2 posts tagged “dubai”
We're in Dubai en route to the US from India. Terminal 3 - the dedicated Emirates terminal - is impressive. They seem to have borrowed some concepts from Changi - like gardens. Dubai was sizzling at 41C (well over 100F). Driving with A/C turned to high and flitting between air conditioned malls/hotels was the main 'touristy' activity before sunset.
After Sunset, the beach by Burj Al Arab gets pleasant and is a popular haunt for those looking for a bit of respite. The nearby Jumeirah Madinat is an interesting shopping/dining hangout and offers interesting views of the Burj.
The two photos to the left are views of the Burj from the beach. The third one is from a coffee shop at the Jumeriah Madinat.
Dubai has largely two parts on either side of the creek - "Bar Dubai" and "Deira". There are tunnels and bridges across the creek but the old ferry or "Abra" crossings are popular and cheap. Old Dubai can be seen along the creek.
The "Abra" (see center picture) is the common man's transport. You get to rub shoulders with the laborers predominantly from South Asia (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh) and Philipines. The Dubai government has also started air conditioned abras which didn't seem to have many takers. The Dubai metro looks like it is close to completion.
My hosts in dubai seemed to think that there is a significant element of exaggeration in all the 'horror' stories of Dubai that are making it to the western press. Sure - an economy that relies so heavily on trade, real estate and finance has taken a serious knock. But not every other expat is living in a parking lot. The Indian taxi driver (from the state of Kerala like so many others) seemed quite happy with his line of business
DXB is the airport code for Dubai airport. I just got off the non-stop Emirates flight from JFK to Dubai - on the brand new Airbus 380 - en route to India. This post is entering blogsphere courtesy of the Dubai airport wi-fi. I am sitting at a Starbucks sipping a caramel latte (with skimmed milk of course). Terminal 3 (the dedicated Emirates terminal) is nice, big and spacious. Also, I guess this is not the peak hour so it's quite comfortable with plenty of seating. In case you forget this is not a western airport,the call to prayer will remind you (one went off about 30 minutes back).
I was looking forward to the flight on the 380 - even though I hold the cheapest economy class ticket and the major improvements on the 380 are for business and, especially, first. The check in at JFK was uneventful. Lots of fellow Indians in the line - not surprising given Emirates' extensive network in India. A gentleman behind me, traveling with family and at least 6 big bags was painstakingly filling out the cabin baggage tags, complete with address and phone, and affixing it to his check in bags! The philosphy sometimes seems to be: If there is a line, try to get in front. If there is a form, fill first and ask questions later.
The Emirates reservation desk and the guys manning the gate told me that a one sector upgrade (i.e. JFK to Dubai) would cost about USD 2800. That's less than the published fare but still a heck of a lot of money when traveling on your own account. But there was at least one gentleman who exercised that option. For a 12 hour flight that works out to more than $200 / hr! At the gate, I got my Continental FF number added instead of skywards since I didn't see too much point in accumulating Emirates skywards points.
It was a full flight - in all classes. I had carefully picked seat 81A after consulting seatguru.com. This was a seat just behind th exit row - so didn't have a seat in front of it. Not a bulkhead seat but no seat in front - which is nice to have in economy. No sooner was I seated than a harried looking steward came to me "Would I consider exchanging this seat with a pregnant lady who felt the need for more space?" He added that 4 people had already refused and it would very nice if I could accommodate. Hmmm...ok chivalry took over and I gave it up on the condition that I would get an aisle seat. So I was back in 79H - a standard aisle seat. Economy on the 380 is a little better than on other aircraft like the 777 or 747. Seat pitch is a little better and consequently the recline is also a little more. That helps.
We pushed back a little after 11pm and were airborne by 11.40 or so. A little after midnight, the meal service started. The cabin crew were mostly attentive and kept careful track of the special meal requirements - especially since they had also facilitated many seat swaps like mine. I was close to the galley and the more senior steward was guiding the others on how to stack the food trays so they could retrieve special meals quickly. They went through the checklist methodically "73 Charlie is Asian Veg, 74 Alpha is a child meal, 78 Edgar is hindu..."
My Asian veg dinner was very good but spirits came later - which is odd. So I was done with the meal when the beverage service came in. The red wine would have surely gone well with food rather than after. I expected a few water and juice patrols in between on such a long flight, but that didn't happen. I was close to the galley and in an aisle seat, so it didn't matter to me that much.
The entertainment system "ICE" is excellent. Wonderful selection of movies and a big, wide screen. My remote wouldn't come off its holder, but that was OK since I didn't play games. I caught Quantum of Solace and Valkyerie.An amenity kit of sorts is handed out in economy - eye shades, socks, toothbrush/paste. A menu was handed out also. There were two hot towel services which is good (and towels were hot!).
Breakfast came about 2.5 hours before landing. Was also good though the steward didn't honor my request for the regular b/f (scrambled eggs) and more or less insisted that I should stick to asian veg as that is what I had requested. That's OK I guess especially on a full flight. Breakfast was good also,
We landed a few minutes early. Smooth landing and no delays getting the gate or disembarking. All in all, a pleasant flight. My debut on the 380 didn't disappoint.
