non stop from Dubai to JFK
Several bloopers on this post…it WAS an Airbus but NOT a777 which would make it a Boeing.
It WAS Jane Russell, NOT Jane Seymour.
thanks for pointing out all the mistakes guys.
The Airbus 777 was non-stop from Dubai to JFK…and that is, indeed, a boon for people like me, though obviously not for many others. For me, it means that I don’t have to worry about my checkin baggage, Also, the 777 had 2-4-2 configuration so that KM and I could be by ourselves.
I have posted elsewhere that I am a window-and-landmark fiend; I ensured that I got a window again (“Not over the wing or just behind the wing, please???!!!” and that casual phrase, “watching the world go by”, literally came true…we lifted off from Dubai (the previous flight, I had seen Bangalore, and seen Muscat off to my left, and seen the landmark buildings of Dubai all lit up as we landed) and every now and then I would switch off the movie to look out of the window…the dunes of the Arabian desert soon gave way to some snow-capped mountains, and then more and more as we crossed the Andes (note:
Soon we left Europe behind and moved on into Greenland (the Emirates map, unlike Delta and some other airlines’, doesn’t give a political map with countries and cities marked, it is only an unmarked atlas and one has to guess at where the aircraft is passing)…soon the occastional snow-peaks gave way to whole oceans of blinding white as the polar reagions hove into view….amazingly, it went from morning to evening to morning again as we crossed…it was a most incredible experience. Geography and the world atlas came alinve in such a dramatic fashion for me…
Another aspect of the flight is the amazing variety of info, communication (email was possible, though rather too expensive) and entertainment…so the ice below was reflected in the ICE on screen! We had a choice of nearly 500 movies, tv series, audio etc…I thought back to the days when, even in business class, there was only ONE movie and everyone had to watch it!
A 14or 15 hour flight (it got extended as some passenger wanted to cancel at the last minute and locating his/her luggage took an hour!!) is a great opportunity to see a lot of movies…so I watched something I had wanted to for a long time, the Marilyn Monroe classic, “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes”. Imagine MM accepting equal billing with Jane Seymour, something that would NOT happen later…and what a lovely song it is, “Diamonds are a girl’s best friend!” (then the louses/go back to their spouses/ diamonds are a girl’s best friend.”)
Then I watched “Findin Nemo” (I am a great Disney fan) and revisited two great favourites, Cinderella and Alice in Wonderland. Surely, Disney was one of the very first to use animals extensively in his story telling…..I remember watching, as a young girl, the movie, “The Living Desert” and not realizing that I was watching my first, and probably most wonderful, wildlife documentary. I wish they would revive it!
Disney animation…in those days, to produce such special effects is pretty mind-boggling, I must say!
I also watched some episodes of “Everybody Loves Raymond”, laughing heartily at how similar Indian and Italian families are…and also spent a lot of time walking up and down the aisle, mainly fetchin and carrying food as the service on Emirates was nothing much to write home about, with surly staff (to be fair to them, the flight was full), and getting the blood going in my legs every now and then. I was able to comfort one of the yowling babies that are found on every flight…for a while, at least…
I also did watch how the galley crew worked and how things were served. I would think that on such full flights, they should have a few more staff. No wonder they are surly….they are really overworked, I think.
Oh, well, the sun is coming out now, so I think I will take another walk (the morning one was rather dreary and rainy, this one will be to the Zoo I think!) so all of you have a good, productive week….