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To the Serengeti: LAX-DXB-DAR-DXB-LAX on EK F/J w/ Photos

To the Serengeti: LAX-DXB-DAR-DXB-LAX on EK F/J w/ Photos

Old Apr 23, 2017, 1:03 pm
  #16  
 
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To a major league animal lover, these are some of the most wonderful photos I've seen on FT. Thanks so much for posting
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Old Apr 23, 2017, 5:53 pm
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Originally Posted by lb8001
To a major league animal lover, these are some of the most wonderful photos I've seen on FT. Thanks so much for posting
^
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Old Apr 23, 2017, 6:46 pm
  #18  
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Wow! Great trip report and amazing photos. What camera are you using?
Also, what month did you go? The baby animals are just big enough to be curious, and not glued to their mother's side. It looks like a fantastic time to plan a trip.
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Old Apr 23, 2017, 10:23 pm
  #19  
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Originally Posted by lb8001
To a major league animal lover, these are some of the most wonderful photos I've seen on FT. Thanks so much for posting
I was going to say the same thing. I mean we've seen some great safari TRs in this forum, but the mix of timing and ability to catch these shots is top notch ^
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Old Apr 23, 2017, 11:49 pm
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Thanks for sharing. I need to visit this place.
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Old Apr 24, 2017, 7:46 am
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Wow...awesome. IN the early stages of planning a safari. Kenya and Tanzania are atop the list.
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Old Apr 24, 2017, 10:45 am
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I noticed that for Kenya a Yellow Fever shot is recommended but not for Tanzania. Did you bother? I ask because they advise against it for anyone over 60. It is the only vaccination that is a live virus and there have been some deaths; though small.
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Old Apr 24, 2017, 1:50 pm
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What safari outfitter or tour company did you use for your trip? I am i the early stages of planning a Tanzanian safari and want to visit he same areas you did.

How were your accommodations? Didd you go luxury, mid range, or budget? Can you name the camps and lodges you stayed at?
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Old Apr 24, 2017, 11:12 pm
  #24  
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Originally Posted by StartinSanDiego
Wow! Great trip report and amazing photos. What camera are you using?
Also, what month did you go? The baby animals are just big enough to be curious, and not glued to their mother's side. It looks like a fantastic time to plan a trip.
Thanks for your kind words. I used a Nikon D80 and did minimal editing before posting--others on the trip with different cameras had comparable photos, the quality of game-viewing was incredible (we were there in February)

Originally Posted by Bretteee
I noticed that for Kenya a Yellow Fever shot is recommended but not for Tanzania. Did you bother? I ask because they advise against it for anyone over 60. It is the only vaccination that is a live virus and there have been some deaths; though small.
Nobody in our group got Yellow Fever. My understanding is that if Tanzania is the only place you go in Africa, it's not necessary.

Originally Posted by krazykanuck
I was going to say the same thing. I mean we've seen some great safari TRs in this forum, but the mix of timing and ability to catch these shots is top notch ^
Thank you!

Originally Posted by susiesan
What safari outfitter or tour company did you use for your trip? I am i the early stages of planning a Tanzanian safari and want to visit he same areas you did.

How were your accommodations? Didd you go luxury, mid range, or budget? Can you name the camps and lodges you stayed at?
We booked through Africa Travel Resource. In the early stages of our planning, we weren't set on going to Tanzania and wanted a travel agent who could talk through the pros and cons of different regions and different seasons.

Our accommodations were mid-range. This was our itinerary: http://www.africatravelresource.com/trip/qimuda_1405/1/

We were traveling as a group of 8 and wanted two jeeps to ourselves. If you have specific questions about the accommodations in that trip, I'm happy to try and answer. My sense is that you can probably find better prices for comparable trips if you go through a local travel agent, but I liked the variety of accommodations and itineraries available through ATR and their expertise ensured that we had great game viewing despite it being an unseasonably dry year (others we encountered on our travels weren't so lucky).
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Old Apr 24, 2017, 11:44 pm
  #25  
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Originally Posted by lb8001
To a major league animal lover, these are some of the most wonderful photos I've seen on FT. Thanks so much for posting
Thought the same thing. They are magnificent.
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Old Apr 30, 2017, 9:57 pm
  #26  
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DXB-DAR in Business Class

February 25, 2017
Emirates 726, DAR-DXB
777-300ER, A6-ECT
Depart: 4:30pm
Arrive: 11:05pm
Duration 5:35
Seat: 7K

Before we knew it, it was time to head home. We again flew from JRO to DAR on FastJet before connecting onto Emirates to Dubai. We’d only found business class award seats for the return trip, but that was plenty comfortable for the long journey. Emirates uses the shared Tanzanite Lounge in DAR which was fairly full with passengers headed to the Mideast and South Africa in the middle of the afternoon when we visited.


View of our FastJet plane on boarding in JRO

Both business and first class boarded through 1L and we made our way back to 7K. Although it has a misaligned window, one of the nice things about 7K is that there’s very little traffic at boarding or during the flight. Waiting for us at our seats were a pillow, blanket, headphones, sock, eyeshade, menu, and a bottle of water. After we settled in, a flight attendant came by offering a choice of juice or champagne.


View from 7K

“Cabin crew, please deplane” was called at 4:20 and we pushed back a few minutes early and began a slow taxi to the end of the runway and department DAR to the northeast at about 4:45.


Farewell DAR

The seatbelt sign turned off as we crossed through 10,000 feet and the service began quickly with scented hot towels and meal and drink orders. I have menu and drink list images if anyone's interested, but Emirates does post them on their website for upcoming flights and they tend to be pretty formulaic. Drinks were served from the galley with hot mixed nuts.


Gin and tonic with nuts

After a bit, the crew came through to lay placemats and served the appetizer tray of a rather boring salmon and a surprisingly decent salad. As appetizers were served, another crew member followed behind offering bread from a bread basket and wine from a wine caddy.


Starter tray

As appetizers were finished, the crew picked up the plates and served entrees hot from the galley. I was quite pleased with the chicken curry I selected although it wasn’t particularly photogenic. The chocolate cake for dessert rounded out a quite nice meal. Kudos to the caterers in DAR.


Lovely chicken curry


Time for chocolate!

After the meal, I reclined my seat and slept fairly soundly until the pilot got on the PA to announce that we were 45 minutes from landing in Dubai. Although the Emirates 777 seat is only angled lie flat, I’ve generally found it perfectly suitable for sleeping. My bigger complaint with the seat is the difficulty of aisle access when the person next to you is sleeping and the presence of a middle seat in business class.

We did a full circle over the desert of the eastern UAE and zigged and zagged our way to DXB where we landed at 10:45 and had a short taxi to a bus gate. Although riding a bus is no fun, it’s always impressive to see a 777 from the ground.

We had a lengthy layover so we headed into town to kill some time and then dozed for a few hours in the lounge before our flight to LAX.
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Old May 29, 2017, 4:44 pm
  #27  
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Emirates 215, DXB-LAX in J

The final segment!

February 26, 2017
Emirates 215, DXB-LAX
A380-800, A6-EOL
Depart: 8:30am
Arrive: 12:45pm
Duration 16:15
Seat: 9F



View from the jetway

This was only my second flight on the A380 and I’m still in awe of the size and smoothness of flying aboard the behemoth. We boarded straight from the “A” business class lounge through the upper deck jetway and were pointed to our seats near the front of the massive business class section.


Emirates A380 business class seat

As we oriented ourselves to the seats, we were offered juice, the wine list, and an amenity kit (which was striking similar to the one I got in first class on the outbound) as boarding continued. The menu, headphones, pillow, and blanket were already at our seat. Emirates business class on the A380 seemed a bit cozier than the 777 due to the narrower cabin and the nested seats which allow for them to lie flat. At the same time, when traveling as a couple the middle pair of seats gives a sense of privacy that doesn’t exist on a 777 (as due the “inner” window seats when traveling solo).

As boarding concluded, the captain got on the PA to announce a flight time of a relatively quick 15:10 and a slight delay at the boarding gate due to congestion on the ground in DXB. While we waited, hot towels were offered and the crew came through to take breakfast orders (if anyone's interested in menu images, please let me know in the comments and I can post them, but Emirates menus are available on their website and tend to be fairly similar from month-to-month).

We eventually took off about 40 minutes after our scheduled announcement time and heard the ever-so-Emirates announcement that our cabin crew came from 20 countries and spoke 18 languages. As we neared our cruise altitude, the breakfast service began quickly with placemats and full-meal trays delivered quickly. As I was looking forward to some sleep, this suited me well but others may prefer a more leisurely pace on such a long flight. The breakfast tray was followed by a breadbasket, carafes full of juice, pitchers of coffee, and champagne.


Cold plate for breakfast, entire meal served at once

Although the meal service started quickly, sitting near the front of the cabin meant a bit of a delay before trays were cleared and the crew coming through the aisle with hot towels to conclude the service. Mattress pads were offered and I reclined my seat for a nap.

Several hours of sleep were much-needed but we still had a long ways to go when I awoke over the North Pole. I rang my call button ordered a couple of selections from the Light Bites menu and browsed Emirates extensive IFE selection.


Pizzette from the light bites menu


Vanilla dome from the light bites menu

I empathize with the crew who work on these flights as it’s a long run from the galley at the back of the plane to the forward rows of the business class cabin, yet the passengers expect relatively personalized service from an airline of Emirates’ caliber. Furthermore, the length of the flight means that virtually every passenger is awake and ordering drinks and snacks on-and-off for at least part of the journey.

Our route today took us straight up-and-over to the otherside of the world. We actually departed Dubai heading slightly eastbound (but mostly north) over Turkmenistan and the polar regions then south over British Columbia, entering US airspace near Port Townsend, and flying down the US Pacific Coast.


We're on top of the world!

Lights were turned up and meal orders for the second service were taken about 3:45 out of LAX. The service began with drinks and tepid nuts, while meal trays made an appearance about 45 minutes after orders were taken.

The Emirates Mezze is always reliable but the salad was less enjoyable than the one we’d had out of DAR the day before. Like previous services, meal trays were followed by the breadbasket and the wine caddy.


When on Emirates, try the mezze

It was another 45 minutes before appetizers were cleared and entrees were served. I felt a bit brave ordering shrimp that had been sitting on a plane for the past 14 hours but it was reasonably tasty.


Shrimp on a plane!

As is often the case, the dessert was the highlight and a pleasant end to a long, but pleasant flight.


Last airplane food of the trip

The meal service concluded about 1:45 prior to landing. The captain came on the PA to announce our impending arrival about 45 minutes before landing and we touched-down in a rainy LA at about 12:20 local time—our initial delay out of Dubai had been made up for by a relatively brisk flight time, if such words can ever be used to describe a journey of that length.
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