The Dubai Diaries
My life as a flight attendant in the Middle East!

Dinner in Düsseldorf

I recently got back from a quick little layover in Düsseldorf. It was actually my first time visiting the city, however it’s never been somewhere I’ve been particularly interested in visiting.

The flight over was relatively busy but only around 6 hours, so we were there before we knew it. Our hotel is right next to the airport, so we walked over from the terminal and once I got up to my room I collapsed onto the bed!

I’ve been doing a lot of flying lately with not many days off in between so I was pretty exhausted (even if it wasn’t a long flight, getting up at 4am takes its toll!).

A few hours later a few of us met up to head into town for some dinner. Since it was Sunday, almost everything was shut, as is the norm in Germany. If not I would have made more of an effort to see a bit of the city, but I’ll have to save that for my next trip there!

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After a quick trip on the train, we were in the city centre. It was pretty quiet, and although it was chilly, it was nice to get some fresh air and see a new city.

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Melbourne – Auckland

Being on reserve means you never know where you’re going to end up…and on my last standby I was pulled out for a 6 day trip to Melbourne and Auckland! My standby started at 3am but by midnight I could already see the flight on my roster, so I tried to get a few hours of sleep until crew control called me around 6am.

I got up to re-pack my suitcase (I was sure I’d end up somewhere in Europe and had packed thick jumpers and boots!) and get ready for a long day.

The flight to Melbourne was just under 13 hours, and as it was during the daytime most of our passengers were awake. However it wasn’t too busy and we had a great crew which made it seem a lot less than that!

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We were greeted by a wonderful sunrise in the morning, and soon headed off to the hotel for some much needed sleep. It’s always tricky to plan your sleep when you arrive in the morning, as you don’t want to waste the whole day and not be able to sleep at night, but you’re also exhausted from being up all night!

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Despite the beautiful sunrise, it was a grey and rainy day in Melbourne, which meant I didn’t feel too bad for going to sleep for a few hours!

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A Hike in Hong Kong

I recently got back from a lovely trip to one of my favourite cities, Hong Kong!

As soon as I saw it on my roster I made sure to tell my lovely friend (and ex-flatmate) Kirsty to get ready for some fun! The flight over was nice and easy, and we arrived in the afternoon.

Kirsty is back to teaching, which is what she was doing before she was a flight attendant, so after she finished school I headed over to her and her husband’s apartment. She’d told me to bring my trainers as we were going to hike up the Peak!

After a quick look around their apartment, we were off. Dan (her husband) would join us later for dinner, good choice on his part as it was a pretty steep hike!

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We made our way to the Peak and started the climb up just as the sun was beginning to set. We managed not to stop too many times on the way up but it was a challenge, that’s for sure!

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Christmas Markets in Munich

I’ve just got back from a very festive trip to Munich. For once I was happy when I saw MUC on my roster as I knew December would be the perfect time to visit the Christmas market!

The flight over was nice and easy, with most of our passengers sleeping through the flight, having connected from Australia or Asia.

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We arrived into Munich around lunchtime, and I messaged my brother Matt, who lives there, to let him know I’d arrived at the hotel. He set off to come and meet me, and after a quick shower and change I was ready to go. Matt arrived at my hotel and we were ready to hit the markets!

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December Roster

It’s that time of the month again…my December roster has been published! It was my “bottom bid” this month, so I wasn’t expecting too much.

In fact I really should be studying for my upcoming exams but instead I’m procrastinating and writing my blog!

In December I’ll be heading to:

  • ATH (Athens turnaround – a very long day!)
  • SEP (2 full days of Safety & Emergency procedures – my yearly exams)
  • BOM (Bombay turnaround)
  • MUC (Munich – can’t wait for the Christmas market!)
  • MAN (I was rostered Jakarta originally, but swapped for Manchester to get some Christmas shopping done!)
  • 5 days leave (just before Christmas, plus a few days off before my leave officially starts)
  • CPH (Copenhagen – on Christmas Day, which I am desperately trying to swap!!)
  • HKG (Hong Kong)

So a couple of turnarounds, and a few of the usual destinations. Munich should be lovely this time of year, I’m hoping for some snow. As my brother Matt lives there (and he does;t have university on the day I’m there) we’ll go to see the Christmas markets which should be very pretty.

I will most likely be heading to Mauritius on my leave (again!) and am sending hundreds of swaps to get rid of my Copenhagen so I can at least have Christmas Day off….I’ll keep you posted!

For now, it’s back to the books, wish me luck in my exams! 🙂

EDIT: Within about half an hour of posting this, someone accepted one of my many swaps!

Instead of heading to Copenhagen and Hong Kong, I’ll now be doing a quick KWI (Kuwait turnaround) which gives me Christmas off, and then heading to ALG (Algiers) for a 48 hour layover. I’d love any tips, as it will be my first time there! 🙂