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Airliners- aviation forum, trip reports and pix
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Captain's Blog - the routine of a California based 767
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collection of the old and new
Robert Scott lives
and works in Dubai; born in England I have since lived in Canada, Hong
Kong, Singapore and Bangkok.
I am very
happily married to Tai.
If you want to know
more you only need to ask!
ask.
8 February 2010
Through friends of friends we had a visit yesterday from a
Finnish journalist and photographer - working on a magazine feature on
post financial crisis Dubai ! They had seem some of my pics and comments
on the apartment and Dubai properties and I think enjoyed the view!
And they must be the only thing that is "Finnish - ed" in
Dubai !!
Anyway they stayed for an hour - took a few pictures and we
had a good chat - i tried (really, really tried) to be balanced !
****************************
Three nights together in the new apartment and I have
already spent my first night sleeping on the sofa. That did not take long.
7 February 2010
How about this wonderful note on the Etisalat price list -
"Installation: Installation of the service is within seven
working days, depending on the waiters."
*****************************
By popular request an update on Executive Towers.
Well I have painted walls in the living room and main bedroom and put a
bit of colour in the place.
And made far less mess in the process than the contractors.
The floor tile grouting is cleaned easily using spare hotel toothbrushes -
just don't ask Tai to get any for you. Because she may give you
toothpaste instead. It remains unclear to me how to use tubes of toothpaste to clean
the floor tiles.
The bathrooms were all designed by very small people. A dwarf's bathroom.
Which makes little sense in a 1,550 square foot apartment.
The bath is so small that it does comply with Dubai's rules on conservative
behavior. Because there is no way in the world that you could get two
people into the bath or shower.
The built in wardrobes in the spare bedroom have been finished (again) - but they
have taken tiles off the skirting board and plaster off the surrounding
walls.....more work for the working men to do - if anyone remembers old
Flanders and Swann songs.
Still no working cooker....though update from later on Sunday is that
this has now been fixed after some gentle persuasion.
*************************
The Afghani kebab takeaway meal from Friday night kept us going to 36
hours.....
*******************************
I did get out yesterday to play some golf at Al Hamra - it was seriously
cold there - and the thunder and lightening over the last few 7 holes was
alarming!
Hit some lovely iron shots yesterday - and the 5 wood was working well -
even the putter behaved. Was not driving as well as I like to - and not
consistent. But close......and after so much rain the bunkers were almost
unplayable....
*********************************
Tai was back on 5th from MEL and SIN. But had to sleep at Millennium
during the day while we wait for curtains to be dleivered.
*************************
Meanwhile in football fantasy land John
Terry has signed up to star in a new TV show. It's called Other
Footballers' Wives.
4 February 2010
The one advantage of moving and unpacking while Tai
is away - I get first go at all the storage space - for a big two bedroom
apartment there is a woeful lack of storage space and the built in
cupboard units were obviously designed by a man who has only one suit and
one pair of shoes....and must have been designed by a man - a woman would
have known better.
*************************
This afternoon this guy walks in with a jacket that says Dubai Security -
just walks into the apartment - who are you I asked - I am security - he
is clearly checking on my friendly labouring team - so I had a go at him -
telling him he had no right to simply walk in to a private apartment...and
that next time I expect the courtesy of a font door bell and he waits til
I invite him in.
*************************** 9.30pm - I have been going flat out since 7.30am - I
need a break. As long as someone does not come back and say why didn't you
do this - or why did you put that there or I though you were going to do
it this way?
My humble view - after only one day it really does not look
bad at all. If only I had internet and tv I could put my feet up and have
a nice rest and a glass of wine.
********************************
Two days already without internet access - only another three weeks or
more to go.
Last night I had to go to bed listening to the Fillipino
rythm on Dubai One radio - 103.8. Not much rythm - so many sad sounding
songs...it was suitable music for me!
I will get online - but that will mean hiking to Millennium
Tower or to a wired coffee shop.
Someone has to explain to me why a building that is two
years late has not already been wired by Du.
These were apartments that were supposed to "come
equipped with modern amenities, high-tech facilities" according to the
Dubai (take your money and run) Properties.
There is only one elevator operating in the building. Which
is a real problem for removal and delivery people. But it is leading to
some fun conversations with other owners and tenants in the elevator. No
one has a good word to say about the building or DP.
Anyway someone must want an update on my move - though
judging by the number of phone calls and SMS I have had (precisely none)
most people dont give a flying fig !
The movers did the best they could in the circumstances -
given dodgy elevators. I have no idea what they did with the laundry
basket - though I did find the dirty laundry!
But when they finished at 6.30pm yesterday I was left
unpacking what it had taken 4 guys to pack!
The cooker and washing machine were both delivered - one
Italian and one Korean. It was the Japanese who screwed up. A call from
Hitachi said they would deliver between 4.30pm and 5pm. She called 15
minutes later to say they would deliver the next day instead. I gave her
an earful. She said I will call you back and never did - and three calls
to there office went unanswered.
So it came today instead. After I had thrown out a
collection of rotten fruit and veg. Useless.
And I already have a spectacular orange wall in the living
room. Two coats of paint.
The contractors are proving to be highly entrepreneurial.
They seem to have a period of overtime that starts at 5pm precisely.
My favorite curtain contractor was in this morning and will
deliver new curtains on Monday. Expensive but I think he does a good job.
But - the contactors are still here rebuilding the spare
bedroom. The closets have all been taken out and rebuilt. They were crap.
But they should have been finished before the move and are still working
away.
And they are not going to finish tonight - too busy earning
their overtime doing things that they get paid for ! As tomorrow in Friday
I guess it will be Saturday before the second bedroom can be used....
And the cooker has no switch yet. So I cannot cook.
And they are supposed to clean and polish all the door
frames and doors. One day!
My cleaners also came in today. They cleaned all the
surfaces and scrubbed the floors and bathrooms and cupboards etc. Good
job. But there will be more for them to do on Saturday.
Still it actually does feel like it could be home for a
while.
But for the moment - not much privacy - the contractors
come and go when they want....lunch breaks, tea breaks, and a burst of
activity when it is time for overtime!
And who put the toilet roll holder the far side of the
bidet rather than next to the toilet - you need extra long arms and the
flexibility of a contortionist to get anywhere near to it.
3 February 2010
Concerned at his declining popularity President Obama has entered the
second year of his term with a presidential makeover:
2 February 2010
This will be my last night in Falcon Tower. I was meant to be here for a
year - and have been here for 33 months.
It is a nice, well finished apartment. But the building still has no road
access and there is a permanently leaking sewage pipe at the back of the
car park.
The area has been transformed with new buildings all around.
The movers will be here in the morning - the new apartment is not really
ready to move into. The fitted wardrobes in the spare room have all been
gutted to be re-installed. And hopefully they will make a better job
second time around.
There will be no internet or tv access until at least the end of the
month. Bizarre really. The building is two years late. So Du - the sole
telecom provider should have got the fibre optic network installed.
Guess I will be doing a lot of reading. And start listening to the radio
again.
Will be able to use the wireless access at Millennium. But dont seem to
spend much time there now.
**************************
Meanwhile there is hope for the over 50s. Emma Soames, the editor-at-large
of Saga magazine, insists that 50 is the new 34.
31 January 2010
Tai has gone for the week - to SIN and MEL. We really do not seem to have
much time together.
**************************
And can someone please define for me the difference between reminding
someone and nagging somone......
***************************
We did see "Up in the Air" last night. Interesting; very topical. But for
a smart guy Bingham must have known that his girl had a family and that
Bingham was just for fun....it is the weakest part of the whole plot.
30 January 2010
A final note on Blair's performance at the Chilcott enquiry - from Simon
Jenkins in the Guardian -
"Chilcot did finally ask Blair if he had any regrets. It was an
invitation to humility. Blair blew it, spoiling a near faultless
performance. No, he had no regrets, not for toppling a vicious dictator
and not for bringing a better life to the Iraqi people. He would do it
again, and even let slip the word Iran.
For an audience which he knew included bereaved families it was too
much. The room lost its self-control in boos and tears. The ghost face
returned, and it stormed grim-faced from the room chased by bodyguards."
29 January 2010
Old Jokes Home:
I went to a casino last night and was stood next
to a guy playing Blackjack who kept having win
after win after win. I couldn't believe his luck,
then saw he was stood on what looked like
a bit of bread.
I asked him, "Mate, what's that under your shoe?"
He said. "Shhh! I'm on a roll."
28 January 2010
The constant debate in the Thai media of a potential coup
makes for depressing reading - the old adage of no smoke without fire
seems appropriate - something is going on but what ?
The Nation's take on this is simple: Why, by who, against
who:
"If you want an ulitmate "yes" or "no" to the question whether a coup can
happen, here's my take: So many questions are still up in the air. By
whom? Against whom? On what grounds? To help Thaksin? To pre-empt possible
return of his assets? To destroy the reds? To destroy the yellows? To
destroy them both and risk the birth of a united front against the
military?"
The Bangkok Post sees the coup as a coup against the opposition (Thaksin)
rather then the Abhisit government that the army installed to deal with
Thaksin!
The paper optimistically opines the "bottom line is that the military, the
Bangkok elite and intellectuals must learn to respect the will of the
people. Power must be shared. They must trust the people's judgement and
learn to live with the result of what the majority of the people want."
Dreamers !
***************************
Riddle time: she flies; she shops; she sleeps. Who?
27 January 2010
Why does David Miliband sound so like Hugh Grant?
*************************
Its an I-Pad. It may also be known as the iSolate - for reading alone in
cafes & avoiding human eye-contact.
It appears to be a large sized I-Phone - so works well for
people with very large pockets or bad eyesight.
The stats:
- 0.5 inches thick
- weighs 1.5 pounds (0.7kilos)
- 9.7 inch multitouch display
- 1GHz Apple A4 chip (built in house)
- between 16GB and 64GB of flash memory
**************************
Rumours of another coup have been spreading like wildfire after 22
armoured vehicles rolled on to the streets of Bangkok on Monday night.
This is the Bangkok Post's history of coups:
26 January 2010
Crystal Palace football club heads into administration. There will be
others that follow. Maybe including Watford.
*************************
Funny para in a Dubai article in the Wall Street Jounal:
"Ahmed Al Sheikh, the head of a new media affairs unit set up earlier this
month to coordinate the emirate's communication's strategy with the press,
was unreachable for comment and didn't reply to phone messages."
He is only the head of the media affairs unit. In the middle of a
financial melt-down in Dubai I think he might want to talk to the WSJ. He
can ignore the Sun if he likes - but not the heavyweight press.
24 January 2010
We went to Executive Towers to day to see if there was any
progress on our apartment. Sadly the answer is none. In 16 days they have
done no work since the handover.
It is a continuing charade of broken promises. Pathetic.
*********************** Tai has me watching episodes of True Blood every night. On DVD. Which is
good because at least 10 minutes of every show would be censored out on
Dubai TV !
************************
There are few happier occasions that reuniting a sock from the drier with
one that has been in the drawer for a week waiting hopefully for its
partner to return! An unmatched sock is a sad sight.
*************************
So the Thai courts are prosecuting Thaksin and his family for the gains
that they made from holding shares in family businesses while Thaksin was
Thailand's PM.
It is just worth
a note that in the last 6 months, Charoen Foods PCL stock has gone from 5.25
to 11.8. Current PM Abhisit's father is a Director of CPF.
In addition
another minister is the former son-in-law of CP's major owner and according
to one Dem MP, CP made an 80 million Baht donation to the Democrats; so
should anyone be investigating whether there is policy corruption?
fr
22 January 2010
These guys are worth a listen and probably great fun live -
The Heavy
************************** There are so many great American speeches: 'Four score and
seven years ago,' 'Ask not what your country can do for you,' 'I have a
dream,' and now from Scott Brown the republican elected senator for
Massachusetts - 'My daughters are both available.'
It was the weirdest of acceptance speeches.
Mamma Mia on TV for the hundredth time. Chick flick. But just caught the
end - and the credits at the end are seriously funny. Pierce Brosnan in
the 70s Abba outfit singing Waterloo. A classic.
21January 2010
Outbound on EK 373 from Bangkok to Dubai - a half full A380. It really is
a nice airplane to fly on - quiet, spacious, no silly boxes under the seat
in front of you.
It has been a rather strange few days in BKK. A bit purposeless. But it is
always interesting to wander Bangkok's streets - though around lower
Sukhumvit they appear to have become rather lawless. Every street and
sidewalk is now littered all day with carts selling everything. And this
goes on all day - with a change of shift later in the evening from food
stands to streetside bars.
Tai meanwhile is in Mauritius - and having a beach BBQ.
20 January 2010
Had a very enjoyable dinner with Dennis and Edward last night - so good to
catch up and talk and talk !! MiniBar at Citardines soi 23 has a nice
patio that you can sit in for dinner or drinks - or both. And they serve a
very nice chardonnay by the glass.
19 January 2010
Sign of the times _ Gatwick airport has a "Passenger shoe repatriation
area."
Meant to write more - but went for a 2 hour massage instead. Sorry.
************************
Once upon a time - in fact only about 10 years ago, Hangzhou was a nice
provincial Chinese town famous for its lake. Now it is a busy city, home
of Alibaba among other new hi-tech businesses and this year will get three
flights a day from Amsterdam on KLM.
Other airlines need to think about expanding beyond the big three of
Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou.
************************
So Orbit and Showtime - the UAE based TV company is to be renamed OSN - it
will be launched next month with new channels and high definition
offerings.
The network carries some 75 channels - with nothing (except some if its
sport) to watch.
18 January 2010
Emirates is developing its A380 plans for 2010 - now take thes
with a pinch of salt. Plans can change - and so can delivery dates - but
there is an interesting focus on China.
The following routes are currently planned to be served by
Airbus A380-800, replacing 777-300ER:
eff 01JUL10 Dubai – London Heathrow EK003/004 (Previously planned Daily
A380 in W09 but postponed)
eff 01AUG10 Dubai – Beijing EK306/307
eff 01SEP10 Dubai – Manchester EK017/018, First Class offered
eff 31OCT10 Dubai – New York JFK EK201/202, this marks the return of A380
service to JFK
eff 01JAN11 Dubai – Shanghai EK302/303
***********************
I think it is the 18th ?
***********************
Nice to be back in BKK in January - the weather is fabulous. Would be
happier if Tai had some time off and could be here as well. A holiday
would be good for us.
15 January 2010
I am on my way to Hong Kong and then onto Bangkok. The flights are so full
to BKK that it is easier on standby to go through Hong Kong and onto
Bangkok tomorrow.
There is a huge Russian guy in the seat in front of me. He cannot have
washed for weeks. Every time he moves the smell floods back down the
airplane. It is not good.
And the guy sitting to my left - fortunately there is an empty seat
between us must be a heavy smoker. The joys of travel.
****************************
Awful pictures on TV from Haiti; and CNN has provided some good reporting
from there - helped by the short distance from the USA. But it must be
hard to anchor the news programmes without getting emotional about some of
the scenes. The trouble with Haiti is that it is such a poor nation in the
first place.
The airport is so small and the damage so widespread that the relief
agencies cannot get planes and equipment into the airport. The solution
will be to transport through the Dominican Republic which share the island
of Hispaniola with Haiti and appears shaken but unaffected by the quake.
14 January 2010
This is a bit obscene - A man named Said Abdul Ghafour
Khouri has agreed to pay AED 52.2 Million (US $14.3 Million) for Abu Dhabi
license plate labeled "1" at an auction at the 7-star Emirates Palace
Hotel here, making it the world's most expensive license plate .
Would be nice if that money was quickly diverted to
Haiti...
******************************
More trouble on an EK flight - this one on Monday on the flight
from Glasgow in the UK to Dubai.
Terrified passengers said that the cabin was filled with screams during a
bust up between passengers and that the flight crew battled to restore
order.
A passenger told The Sun newspaper in the UK that it started two hours
before the plane landed.
“One man attacked another. One elderly woman nearby was so frightened she
burst into tears,” a passenger was quoted as saying.
An Emirates spokesperson confirmed there had been an incident involving
two passengers on flight EK0028 before arrival on Monday.
13 January 2010
Golf today at Al-Hamra. My game is slowly coming back and I
played ok today - especially over the front nine holes. My short game is
still poor. But it was a lovely sunny 25C day; a little breeze and a deep
blue, cloudless sky. Very nice.
***************************
If ever a country needs help and sympathy - Hiati is it. What have those
people done to deserve this ? Terrible earthquake - which may have killed
hundreds of thousands.
One thing the world does well is disaster response. To
their credit the Americans are always there. They were for the Tsunami.
They are in Haiti. So are the Brits and Canadians.
You have to admire the Search and Rescue teams from around
the world which head to these disaster zones - real heroes !
*****************************
SkyNews says that the gritting trucks have been out in
Birmingham England for 28 nights in a row! I guess that may be some sort
of record.
*****************************
Problems in the UK with more snow. Gatwick seems the worst affected
airport. The overnight Emirates flight to Gatwick diverted to Heathrow and
the morning flight EK15 diverted to Manchester due bad weather at LGW. The
flight terminated in Manchester and will return back to Dubai as a ferry
flight - with no passengers. All passengers from EK16 will be transfered
by road to London Heathrow to fly on EK30/13Jan LHR-DXB.
That's an example of the sort of chaos that the weather causes the
airlines. And extra cost.
12 January 2010
If you had to choose:
Or:
11 January 2010
EK cabin crew rant - brilliant! I get this every month when
the roster comes out - although in Thai !
**********************************
Chang Noi in the Nation (Bangkok) today:
"Will there really be a general election? Why would the military brass
allow another election when they will then want to overthrow the outcome,
exactly as they have done on the last two occasions - first by a coup, and
the second time by a parliamentary manoeuvre? A third demolition might be
technically more difficult, and politically more risky. A safer route
might be simply not to allow a vote to take place. This will take some
effort in coming up with the pretext, but several scenarios can be
imagined."
10 January 2010
Funny!
***************************************
Great film review quote -
"Avatar is a phenomenon you
can't ignore, monumentally imposing and done with extraordinary expertise
– but the same could be said of the Dubai skyline, and I'm not sure that
represents any future worth investing in."
8 January 2010
Very nice indeed - the 787 in flight: from Boeing:
********************************************
This is the sort of story that Dubai tourism does not need. The story
came out in today's Sun newspaper but has been picked up and confirmed by
all the serious UK press as well.
**************************
Sydney Morning Herald on Tiger Woods - "he was helped in that by a golfing
establishment that colluded in ensuring news of his
girl-in-every-clubhouse habit did not get wider circulation. The game's
journalists, entrepreneurs and administrators alike shared a mutual
interest in maintaining golf's image of decency and honour, one that
urgently required its leading practitioner not to be revealed as a serial
philanderer."
5 January 2010
The visitors gallery will open today at the Burj Khalifa - but not much
else - the Armani Hotel Dubai announced today that
it will open its doors to guests on March 18.
***************************
Given the renaming of the tower isn't it just a little strange that
Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed himself wasn’t there.
"After taking the brief ride to the 124th floor in one of the smoothest
elevators I’ve ever travelled in, visitors are met with a bird’s eye view
of the sprawling city - patches of desert, skyscrapers that appear tiny
from such a height, unfinished buildings, the city’s Sheik Zayed road and
interchanges - and perhaps the most impressive view of all - the Burj’s
own shadow stretching out to the sea. “It’s like a huge sundial,” I heard
one reporter say.
Even though you’re almost 2600 feet in the air, it surprisingly doesn’t
feel that high. Despite my own fear of heights, I felt more grounded than
I have done on other vertical tourist attractions such as the Eiffel Tower
or the Empire State Building. Perhaps the dirty windows helped. I was told
that they had been cleaned just days before but that given their height
they are prone to attracting dirt. I was also told that it takes six
months to clean the towers windows from top to bottom so I couldn’t
complain too much.
Inside the skydeck, there isn’t much to see. There is the obligatory
souvenir shop and some trick viewing binoculars which allow you to see the
view by day or by night, or in a live shot, but little else. Some
information on what you can actually see from the viewing platform may be
welcomed by the untrained eye, but like most things in Dubai, I put the
lack of information down to the fact that the building is being opened
when it’s not 100% complete."
4 January 2010
Must remember - BK is Burj Khalifa and not Burger King !
That was a last change - the building has been known as Burj Dubai for six
years ! But I guess Abu Dhabi's support does come with a price.
*******************************
Memories:
Here's the pitch on the way, a swing and a belt! Left field! Way back!
Blue Jays win it! The Blue Jays are World Series champions as Joe
Carter hits a three-run home run in the ninth inning and the Blue Jays
have repeated as World Series Champions! Touch 'em all, Joe, you'll
never hit a bigger home run in your life!
—Blue Jays radio announcer
Tom
Cheek on the same moment as McDonough above.
*****************************
Cape Town looks beautiful on TV - stunning blue sky over Table Mountain
and Newlands.
******************************
Today is the big opening day of the Burj Dubai. As always Dubai is going
over the top with its celebrations!
Some interesting graphic/art pictures of Dubai and its
major buildings
can be found here.
3 January 2010
It is almost 2am - and the folks preparing for tomorrow
night's Burj opening party are clearly determined to impress the
neighbours. So they are practising. The water fountain is going full blast
- it sounds like cannon being shot !
*****************************
Alex left yesterday - and as he left for HKG Tai came back
from Beijing for 24 hours before heading off to Moscow.
******************************
Tiger watch has been quiet - but this is fun: the National Enquirer
claimed a further "scoop" with the revelation that the FBI and IRS are
considering launching an investigation into his finances. Agents wonder if
the golfer's company or charitable foundation illegally used funds to pay
for his girlfriends to travel around the world with him.
******************************
Quick update on Cadbury:
Kraft Foods is preparing to sweeten its hostile 10 billion
pound ($15.9 billion) takeover bid for British confectionery maker
Cadbury, reported the Sunday Times.
Irene Rosenfeld, chairwoman and chief executive of Kraft, will raise her
offer in the next two weeks in a final attempt to persuade Dairy
Milk-maker Cadbury to succumb to a bid, the newspaper said in an unsourced
report, though it did not say what the bid would be raised to.
No-one at Cadbury could immediately be reached for comment.
The maker of Dairylea and Oreo cookies' cash-and-share offer currently
values Cadbury at 736 pence a share, 8 percent below its closing price of
797-1/2 pence on December 31.
There will be a price where enough of the shareholders will
take the money and Cadbury will no longer be a British company.
Strange - 2 British companies that have dominated my life -
Cadbury - my Dad's company and Reuters (where I had 16 years) - will both
be foreign owned.
1 January 2010
Alex's last day in Dubai - and a quiet day after a late new
year's eve.
We went out to the mall of the emirates for dinner - and
who should walk into the Butcher's Shop and Grill - Thaksin Shinawatra and
entourage! As we left he was gracious when we interrupted their dinner -
shook hands and had his picture taken with Alex!
***************************
Think I should try and write up the last year - maybe even the decade -
lots of thoughts - but not really crystallized yet.
***************************
Alex and I had new year's eve turkey with friends in Millennium. It was
one of those nice relaxed sociable evenings....though maybe I had one
glass of wine too many !