Access Blogs
Heading to Dubai
I arrived at JFK airport around 8:00 in the morning after taking the red-eye from LA. I was tired, needless to say, because, no matter how much you THINK you are going to "sleep on the plane," they don't call it the "red-eye" for nothing. After taking the tram to a different terminal, I headed to the ticket counter of Emirates Airlines where the young ticket agent, chatting away on her cell phone, waved for "the next customer," took my passport, started typing up my boarding pass, never missing a beat in the conversation with her girlfriend. (We all know when it's "bizness" and when it's "girl, I'm getting off at six.") After about 3 minutes, she hung up, still typing away, and having yet to look up, she says, "What's going on over there? We've checked in a lot of celebrities. Yesterday, it was Michael Jordan."
"Over there" is Dubai. And we'll get into why it's the NEW spot for the rich and famous a little later.
I told chatty Cathy that I was going for the opening of the Atlantis Hotel, which is anticipated to be one of the most spectacular events of the year. The agent smiled and told me, "Oh, you are going to have a good time on this flight! The plane is really nice. You should go to the second floor private First Class/Business lounge - it's beautiful."
Becoming even more excited, I thanked her, and headed upstairs.
The Lounge
"Have you ever been to our lounge before, Madame?" said the gentleman who greeted me beyond the private doors.
"No, I haven't. This is my first time."
"Well, welcome. Let me show you around."
Banana pancakes, breakfast steak, Aloe Tikki, corned beef hash cakes,
sautéed mushrooms, marinated tomatoes with parsley, sausage links,
baked beans, muffins, hot pretzel bread and strawberry smoothies. My
mouth was watering! I had never been in an airport lounge with this
much food! I grabbed a plate and filled it up. The lounge was huge and,
the ticket agent was right, it was beautiful. It looked like an
enormous New York City penthouse apartment with expensive wood-grain
furniture. There was an area to eat around the buffet table where sleepy eyes were getting their first meals since last night. Cushy sofas and lounge chairs were filled with business travelers on their computers or catching up on the news of the day on CNN - watching the numerous flat-screen TV's throughout the lounge. I was feeling rejuvenated after my 5-hour overnight flight that left me zonked and now I was mentally prepared for the 12-hours it will take to get to my ultimate destination. After about 45 minutes, the female voice on the paging system said, "We are now boarding for Dubai."
'The Plane, The Plane'
As I am writing this, I'm looking at stars. You know how they have
those little twinkling stars on the ceiling of the stretch limos?
That's what they have on the ceiling of this plane! It's a nice touch
since it's nighttime wherever we are flying over. We're on a 777
aircraft with the sleeper seats that recline all the way back just like
your own little bed. And guess what? The seats are massage chairs!
It's got a feature that does pulse, wave, or zigzag vibrations. This plane also has something that I have never seen before - cameras on the nose and the bottom of the plane! So, when we were taking off, on our individual TV monitors, we are seeing exactly what the pilot is seeing on the runway. And then, once we are airborne, another camera will show you what's on the ground thousands of miles down. It was quite incredible.
On a recent flight from New York to LA, I was giddy after finding out that you can now surf the Internet, and send and receive emails and text messages while in-flight on certain connections. On this particular flight, they had an e-mail system that charged you a dollar for each email and text you send or receive. Just swipe your credit card in the little machine attached to your seat. I didn't even want to venture into doing that because my friends would be texting me 100 times asking, "Where are you now?"
I have to admit, I'm stuffed. They keep feeding you on this plane.
Every time you wake up, one of the very nice flight attendants says,
"Would you like a snack, something to drink?" You feel like you should
say, "Yes" just because she's offering even though you're really not
that hungry anymore. And here she comes again with a tray of something.
Okay, I'll take one.
They've got over 100 movies to chose from, audio books to listen to, television shows to watch, countless music. You can get live text alerts about breaking news, and even buy gold jewelry, perfume, and cosmetics on the plane - all duty free.
It's going to be morning when we arrive in Dubai in four hours and I am wide-awake. I'm going to force myself to go to sleep so I won't be jetlagged.
Goodnight.
The spot on Dubai was extremely offensive. Showcasing excess wealth while sipping cocktails poolside was an insult and showed incredible insensitivity to the plight of millions of families who are suffering severe financial hardship. What were you folks thinking of? How many families could benefit from the money spent on that little junket? Perhaps you should consider renaming the show Excess Hollywood! Do America a favor and highlight what you and the celebs (or do you think you are the celebs now?) are doing to help those less fortunate -- now that might be refreshing. P
I enjoyed Dubai on Access Hollywood
Please tell me what kind of sunglass's she was wearing on the show, they are great!
This Piece on Dubai was nice. Would love to see and hear more regarding the culture. Where are the pictures?
Shaun,
I just fell in love withyour writing. It is very conversational, almost like you are right here talking to me. Thanks for sharing about the lounge and the plain. I truly wished you kept writing instead of going to sleep.
I will be checking on your message board regularly, this is my frst time on AH site.
I see you go to church too, keep it up sister, I hope you have a personal relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ. That is all that matters.
Stay blessed
Thanks so much for your piece about Dubai. I read a couple of the blogger comments and eventhough we are in harsh economic times, it's blogs like these that make me smile and wish that I was there. A little escapism never hurt anybody!!
Shaun, thanks for the memories! Your blog brought back my wonderful trip on Emirates. Your descriptions were spot on from the "stars" in the cabin and the staff so eager to please. Of course I didn't have the "pod" as you did, but look out the next time! My classmates and I flew Emirates to India last July, flying 18 hours from Houston to Dubai and another 3 hours to Chennai. We had layovers in the airport at Dubai which was awesome! I want to make a return trip. You have whet my appetite for travel. Next time, Emirates, first class all the way!