November roster (and other fun bits)

I caught up with Rachel Williams during the week and we went for dinner to the Dubai buffet institution, Spice Island, which I'd been too once before but was even better second time around.

Monday morning, so before most loyal folk stumble upon this, Nicole and I will be setting off on our very first flight together. Granted it is to Alexandria on a turnaround flight, and it's completely overbooked from what I can gather, but we shall let the love shine through! I will report back if I manage to take a few snaps.

And finally, what I know you can't wait for, the climax of your weekend, nay, your whole month - the November roster! Here goes:

1st - 3rd LONDON HEATHROW, UK (24hr layover)
4th - 11th Annual Leave - Mauritius (tough life, I know)
12 - 13th Days Off
14th KARACHI, Pakistan (turnaround)
15th - 17th ZURICH, Switzerland (24hr layover)
18th - 19th RESERVE DAYS
20th - 21st Days Off
22nd - 24th BIRMINGHAM, UK (24hr layover)
25th Day Off
26th MUSCAT, Oman (turnaround)
27th - 28th Days Off
29th KARACHI, Pakistan (turnaround)
30th Day Off (Nicole's birthday!)

May it enlighten and inform you as it has me....Now where are the bloody Australia flights!

Eid Mubarak! (Happy Eid!)

Ramadan is over! As Dubai and the Muslim world settles in for Eid (read: party mode) for the next little while, Cap'n Dan is gearng up for turnaround after turnaround for the rest of the month, beginning in one hour from now...

Rachel Williams (my old friend and housemate) arrived in Dubai last night for a 4 day holiday so I can't wait to see her, and Nicole's parents get here this morning. They're staying here for a few weeks, and coming to Mauritius with Nicole and I at the beginning of November.

When Nicole's away...

With Nicole in lockdown in Jakarta I found myself rather bored last night, so I ventured to my other favourite mall, Mercato for a bit of 'I'm-a-major-loser' Friday night grocery shopping. The cab driver, like most of them, thought I was stupid and took me the long way. I am aware that yelling abuse is anti-Ramadan and all but I'm afraid he copped it big time. I don't even care that he had no idea what I was saying, he knew I was mega-pissed. He kept shaking his head and saying sorry over and over. To that I replied that he wasn't sorry and I pray I never get his cab again. Man I am HARDCORE!!!!

Anyways, the mall is photo-worthy and I took a few snaps for your perusal.

Liquor? You have liquor?

I was on standby two days ago from 6am to 6pm and was called at around 11.30 for a flight to none other than Trivandrum in India. 4 hours there, 4 hours back, no rest, no layover - just two flights loaded full of whiny, incoherent, alcoholics - JOY! I didn't get home in to bed until 1.30am the next day. Thank goodness there was a fun crew on board who made the day less tedious. All I really want to know is when did 'whiskey, whiskey' become the Indian national beverage?

To give you the smallest amount of insight into what a plane full of above-mentoned folk is like, I took some pictures (illegally) on ground in Trivandrum as they (thankfully) disembarked.

Lessons learned

I hope to God this blog isn't read by randoms, but I need to vent. A few days ago I went to Colombo in Sri Lanka where we stayed for 24 hours, then flew home to Dubai via the Maldives (one of the world's great tropical destinations for the uninitiated.) It will go down as one of my least favourite flights. From the get-go the Purser was on our cases in briefing - a queeny, Hitler-esque nutjob that has been with the company since 1988. He made us fill in forms for EVERYTHING to satisfy his evil urges: a) did I take a photograph of every child on board? b) did I present the photograph to the child/parent in an official Emirates photo sleeve? c) Did I distribute a child headset to every child on board, then collect prior to landing? d) prior to landing, did I return the child headsets to the appropriate container, then lock and seal? etc etc etc. He was the most anal (literally) person I have ever worked with in any job! Oh well, I guess it needed to happen at some point in a job like this.

Sri Lanka itself (apart from the lush hotel) was quite the poverty-stricken hell hole. I took a ride in a tuk-tuk (not sure if they call them that) into the main part of town to buy some dvds to add to my ridiculously large (and still expanding) collection. I should feel grateful that I am still alive, really. Between the traffic chaos, the rabies-infected cats everywhere, the beggars, and the food in general - Sri Lanka is somewhat of a hazard (read: deathtrap.) Dinner in the hotel, however, was pretty amazing - apparently one of the world's best Thai restaurants and it was SUPER cheap (around $10 a main, and $20 for a bottle of Penfolds Private Bin) - and best of all the purser DID NOT make an appearance!

The flight on the way home was less than half full which was an added bonus, but I was so busy filling in forms I hardly noticed. What I did notice was the simply amazing Maldives islands as we landed at Male (rhymes with Bali) International Airport. I was not allocated a door to monitor, so I was able to sit in a passenger seat and take some photos as we landed.

I have no idea how to conclude here, so let's go through the lessons we have learned: 1) taking photos of sleeping kids is just plain creepy, not matter what the form says, 2) when spending the day in Colombo, bring your own packed lunch, washed and prepared in a western nation, 3) when flying into Male, sit on the right hand side of the plane for maximum photo opportunity and 4) underloved, sexually repressed flight pursers with forms in hand should be avoided at all costs...


The view of the Indian Ocean from my hotel room. Most of this area was flattened and/or damaged by the tsunami



Risking life and limb in downtown Colombo. Don't let the nice weather and KFC fool you!



The stunning (did I use that word already?) Maldives islands.

So tired....about to fall aslee......zzzzz

Hi all,

It's 3.29am on Thursday and in 2 hours and 31 minutes, I officially begin 'Standby 1' which means sitting by my phone from 6am to 6pm to see if Emirates calls me somewhere. While I desperately need more flying hours this month, primarily, at this point, I need sleep. So why am I blogging? LOVE and COMMITMENT to the cause! And also, what is pain if it can't be shared?

I have some cool photos from Sri Lanka to put up here, but that will have to be another day and time (though soon I promise)

Cap'n

The camel, the straw, the back, the call bell...

What a fun couple of days! After an extended time off with the fam visiting, I was actually semi-excited to get back on a plane! I was off to one of my favourite Emirates destinatons - Munich. The crew were not bad, and managed to latch on to a few guys that seemed like fun, and were up for some (not always easy!) I knew I should have done a bit more sight-seeing and maybe organised a tour, but instead we went into the city centre at Marienplatz and went looking for litres of beer and pork products! We found both quite quickly! And by 'we' I mean First Officer Michael (Brisbane), Ian (Canada) and Peter (Ireland).

I didn't take as many pictures as usual but here is what I did take. The play of the day goes to barmaid Helga, who I snapped in haste as we payed the bill when she wasn't paying attention. I'm very glad she's not my Nanna!


Nanna Helga struts her stuff!


Shots inside the Verulianmarkt


Myself, Michael, Ian and Peter inside the Hofbrauhaus


Kids, can you spell G-L-O-C-K-E-N-S-P-I-E-L?

The flight home was sehr crap! Completely full of non-sleeping, demanding German know-it-alls who managed to press every button there was to press! They knew how to press the call bell, but for some reason were unable to turn on their reading light using the button directly next to it. Then the very next call bell was for the same thing, only she couldn't turn her light OFF! What is wrong with these people?! Also, if you walked into someone's house and they were sitting down having dinner, would you ask them for a drink or get it yourself, or better still, WAIT TIL THEY WERE FINISHED!!!!? Okay,now my frustrations are out!

Thanks for the memories, Munich!

07 3102 3537

I have set up a Skype-In number, so everyone in Australia can call me for the cost of a call to a local Brisbane number! Granted I won't ALWAYS be at my computer to answer the call, and if not it gets diverted to my mobile anyway! How did I live without it! I have enabled voice mail on the line, so PLEASE leave a message if I don't pick up!

The number is: (07) 3102 3537

To collect your roster changes, please press 1...

Slight update to travel plans for the remainder of October:

12th - 14th MUNICH, Germany
16th - 17th COLOMBO, Sri Lanka

Rest of the month as before.

Day 1 - Wednesday

After a LOT of phaphing around, the big day finally arrived last Wednesday when my Dad arrived in Dubai for a visit, along with my sister Emily and brother Beetle. I was extremely excited and hardly slept the night before and evidently neither had they. After meeting them at around 6am we were whisked back to 306 UP Tower where a lazy day of swimming, movies, laptop and Nintendo ensued. I rallied the troops for a bit of compulsory sight-seeing, and though weary-eyed and sleep deprived, they all managed to take in the Burj Al Arab and Jumeirah area, as well as gobble down a sensational Iftar buffet on the beachfront at the Sheraton. (Iftar is the time every day during Ramadan when the fast is broken at sunset, usually 6pm.) My Victorian family seemed to suffer in the oppressive Dubai night time heat, but by holidays end they were pros! This, and the next four posts, will hopefully give you an idea of how much fun a five day Dubai holiday can be! PLEASE COME VISIT!!!!


At the Souk Madinat Jumeirah

The mandatory 'by-the-Burj' photograph!

Iftar - TIME TO EAT!


Free camel rides for the kiddies - though mine were too tired...

Day 2 - Thursday

Day two was 'Arabia for Dummies' day and so off we headed into the Great Beyond for the famous Dubai Desert Safari!. What does that pacifically entail you might ask. Well pacifically it involved being picked up in a 4WD from your accomodation and taken dune bashing for a while which is 'eaps of fun. Then we headed to a traditional Arabic-style base camp for a bit of camel riding, sheesha smoking, kofta eating, abaya wearing, henna painting action! It opened our eyes and our minds as well! I think everyone got a lot out of it, kulcha-wise.


Nothing like a friendly sand dune race, uphill in mid thirties sunshine to get the blood pumping!

The Bedouin-style base camp, where all the action captured below took place.

Who looks happier to be here?

I don't think a camel has ever worked so hard in it's life. Mine could barely stand up when I got on it! Hello, Diet Factory!


Our traditional tattoos (called 'henna' around these parts) were a bit of fun. My scorpion seemed to win the popular vote on the night.

Is there a more refreshing, uplifting sight than two children smoking of an evening?

Settle Saddam, we are just PRETENDING!

Day 3 - Friday

Analysts, critics and taller-than-average Victorian children alike are hailing Ski Dubai as 'a modern marvel', 'a veritable treasure trove of fun', and 'good'.

Whatever fun appears to be being had in these pictures, you can bet your bottom dirham it's genuine. We decided not to take a skiing or snow boarding lesson and instead played in the Snow Park instead - complete with tabogganing, tyre rides, igloos, caves and sculptures. I had never done it myself and it was like, so, like, fun!


Sylvester 'Sly' Stallone would be proud, I feel!


claustrophobia.com.ae

This could be anyone but trust me when I say it's not. I'm about 35% sure it's Dad and Emily.


The zoo animals looking back out at the people. Ski Dubai as it is known to both the people who own it and the people who go there, is part of the Mall of the Emirates complex - the largest mall in the world outside North America.