A little bit of moderation in Dubai.

[Matthias Fuchs]

How did you get all their autographs? Were you able to get 'close enough' to them? You did very well to do all that in eight hours.

I got one of the stewards to get the 2 CEOs and then I got the chief pilot on landing in DXB

Would you agree with the Emirates statement that the F lounge allows passengers to board their aircraft directly from lounge?

Almost direct. You have your own private gate boarding card reader and then you catch a lift down to the aero bridge. The lift is the only interruption to a journey straight from the lounge to the aero bridge .

 

[bossreggie]

I know how you feel. Someone mentioned Hugh Sheridan a few pages earlier. I've never heard of him, so to me, LW is more famous!

I agree. As I wrote earlier....... I was WAY more excited to be meeting Markis10 for the first time, and catching up with Lindsay Wilson.

I was right.

 

[markis10]

Once the press conference was over it was time to head over the First lounge, as we had checked in at Brisbane it was simple case of grabbing an express pass of the F desk, which proved to be a wise move, as customs is not quiet at noon on a Sunday. We were soon in a roped off area of the F lounge, which was nice as it got quite crowded a few hours later.

 

[markis10]

A little bit of networking was done:

 

[file51]

A little bit of networking was done:

View attachment 14372

Love the T-Shirt just prior to an A380 flight... priceless

 

[markis10]

Soon it was time to board QF1 "The Party Plane" to DXB.



Dinner

 

[markis10]

PE Menu



Green Leaf Salad with Vinaigrette

Main Courses

Beef Brisket in a roasted tomato and Mushroom sauce, Polenta, Broccolini

Thai Style Green Curry of Barramundi with Fragrant Rice and seasonal Greens

Cheese and Biscuts

Ice Cream

 

[Paddy55]

Love the T-Shirt just prior to an A380 flight... priceless

If QF never invites you to an event again... :mrgreen:

 

[markis10]

The J menu:

View attachment 14379

 

[Pushka]

So tell me Markis10, are you getting (almost) as much of a kick sharing your trip with us as much as we are reading it? I reckon so, and I think all of us here 'get it'. This has been a great and fun thread and glad to see it is really continuing. Thanks for all the gory details today and for as long as it takes you. And we really do want, um, need. ALL the details. None of this 'stays in Dubai' rubbish.

 

[markis10]

Boss and LW had gone off prior to the dinner service to explore, having watched a movie during dinner I thought it best to seek them out, just in case they were lost :mrgreen:

They were not lost, just residing in the J lounge at the front of the plane. We spent a few hours there enjoying the hospitality, at one stage LW and I went for a walk down the back and downstairs, the crowd waiting around the bar area was quite large and asked us if they could go upstairs!

Later we retired to our seats for some rest, I caught up with Storage Wars for the first time, and before we knew it we were two ours out from landing, so it was time for a refreshment, which was very tasty if not photogenic.

 

[markis10]

Landing proved to be uneventful, and we were excited to be arriving at a new airport, something you dont do everyday, especially with a dedicated A380 terminal. We were met by our Arabian Adventures guide on exiting the plane and then proceeded to get the train to the baggage area, we were given express passes but these were not needed as immigration was quick, no forms, just hand over the passport and you get asked which city you flew from, easy!

 

[markis10]

The Arrivals board, showing plenty of Roos for the first time!





I did not see the lady in the above picture before taking it, given taking pictures of local women is not permitted, luckily she moved before I clicked! It certainly adds another complexity to the visit, making sure before each picture you are not capturing something you should not.

About thirty minutes later we were at our hotel, checked in very quickly despite the bus arriving at 1.30AM and in our rooms for some rest. Having not got much sleep on the plane I was looking forward to the bed and adjusting to the 7 hour time difference, both Lindsay and I felt hungry just after arrival into our room as it was Breakfast time at home, I would recommend making the most of the inflight catering to avoid this, even if you dont feel hungry at the time.

 

[markis10]

So tell me Markis10, are you getting (almost) as much of a kick sharing your trip with us as much as we are reading it? I reckon so, and I think all of us here 'get it'. This has been a great and fun thread and glad to see it is really continuing. Thanks for all the gory details today and for as long as it takes you. And we really do want, um, need. ALL the details. None of this 'stays in Dubai' rubbish.

I am enjoying the memories as I look at which photos to post, not everything that happened will be posted or certain pics published, I enjoy seeing famous people being normal and if they continually get photos published doing normal things that celebs/politicians should not apparently be seen doing, I expect this will change. Besides, not everyone looks good in QF F PJs drying the bar of scotch, or pretending to be Arabian after buying some local clothes.

I am not sure if this would be the shoe choice for a walking tour of most average Joes LOL

 

[markis10]

After 4 hours of sleep I got up, showered and ventured down to the exec lounge for breakfast, probably the best executive lounge Breakfast offering I had seen. We all met up for the trip via Bus to the Emirates HQ for our second press conference, which was held in a purpose built lecture hall, and was streamed live by Sky.

 

[markis10]

The ENG setup for Sky on a balcony outside the hall



Credentials that were in our room on arrival:

 

[markis10]

The conference soon concluded and there was time for questions, it was amusing to hear one Journalist probe the CEOs about their commercial arrangements and what portion of revenue went to each airline on any given flight, Tim Clark took the mike and replied "thats us to know and for you to find out" It was a refreshing answer and straight forward.

They were also asked about the TWU pursuing legal action to stop the hook up, Mr Albanese was pleased to get a question and replied that basically Unions have the responsibility to look after their members money, while true I thought it an interesting reply given issues with allegations surrounding other members of the party who are ex Union members. The conference was over, Lindsay congratulated the MP on getting a 100% increase in questions, it was time to head back to the Marriott for lunch.

 

[markis10]

Lunch was in the Thai restaurant at the Marriott and was very nice, as well as some representatives from Tourism Dubai we had the lovely Amanda, a Kiwi expat performing the role of Director of Public Relations and Marketing Communications for all of the Dubai Marriott hotels.

 

[markis10]

A close up of the menu, sorry its not all in focus.





Lunch was very nice, I did not expect Thai to be great in Dubai but I was wrong, the food continued to be of a high standard on the trip. Conversation was overflowing during lunch including telling Amanda what a mattress run was (she had not heard of the term) and we soon found ourselves running late for the next event, our first tour - the Dubai Mall, here we come.

 

[markis10]

A picture of the lunch entrees.