February 08 Roster (Updated 10/02)

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

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)

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. :-)