Hiking Up Lion’s Head

Last month I swapped on to a flight to Cape Town. If you’re a regular reader here, you’ll know that Cape Town, South Africa, is one of my all time favourite destinations! 

As you can imagine, I was very much looking forward to the trip. After a nice and easy 9 hour flight (my penultimate in first class!) we arrived at the hotel and were greeted with fresh juices and fried chicken! Definitely a great start.

A few of us decided to meet for dinner, and instead of our usual Waterfront destination, decided to mix things up and head to The Butcher Shop & Grill, a lovely steakhouse.

We shared some tasty red South African red wine, and all enjoyed delicious steaks. Slightly pricier than some of the other restaurants in Cape Town, but still very affordable (and even more so compared to Dubai).

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October Roster

My first roster as a cabin supervisor! Having now completed my training (just over 2 weeks) I’ll be starting out from next month working as a CSV. It’ll certainly be a different experience from first class but I’m very much looking forward to the change.

Luckily my month will be very nice to ease into, as I’m starting off with some annual leave. As for the rest, this is where I’ll be off to in October:

  • Annual Leave
  • HKG – Hong Kong
  • IKA – Tehran, Iran
  • ZRH – Zurich, Switzerland
  • MEL – Melbourne, Australia
  • STN – London Stansted, UK
  • STN – London Stansted, UK

For my leave, my sister and I are heading to the Dominican Republic! We’ll be spending a few days exploring Santo Domingo, and then a bit of time relaxing by the beach in Punta Cana. Anything we must see or do, please comment down below!

My first flight operating as CSV will be to Hong Kong! One of my favourite destinations, and somehow ironic that this was also my very first flight with Emirates way back almost 7 years ago when I started flying. Only this time around, I’ll be the one in charge! I’m looking forward to catching up with my friend Kirsty once I’m there, and seeing her two little ones.

Next up is a quick turnaround to Tehran and back. This will be another new challenge as I’ll most likely be working in economy, and the service will have to be done quite quickly due to the length of the flight.

Then I’ve got a lovely layover in Zurich, another great destination. I’m already looking forward to some cheese fondue!

Following on from that is my ULR (ultra long range) flight for the month – Melbourne, Australia. I actually bid for Sydney to try and see my grandparents, but got Melbourne instead! Nevertheless I’ll be keeping this flight as my cousin lives there and I can’t wait to have a good catch up with her.

Lastly I have two trips which I’m very much looking forward to – home! A lovely way to round off the month, two back-to-back flights to Stansted. I’m hoping by then I’ll somehow know what I’m doing as CSV and will be able to relax at home with Mum and Dad!

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

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

My first time visiting Cambodia, and although it was just a 24 hour layover that flew by, I still managed to explore a little bit of this fascinating city.

Cambodia has a lot of sad history, and I would have liked to have visited some of the places that had such a huge impact on the country, such as the Khmer Rouge Killing Fields and the Genocide Museum. 

This layover none of the other crew wanted to visit these places, so I decided to join them on a different tour of a few places in the city instead, and will save the others for my next layover there.

After a great night’s sleep and an amazing breakfast at the hotel, we were ready to go.

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September Roster

It’s going to be a very short post for next month as I’ll not be flying much in September, just 3 flights in fact!

So this is how my month looks:

  • MED – Medina, Saudi Arabia
  • CSV Training
  • CPT – Cape Town, South Africa
  • KWI – Kuwait, Kuwait

Starting off the month with a quick turnaround to Medina and back, hopefully an easy afternoon at work.

Following on from that…. I have my Cabin Supervisor training! I’m equally nervous and excited, and very much looking forward to learning lots of new skills. I’m ready for a change and this will most definitely be it!

After 3 years in First Class (the longest I’ve spent in any cabin) it will certainly be different going back to work in economy and business, albeit this time being the one in charge!

The training takes just over 2 weeks, so I’ll be spending plenty of time in Dubai at training college. If it goes a bit quiet over here on The Dubai Diaries for the next few months, it’s because of this. We have a 6 month probation period with a final review and assessment at the end.

My last couple of flights working in first class will then be to Cape Town and Kuwait. I actually was originally rostered LAX but I’ve been doing so many long haul flights recently that when someone sent me a swap for those two I immediately accepted. 

Cape Town is one of my favourite destinations anyway, so I’m sure it’ll be a great trip. Last up is a quick turnaround to Kuwait and back, and that will be my final flight working in first class!

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

August Roster

Once again the roster is out and it’s time for another busy month.

It’s a jam-packed one this time and I’ve already managed to do a couple of swaps, and hopefully one more if I can! 

August will be a real mix of destinations, with almost every continent covered! I’ll be heading off to:

  • BSR – Basra, Iraq (turnaround)
  • AMM – Amman, Jordan (turnaround)
  • MLE – Male, Maldives (turnaround)
  • EWR – Newark, USA
  • BLQ – Bologna, Italy
  • ABV – Abuja, Nigeria
  • BCN – Barcelona, Spain
  • GLA – Glasgow, UK

Starting off with three back-to-back turnarounds (i.e. no days off and minimum rest in-between) to Basra, Amman and Male. I’m seriously hoping I can somehow make a miracle happen and swap these for a layover, but let’s see!

My first layover of the month is to Newark – while I’ve visited New York plenty of times, it’ll be my first time flying into Newark. Sadly it’s just a 24 hour layover but I’m sure I’ll manage to stay busy! I originally had San Fransisco rostered but decided to swap as this will give me an extra day off.

Up next is the trip I’m most looking forward to – Bologna, Italy. I’ve been here a couple of times and can’t wait to go back and eat my bodyweight in tagliatelle bolognese and gelato 😀

Following on from that is a 48 hour layover in Abuja. A new destination for me and I’ll be honest and say it’s not one that I would have bid for, but I’ll try to make the most of the layover and get out and explore some of the city. Any tips are more than welcome!

Then I have a layover in Barcelona, Spain, which I can’t wait for! I was actually rostered Moscow, but someone sent me a swap which I immediately accepted. Funnily enough I had actually bid for Barcelona but didn’t get the flight, so it’s great that I managed to swap.

My last trip of the month is to Glasgow, which again is another swap – originally I had a flight to Entebbe, Uganda. I’m not sure yet what I’ll do there, so stay tuned!

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