Day 2 in India started even earlier than Day 1. We were up, dressed and out of the hotel by 5.15am to catch the train from Delhi to Agra for a full day’s site seeing with the highlight being the wonderful Taj Mahal.
We arrived at the very busy train station, no problem and boarded the train, it was actually a very civilized train journey as we had joked about whether or not we would be sitting on the roof for the 2 hour journey!
It was also quite an eye-opening journey down to Agra. We passed by many of the slums, similar to those we had seen on Slumdog Millionaire. It was very sad to see that people actually do live in these conditions, on top of rubbish dumps, with no clean water, nothing more than a cardboard box as a house and then the toilets…….well, they were just non existent – people taking Number 1s and 2s in the streets or just next to their cardboard box! Very sad.
When we arrived in Agra, we were met at the station by hundreds of taxi and rickshaw drivers all fighting for our business. They even had police with wooden battens to keep the drivers back until we had passed a certain area. We had planned to hire a rickshaw driver for the day, but a taxi driver ended up winning our business by hassling very well and dropping his prices for us. He offered us air conditioning and he actually spoke pretty good English.
He suggested we head to the Taj 1st as it was perfect time of day, before the heat and before the crowds! We took his advice and off we went. Once we got there and saw it, it was amazing, as it’s something you have seen in photos, movies or in books, but to see it in person was fantastic and beautiful! We took lots of photos (including the standard one of “picking up the Taj”). Then we took a tour around the tomb inside the center of the Taj (which took 21 years to build), it was a very peaceful place and after the tour we actually just laid on the marble flooring and chilled for about an hour!
After the Taj we visited Agra Fort, a few shops (where the driver was on commission – quite annoying)! We then visited the baby Taj (another tomb, which the original Taj was based on), and then back to watch the sunset over the Taj whilst enjoying a beer or two.
At 7pm we headed back to the train station. We were exhausted from a full day of sight seeing, and the stomach was starting to feel a little dodgy, (now for the messy bit)! I hope you’re not eating!
About 30 minutes into the journey I was sweating and had Goosebumps all over and needed to go to the bathroom. HOWEVER, those who haven’t been to India before will not fully appreciate the meaning of ‘Indian bathroom’ (especially on a train)! To put in bluntly……..A Hole in the Floor, where you are supposed to squat and hover whilst pooping. Bearing in mind this was a bumpy moving train, you can imagine that not everyone was quite so accurate and there was poop all over the place (not even to mention the smell)!! Well, anything that I had eaten the last 2 days just bounced and I was instantly sick.
Feeling surprisingly better, I headed back to the seats. Another 30 minutes had passed and ‘that feeling’ arrived again. However, this time I had to go (nr 2). So I braced myself knowing it wasn’t going to be pretty, started to crouch down only to realize the door wouldn’t lock properly, so I’m squatting over this hole in the ground, balancing on one leg, whilst holding the door shut with my other leg – I wont go into too much more detail but wow, I was in a bad place right there and then!! (Sorry of this is Too Much Information)!!! I’m sure you can all picture the image!
After the horrifics of the train, we finally got back to the hotel. By then both of us were affected and we were taking it in turns to run to and from the hotel bathroom (where we had an actual toilet) for the rest of the night. Sunday was a complete right off, we only left the room, to go to an Irish bar, to watch the Manchester Derby (Awesome Match)! But we couldn’t even stomach water or plain fries!
On Monday we were unable to leave the room until we had to check out, and we went straight to the airport and managed to get an early flight back to Dubai!
We didn’t eat anything between Saturday night and Tuesday night, it was a very unpleasant illness and we have no idea what caused it as we were trying so hard to be careful with what we ate! We can 100% say we experienced the true meaning of Delhi Belly.
To sum up our short trip:
The poverty in India is on a massive scale, from the thousands of people homeless and the children begging in Delhi to the Slums on the outskirts of the cities. It made us realize how lucky we are but also how we take things like clean water and a roof over our head for granted! We had chosen India as we wanted to experience the different culture and see the sites, which we can definitely say we saw.
Despite the illness, it was a very enjoyable trip, amazing to see the Taj and tick it off the list.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2291001&id=6402232&l=ffbba30598
Would be great to hear from you all and let us know how you getting on.
Speak soon
Much Love
M & E
xxx
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Friday, 6 November 2009
Sunday, 11 October 2009
India (Part 1)
Blog time again – it’s been rather busy and lots of stuff has been happening, however we will stick to the rule of less than 750 words…..
After the Birthday Iftar at the Beach next to the Burj, we were both back busy at work but still enjoying the earlier finishes from work, due to Ramadan. The weekends came and went very quickly, however we did manage to get to a fancy dress party at one of the lads flats. I was bad taste Hawaiian Beach Surfer Dude and Erin was a Manchester United Player complete with Shinpads! The party had full DJ and sound system, UV lights and strobe lights, a bath literally full of beer cans, far too many people and an endless supply of Jelly Vodka! Great & successful party, rather tipsy & work the next day was quite painful for me! (See some pics at: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2290586&id=6402232&l=5f964a6c32)
Towards the middle of September, The Holy Month of Ramadan was drawing to a close and we had planned a long weekend away to India. When the Muslims celebrate the end of the Holy Month, we get 3 days off work!
Erin worked very hard for about 3 weeks, looking into every bit of detail about India, specifically Delhi & Agra – The Lonely Planet was a very helpful guide which explained about all the various scams that happen on a regular basis where the tourists are targeted! She had also spoke to Ashley, who had visited a few months earlier on her travels and her biggest piece of advice was ‘always carry some toilet paper with you.’ Erin, using all her research and advice had done the packing into two very small suitcases (very impressive for Erin to travel so lightly) and after an early dart from work we were back in the airport lounge bar (yep, you guessed it, Bloody Mary and a Pint of Magners)!
We arrived in Delhi after a nice stress free flight and were taken to our hotel.
1st Impression of Delhi was the insane Driving!!!! No actual lanes whatsoever in the road, some places it was a bumpy track/dirt road with 5 or 6 cars and rickshaws (see pic: http://www.nriinformation.com/images/autorickshaw.jpg) trying to get from 6 “lanes” onto roundabouts. Every single driver used their horns:
To let someone know they were passing,
To let other road users they behind them,
Used their horn instead of an indicator,
To test their horn was still working (after they used it less than a minute ago)
Just because they wanted to.
It was crazy and we experienced this the entire time we were in India. It now explains why some of the driving in Dubai is so bad, i.e. all the Indians previous driving 'experience' in their homeland!
We got an early night once we arrived at the hotel. The next morning we had a personal driver come and pick us up to take us around the sights of Delhi. During this busy day we visited many temples, war memorial monuments, tombs, mosques and forts all with amazing history and some of the most detailed construction that we have ever seen (you can see all in the link to our pics below) We enjoyed a fantastic Indian Curry with all the trimmings (including large Kingfisher Beers) at a traditional restaurant for lunch.
For me the most memorable part of the day was when we swapped the car for a bicycle rickshaw (see: http://www.tropicalisland.de/india/uttar_pradesh/varanasi/images/VNS%20Varanasi%20or%20Benares%20-%20women%20in%20cycle-rickshaw%203008x2000.jpg) and were chauffeured through the crazy traffic (at rush hour) to the largest Mosque in India.
With India being a very religious country and the Muslim and Hindu religions were celebrating annual festivals, it was a fascinating time to visit the mosque. We arrived just before prayer time for the Muslims and were covered up by some rather sexy outfits (again see pic link at bottom)! We walked around the plaza of the mosque, and we were the centre of attention of over 500 people. The attention was different to the vast number of scammers and beggars that we had battled through for the majority of the day. We were actually been idolized with small Indian children just following us and wanting to be by our side and asking for photos of us. It was an amazing experience that will never be forgotten and as I mentioned in the photograph (on facebook) it felt like we were Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, famous.
First set of India Pics: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2290984&id=6402232&l=f0bd86a8c7
Ok, so I managed to ramble on more than I thought just about day 1 and already over 700. Day two Blog will be following soon (and be prepared to hear about Dehli Belly)!!
Lots of Love
Mr & Mrs Foden
xxx
After the Birthday Iftar at the Beach next to the Burj, we were both back busy at work but still enjoying the earlier finishes from work, due to Ramadan. The weekends came and went very quickly, however we did manage to get to a fancy dress party at one of the lads flats. I was bad taste Hawaiian Beach Surfer Dude and Erin was a Manchester United Player complete with Shinpads! The party had full DJ and sound system, UV lights and strobe lights, a bath literally full of beer cans, far too many people and an endless supply of Jelly Vodka! Great & successful party, rather tipsy & work the next day was quite painful for me! (See some pics at: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2290586&id=6402232&l=5f964a6c32)
Towards the middle of September, The Holy Month of Ramadan was drawing to a close and we had planned a long weekend away to India. When the Muslims celebrate the end of the Holy Month, we get 3 days off work!
Erin worked very hard for about 3 weeks, looking into every bit of detail about India, specifically Delhi & Agra – The Lonely Planet was a very helpful guide which explained about all the various scams that happen on a regular basis where the tourists are targeted! She had also spoke to Ashley, who had visited a few months earlier on her travels and her biggest piece of advice was ‘always carry some toilet paper with you.’ Erin, using all her research and advice had done the packing into two very small suitcases (very impressive for Erin to travel so lightly) and after an early dart from work we were back in the airport lounge bar (yep, you guessed it, Bloody Mary and a Pint of Magners)!
We arrived in Delhi after a nice stress free flight and were taken to our hotel.
1st Impression of Delhi was the insane Driving!!!! No actual lanes whatsoever in the road, some places it was a bumpy track/dirt road with 5 or 6 cars and rickshaws (see pic: http://www.nriinformation.com/images/autorickshaw.jpg) trying to get from 6 “lanes” onto roundabouts. Every single driver used their horns:
To let someone know they were passing,
To let other road users they behind them,
Used their horn instead of an indicator,
To test their horn was still working (after they used it less than a minute ago)
Just because they wanted to.
It was crazy and we experienced this the entire time we were in India. It now explains why some of the driving in Dubai is so bad, i.e. all the Indians previous driving 'experience' in their homeland!
We got an early night once we arrived at the hotel. The next morning we had a personal driver come and pick us up to take us around the sights of Delhi. During this busy day we visited many temples, war memorial monuments, tombs, mosques and forts all with amazing history and some of the most detailed construction that we have ever seen (you can see all in the link to our pics below) We enjoyed a fantastic Indian Curry with all the trimmings (including large Kingfisher Beers) at a traditional restaurant for lunch.
For me the most memorable part of the day was when we swapped the car for a bicycle rickshaw (see: http://www.tropicalisland.de/india/uttar_pradesh/varanasi/images/VNS%20Varanasi%20or%20Benares%20-%20women%20in%20cycle-rickshaw%203008x2000.jpg) and were chauffeured through the crazy traffic (at rush hour) to the largest Mosque in India.
With India being a very religious country and the Muslim and Hindu religions were celebrating annual festivals, it was a fascinating time to visit the mosque. We arrived just before prayer time for the Muslims and were covered up by some rather sexy outfits (again see pic link at bottom)! We walked around the plaza of the mosque, and we were the centre of attention of over 500 people. The attention was different to the vast number of scammers and beggars that we had battled through for the majority of the day. We were actually been idolized with small Indian children just following us and wanting to be by our side and asking for photos of us. It was an amazing experience that will never be forgotten and as I mentioned in the photograph (on facebook) it felt like we were Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, famous.
First set of India Pics: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2290984&id=6402232&l=f0bd86a8c7
Ok, so I managed to ramble on more than I thought just about day 1 and already over 700. Day two Blog will be following soon (and be prepared to hear about Dehli Belly)!!
Lots of Love
Mr & Mrs Foden
xxx
Our 1st Ramadan
Hello all,
So after reading some excellent advice from our favourite Blogger (Captain Andy Geoghegan), we are trying to reduce the length of our blogs (shorter, sharper and more often), to keep our followers interested. New rule: No more than 750 words!
_______________________
After the 3 week Amazing time in California - (AKA a 3 week food and drink binge holiday), it was quite ironic that the Muslim world (including Dubai) was about to start the Holy Month of Ramadan. Now before I even thought about moving to Dubai i didnt really know too much about this Religious Festivity, apart from the British Comedian Peter Kay's sketch, calling it Ramadan-a-ding-dong!!
So before it started we did a bit of research and heard some very interesting things, here are the basic things we found out:
· The Muslims fast during daylight hours. This starts after 1st prayer (about 4.30am) and ends at about 6.45pm.
· They break their fast at 6.45pm with what can only be classed as a feast. This is a celebration meal called Iftar.
· During fasting hours, they do not eat, smoke, or drink - not even water (which is quite harsh due to the fact its about 45C outside or 110F).
· The Non-muslim community are not expected to fast during Ramadan - However we are expected to respect the Holy Month. This means no eating, drinking, smoking or chewing gum in public places during daylight.
· Anyone found doing any of the above (even in the privacy of their own car) are frowned upon but could also actually end up paying a fine or ending up in prison!!
· Everyone finishes work earlier than normal (to allow the muslims to sleep whilst they fast). Woo Hoo - Erin finishes at 2pm for a whole month and i'm there till 4!
· When Ramadan finishes they celebrate with a 3 day holiday called Eid. Not sure what it represents but 3 days off is 3 days off and we have actually booked fights to go to India for a short cultural holiday.
· It is seen as a time where all communities come together, celebrate, share family times and generally respect one another.
I was reading an article in the paper about Fasting and this gives a good summary of why they do it:
"Fasting properly during Ramadan is a bit like doing a proper gym workout - you need to feel the discomfort before you achieve any real growth. Most of us go to the gym but do everything possible to avoid becoming uncomfortable. We will talk on the phone, chit chat with a friend or just look at ourselves in th mirror to help pass the time. It is the same with Ramadan and the spiritual muscles that need to feel the discomfort before you truly grow, so don't runaway from the pain by being moody and grumpy towards others, just because you are hungry."
Our experience of Ramadan so far has been enjoyable - We get the early finish and we visited an Iftar Feast on my Birthday on the beach, next to the Burj Al Arab (The 7 star 'sail' hotel) in a Marquee style tent with a capacity for 2000 people, that would easily pass as a five star restaurant setting. The food was great (a brunch style banquet - without the booze), the atmosphere was a celebration and the surroundings were gorgeous.
We plan on doing 2 more Iftar's before the end of the 'Holy Month' - One of these will be next week with Pepsi, next to the Burj Tower and looking over the Burj Lake and Fountains!
So there is a brief insight to why you see 1.5 billion muslims throughout the world fasting during the 9th month of the Islam Calendar. One final thing that interested me, was the fact that they don't know the exact date it will start or end - It all depends on whether or not they can see the moon!
Lots of love Mark & Erin
xxx
P.s - I'm only up to 655 words so i will add the link to our favourite bloggers website, to keep updated about Andy & Karen's trip around the world
http://www.gonefurther.com/
To follow our blog, please visit
http://erinmarkdubai.blogspot.com/
and click on follow.
Miss you all
xxx
(700 words)
So after reading some excellent advice from our favourite Blogger (Captain Andy Geoghegan), we are trying to reduce the length of our blogs (shorter, sharper and more often), to keep our followers interested. New rule: No more than 750 words!
_______________________
After the 3 week Amazing time in California - (AKA a 3 week food and drink binge holiday), it was quite ironic that the Muslim world (including Dubai) was about to start the Holy Month of Ramadan. Now before I even thought about moving to Dubai i didnt really know too much about this Religious Festivity, apart from the British Comedian Peter Kay's sketch, calling it Ramadan-a-ding-dong!!
So before it started we did a bit of research and heard some very interesting things, here are the basic things we found out:
· The Muslims fast during daylight hours. This starts after 1st prayer (about 4.30am) and ends at about 6.45pm.
· They break their fast at 6.45pm with what can only be classed as a feast. This is a celebration meal called Iftar.
· During fasting hours, they do not eat, smoke, or drink - not even water (which is quite harsh due to the fact its about 45C outside or 110F).
· The Non-muslim community are not expected to fast during Ramadan - However we are expected to respect the Holy Month. This means no eating, drinking, smoking or chewing gum in public places during daylight.
· Anyone found doing any of the above (even in the privacy of their own car) are frowned upon but could also actually end up paying a fine or ending up in prison!!
· Everyone finishes work earlier than normal (to allow the muslims to sleep whilst they fast). Woo Hoo - Erin finishes at 2pm for a whole month and i'm there till 4!
· When Ramadan finishes they celebrate with a 3 day holiday called Eid. Not sure what it represents but 3 days off is 3 days off and we have actually booked fights to go to India for a short cultural holiday.
· It is seen as a time where all communities come together, celebrate, share family times and generally respect one another.
I was reading an article in the paper about Fasting and this gives a good summary of why they do it:
"Fasting properly during Ramadan is a bit like doing a proper gym workout - you need to feel the discomfort before you achieve any real growth. Most of us go to the gym but do everything possible to avoid becoming uncomfortable. We will talk on the phone, chit chat with a friend or just look at ourselves in th mirror to help pass the time. It is the same with Ramadan and the spiritual muscles that need to feel the discomfort before you truly grow, so don't runaway from the pain by being moody and grumpy towards others, just because you are hungry."
Our experience of Ramadan so far has been enjoyable - We get the early finish and we visited an Iftar Feast on my Birthday on the beach, next to the Burj Al Arab (The 7 star 'sail' hotel) in a Marquee style tent with a capacity for 2000 people, that would easily pass as a five star restaurant setting. The food was great (a brunch style banquet - without the booze), the atmosphere was a celebration and the surroundings were gorgeous.
We plan on doing 2 more Iftar's before the end of the 'Holy Month' - One of these will be next week with Pepsi, next to the Burj Tower and looking over the Burj Lake and Fountains!
So there is a brief insight to why you see 1.5 billion muslims throughout the world fasting during the 9th month of the Islam Calendar. One final thing that interested me, was the fact that they don't know the exact date it will start or end - It all depends on whether or not they can see the moon!
Lots of love Mark & Erin
xxx
P.s - I'm only up to 655 words so i will add the link to our favourite bloggers website, to keep updated about Andy & Karen's trip around the world
http://www.gonefurther.com/
To follow our blog, please visit
http://erinmarkdubai.blogspot.com/
and click on follow.
Miss you all
xxx
(700 words)
Monday, 31 August 2009
California............We arrive!!!
Hello Family & Friends,
Here is our blog #3 of our fabulous trip to California!
We had lots planned and to do and people to see during our 2 ½ weeks in Cali! A BBQ and then night out in Campbell with some friends was a great way to start the trip! Next, we drove up to Bass Lake with my parents to a lovely log cabinwe rented for the week on the lake. There was a heat wave this week, so the weather was about 100 every day (the same temperatures we have in Dubai just without the 95% humidity)! We relaxed, swam, layed out, drank some ice cold beers and Maragritas, rented a house boat for a day, jet skied, BBQ’d and also made it to Mariposa Grove and Yosemite. Mariposa grove (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariposa_Grove) is a beautiful area located within Yosemite national park with Giant Sequoia trees and lots of hiking trails. We hiked for 5 or 6 miles up to a museum, which ended up being closed by the time we made it up. But it was absolutely beautiful. We drove to Yosemite another day and went into the valley. This was the first time Mark had been and he was in awe! We did some hiking, mark & dad did some bike riding……
Here are some pics of bass lake & yosemite:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2277650&id=6402232&l=34cebafc2f
After a fabulous time up at bass lake for the week, we drove to San Francisco to stay at Amber’s flat. She was able to take some time off work and show us around her stomping ground. We saw all her favorite bars, restaurants, parks, and were really happy to see her place. We also were very touristy and did a Bay Quackers Tour around the city (http://www.bayquackers.com/). It is a car and boat refurbished from WWII, which is an Amphibious landing craft. That evening we met lots of friends at MoMo’s bar next to the giants stadium (http://www.mlb.com/sf/ballpark/index.jsp) for some drinks and then proceeded into the Game to watch Lincicum pitch an amazing game for a Giants win against the Pirates. While in SF we also made it to the newly re-done Californa Academy of Sciences Museum in Golden Gate park (http://www.calacademy.org/) which was really nice. There was an albino alligator, a rainforest with all sorts of creatures, a beautiful aquarium, an Exploratorium star show and lots more. In San Fran, we also had a Saturday night out on the town, a fabulous authentic German meal, and did some shopping.
Here are the pics from our time in SF:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2277651&id=6402232&l=43b8dac11d
After 4 nights in SF, we drove back to Morgan Hill to finish the party planning and spend some more time with the Durica’s! We had a lovely welcome home & Anniversary BBQ party in Morgan Hill. Quite a few family and friends were able to make it and it was so great to see and catch up with everyone.
For our actual anniversary on 2 August, we drove over to seacliff, where my grandparents were staying beach front in their motorhome. We spent the day with them and camped out in the motor home that night. It was defo a memorable first anniversary.
The 2 ½ amazing weeks in California flew by and we were so sad to leave everyone and were not looking forward to coming back to the heat and to reality. We were lucky enough to get a FREE upgrade to business class on the flight back, due to us complaining about the horrible flight on the way to SFO. Business class is the way to go! 16 hours of luxury on a plane!! It was the first time both of us had flown business class, and it was spectacular! Lobster, unlimited champagne, gourmet meals, a lay down chair/bed, a huge tv, etc – we felt like royalty :)
Link of our pictures from anniv party, seacliff & the flight home:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2277654&id=6402232&l=e073f2fcec
Upon arriving back in Dubai, our apartment was all in one piece, the A/C and cars were still running, and we are adjusting back to the heat. Both of us struggled a bit with jet lag and found it hard to get back into the work mode after 3 full weeks off work.
For all of those we saw in Cali it was so fab! And for all of those we missed, we are sorry we couldn’t see you & our door is always open for visitors :)
Hope this finds you all well.
All our Love
Mark & Erin
xxxxx
Here is our blog #3 of our fabulous trip to California!
We had lots planned and to do and people to see during our 2 ½ weeks in Cali! A BBQ and then night out in Campbell with some friends was a great way to start the trip! Next, we drove up to Bass Lake with my parents to a lovely log cabinwe rented for the week on the lake. There was a heat wave this week, so the weather was about 100 every day (the same temperatures we have in Dubai just without the 95% humidity)! We relaxed, swam, layed out, drank some ice cold beers and Maragritas, rented a house boat for a day, jet skied, BBQ’d and also made it to Mariposa Grove and Yosemite. Mariposa grove (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariposa_Grove) is a beautiful area located within Yosemite national park with Giant Sequoia trees and lots of hiking trails. We hiked for 5 or 6 miles up to a museum, which ended up being closed by the time we made it up. But it was absolutely beautiful. We drove to Yosemite another day and went into the valley. This was the first time Mark had been and he was in awe! We did some hiking, mark & dad did some bike riding……
Here are some pics of bass lake & yosemite:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2277650&id=6402232&l=34cebafc2f
After a fabulous time up at bass lake for the week, we drove to San Francisco to stay at Amber’s flat. She was able to take some time off work and show us around her stomping ground. We saw all her favorite bars, restaurants, parks, and were really happy to see her place. We also were very touristy and did a Bay Quackers Tour around the city (http://www.bayquackers.com/). It is a car and boat refurbished from WWII, which is an Amphibious landing craft. That evening we met lots of friends at MoMo’s bar next to the giants stadium (http://www.mlb.com/sf/ballpark/index.jsp) for some drinks and then proceeded into the Game to watch Lincicum pitch an amazing game for a Giants win against the Pirates. While in SF we also made it to the newly re-done Californa Academy of Sciences Museum in Golden Gate park (http://www.calacademy.org/) which was really nice. There was an albino alligator, a rainforest with all sorts of creatures, a beautiful aquarium, an Exploratorium star show and lots more. In San Fran, we also had a Saturday night out on the town, a fabulous authentic German meal, and did some shopping.
Here are the pics from our time in SF:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2277651&id=6402232&l=43b8dac11d
After 4 nights in SF, we drove back to Morgan Hill to finish the party planning and spend some more time with the Durica’s! We had a lovely welcome home & Anniversary BBQ party in Morgan Hill. Quite a few family and friends were able to make it and it was so great to see and catch up with everyone.
For our actual anniversary on 2 August, we drove over to seacliff, where my grandparents were staying beach front in their motorhome. We spent the day with them and camped out in the motor home that night. It was defo a memorable first anniversary.
The 2 ½ amazing weeks in California flew by and we were so sad to leave everyone and were not looking forward to coming back to the heat and to reality. We were lucky enough to get a FREE upgrade to business class on the flight back, due to us complaining about the horrible flight on the way to SFO. Business class is the way to go! 16 hours of luxury on a plane!! It was the first time both of us had flown business class, and it was spectacular! Lobster, unlimited champagne, gourmet meals, a lay down chair/bed, a huge tv, etc – we felt like royalty :)
Link of our pictures from anniv party, seacliff & the flight home:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2277654&id=6402232&l=e073f2fcec
Upon arriving back in Dubai, our apartment was all in one piece, the A/C and cars were still running, and we are adjusting back to the heat. Both of us struggled a bit with jet lag and found it hard to get back into the work mode after 3 full weeks off work.
For all of those we saw in Cali it was so fab! And for all of those we missed, we are sorry we couldn’t see you & our door is always open for visitors :)
Hope this finds you all well.
All our Love
Mark & Erin
xxxxx
A flight we will never forget!!
So its 4.30am July 17th and we wake up to the now not so sweet sound of “Sweet Child O’Mine” (Our alarm clock ring tone)! Everything on our long list was completed the night before, a 14 hour stint at work the day before checked everything off the ‘to do’ list for both of us and we were ready for our first holiday and trip out of Dubai after 8 long hard working months in the Desert.
We got to the airport on time, courtesy of the Dutco Balfour Beatty driver, checked in no problems and found the best place in an airport………….the bar! It was time for the traditional airport Bloody Mary for me and the newly formed tradition of Mimosa (Bucks Fizz) for Erin, perfect drinks to start the holiday and went very well with a big fat hearty full English Breakfast!
Boarding time arrives for our 15 & ½ hour direct flight to San Fran – we have good seats, a fantastic entertainment system, free booze and everything was set.
However……………
After about 2 hours in we notice a guy sat across the aisle to us, he was an older gentleman, late sixties, early seventies, and he had been up and down the plane a few time and then he started to venture through the curtain into Business class, soon to re-appear being put back in his seat by a stewardess. He did this on numerous occasions and we didn’t think too much of it at first. We actually started playing a game to see how long it would take before he was up again and attempting to sneak in and try and fly business class.
After about three more attempts at business class we notice the stewardess’ getting a little bit more vocal and aggressive, apparently as he was walking around the plane he started to touch a few of the crew in what can only be described as inappropriate places. His next little adventure involved him standing in the aisle and dropping his trousers, again, to me and Erin this was rather amusing and seemed pretty harmless.
The man was an Iranian and didn’t speak any English whatsoever, the crew didn’t speak his language and his wife just sat there with a stupid grin on her face, as if she didn’t know what day it was……..This is where it got kinda serious, the next thing we know, there is a huge debate and shouting and he had gone into business class toilets to smoke a cigarette and this was obviously not allowed and then the crew started shouting at him and had to get a few passengers to translate and explain the seriousness of what he had just done.
About 2 hours or so passed, then he was up again, this time the economy toilets was his choice of where he was going to smoke, the problem this time was he ended up putting the ciggy in the bin which started a fire. It was then that they decided he needed to be restrained. It took about five people standing on seats in front of him and behind him to try and tie his arm behind his back with the temporary handcuffs (zip ties) and lock his legs together in seatbelts.
He obviously didn’t appreciate this and was kicking and screaming and shouting and trying to headbutt the crew. They eventually got him in his seat, gave him oxygen and he was getting himself into a frenzy and unable to breathe. He spent the next 3 hours shouting and moaning under the watchful eye of the staff! It was very unrelaxing and there was no chance of any sleep. They let him out once, so that he could go to the toilet and of course he caused trouble, this time he pushed his wife to the ground in the aisle and then once again the 20 minute struggle to restrain him was happening!
We were then told that the police in SF had been informed and that he was to be arrested upon arrival. The remaining 5 hours consisted of him shouting and screaming randomly, and the occasional spitting session at other passengers (until they forced a mask over his mouth)! Erin was feeling very uncomfortable and was scared thinking about what he was going to do next!
Anyway, we landed in SF and were told by the Captain to remain seated, about 5 cops came onto the plain, Handcuffs ready and he was dragged off the plane. As we got off the plane, there was about 25-30 SFPD charging towards our plane (I think they had had a boring day and this seemed like a good bit of action)! He was arrested and I can only imagine US Customs and Immigration sent him straight back on the next plane out of there.
It wasn’t the best way to start our holiday as we didn’t catch any sleep whatsoever and it was a 16 flight that we will never forget and hopefully never experience again. However, we were in California and very excited to start our 3 week vacation with family and friends, just about to leave the airport when……………………………….
We were the chosen lucky ones - US Customs picked us out of the 250 people on the plane and decided they were going to open everyone of our suitcases and rummage through every item that was in there…………….Perfect!!!
Hope this finds you all well and brings a smile to your face
To follow: Part 3 - ‘We finally leave the airport’
Love to you all,
M&E
xxxxx
We got to the airport on time, courtesy of the Dutco Balfour Beatty driver, checked in no problems and found the best place in an airport………….the bar! It was time for the traditional airport Bloody Mary for me and the newly formed tradition of Mimosa (Bucks Fizz) for Erin, perfect drinks to start the holiday and went very well with a big fat hearty full English Breakfast!
Boarding time arrives for our 15 & ½ hour direct flight to San Fran – we have good seats, a fantastic entertainment system, free booze and everything was set.
However……………
After about 2 hours in we notice a guy sat across the aisle to us, he was an older gentleman, late sixties, early seventies, and he had been up and down the plane a few time and then he started to venture through the curtain into Business class, soon to re-appear being put back in his seat by a stewardess. He did this on numerous occasions and we didn’t think too much of it at first. We actually started playing a game to see how long it would take before he was up again and attempting to sneak in and try and fly business class.
After about three more attempts at business class we notice the stewardess’ getting a little bit more vocal and aggressive, apparently as he was walking around the plane he started to touch a few of the crew in what can only be described as inappropriate places. His next little adventure involved him standing in the aisle and dropping his trousers, again, to me and Erin this was rather amusing and seemed pretty harmless.
The man was an Iranian and didn’t speak any English whatsoever, the crew didn’t speak his language and his wife just sat there with a stupid grin on her face, as if she didn’t know what day it was……..This is where it got kinda serious, the next thing we know, there is a huge debate and shouting and he had gone into business class toilets to smoke a cigarette and this was obviously not allowed and then the crew started shouting at him and had to get a few passengers to translate and explain the seriousness of what he had just done.
About 2 hours or so passed, then he was up again, this time the economy toilets was his choice of where he was going to smoke, the problem this time was he ended up putting the ciggy in the bin which started a fire. It was then that they decided he needed to be restrained. It took about five people standing on seats in front of him and behind him to try and tie his arm behind his back with the temporary handcuffs (zip ties) and lock his legs together in seatbelts.
He obviously didn’t appreciate this and was kicking and screaming and shouting and trying to headbutt the crew. They eventually got him in his seat, gave him oxygen and he was getting himself into a frenzy and unable to breathe. He spent the next 3 hours shouting and moaning under the watchful eye of the staff! It was very unrelaxing and there was no chance of any sleep. They let him out once, so that he could go to the toilet and of course he caused trouble, this time he pushed his wife to the ground in the aisle and then once again the 20 minute struggle to restrain him was happening!
We were then told that the police in SF had been informed and that he was to be arrested upon arrival. The remaining 5 hours consisted of him shouting and screaming randomly, and the occasional spitting session at other passengers (until they forced a mask over his mouth)! Erin was feeling very uncomfortable and was scared thinking about what he was going to do next!
Anyway, we landed in SF and were told by the Captain to remain seated, about 5 cops came onto the plain, Handcuffs ready and he was dragged off the plane. As we got off the plane, there was about 25-30 SFPD charging towards our plane (I think they had had a boring day and this seemed like a good bit of action)! He was arrested and I can only imagine US Customs and Immigration sent him straight back on the next plane out of there.
It wasn’t the best way to start our holiday as we didn’t catch any sleep whatsoever and it was a 16 flight that we will never forget and hopefully never experience again. However, we were in California and very excited to start our 3 week vacation with family and friends, just about to leave the airport when……………………………….
We were the chosen lucky ones - US Customs picked us out of the 250 people on the plane and decided they were going to open everyone of our suitcases and rummage through every item that was in there…………….Perfect!!!
Hope this finds you all well and brings a smile to your face
To follow: Part 3 - ‘We finally leave the airport’
Love to you all,
M&E
xxxxx
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