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

Mekong Delta, Vietnam

First of all I’d like to apologise for how quiet it’s been over here on The Dubai Diaries for the past few weeks – I’ve just finished sitting my yearly exams so I was out of action studying for a while!

After my 2 trips to Hanoi it was time to explore another part of Vietnam – Ho Chi Minh City, also known by the locals as Saigon.

We arrived after a fairly quiet night flight and although this time the layover was only 24 hours, I was still eager to fit in as much as possible. There’s a huge street food market around a 10 minute drive away, so a few of us jumped in a taxi to sample some local food for dinner, which was delicious. I’m converted to Vietnamese food after a month of flights there!

The next morning we were up bright and early to head to the Mekong Delta.

It was around a 2 hour drive, and we had a quick stop at a rest stop along the way – similar to the stop we’d had in Hanoi on the way to Trang An, very touristy! At least this one had some pretty gardens 😉

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December Roster

I can’t believe we’re already on to the last roster of 2017! Where has this year gone?!

Although I actually only got one flight that I bid for in December, I’m not too disappointed with my roster. I managed to get on the swap page and get a London instead of Perth to do my Christmas shopping which is perfect!

I’m finishing up November with my trip to Taipei, and then I’ll be heading to:

  • PER – Perth, Australia – swapped for: LGW – London Gatwick, UK
  • SEP – Safety and Emergency Procedures, our yearly exams!
  • JFK – New York, USA
  • AMM – Amman, Jordan (turnaround)
  • HKG – Hong Kong
  • Leave
  • AMS – Amsterdam, Netherlands

Fortunately I’ll be back to working in first class next month, I have to say I’ve really missed it – business class just isn’t the same! 😀

As I mentioned above I’ve swapped the Perth for a London, so I’ll try and get some Christmas shopping done there, as well as a trip to the supermarket for all of my essentials.

After that I’ve got my yearly exams, which are always great fun…not! 😉

Then it’s off to New York, which is the only flight I got that I bid for, so I’m looking forward to seeing all of the Christmas lights and perhaps even going ice skating in Central Park.

Next up is a quick turnaround to Amman and back, before a flight to Hong Kong, which I didn’t actually bid for but do love. I’ll be getting my fix of dumplings from Din Tai Fung!

I’m lucky enough to have leave for Christmas the second year in a row, and we’ll be heading to Mauritius for some sunshine this year – let’s hope the flights aren’t too full!

My last flight of the year is to Amsterdam – I haven’t been there for quite a while so if anybody has any good wintery suggestions I’ll be more than happy to hear them.

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

November Roster

It’s time for another roster post and next month I’ll be working in business class again! It’s been a year since I upgraded to first class, but due to rostering requirements a number of us will we working in business class, as well as a number of business class crew who will be back in economy.

So of course I had to embrace the opportunity and bid for flights that I wouldn’t normally be able to fly on (due to a lack of first class) and I’m happy to say I got a few of my bids!

Next month I’ll be heading off to:

  • KHI – Karachi, Pakistan (turnaround)
  • JED – Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (turnaround)
  • HAN – Hanoi, Vietnam
  • JED – Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (turnaround)
  • HAN – Hanoi, Vietnam
  • SGN – Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam
  • SGN – Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam
  • TPE – Taipei, Taiwan

As you can see I’ll be spending most of the month in Vietnam! No complaints there as it was my highest bid, and I won’t be able to get the flights once I’m back to working in first class again.

Unfortunately rostering have thrown in a few turnarounds as well, but that always seems to be the case when you get what you bid for!

Lastly I’ll be flying to Taipei, which I’ve visited once before – you can read about that trip here.

Although I’m not particularly excited to be working in business class I’m really happy I’ll be seeing some new places next month! 🙂

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

Alligator Hunting in The Everglades

On a recent layover in Fort Lauderdale, having visited Miami the previous time, I decided to head out to the Everglades in the hope of spotting some alligators.

Once again we had a 50-something hour layover, which gave us plenty of time to do some exploring. After getting a few hours of sunshine in by the pool (which the hotel forgot to mention was empty and under construction …. at least I got a tan!) 6 of us met for dinner.

Our captain had hired a car big enough for everyone to fit in, so we drove down to Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, which wasn’t too far.

We had a recommendation for a restaurant called Aruba Beach Cafe, and it was a great choice! We got a table out on the terrace, and ordered up a seafood feast.

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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! 🙂