First time to Amsterdam & my new fav show: Breaking Bad

Flew to Amsterdam a few days ago.... for the first time ever.

I am a bit disappointed by our location :( Our hotel was literally at the airport, like inside the freaking airport. I was not impressed. One thing I don't like about this job, is that we fly to all these amazing cities, yet some of them (majority) sucks because of our location.

Needless to say, I didn't go to the Red light district nor really anywhere else for that matter. Taxi's are so expensive, one of the other girls paid 55euros to get back to the hotel. We only receive 70euros for the layover so do the maths. She told me that she ended up spending above the allowance. Not cool.

Anyways, the weather was really nice, cold and rainy :P I LOVE rain, and I love cold weather ever since I moved to Dubai, that is just the reality. Makes me want to be all snuggled up under a duvet with some nice movies to watch and makes me crave cinnamon and sugar pancakes with some hot chocolate. :) sounds like a perfect day for me.

Maybe next time I will go into the city, when I get an Amsterdam flight again. I did, however buy something very traditional - Caramel filled waffles (see pic below)

Planning on taking it home when I fly to Johannesburg on Friday morning :) another excitement for me! The more I go home, the more I feel the need to go home. As much as this job is fabulous and the money is fantastic, nothing can compare to the time you have with your loved ones in your home country.

I returned on Sunday morning and have had days off ever since, which I adore!! I went to Dubai Mall yesterday to get something for my mom's friend back home and I still get goosebumps when I walk in the mall - it's truly remarkable and fascinating. And it is impossible not to shop when you are there, the shops are out of this world!!!

I recently started watching this series called Breaking Bad (sure you know about it) - man it's sooo addictive, once one episode is finished, you just HAVE to watch the next one... I think I completed 3 seasons in a matter of a week! There are two words that this drug addict guy uses a lot throughout the show, which is just so funny the way he says it: "Yo b#tch" so sometimes when I chat with my fiancé we will joke about it (he also loves the show) - so my point is, if you haven't watched Breaking Bad yet.... DO it, you are missing out b#tch :P

Have to get going, hope you will have a wonderful day oh and if you are not following me on Twitter yet, do it ;) @MaryksB

 

Amazing time in SA & Roster for September - looking FINE!!

I had a wonderful time in South Africa, I was there for about 10 days and believe me when I say, I didn't want it to end. Sadly, reality hits you in the face after some time and I had to head back to Dubai sooner than I thought.

There is always a silver lining: I will be back in about 3 weeks - I have such a cool roster for September: Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, CAPE TOWN & Johannesburg :D couldn't be more stoked about flying to my country twice in one month and also the fact that I only have a total of 4 flights! I was supposed to be on Reserve this month however I skipped it because I have leave :) clever girl and I didn't even realize!!

I started Twitter a year or so ago but never really got into it too much, and I decided to give it another go - can't really see all the fuss about it but I suppose it's a great way to share information and seeing as I visit so many different countries, I thought it would help to share this with all of you.
So I will give it a trial period and see if there's any interest.

My Twitter name is: @MaryksB

Below, some pictures of the "Groenkloof Nature Reserve" in Pretoria, South Africa - it's actually a city but funnily enough, there are some animals you would normally only find in the lowveld.... which makes this a truly remarkable city!

 

 

Beautiful Mauritius!

Went to Mauritius again, which was stunning as always!! Flight(s) went ok, crew weren't really amazing, I don't know what it is lately, but I haven't had nice crew for the last 3 flights now :(

So when I got to Mauritius I was really tired and sleepy after the flight, however it was about 11:30 by the time we arrived at the hotel and I really wanted to get a tan so I decided to brush off my tiredness and I am glad I did... I had a really nice tanning session and had a nice view too! The weather in Mauritius was perfect! It didn't rain once (don't get me wrong, I LOVE rain however it's not ideal for tanning) and it also wasn't too hot!

I am now back in Dubai, enjoying my days off - I have "Can Use reserve" for tomorrow, which might turn into standby or a flight but to be honest, I just couldn't deal with another flight tomorrow and then have Cairo turnaround on Thursday, it's just been really crazy since this month started! All I want to do is chill out, go to the gym and pack for my trip to South Africa (which is on Friday) - I am super stoked, can't wait to see my family and my two beautiful dogs!

My facebook is also back to normal, I gained access and all is fine :)

Below, some pictures of Mauritius, Port Louis:

 

Roster looking perfect after swaps, and.... Facebook was hacked!

I finally managed to swap most of my roster to suit my needs :) I got rid of that long Bangkok/Sydney flights and now have Frankfurt and Mauritius in exchange!! Pretty sweet deal I would say...

I am flying to Frankfurt later today (will be my first time to this destination) - looking forward to it, as I love Europe!

Am also very excited that in just 11 days I will be on leave and back home with my family!!! The days can not go by faster... I just need to do 3 more flights!

On another note, my Facebook account was hacked last night :( I can not access it at all so I locked my account until further notice. It is a mission to regain control of my account but hopefully it will be up and running again within a day or two. It's the first time since I have been on facebook that this happened and it's not the best feeling!!

It's such a shame that someone else's life must be so boring and empty to be sitting around and hack into other people's accounts.... but, I also believe, "what goes around, comes around"


 

Best Home Standby in forever!! Also roster for the new month - worst so far!!!

Where to start..... It's been a while since I last updated my blog, sorry, I know! It has been up and down the last couple of weeks!

I am going to start by the positives ;) 
I was meant to fly to Moscow, Russia on Monday the 22nd of July, so the night before the flight, they removed me from the flight and instead gave me home standby. I was not very pleased to say the least :P I was looking forward to my trip because I haven't been to Russia before.

I called my mom and my fiance to tell them my "devastating" news and they told me to calm down, nothing that I can do to change the situation. Easy for them to talk right :p Anyways and my dad emailed me to say that everything happens for a reason in life and that's what I should focus on. SOOOO.... Long story short, I got pulled out for a flight to Johannesburg instead :D Can you imagine my happiness and joy when I found out? I was over the moon with excitement, it was just what I needed, honestly. Have been feeling so home sick lately.... 

I am back in Dubai at the moment, recovered from my flight back from Johannesburg :P was very tired when I got to the flat, slept for hours and hours. It was lovely to see my family! My fiance finished work a little early on Tuesday, so him, myself and my sister met my dad for lunch which was so nice. I saw my mom for a bit and also got to spend some time with my dogs :) really it was the best feeling! Some other great news: I get to fly to Johannesburg again this coming Sunday :D 

My roster for next month really isn't amazing. It was supposed to be my top bid month, but instead of giving me what I bid for, I got the worst roster since I started flying!! I have Moscow, Bangkok/Sydney trip which consists of 8 days, 3 turnarounds and Bangkok AGAIN at the end of the month. I also have leave in Aug, but trying to swap most of my roster for better flights, and a day off so that I can extend my leave.

We will see what happens in the next few days, will keep you posted ;)

Yesterday New York, tomorrow London!

Hi to all my frequent readers :)

It has been a rollercoaster few days/weeks! I went to NY for a second time, I had a lovely time exploring the city, and yes, I still think it's the best city I have experienced so far... I had a few days off now (this is my 3rd) but believe me, the rest was needed... doing a JFK flight really takes it out of you.

Tomorrow I will be visiting London for the first time!! I am looking forward because the weather in Europe is nice at the moment (although I wouldn't mind some cold, snowy weather) but also because I have always wanted to see London.
I have 2 London trips for the month of July - I will fly there again in about 2 weeks from now.

I am still trying to find that excitement of flying again - before I joined Emirates, I used to love airports and planes, and to see a plane take off and land... however I feel like I have lost that excitement a little. Before, when traveling as a passenger, I would get all excited and dress up, high heels were a must! However, now when traveling as a passenger, all I want to do is be comfy - especially in what I wear... I am traveling to Perth next week Friday to go visit my brother and his wife and my sister... it's my birthday on the 15th so I will get to spend the day with them :) I am looking forward to that, however now I must focus on getting London and Korea flights out of the way. Anyway, so my point is, I was thinking what to wear when I travel to Perth next weekend, and all I can think of is a track suit :P

I have been feeling a bit homesick - what am I talking about - I have been feeling homesick since I got back from South Africa after my leave. I managed to swap my NY flight (which would have been on the 28th of Jul) for a Johannesburg one - so that I can go home for ONE day - believe me that one day will make the world's difference to me!

Below, some pics from when I was in NY recently:

 

 

 

The City that never sleeps - New York, USA

In the heart of New York - Times Square !!!

 

I have never experienced such an incredible city as New York... you know some people say that they believe NY is the best city in the world, and now that I have been there, I can see why! It's buzzing all the time, it's large, it's over-the-top crazy and it's a tourist hub like no other...

 

 

Dubai can forget about ever even trying to compete with NY!!

 

 

Our layover was for 31 hours and our hotel was the Sheraton which is located 2 min from Time Square and 5 min from Central Park.

 

What stood out the most for me about NY was all the yellow cabs - the colour is so much more vibrant in real life and they are all over the place. I can't imagine that it's difficult to catch a taxi in this city :P

 

 

 

The flight to JFK Int. Airport was long that I must tell you - but it was worth it for me. I didn't do any shopping because I am trying to save for my wedding but you don't need to really spend money when you want to do sight-seeing :) Best part is I have NY again at the end of June, looking forward!

 

 

My vacation in SA was wonderful, I really didn't want to go back to Dubai and the worst was when I walked into my flat and it was all quiet etc - I broke down in tears and just had to call my fiancé and hear his voice... It gets tough living in different countries and all I want to do is be back home with my family but I have to finish what I came to do - and that is to see the world and make money (still a dream for most other people) and in the end it will be all worth it :)

 

On another note, Emirates was named the "world's best airline" for 2013!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! so yes, I am truly blessed, working for the best in the world.....