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

An African Adventure: Jo’Burg!

Not too long ago I checked my roster and was delighted to see somebody had accepted my swap to get rid of my Casablanca – I was going to Johannesburg! My first new destination in quite a while, and one I was very much looking forward to visiting.

All of the crew who fly to Joburg visit the infamous Lion Park at least once – it’s got to be done! So of course I emailed the ex-crew Noel who organises the tour and arranged a time for him to pick us up. During the flight (which was an overnight flight which meant all of our business class passengers slept the whole way!) I got chatting to the rest of the crew to see who wanted to come with me.

As we landed into Joburg around 6am, we all headed to the hotel for a little nap before the adventure in the afternoon. A few hours later, nicely refreshed, four of us met in the lobby, and luckily it was a beautiful sunny day.

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Noel drove us down to the Lion Park, which took around 30 minutes.

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The Dubai Diaries: Exploring Fujairah

So I thought I’d do something a little different and write about somewhere a bit closer to home. Although not actually in Dubai, the emirate of Fujairah (one of 7 in the UAE) is located just a short drive away.

Since my flatmate Kirsty is leaving in less than a month (boo!) we wanted to explore a little bit more of the UAE, and hired a car for a mini road trip!

Our plan had originally been to head out in the morning and stay overnight, but we both landed around 8am from flights and decided a day trip would work just as well. The next morning, after sorting out car hire logistics and making a rough plan, we picked up the car and off we went!

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It was my first time driving in the UAE (luckily I learnt to drive in Austria, where they drive on the same side of the road) so I was a little apprehensive, mainly because everyone drives like lunatics here, but I soon got back into the swing of things! Even easier due to the automatic car – why isn’t every car automatic?

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Athens Part II

So, as I promised – here is part two of my little getaway to Athens.

I left off at a lovely little trip up Mount Lycabettus, which has an incredible panoramic view over the city and out to the ocean.

And the ocean is where we were headed the next day. Mum & Dad had asked me to plan a little itinerary for our trip, and I wanted to include a trip to an island. Obviously the famous ones such as Santorini, Mykonos or Crete are too far away for a day trip, so we decided on something a bit closer.

But first – coffee! Upon recommendation from a Greek girl I’d flown with, we found a hotel called A for Athens, which has a gorgeous outdoor rooftop terrace. We sat outside in the sunshine, admiring the wonderful view of the Parthenon.

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Athens Part I

I don’t remember if I posted on here or not that I was going to Athens for a few days with my parents, however if you follow me on Instagram you will have seen lots of pictures from my lovely little getaway in the sunshine!

When Dad told me last month him and Mum were going to visit Greece for a few days, I jumped at the chance and bidded for 5 days off. It was my “top bid” month, so luckily I got the days off and promptly booked my flight.

On the morning of the flight it was all looking rather full and I didn’t think I was going to get on, but luckily someone didn’t show up at the last minute and I made it! I was meant to be meeting mum and dad at Athens airport but as their flight was cancelled they arrived a little later.

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Luckily our hotel had a gorgeous rooftop bar so I sat out in the sunshine enjoying an iced coffee.

Once Mum and Dad finally arrived the sun was setting, and we were all feeling rather hungry, so headed out to find something to eat.

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May Roster

It’s that time of the month again… roster time!

Next month I’ve got something different coming up – I’m back on the 777. It’s been 7 months since I last flew on the Boeing, so I’m hoping I haven’t completely forgotten how to do it! 😉

Some of the destinations I’ll be visiting (unless I swap any flights) are:

  • Jakarta
  • Lahore (turnaround)
  • Casablanca
  • Columbo – Singapore (only a short stop in Colombo, overnight in Singapore)
  • Munich
  • Barcelona
  • Islamabad (turnaround)

With the exception of Munich, all of these flights are on the 777. It’ll be fun to get back to flying different aircraft, but most of these flights depart in the middle of the night, so I think an exhausting month is coming up!

I’m all ears for any tips of things to do or see in Jakarta, as I’ve only been once before and didn’t manage to do any exploring. As for Casablanca, I’ve been twice before, and if I don’t swap it I’m planning on trying out a traditional Hammam!

I hope these roster posts are interesting – I feel they may get a bit receptive each month, especially when I don’t get any new destinations.

Please feel free to comment with any suggestions for posts or questions you may have! 🙂

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