Today I return to Abu Dhabi via Amsterdam on KLM’s new 787-9. They used to use the Queen of the Skies (747) on the Houston to Amsterdam route. Progress is not always a good thing. The benefit of the 787 for passengers is higher cabin pressure and humidity. Obviously the airlines like the fuel efficiency…
My very long day started in the desert at 6:15 AM. We started driving to Muscat at 10:00. I arrived at the airport shortly after 2:00 PM. I had hoped to change my flight from 10:10 PM to 5:35 PM, but despite 3 attempts I failed and spent 8 hours in the airport. Still seemingly…
A few more pictures from the hotel.
I arrived at the hotel shortly before 2300 (11PM). I’m staying at the Grand Hyatt in Muscat. I have a city view room. There is a beach here. I might take advantage of that tomorrow.
I’m flying to Oman on Qatar Airways tonight. I enjoy flying Qatar Airways, their 777 has the best seating arrangement of all the airlines I’ve flown (2-2-2) and they give you pajamas to wear while sleeping. It’s amazing how much fresher you feel when you aren’t in the same clothes for 24 hours. …
Today I returned from the desert to Muscat via car. It’s a long ride, luckily I wasn’t driving.
Technically I will be in 3 countries today….Oman, UAE and USA. I’m flying to Abu Dhabi today from Oman. It is only a 1 hour flight. Then I am going to the US Embassy to a second passport. I visited the US Embassy…. It took all of 15 minutes to be…
I had lunch at the Italian restaurant inside hotel since it is Ramadan and there is no good available outside of hotels. They made me a special dessert. I then flew to Muscat, Oman
I am on a very late flight to London (British Airways) that leaves at 10:25 PM. I’ll have 8 hours in London (not ideal, but long enough to have some sort of adventure, even though it will be snowing. I’ll eventually arrive in Dubai… To add to the mystery of airfares the same flights…
I’m flying on British Airways this morning on my way to Lincoln, UK (via train after arriving in London). I stopped at the Dubai Mall for dinner before going to the airport as my flight didn’t leave until 0220. No passport stamp leaving the UAE since I used their egate system with my Emirates…
Last November they finally opened the Louvre museum in Abu Dhabi, many years late. The roof structure itself is a work of art. This was my first opportunity to visit since it opened. The main museum was a bit disappointing as the information plaques were on the floor which made it nearly impossible to read. …
This used to be easy. One short direct flight. Now it involves through Kuwait or Oman. I was pleasantly surprised that the plane from Oman to Dubai was a new 737MAX. This was my first flight on a 737MAX.
I’m on my way to Doha, Qatar on Qatar Airways. The business class seats are always nice. And it’s nice having a direct flight.
I traveled from London to Muscat today on Oman Air. As you can see my seat was very comfortable. I’m not sure what kind of visa I had, but I don’t think they used the correct stamp… I’m not planning to become a resident… I stayed in the fancy Intercontinental hotel. Below are pictures…
I had this trip on my calendar for months. Nothing complicated (except flight routing). I’ll be back in Houston November 15th so I can be ready for my trip to South Africa that leaves on the 18th. Well now I’m going to attempt to stop in the UK for a couple of days on…
Flying back to Houston… Immigration had a hard time finding my entry stamp. Apparently despite the fact that I have plenty of empty pages they need the exit visa near the entrance visa… so I now have a stamp on top of another stamp…. I learned what changes were made to allow laptop computers…
We had an afternoon chopper (Augusta Westland 139) back to Doha. The Radisson Blu upgraded me to what they called a suite…
The friendly immigration workers are still playing the game to determine how many stamps will fit on one page. I have plenty of empty pages, but yet they are unwilling to look for them. I took an Uber to the Radisson Blu (shuttle bus would have been a 45 minute wait). …
Recognize this view? Yes I’m on the Qatar Airways 777-300ER again. No complaints here. Good service, good seats. Direct flight. Well I wish there was beef on the menu.
Today was my last day in Doha, Qatar. Fridays in the Middle East are usually quiet… I started the day with working on a few group cruise promotions, then had lunch in the City Center Mall. After lunch I embarked on a journey to purchase a new suitcase since either Eithad or Oman…