUG)
24AUG DUBAI - CASABLANCA (MOROCCO)
25AUG CASABLANCA - DUBAI (ARR 26AUG)
29AUG DUBAI - LONDON HEATHROW
30AUG LONDON HEATHROW - DUBAI (ARR 31AUG)

Hong Kong

2007-07-24T18:25:00.000+04:00

Hong Kong was amazing. I've wanted to go there ever since I joined Emirates. The flight was really easy and the hotel was really nice. We arrived at night time so four of us decided to go out for some dinner. We went in a local place and had noodles and some meat. The next day we got up early to go and see the view from Victoria Peak. After negotiating the underground and finding the correct bus we made it to the top where we had McDonalds for breakfast. We took the famous peak tram to get down the mountain and back to the hotel where I had a little sleep before it was time to fly back to Dubai.
A Hong Kong street. L-R Cristina (Spain), Antonio (Paraguay) and Me.
The night market.
In the local restaurant. L-R Jaclyn (Philippines), Me, Cristina and Antonio.
The menu.
The noodles were tricky to eat!

The street just outside of Central station.
The view from the bus as we drove up Victoria Peak.
The view of Hong Kong city and Kowloon from the top of the Peak.
The ferry we caught from Hong Kong island to the mainland.
The economy crew on the way back to Dubai. L-R Jaclyn, Jie (Hong Kong), Antonio, Pui (Hong Kong), Me and Sarah (Belgium).

Anyone For Sushi?

2007-07-13T19:11:00.000+04:00

I love the Japanese. They are by far the best passengers I've had yet. The long flight to Osaka was so nice because they listen to you, bring only a small bag onboard with only the bare essentials, are very polite and do not ask for anything. They even fold the end of the toilet paper into a triangle before they leave the lavatory! As the flight is over 11 hours from Dubai we also get to go downstairs into the crew rest compartment and sleep for 2 1/2 hours. This means that you're feeling fresh for the whole flight. Once we were in Japan we decided that we would take the train from Osaka to Kyoto to see all the old temples. Everything runs like clockwork in Japan and the train wasn't even a second late. I had some authentic sushi for lunch before heading back to the city to get a few hours sleep before the return flight. I'm now trying to recover from all that bowing!
Osaka from my room.
Looking the other way.

Japanese TV is strange!
An Osaka street at 6am.
People everywhere!
View from the train on the way to Kyoto.
A village we passed on the train.

The Golden Temple near Kyoto. It's worth US$7 million!
The local restaurant we had lunch in.
Lunch.
A Kyoto street.
More temples.

Me in front of a temple.
The temple's water spring.
Drinking from the spring.
The onboard sushi selection from Business Class.

Yes, I can use chopsticks!

My First Inaugural!

2007-07-13T07:43:00.001+04:00

I was selected to be on the crew of Emirates' first flight on their newest route to Venice. We had a special briefing in Dubai to tell us which VIPs would be onboard and what to expect upon our arrival in Venice. When we got on the aircraft we were surprise to find that nearly everything was new. They had even put down new carpet that morning! The flight was great and myself and the other crew had a fun time looking after all the VIPs and other passengers. The hotel we stay at was really nice although it was 15 minutes away from the actual city. The whole crew met downstairs 30 minutes after we had arrived and we caught the bus into the city. Once there, we walked through all the little alleys and over hundreds of bridges. After having dinner in a pizzeria we walked to St Mark's Square and saw the Bridge of Sighs. The architecture in Venice is amazing and every building is different. Once we'd taken enough photos to fill 15 cameras we caught a boat back to the hotel. The return flight was only half full so the crew spent most of the time eating the Hagen Dazs icecream we had onboard! I have since received a letter from the Vice President of Cabin Crew thanking me for my work on the trip. It's so nice to be appreciated!
The crew on one of the many bridges we crossed that day.
St Mark's Square.
The view from St Mark's.
Can you spot the crew?
The inaugral Venice crew, L-R Back Row: Sara (Iran), Me, Valentina (Italy), Tracy (India), Sonja (Italy), Valerio (Italy), Alessandro (Italy), Marie-Claire (Scotland), Kirsten (Australia), Sally (Lebanon), Patrick (Lebanon). Front Row: First Officer Saeed Al-Maktoum (United Arab Emirates), Captain Flaminio Poltronieri (Italy), Feraz (England).

The view of the Grand Canal from the Rialto Bridge.
Me in front of the Basilica in St Mark's Square.
The Bridge of Sighs.

July 07 Roster (Updated 04/07)

2007-06-27T18:48:00.001+04:00

My roster for July:

01JUL DUBAI - VENICE (INAUGURAL FLIGHT)
02JUL VENICE - DUBAI
04JUL DUBAI - THIRUVANANTHAPURAM (INDIA)(ARR 05JUL)
05JUL THIRUVANANTHAPURAM - DUBAI
10JUL DUBAI - OSAKA
11JUL OSAKA - DUBAI (ARR 12JUL)
14JUL DUBAI - CHENNAI (INDIA)
15JUL CHENNAI - DUBAI
16JUL DUBAI - HONG KONG
18JUL HONG KONG - DUBAI
21JUL DUBAI - MELBOURNE (ARR 22JUL)
23JUL MELBOURNE - AUCKLAND
24JUL AUCKLAND - MELBOURNE
25JUL MELBOURNE - DUBAI (ARR 26JUL)
29JUL DUBAI - MANCHESTER
30JUL MANCHESTER - DUBAI (ARR 31JUL)

Friends & Family

2007-06-27T18:47:00.001+04:00

Singapore, Melbourne was my first layover trip with Emirates and 6 months later I'm back doing it again. This time round I knew the aircraft like the back of my hand though! I had been looking forward to this trip all month as I was going to see my family in Singapore and Melbourne. The journey out to Melbourne was fine. When I was there I saw my friend Bardia for breakfast and then had lunch with my Uncle Glen. We went in the casino and my uncle won $100. I was lucky too and managed a win on Roulette gaining me an extra $15! When we got back to Singapore half the crew went out for a Chinese. The food was great this time and I'll definitely be having the lemon chicken again next time I visit. After 4 hours sleep it was time to get up and go and find my family's hotel on the other side of the city. They had just been on a cruise and were spending a week in Singapore after it. I arrived to find that their room was empty and after a slight panic (they don't do mobiles) I found them downstairs having breakfast. First it was over to Sentosa island on the cable cars, then after a quick walk around it was time to race them down the hill on some karts. We then went back to the mainland by monorail for lunch. I had a great day and can't wait to see them again!
A Melbourne street.
Melbourne's CBD.
A Melbourne tram.
The crew out for a Chinese in Singapore. L-R Me, Captain Dominicus (Holland), Isfarina (Malaysia), Naing (Myanmar), Nicola (England), Hanni (Ethiopia), Sarina (Singapore) and First Officer Sudesh (Malaysia).
Tiger, the local beer in Singapore.

The cable cars going over to Sentosa.
On the cable car above the cruise terminal.
Me, my brother Liam and Dad.
A Merlion statue on Sentosa.
My stepmum Debbie and Liam wearing their Luge helmets.

People riding the Luge carts.
Liam holding a python. He was so brave!
The family photo taken on my bed!
The Singapore Control Tower. You know you're here when you see this.

Bardia was on my flight between Singapore and Dubai. We took this photo hiding in one of the galleys.

Malaysia - Truly Asia

2007-06-15T16:08:00.001+04:00

Reserve month brought another new destination to my visted list. This time it was Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia. The flight over was half empty so I thought it was time to catch up on some Dr Who in the back row for an hour. :-) I was in charge of running one of the galleys on this flight and I have definately improved since I first did it. The hotel in Kuala Lumpur was excellent, especially the food. The weather was very hot and humid so I only went out for 2 hours but I did manage to see the main sights of KL.
Nicola (England) and I doing our 'Welcome on Board' poses.
I was upgraded to a superior room at the hotel and had this great view of the Petronas Towers.
The towers looking up from the base.
Looking towards out hotel from the base of the towers. It's the pink building in the centre of the picture.
The Kuala Lumpur monorail which I had a ride on.

The KL Tower.
The buffet at the hotel was amazing.
They had some really weird food though. This is sweetcorn (yellow) and yam (purple) icecream. Two flavours that icecream should definately not be! Green cherries too.
Me and the girls riding the airport shuttle train or 'Pintu Masuk' as we nicknamed it. L-R Nicola, Bianca (Australia), Me, Pungjai (Thailand) and Nadine (South Africa).

Islamabad - Not That Bad Actually

2007-06-12T15:07:00.000+04:00

The crew have many crazy stories about operating flights to Pakistan so naturally I was dreading my first trip there. It came in the form of an Islamabad. I was called off reserve to work on this flight because half the crew had called sick for it. I was pleasantly surprised. Everyone knew what they wanted to eat/drink and there were hardly any call bells.

Islamabad Airport.

My First Call Out

2007-06-08T19:26:00.000+04:00

My first call out from standby was to Perth. It was great to be going back again. The flights had only 60 economy passengers each way in a cabin that holds up to 250 so it was a very easy service. I managed to get 4 hours sleep in a Business Class seat on the way back. While I was in Perth I managed to do some catching up with family and friends. First stop of the day was the ferry terminal in Fremantle to surprise my stepmum as she came off the ferry from Rottnest Island to go to work. Unfortunately she was working on the island that day so I ended up being sat alone with two coffees! Hopefully I'm going to see her and the rest of the family in Singapore later this month. I also managed to have a chat with my new friend/avid blog reader Bardia. It's a lot cheaper to call him in Melbourne from Australia than Dubai! He's going to be on one of my flights later this month so look out for a picture of him soon. :-) Next I travelled down to Pinjarra (the town where I grew up) to see my Nanna & Grandad. We had a nice lunch and a walk around the town. I also popped down the road for an hour to see my mum's friend Sadie who lived across the road from us when we were young. After that it was time to catch the train back to Perth and I invited my Aunty and cousin to the hotel for dinner. The food in the hotel restaurant was excellent and I can't wait to go back again. I had Kangeroo! After all the day's excitement it was time for bed and I managed to get 6 hours sleep before the flight. Now all I need is another Manchester so I can see the rest of the family!
Pinjarra from Space.

The Australind train that runs between Pinjarra and Perth.
The hotel we stay in.

Hamburg, New York

2007-06-03T03:33:00.000+04:00

This trip is one of the most sought after by Emirates crew who have their US visa. I loved Hamburg and can't wait to go back again. Everything is close to the hotel so you don't have to go too far to find what you need. The allowance is also very generous at €72 for a 24 hour stay. Breakfast is served on the top floor of the hotel with a fantastic view of the lake and city. The flight between Hamburg and New York only had 50 passengers and First Class was empty so we each spent 3 hours in one of the seats having massages (by the seat, not the crew) :-) and watching films. In New York I stayed in a different hotel to my first visit. This time it was in Brooklyn instead of Manhattan. The shopping around the hotel was great. On the way back to Hamburg we got up to mischief in economy while our supervisor was sorting out paperwork in another cabin. You can see what we did in the photos. I'm now on reserve so my next flight will be a surprise. Maybe I'll be seeing you soon.....
The lake in front of the hotel. You can see the top floor of the hotel just to the right of the crane.
Having dinner in Hamburg on our first night of the trip. On the left you can see myself and Zaneil (from the famous Sydney, Christchurch trip we did) and on the left Chloe (England) and Sameer (India) sat at the front of the table. The other people are cabin crew from the return trip who decided to join us.
After dinner we all went out to the clubbing area of Hamburg which is called the Reeperbahn and also happens to be the red-light district!
Arriving at Hamburg airport for our next flight to New York.
The crew checking-in their suitcases.

As we approached the Canadian coast we could see large sheets of ice which had broken off.
A view of the Brooklyn Bridge and New York City taken from the Manhattan Bridge.
Times Square at night.
Chloe and Waffa (France) made me take a picture with this policeman. It turned out that he is the police captain of the Times Square area. He recomended a nice pizza restaurant for us to visit.
One of our pizzas being made.

The pizza was fantastic. L-R Zaneil, Chloe, Sameer, Ziad (Lebanon), Eva (Lebanon) and Waffa.
We walked down broadway before catching a yellow cab back to the hotel.
One of the shopping streets in the suburb of Brooklyn where our hotel is.
On the return flight we got up to mischief. We pierced the tops of the water bottles and had a water fight.
Then we filled a magazine with talcum power and when Zaneil came into the galley it was flung over him!

The famous hand/fruit holder in the Hamburg hotel room.
Hamburg from the bridge.
And again from the waterfront.

June 07 Roster (Updated 27/06)

2007-05-26T06:28:00.000+04:00

My roster for June:

01JUN HAMBURG - DUBAI
05JUN AIRPORT STANDBY 0700-1000 (PRIORITY NEW YORK)
06JUN DUBAI - PERTH (ARR 07JUN)
08JUN PERTH - DUBAI
09JUN DUBAI - KUWAIT - DUBAI (ARR 10JUN)
11JUN DUBAI - ISLAMABAD (PAKISTAN) - DUBAI
13JUN DUBAI - SINGAPORE - KUALA LUMPUR
15JUN KUALA LUMPUR - DUBAI
20JUN DUBAI - BAHRAIN - DUBAI
23JUN DUBAI - SINGAPORE
24JUN SINGAPORE - MELBOURNE (ARR 25JUN)
25JUN MELBOURNE - SINGAPORE (ARR 26JUN)
27JUN SINGAPORE - DUBAI

June is a month of reserve so I do not know what I am doing until the day before. My roster will be updated daily to show the changes.

Lagosssssss

2007-05-26T06:27:00.000+04:00

On the Lagos flight I felt like I was a snake charmer. If someone wants something you don't hear an 'excuse me' you hear 'ssssssss'. I have never worked on a flight with such rude people before. On a plane carrying 400 people I heard 'thank you' only 6 times. From the airport our bus has a police escort and our bags go in a separate truck just in case anyone wants to steal them! The windows are blacked out so we cannot see out and no one can see in. At the hotel there is an armed guard on each floor. We can't leave the hotel so I spent the whole 24 hours in my room watching movies and sleeping. When I was handed my allowance of US$131 for 24 hours the pain of it all seemed to go away! :-)
Lagos International Airport.
The bag van.
The crew bus.
The only view I got of Lagos!

Tunisia - The Capital Of Rip Offs

2007-05-23T19:17:00.000+04:00

I don't know what it is about Tunisia but every person the crew met tried to rip us off. Even the hotel we were staying at wouldn't give us our discounts until we made a fuss. Taxi drivers would make the fare extra if there was more that one person in the car. We tested if the shopkeepers would charge locals less. An arabic speaking crew member went into a shop and asked how much a bowl cost. 250 Dinars was the answer. I then went in and asked about the same bowl. 650 Dinars I was told! Apart from being ripped off everywhere we went Tunisia was really nice. The scenery is breathtaking around the capital, Tunis, where we stayed. On the flight over a passenger had managed to smuggle a chicken through security in his handbaggage. It escaped halfway through the flight and there were people everywhere trying to catch it. It has to be one of the funniest things I have seen at Emirates so far.
On the way to Tunis we stopped at Tripoli to drop off some passengers. The crew sat in the back row while the cleaners were onboard. L-R Hagar (Egypt), Ivana (Serbia) and Grace (Ireland).
The view from my balcony at the hotel.
The hotel's swimming pool.
Hagar, Grace and Me on our first night in Tunsia.
The first day we got 3 taxis to take us around Tunis and show us the sights.

We saw the souks (markets).
In a shop in the souk.
The famous clock in the centre of Tunis.
At an old theatre.
Another theatre.

An old church.
We had lunch in a local restaurant.
The waiters with our food.
I had a traditional Tunisian dish, lamb stew with couscous.
Later that night we went bowling. In this photo you can see Captain Erik (Canada) and Alina (Belorussia) in full swing.

I was worried about my score..... Until I saw Grace's!
Sidi Bou Said is the town we visited the next day.
This is the market street we walked up to get to the reastaurant where we had dinner.
Hagar and Grace with the view from the restaurant in the background.
Ivana, Alina, Michaela (Slovakia), Hagar and Grace at the table.

The crew before we left the hotel for the flight back. I bought a red Fez so I could have a hat like the girls.
A view of Tunis just after takeoff.
It was Hagar's last flight with Emirates so we took a few silly photos in the rear galley.
Hagar had always wanted a wand so I made her one from a straw, a landing card and some plasters. It backfired on me though when she turned Grace into...
A packet of biscuits!

Flight Map

2007-05-18T16:41:00.000+04:00

I've just found a new website which will show my flights on a map. The link is: http://my.flightmemory.com/Tibs94 and it can also be found under the Links section on this page.

We Can Stay In Malé Instead Of Colombo! :-)

2007-05-15T15:12:00.000+04:00

You may remember a previous post of mine entitled 'Why Can't We Stay In Malé Instead Of Colombo?!'. Well my dream has come true due to the current fighting in Sri Lanka. The company has decided it is too dangerous for our crews to stay in Colombo so we now layover in the Maldives instead. Just after takeoff a passenger collapsed and we had to carry her into the galley. We put her in the recovery position and she came round after 5 minutes. Then another one collapsed at the back! The flight over was hard work but so worth it when we arrived. The resort we stayed in was amazing. We even got transferred there by speedboat from the airport! The island we stayed on is called Bandos and it is in the North Malé Atoll. My friend Justine was on leave so I called her the night before and convinced her to book a standby ticket and come with me. We both got sunburnt but had a great time doing it!
We stayed on the big island which is called Bandos.
My bagtag for Malé.
The crew lining up to boat the boat. L-R Justine, Valentina (Italy), Sanaa (Morocco), Sara (New Zealand), Rachna (India), Hashem (Egypt), Cylinne (Philippines) and Romauld (France).
Malé city from the dock at the airport.
Me and Justine on the top deck of the speedboat.
On the way to the hotel they stopped the boat so we could see some dolphins.

Having a welcome drink.
Justine with the key. It was so difficult to unlock the door!
A view of the island from one of the bars.
The beach where the crew spent most of their time.
Me and Justine on the beach with our drinks.

In the swimming pool.
I bought Justine an icecream. She's so messy!
The pool bar at night.
This is Seabreeze cafe where we had lunch.

Sundowners bar where you can watch the sunset.
You can just about make out 2 sharks in this photo.
This is called the Sandbar. The floor is covered in sand.

The view as we left to go back to the airport.

Uganda - The Source Of The Nile

2007-05-11T18:14:00.000+04:00

Uganda was just amazing. It's so green! We had the ambassador of Uganda to Libya on board as a passenger and he arranged an excursion for us to go and visit Lake Victoria at the point where the Nile river begins. We stayed in the capital which is called Kampala.
The flight to Entebbe is via Addis Ababa in Ethiopia. This was taken just before we landed.

Addis Ababa's Bole International Airport.
On the short flight between Addis Ababa and Entebbe we serve passengers a sandwich and cookies. The crew ate about 50 cookies between us!
Kampala, the capital of Uganda.
Entebbe International Airport. The country's main airport is in Entebbe (which is 1 hour from Kampala) because the capital is surrounded by hills.
Lake Victoria.

Our first sighting of the Nile as we drove towards Lake Victoria.
Some of the Nile rapids.
The crew in front of the rapids. L-R Reginald (Philippines), Kyung (South Korea), Laila (Czech Republic), Sirichanya (Thailand), Antoine (Lebanon) and me.
This placard is near the source of the Nile.
The girls boarding the boat which took us for a short tour.

Us on the boat.
Lake Victoria ends and the Nile begins at the rocks.
This rock is called Zero Point. It is next to the rocks shown in the above picture.

We saw a Nile crocodile!

Dee's Birthday

2007-05-07T10:45:00.001+04:00

I've just been to London for my friend Dee's 28th birthday. It was a fantastic night and definately worth the airfare! I also got to see my other friends from bmi who I'm going on holiday to the USA with in September. Check out the pictures below...
Me with Dee (on the left) and Martin (his partner).
Martin spent the whole day setting up for the party. He did an excellent job in their back garden.
Everyone got to have a really good chat with each other.
There were some 'interesting' dance moves during the night!
Some people managed to make it all the way through to 5am.

Martin and Dee have just returned from holiday in Austria where they learnt to play this game. Each person has to try to hit a nail into the wood using the small end of the hammer. The last person to hit their nail all the way in has to drink a shot. It's not as easy as it looks!
Another popular party game was Jenga. This photo shows Sarah (Martin's friend) getting really stressed as she tries to decide which block to pull out.
Me surrounded by my old bmi friends. L-R Alex, Scott, Nat and Chris.
We went out for the day and Alex drove. Everyone is slightly concerned by the speed he takes corners at!
Out in the town of Staines, Scott and Chris try to help the locals carry a big pipe.

Windsor Castle.
Nat, Scott and Chris riding the travellator in Tesco.
I flew to London on Virgin Atlantic as all the Emirates flights were full. You can see the Virgin Airbus A340-600 parked in front of several of the Emirates aircraft at Dubai. The fare only cost me 850 Dirhams (£115 or $280 Australian) which is amazing for a 7 hour flight!
Inside the economy cabin of the Virgin plane. There were only 40 passengers so I got four seats all to myself.

Doha

2007-05-04T04:40:00.000+04:00

Tonight's Doha trip was meant to last only 2 hours. Due to a technical problem with the aircraft it was 5! The passengers were all very upset and it has been a very long night. Off to sleep for a few hours and then it'll be time to do it all again on a Mumbai flight.
The airshow map showing the location of Doha. You can see how short the distance is between the 2 airports.
We parked next to the local airline, Qatar Airways, in Doha.

Nairobi

2007-05-03T00:10:00.000+04:00

Kenya was totally different to what I was expecting. I had a picture in my mind of it being just like a safari as soon as we got out of the airport. The land was very green and the only animals I saw were some giraffes on the way to the hotel. Nairobi was very run down. It did have some nice parks though. The highlight of the trip was visiting the Carnivore restaurant. A place I had been told about during training. It is a big meat restaurant and along with serving the normal meats they also serve some other interesting ones. I tried crocodile and ostrich. The crocodile was very salty but I did thing the ostrich was very tasty. I would definately do another Nairobi flight just to go back to Carnivore!
The view from my hotel room.
Looking towards the park from my room.
The Kenyatta Conference Centre Tower.
Carnivore!
The menu.

I was joined in the restaurant by L-R First Officer Nicolas (Belgium), Samantha (South Africa) and Kata (South Africa).
The Dawa Man! Dawa is the Kenyan drink. It is 2 shots of vodka, 3/4 of a lime cut up, sugar and a stick covered in honey. You have to use the stick to squeeze the juice out of the lime. It tastes great!
My dawa.
Kenyan traffic jam on the way back to the airport.
The local airline.

Kenya from the air just after take off.
This was taken about 10 minutes after we left Nairobi.

May 07 Roster (Updated 10/05)

2007-04-26T18:23:00.006+04:00

My roster for May:

02MAY DUBAI - SANAA (YEMEN) - DUBAI
03MAY DUBAI - DOHA - DUBAI (ARR 04MAY)
04MAY DUBAI - MUMBAI (ARR 05MAY)
05MAY MUMBAI - DUBAI
08MAY DUBAI - ADDIS ABABA (ETHIOPIA) - ENTEBBE (UGANDA)
09MAY ENTEBBE - ADDIS ABABA - DUBAI (ARR 10MAY)
13MAY DUBAI - MALÉ
14MAY MALÉ - COLOMBO - DUBAI
17MAY DUBAI - TRIPOLI (LIBYA) - TUNIS (TUNISIA)
20MAY TUNIS - DUBAI (ARR 21MAY)
24MAY DUBAI - LAGOS
25MAY LAGOS - DUBAI (ARR 26MAY)
28MAY DUBAI - HAMBURG
29MAY HAMBURG - NEW YORK
30MAY NEW YORK - HAMBURG (ARR 31MAY)
01JUN HAMBURG - DUBAI

Back To Perth, Back To Business

2007-04-26T18:23:00.005+04:00

I was working in Business Class again on this Perth trip. It's so much better than working in economy as there are less passengers so you have more time to talk to them. When I was in Perth I went out for lunch with my Dad, my Aunty Maria and my Nanna and Grandad. There was a big storm just before we left to come back to Dubai.

I forgot to take my camera out for the day so I've posted this picture of Perth city from the air instead.

This is a snack trolley in Business Class that I had to set up.

Mum's Dubai Visit

2007-04-26T18:23:00.003+04:00

My mum and my friend Paul from Bolton came to visit me in Dubai last week. They did so much shopping that I've got to send it back to the UK as cargo! Mum and Paul being silly in Duty Free at Manchester Airport.
Me and Paul in the galley on the plane. We drank champagne all the way to Dubai!
Mum, me and Paul in TGI Friday's restaurant.
Paul and mum in front of the Emirates Towers.
Mum and Paul pretending to read their books.

In the lobby of the Grand Hyatt hotel where we went for Friday brunch.
I took Paul on the same desert safari as my brother did when he was here. We saw camels this time.
The desert just outside of Dubai.
Paul and I wearing Dishdashs.
On a night out with my friend Justine.

We had a Fishbowl which is a large container filled with all kinds of alcohol.
We must've been thirsty as we finished it off!

Holly's Birthday

2007-04-26T18:23:00.001+04:00

I have never missed a plane (as a passenger)... until now. I woke up at 9am for my 7.30am departure to the UK! I was in a major panic as the reason I was flying home was for my best friend's birthday. I had the trip planned for months and I couldn't believe it! I decided to go to the airport and see if it was possible to get on any flight. They offered me Paris which I turned down and then I managed to get the last seat on a London flight. My great friends from bmi in London put me up for the night and I caught the first flight up to Manchester the next morning. Holly had a great birthday and it was a really good night. Check out the photos below...While I was waiting for my flight to Manchester I saw my friend Alex from the lounge. You can just about see him stood at the front door of this bmi Regional embraer aircraft.
L-R Hannah, Holly, Liz and Zoe at Holly's house before going into town.
On the way to the bar.
In the bar with some other friends.
Me and Holly.
Me, Liz and Hannah.

The next day we went out for lunch.
The restaurant was called Toby Cavery.
I really like icecream.
Afterwards we went for a drive.
A view of Horwich near Bolton.

The church in Bolton.
Me and Holly in ASDA buying goodies for our night in.

We always used to rent DVDs on a Friday night so we decided that is what we should do when I was back. Choices is the video shop we always visit.

Why Can't We Stay In Malé Instead Of Colombo?!

2007-04-11T17:43:00.000+04:00

The last trip before my leave was to Colombo in Sri Lanka via Malé in the Maldives. I managed to get a seat in the flightdeck for landing into Malé and the views were breathtaking. I think I'm going to have to tell Pierre were not going to have time to go to Lebanon as this is definately a place I want to be visiting soon! After our hour on the ground in Malé it was time to leave for Colombo. The airport is surrounded by the army in gun turrets to protect it from the rebel fighters! The city reminded me of Bangkok and I do not think I would choose to visit of my own account. Most of my time was spent resting although we did manage a quick trip to a shopping mall to pick up some cheap DVDs.
The view of the first atolls as we entered the Maldives.
This is the resort that I want to stay at. It looks amazing and has a line of huts that sit just on top of the water.
The capital of the Maldives, Malé.
Malé from the flightdeck just before we landed.
Coming into land at Malé International Airport.

A seaplane taking off from the airport. Tourists are transferred to the resorts by seaplane.
This is the hotel near the airport where we stay on a 12 hour layover.
The shops we saw on the way to the hotel.

The hotel we stayed in.
The view of Colombo from my room.
Looking the other way.

The shopping centre we visited.
They serve KFC on a plate in Sri Lanka!
The tuktuk that Roxanne (Hong Kong) and I caught back to the hotel. You can see Roxanne in the tuktuk's mirror.
One of the gun turrets near the airport.
Inside Colombo's Bandaranaike International Airport.

Another Day, Another Turnaround

2007-04-11T16:33:00.000+04:00

This time the destination was Beirut in Lebanon. Pierre (One of my best friends at Emirates) is Lebanese and lived in Beirut before moving to Dubai. I thought the country looked very scenic as we flew over it. I also got to work with my friend Charles again as he was rostered the flight too. This is the first flight I have had where all the cabin crew were of different nationalities. The countries we were from: UAE, Morrocco, Bulgaria, Serbia, New Zealand, France, Romania, Australia, Philippines, Austria and Croatia. Hopefully I will get to visit with Pierre sometime soon.

Flying over the mountains in Lebanon on the way there.
A few of the villages in the countryside.

A view of the coast as we approached Beirut.

The city of Beirut from our parking stand at the airport.
Charles and me in the rear galley on the way back to Dubai.

Alexandria

2007-04-07T14:05:00.000+04:00

Yesterday I did a turnaround flight to Alexandria in Egypt. A turnaround flight is one where we don't get off the plane but wait while it is cleaned and then fly back to Dubai. Even though the flight was really busy I did manage to get a few photos in.
This picture of the moving map we have on the inflight entertainment (IFE) shows our route back to Dubai from Alexandria.
A view of the A330 aircraft we flew on from the front door.

Alexandria airport. The middle of nowhere.
The economy cabin during cleaning.
Our SFS on the flight, Hazel (Philippines), loading the meals onto the trays from the oven.
The economy class crew. L-R Nurliza (Singapore), Joann (India), Samuel (Australia) and Christiane (Germany). We all thought Samuel looked a bit like Tom Cruise!

The IFE system in economy class.

上海

2007-04-03T13:47:00.001+04:00

I have just woken up from a 3 hour nap after landing from Shanghai earlier this morning. The flight was awful. Luckily I had a fun crew which helped. I found that the flight was well worth suffering when I arrived though! I have never had such a good time shopping. It was my first experience of bartering and I've been told by the others that I did quite well. It's really addictive and I ended up buying things I didn't need just so I could barter. The markups that they put on the items in the beginning is ridiculous. I was buying items that began at 800 Yuan for 100 Yuan! I can't wait to go back. 'Shanghai' in Chinese is the title of this post just in case you were wondering. :-)

My hotel room.
The view from my window.

Looking in the other direction.

Wish Doing - The Chinese version of McDonald's!

Dinner in the hotel. Believe it or not we had a Chinese! L-R Angel (Spain), Sita (India) and Grace (Kenya).

Commuters on their way to work.

Chinese street sign.

The stall we bought breakfast from.

They were very friendly.

Aomjai (Thailand) and Grace tuck into breakfast.

The Pearl TV Tower. A famous Shanghai landmark.

Aomjai and I have a conversation with some statues. They are placed all around the base of the TV Tower.

Grace blends in with the statues.

We were so amazed when we managed to buy subway tickets from a Chinese ticket machine!

The Chinese subway trains. You have to be really careful on board though as...

There's a big risk of 'pinching'. :-)

The locals try to help Aomjai with directions. One small problem though. None of them speak English!

Nanjing Road the main shopping street. As you walk down here you are grabbed by people who take you to...The back streets to see their shops. We went in 3 peoples houses to have a look at things! The Shanghai Science and Technology Museum.

For lunch we decided we would risk it and go in a local restaurant where no one speaks English and the menu was in Chinese. We asked for 2 teas 'Chai' and a 'Coke'. We got 2 bowls of warm tap water and a soup!

Aomjai's meal. It had the chicken's head and feet in it!
Me with the chicken's head.

On the aircraft home. Our new aircraft have stars on the ceiling at night time.

L-R Aomjai, Grace, Me and Yeon (South Korea).

Aomjai and I riding the meal cart. This is the kind of stuff we get up to when the passengers are asleep.
I was helping with the duty free on this flight as a display model. How am I doing?

Denise (Australia) who was in charge of duty free on today's flight.
"Well no one told me it was a necklace!"
Angel on the left was our Supervisor on the flight to Shanghai. Naglaa (Egypt) is with him.Grace, Me and Aomjai after the flight waiting for the bus to the briefing centre.
The other crew waiting for the bus.Me and Sita. Sita was on my brother's flight to Manchester too.
I finally managed to get a picture with the engine. They're massive.

My purchases. I spent 1000 Yuan which is approximately £65 or $159 Australian. The handbags are gifts! :-)

Bolton

2007-03-31T11:44:00.000+04:00

My brother flew home from Dubai on my first flight back after leave. He drank so much Bailey's that we we ran out in economy! When we got home we went out for a meal with my friend Paul who is coming to Dubai in 2 weeks to visit, along with my mum. I stayed the night at our house in Bolton, which is about an hour's drive from Manchester airport. I am going back again for a week on 12 April for a week. Really looking forward to my best friend's birthday party.
Our house in Bolton.
My cat Molly. She still remembers who I am. :-)
The main road near our house.
Our street is on the left.
The row of shops near the house.
My brother Jaegen's car.

Jaegen driving. You can see that he's talking to me and not paying attention to the road. Maybe that's why he had a 'small bump' recently!

One of the streets in Bolton town centre.
The office where I worked in my first job as a travel agent.

My Australian Holiday

2007-03-31T11:17:00.000+04:00

Just back from a fantastic 12 days in Perth with my brother. Managed to see most of the family and had a really good time. We hired a car for 5 of the days we were there. It's the first time I've driven in 5 months and it felt great! A big thank you to our Uncle Graham for picking us up and dropping us back at the airport, Aunty Maria who we changed plans with 4 times before staying with her for 2 nights and Aunty Judith who let us stay at short notice and took us out for a meal. Also thank you to our Nanna in Pinjarra for making us great pancakes as usual!
The first sighting of the Australian coast as we approached Perth.
The northern suburbs of Perth.
Landing at Perth airport.
The ferry over to Rottnest Island where we stayed with our Dad for 3 days.
L-R Michael (Dad), Liam (Brother), Debbie (Stepmum), Jaegen and me.
The Rottnest Island lighthouse. From where we saw...Great views of the whole island. You can see the airport, the settlement and the city of Perth (in the background) in this picture.
These animals that look like rats are called Quokkas. The island is full of them and they all come out at night.
My dad is a policeman on the island. This is his police jeep.
This beach is only accessible by jeep and the police are the only people on the island that have them. It was great as we had the whole beach to ourselves!
My hire car. It was a Nissan Tiida.
My friend Pierre was on a trip to Perth while we were there so we took him to a wildlife park to see Kangeroos. You can see him stood in the corner of the picture. Jaegen is in the centre of the Kangeroos.
Jaegen feeding a Kangeroo.
The bridge in Mandurah. We grew up in a small town nearby called Pinjarra.
L-R Nanna Sadie, Jaegen, Poppy and me.
The jetty in Busselton. We went down to Busselton to visit an old friend of mums. It is about a 3 hour drive south from Perth.
Jaegen and his favourite shop in Busselton.

Zippy's. The hairdressing salon that mum's friend Derren owns.

L-R Samantha (Cousin), Judith (Aunty), Jaegen, David (Cousin) and me.