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

Snapshots of Sydney: Harbour Bridge, Opera House & Maroubra to Bondi Coastal Walk

It’s been quite a while since I’ve spent time sightseeing in Sydney, and this trip I had two layovers there, and was determined to make the most of them!

It’s a 14 hour flight from Dubai to Sydney, and now that one crew has been removed from our long haul flights in first class, we were kept on our toes, to say the least! I was certainly ready for my bed once we checked in to our hotel in the morning, but made sure to set an alarm to at least spend some of the day awake.

Sunrise in Sydney

Sydney Harbour Bridge & Opera House

First things first, a walk to see the Harbour Bridge and Opera House!

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April Roster

It’s that time of the month again! Are you ready for my April roster? March was my top bid, and although I was happy to receive most of the flights I asked for, I actually have another great month ahead!

I have two new destinations (that I didn’t even bid for!) and some other great flights that I did ask for. In April I’ll be flying to:

  • JED – Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (turnaround)
  • COK – Cochin, India
  • ATH – Athens, Greece
  • BKK – Bangkok, Thailand
  • MEL – Melbourne, Australia
  • HKG – Hong Kong
  • SEZ – Mahé, Seychelles

Only one turnaround, a fairly quick one to Jeddah and back. After that it’ll be my first time to India! I have done plenty of turnarounds to India and back, but this is the first time I’ve actually been rostered to stay there. If anyone has any tips of what to do or what to see in Cochin, please let me know!

Then it’s off to Athens – the last time I was there was winter last year so I’m hoping that Spring will have sprung and it’ll be beautiful and sunny.

Next up is a flight to Bangkok, which was one of my bids. Recently almost all of our Bangkok flights have been operating without a first class, which means I haven’t been there in ages. I’ve been craving some delicious Thai food and of course a wonderful Thai massage, and that’s exactly what I’ll be doing once I’m there!

After that I’ve got a layover in Melbourne – if you’ve read my blog for a while you may remember that my cousin Sarah lives there, and as it’s over a Friday and Saturday we should be able to get a good catch up in.

Then it’s a trip to Hong Kong, which was also one of my bids, to see my friends Kirsty and Dan and their baby Theo. I can’t wait!

My last trip of the month is a short but sweet layover in the Seychelles – another new destination to tick off the list! It’ll only be an afternoon and evening there, but I’m fully intending to make the most of my short time there. Let’s hope the weather is nice!

So there we have it, another exciting month to look forward to. Thanks as always for reading!

P.s. Follow me on Instagram, Facebook & Twitter for more day-to-day updates of where I am in the world! 🙂

Adventures in Australia

As you may have noticed it’s been rather quiet over here on the blog…I’ve been off work for a few weeks and have been making the most of my staff travel benefits and time off and have been visiting several different countries this month!

I started off with a trip to Australia to see my grandparents, who I don’t get to visit very often. They live in Canberra, next door to my aunty and Uuncle, so I decided since I had a bit more free time I would pay them a visit. I flew with Cathay Pacific via Hong Kong to break up the flights a bit, and with only a small amount of drama (forgetting that I needed to apply for a visa to Australia!!!) I made it first to Sydney, then on to Canberra.

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October Roster

Sorry for the silence over here on the blog – I’ve been on leave for the past couple of weeks and am actually not going back to work till October, so I’ve been very much enjoying just having a bit of time off and relaxing!

If you follow me on Instagram you might have spotted that I flew down to Australia to spend some time with my grandparents and aunty and uncle in Canberra, and my cousin in Melbourne. I then flew on to Hong Kong to meet my friend Kirsty, and from there we jetted off for a week in Borneo! A new country for the both of us, and we made sure to squeeze in as much as we possibly could, despite having her 4-month old baby Theo in tow! 🙂

Now I’m back in Dubai with just enough time to unpack, do some washing, and repack my suitcase, as I’m still not done travelling and will shortly be heading off to Portugal! I’m taking Joe with me, and we’re meeting my parents and one of my brothers and his girlfriend for a week of cycling along the coast. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for the last of the summer weather as I wouldn’t mind coming back with a bit of a tan!

Enough rambling for now and onto my roster for October. I’ll be flying to:

  • BEY – Beirut, Lebanon (turnaround)
  • MEL – AKL – Melbourne, Australia & Auckland, New Zealand
  • JNB – Johannesburg, South Africa
  • JED – Jeddah, KSA (turnaround)
  • MUC – Munich, Germany
  • ACC – ABJ – Accra, Ghana & Abidjan, Ivory Coast

Starting the month off with a not-so-lovely nighttime turnaround to Beirut, I’m still hoping some miracle will happen and someone will give me their days off for this, but let’s be real here…that’s never going to happen, haha!

Then I’m off to Australia and New Zealand for a 6-day multi sector trip, and I’ve already made sure my cousin Sarah is free in Melbourne. I’ve been to Auckland a few times now, so if anyone has any other fun ideas or suggestions of what to do there, do let me know!

In between my MEL-AKL and JNB I have 5 days off, so if flights are ok I will hopefully be flying to Manchester to stay with my best friend Lucy for a long weekend! We were meant to go away together in September but it didn’t work out, so this should be a long overdue catch-up!

Next up is a trip to Jo’burg, which I’ve only done once (and is actually the flight I met my boyfriend Joe on!) so I’ll be happy to head back for a delicious steak and some wine!

Of course there had to be a turnaround to Saudi Arabia in there, but let’s hope its nice and uneventful.

After that I’m off to Munich, and I’ll be visiting my brother Matt and his girlfriend Miriam and their new dog, which I’m very excited about! Matt likes so cook so I’m already hoping he’s going to be whipping up something nice for my visit! 😉

Lastly a new destination for me – Accra! Africa is my least-visited continent, so I thought it was about time I bid for some new African destinations, and for this trip we fly to Accra and stay there for 24 hours, then on to Abidjan and back (I believe it’s only around a 1 hour flight) and then stay another 24 hours in Ghana. So any tips or must-do’s are much appreciated!

Somewhere between Canberra and Melbourne – thanks Qantas for the ride!

P.s. Follow me on Instagram, Facebook & Twitter for more day-to-day updates of where I am in the world! 🙂

April Roster

It’s that time of the month again…roster day! It seems to roll around quicker every month, and we’re already over halfway through March, 2017 is definitely flying by!

Next month I’ll be starting with 10 days leave, and I won’t mention yet where we will be heading, but I will say there are some beaches involved! 🙂

After that my flights will be to:

  • BOM – Bombay, India (turnaround)
  • ZRH – Zurich, Switzerland
  • MEL – Melbourne, Australia
  • JED – Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (turnaround)
  • ZRH – Zurich, Switzerland
  • MXP – Milan, Italy

I hope you guys are still enjoying my month roster posts, and if there is anything else you’d like to see here on The Dubai Diaries, please feel free to let me know in the comments below!

P.s. Follow me on Instagram & Twitter for more day-to-day updates of where I am in the world! 🙂