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

March Roster

Finally, my reserve month is over! It felt like a much longer month than usual, and I was kept busy with lots of flights.

If you didn’t manage to keep up on Instagram, I went to Warsaw, Jeddah (x2), London Gatwick, Dallas, Johannesburg and Bombay. I also had 2 airport standbys where I didn’t get used. All in all plenty to keep me busy, although I have to say most of my layovers were spent relaxing, eating and going to the gym! 

Next month I have some nice flights, and will be heading off to:

  • MLE – Male, Maldives (turnaround)
  • BKK – Bangkok, Thailand
  • KRT – Khartoum, Sudan (turnaround)
  • BP – Business Promotions Event
  • LHR – London Heathrow, UK
  • VIE – Vienna, Austria
  • HKG x2 – Hong Kong

Both the Male and Khartoum turnarounds are quite long days (around 4 hours each way) so although sadly I don’t get to stay in the Maldives, it will be plenty of flying hours.

Funnily enough I’ve been bidding for Bangkok for months with no luck, and now when I didn’t bid for it, I got one! I’m already looking forward to some Pad Thai and a massage.

Then I have a BP event, which I’m still waiting to hear the details about.

Up next is a Heathrow, which I would love to swap for a Stansted to be able to go home, but I’m not holding out too much hope for that one!

Following on from Heathrow is Vienna! Again, a flight that I didn’t bid for but am always happy to see on my roster. 

Last up are two flights to Hong Kong, one of my favourite destinations and one that I did bid for. My lovely friend and old flatmate Kirsty is due to give birth very soon, so I’ll be able to meet her baby which I’m very excited about!

I also have 4 days off towards the end of the month, and am trying to plan a little trip away somewhere not too far from Dubai. Any suggestions?!

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

Bangkok, Thailand – Bang Kachao, An Island Escape in the City


I have been to Bangkok so many times over the past 6 years with Emirates, and it’s a destination I’m always happy to return to. Delicious Thai food, amazing cheap massages, and a short-ish flight makes it a popular destination for almost everyone!

However, as with every destination that you’ve been to more times than you can count, you end up getting into your routine there. (See above – Thai food and a great massage!). So when I was there recently and one of our crew suggested visiting a small island in the city for a day out, I jumped at the chance!

Bang Kachao, known as “Bangkok’s Green Lung” is the perfect escape from the busy city – a forested island with cycling trails, cafés and a nature park just waiting to be explored.

We took a taxi from our hotel to the river and jumped on a tiny boat to take us across to the island. The boat cost about 10 Baht each!

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September Roster


Once again I’m back with another roster post, this time for the month of September.

While I didn’t get everything I asked for, I do have a new destination to tick off the list, as well as a couple of old favourites.

In September I’ll be heading off to:

  • BKK – SYD – Bangkok, Thailand & Sydney, Australia
  • STN – London Stansted, UK
  • STN – London Stansted, UK
  • IKA – Tehran, Iran (turnaround)
  • BKK – Bangkok, Thailand
  • ADL – Adelaide, Australia

I’ll be starting off the month with another multi-sector trip, to Bangkok and Sydney. I’ve just got back from my Sydney Christchurch trip, so I need a few days off to recover before another week away!

I have to admit I did bid for Bangkok (albeit as my lowest bid) though I kind of forgot this trip existed, so wasn’t really expecting to get another multi-sector! As always I’m happy to go though – for my fix of Pad Thai, mango sticky rice, and an excellent Thai massage.

After that I have two trips home, to Stansted, which of course I’m very happy about! I’m hoping the brilliant summer weather England has had over the past couple of months will hang in there for a few more weeks, and we will be able to play some tennis and eat dinner in the garden.

Next up will be a quick turnaround to Tehran and back, followed by another flight to Bangkok. Perhaps I will see if I can swap these two for something else, but if not it’s no big deal.

Lastly is my new destination for the month – Adelaide! This will mean I’ll have ticked off all of the Emirates destinations in Australia. As it will be my first time there, any tips or beautiful places to see are much appreciated!

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! 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! 🙂

Wat Pho & The Grand Palace, Bangkok


I’ve been to Bangkok almost 10 times since I started flying, yet somehow I’ve just never gotten round to visiting any of the temples there! Whilst I’ve visited the incredible Chatuchak Weekend Market (which is over 35 acres in size) and tried my hand at cooking some delicious Thai dishes, I decided it was probably about time I go and see what Thailand is really all about.

Since we landed early evening, a group of us headed to dinner at a lovely little restaurant just a few minutes walk from the hotel – every crew knows it and inside was another group of crew who were on their first leg of the 9-day Bangkok – Sydney – Christchurch trip. After a delicious (but very spicy!) dinner accompanied by a fresh coconut and finished with mango sticky rice of course, it was time to call it a night.

A couple of the girls from economy planned to head to the temples in the morning, so I asked if I could join. We met the next morning armed with a map and some Thai Baht, ready to explore.

A quick tuk tuk ride later we were at the Chao Phraya river, from where we would sail on down towards Wat Pho, also known as the Temple of The Reclining Buddha.

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After negotiating with the man selling the boat tickets (and I’m certain we were ripped off, but no amount of bargaining would get him to lower the price!) we had our own little boat to take us up the river.

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