stevie

That hike up table mountain looks very tough in places! Well done.

Madone59

Thanks craigsnyc! We will get a trip together soon - I promise.

You are welcome RTW4, glad you are enjoying!

Yes I was by A26 Fredrik74 - makes sense it was a former FCL. Those bathrooms are hard to mistake.

Thanks for following along flyerace!!

Awesome ironmanjt - I hope you had a better sunrise than I did. I'm looking forward to your RTW TR!

Thank you obduro. We're almost done - glad you're following along.

Thank you roadwarrier! I'm glad you enjoyed.

Thank you very much Seat 2A!

^^ injian. I hope you are able to get everything in you want in Tokyo - there is a lot to see.

Have a great trip SFO777, I will be looking forward to your trip report. Definitely go for lunch at Zahr El-Laymoun, you won't regret it.

Madone59

I can explain that but it's not going to make me look any smarter . I had squirreled away a bunch of cash that I brought with me so that I wouldn't be lose time by trying to find an ATM that takes US cards. As reasonable as that sounds it is still not a great excuse because I have Charles Schwab so all of my ATM fees are reimbursed. So exchanging currency in Hong Kong, Tokyo and Dubai was definitely a loss BUT in Cape Town one of the woman I had breakfast with is from Namabia and she traded me Rand for USD at a premium [to me]. As I take these trips I collect more and more experience - the use of currency is definitely something that will improve in the future.

Thank you jayoxd. The answer is T-Mobile. Before I left I printed out the WiKi to this T-Mobile thread and every time I landed just connected to the recommended carrier. It's unlimited 2G speed with a option to buy up, unlimited texting and $0.20/min calls - ample! I wasn't really using much data just Google Maps and uber so 2G was fine. This was the first time I was with my phone a whole international trip and it really made it a lot easier on Mrs. Madone59. Over nine days you notice how nice those good morning or good night texts and face times are. ^^ for T-Mobile on this trip.

Thank you stevie but I am going to make one correction. Table Mountain is a 3 hour ascent, Lion's head is a mere 50 minutes so I can't take credit for making the "Big Climb."

island82

Great TR Madone59!
Your CPT segment reminded me of my own 20hrs stop there 2 years ago, barely scratched the surface. Definitely need to go back.

FlyingJazzy

Fantastic TR Madone59! Thanks for sharing!
May I ask what camera you use? Your pictures look sooooo beautiful!
Look forward to more, take care!

Madone59

Thanks island82. I am glad you enjoyed it, and I agree Cape Town is a must go back city.

Thank you FlyingJazzy. I use a Samsung NX 30, Samsung Galaxy Camera, and my Google Pixel. The NX30 has a 18-55mm lens and a 10mm fish eye lens - I am a really big fan of Samsung's cameras. I wish they had been more popular.

Next portion get's posted tomorrow. Sorry all for the delay.

m3red

The special wine on the flight was the hermitage la Chapelle 97 Syrah - had it on a flight in Dec ^

757

Wow, an utterly incredible report! Reading this makes me want to get back into the skies and visit all these places! Amazing photos as well too.

Looking forward to reading your next report!

All best,

Matthew (757)

Madone59

After a bit of walk through the terminal I had finally reached the Emirates lounge. Oh those polished wood panels and gilded letters are a sight for sore feet...I mean eyes.



Schindlers Lift?!






I could have sworn I took a photo of the food but apparently I didn't. The hot offerings as well as the desserts were good, and I was very happy to see penne with red sauce AKA "American Pasta."

After about 30 minutes of sitting and snacking I headed to the gate for another 10 hours of......sitting and snacking ^




Back at home in seat 1A the flight attendant wasn't taking no for an answer when I passed on the dates. She insisted they were the best in the world, and after I revealed that I had never had one she was flabbergasted. Arabic dates where have you been all my life?! These are great!!



With my new pair of pajamas and slippers on my friend was back with more dates. "None of the passengers wanted any, and because you have never had them before I think you should make up for lost time and finish the box."


Bye bye Cape Town!


Another glass of Dom - why thank you.



Today's menu




Ohh look! There are starts in the carpet too OK this is really neat. When I commented that the stars on the floor were new to me I was told only the newer 777's have floor stars as well as ceiling stars.



Ready to go!




The Biryani - good but a little dry.


A mini dessert before a not so mini nap. I was exhausted. By this time I had been up for about 10 hours which included hiking Lions Head I was a zombie. I requested my bead be made up and went down so hard the crew had to wake me for landing!


"Mr. Madone59....sir....good morning sir."
"Huh?"
"Good morning sir, we are landing soon. Would you like a snack?"
"Hmmmm? No. Where are we landing??"
"Dubai Sir. Please allow us to set your seat up for you."
"Dubai? Why?"

Me:


I dashed into the bathroom to change my clothes as we circled DXB. After another 45 minutes of circling I was wishing I took that snack offer . Eventually we made our descent into DXB and taxied to a remote stand. Well at least I will have the complete Emirates experience^


This is better than the TG golf carts!





We got a heck of a tour. I am not sure if our remote gate was in Abu Dhabi or something but was not a short drive.



We were dropped off at transit security where the "first class" makings on our bus seemed to get a few people moving. We were greeted a guided right to fast track security which was nice. I breezed through and began my search for the B gates.



Getting warmer


Success




So I had been in the first class lounge two days ago...or was it yesterday(?)...but that was only for an hour and a half. This was a full 8 hour layover which gave me lots of time to explore but first thing's first...I need a shower!


I inquired about a wait list and was told there was no need; just walk on in.



No. No, no, no, no, no. This can't be it. THIS can not be Emirates...THE Emirates...first class shower facility. I walked down the narrow hallway closer to the shower stalls and was overwhelmed by the smell of high school locker room. No? I looked left and looked right there they were a row of shower rooms - this was it. I walked into the shower room, which is too small to accommodate my roller bag so I stepped all the way into the shower before turning around to close the door and put my bag on the bench. Door closed the gym smell was even stronger - ugh. Do I even want to use this shower? I sure as sheep don't want to stand in it with bare feet! Kindly Emirates provides a set of slippers with each shower. I assume they are to be used after the shower but I unwrapped them and wore them college style. I am not sure if it did any good but at least I had some piece of mind. A few minutes into my swamp shower the water stopped.....just stopped....maybe I ran out of time.....maybe someone flushed the toilet? Oh. It's back...OK, cool.......it stopped again....did someone flush...Oh it is back, that is nice. Not wanting to chance it I quickly rinsed off and stepped back out into the phone booth changing area.


This was the worst. [airport] Shower. Ever. It is embarrassing, and as I said earlier Emirates did NOT scale this facility properly. The showers are not a small detail especially if you are going to run a transit focused hub that connects long haul and ultra long haul traffic by the millions of millions in the wee hours of the morning. I am not going to compare this lounge to the Lufthansa FCT because you can't but how about the Lufthansa FCL's? How about the United Club's in Houston? How about the Thai lounge(s) in Bangkok?

I seriously want your opinion. What is worse: To not be able to provide showers to all who want, or to provide everyone with a smelly, below par and below market experience?? Even if you remove the smell, which is a mater of opinion, that phone booth and a half is not acceptable.

I left the shower not feeling much cleaner then when I had entered and went in search of food.



Fantastic saffron chicken


Back in a better mood with a little food in me and shower mold smell out of my nose I went in search of a quiet place to nap and found the not so quiet room. Here we have another example of making something bigger not equating to making something better. The quiet room was small with only six beds but Dubai/ Emirates multi story open air terminal design lets a lot of sound travel in this case the sound doing the traveling was a child that also didn't want to be awake at 3am. I left the quiet room and had a look over the railing, there they were a family waiting for a flight that wasn't boarding for another 3 hours and a kid in a stroller screaming their head off. Like throwing kittens in a wood chipper the shrill screaming traveled making the first class lounge feel less like a first class lounge and more like a furniture store next to a daycare. Now please do not confuse my frustration with a lack of empathy I felt terrible for the parents, and for the kid but they were down there and I was up here in a place travelers have bestowed upon them by Emirates presumably for money. What I wouldn't give for some walls and a little stuffy quiet lounge feeling right about now....hey I'll trade you the wine list for it!


I got a restless hour and a half in the quietish room when I gave up and decided to take a walk. As I have ranted enough for one post I'll skip right to the last page on this one - seriously Emirates? No luggage storage!!!

Giving new meaning to the Beastie Boys "Time to get Ill"



Not flying first class but still want caviar? No problem



Serious question here....seriously: A nebuchadnezzar of champagne weighs about 90lbs. If I buy this beast duty free I don't walk out with it, it meets me on the plane/ at my destination so do I pay freight?? If not this is a serious deal SO if you are ever in Dubai and heading to a party where they need twenty bottle of champs' tell your friends you've got it covered!


After reaching both ends of the terminal the sun was up and I headed back to the first class lounge to take a few pictures.



Maybe this is why my shower kept cutting out?









After a cup of tea and a little TV it was finally time to head to my gate and experience the Emirate A380. This is what I had been waiting for, this is the Emirates piece de la resistance. I stood up and grabbed my bag saying to my self "Someone show me to my private boarding area" Roll out the barrels, strike up the band, bring me two of every animal! D'Oh. Today's A380 was not at one of those direct from lounge gates, I'd have to head back down into the terminal (Cue trombone waaaa waaa waaaaa). I've got to be honest Emirates first class lounge is not one I'd be running back to visit in the future!


Up next: The 7th longest flight in the world DXB-LAX

SFO777

Wow. And I thought the A FCL showers were bad but those were positively palatial compared to the locker room shower you experienced. The ventilation in the A showers is non-existent and like you, I left feeling not much cleaner. Bizarre considering the rest of the lounge.

kevincrumbs

Well, AC's Transborder MLL at YVR is definitely worse than this but yes, the EK showers are pretty bad. The shower itself looks exactly the same as their Business Class Lounge and it seems to fit into some problems that EK has with differentiating F & C (same main course choices for food, etc.). I was not impressed as a Business Class traveller and was wondering how no one in charge noticed the lack of ventilation in the shower rooms.

Frankly, this TR and countless others have given me the impression that the First Class Lounge is more hype than substance. A decent place for a few hours, surely, but not for eight hours.

diningdecadence

dude - wrong concourse - A showers are much bigger. as is the lounge generally.

J lounge in B concourse is pretty good though. did you take a walk through and see the voss and moet chandon areas?

Madone59

Thank you 757 ^ I am glad you enjoyed so much.

SFO777 & diningdecadence I was in the A terminal on the way to CPT - it sounds like I should have taken the opportunity to compare poo and crap

kevincrumbs that is exactly my take away and that is why I keep referring to "scale." Some thing's EK do well they do across every first class flight but the things they missed that really make an experience "first class" they missed on big time. I will definitely fly EK again but wouldn't rush to spend extra miles on F class.

offerendum

Schindler is one of the leading elevator-brands in the world. See it pretty often.

Madone59

I had never seen one. I am only familiar with Otis and Thyssenkrupp. Regardless it gave me a chuckle.