This blog is late, I know. Apologies.
This week, I’m giving you a review of airlines I’ve used in the last two years and places you can go from the UAE for a reasonable price, and still have fun. I won’t choose every destination there is, because there are far too many, but I do hope to give you a good indication of how to make the best of your time living here in the UAE. On occasion, I’ve used travel agents that I would recommend, however places like Oman, India, Nepal, Thailand, Turkey etc are very easy to navigate with a travel book. I don’t eat much while on flights, except breakfast, because I’m too excited to get to my next destination I suppose, but I do always order a special meal and give it a try…just in case there’s something chocolatey.
Also, I put a lot of stock on customer service, so if inflight or check-in staff are unpleasant, it leaves a sour taste in my mouth and I don’t particularly want to travel that airline again, so a lot of my reviews are based on that. If you’re okay with people being rude, ignore that bit.
Places
Thailand-This is the place of cheap massages and relaxation. You will need at least ten days here, only because having a 40 dirham massage every day is ridiculously relaxing and addictive and after two days in Bangkok you will need it. I would suggest landing in Bangkok, staying for two days to see the sights (if you’re a fish lover, be sure to check out the seafood market restaurant, yum!) and then head off to one of the beachy areas.
India—Can definitely do this on a long weekend and it’s the obvious choice for anyone who lives in Dubai; it takes three hours to get to and there are hundreds of things to see and do. Practically every low-cost airline flies to India and it is possible to stay in a good hotel, eat amazing food, chill out on beautiful beaches, tour some amazing heritage sites for a very reasonable price. Also, if you don’t know it already, you will learn the enormous differences between the North and South of India from food and culture to education and politics with just one visit to each side. I recommend Mumbai (it’s dirty but real) and Kerala (just generally gorgeous).
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| Colombo, Sri Lanka |
Sri Lanka— This is possibly one of my most favourite places in the world. Sri Lanka is very easy to get around and if you have a good guide you can get A LOT done in 4 days. Make sure your guide takes you to authentic Sri Lankan restaurants rather than the touristy ones that are about. Definitely try fried, chilli banana flowers and Sri Lankan grilled prawns! I went with two girlfriends and we used a company called Eurolanka (http://www.eurolankatravel.com/) who managed to book us a number of holidays- we had a beach holiday, visited an orphanage, fed an elephant, went to a turtle sanctuary and did some shopping in Colombo during our four night/ Five day stay. And that was just half of it.
Turkey—Another place to visit if you’re living in Dubai and have 5 days spare. Istanbul is a city full of history, culture and seemingly the world’s happiest people. There are hundreds of restaurants in the winding, cobbled streets of Sultan Ahmet with waiters trying to lure you in, depending on your character this could be fun or annoying, I say make it fun! Most restaurants there now also have quite a good selection for vegetarians, which I’ve been told was not the case previously.
Russia- I know its not an obvious destination and incredibly expensive. BUT Moscow is only 5 hours away, so it’s an easy long-weekend destination. If you’re into history and museums like me, this is definitely somewhere you have to visit. You could take a walk down the red square, passing Lenin’s grave as you admire the beautiful St Vasily’s Cathedral whilst eating a warm Russian pastry. That evening you could go to the legendary Bolshoi theatre for an opera or ballet. I enjoyed every minute of this beautiful city, and it makes me want to see more of Russia. The people are really nice, I have no idea why Russians are given such a bad rep, but the women are incredibly beautiful and helpful, the men are not so beautiful but ridiculously chivalrous. Admittedly people are shy and quite a few don’t speak English, which can make traveling about difficult, but get a good guide and all will be well. I can recommend http://www.travelrussia.net/ I dealt with a lady called Natalia Anikeeva who is just spectacular and can tailor-make your journey to suit yourself, whether you want to visit villages in Russia or just tour the cities.
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| St Vasily's (St Basil's) |
The Airlines and What I think they’re like
I have been travelling regularly by plane since I was 9 years old and almost 20 years later I think I have a right to my opinion. Everyone has different experiences, which is why I have decided to only review airlines I have used at least three times each, which I think gives a person an all round view of what they’re like.
Low Cost Airlines
All the low-cost airlines below are exactly what they say on the tin. No frills, but they are infinitely better than European ones I’ve travelled on and give you exactly what a low-cost airline is supposed to give you, sometimes more.
Air Blue- Pakistan three times
This isn’t the best of the lot I’ve chosen, especially because it flies from Dubai Terminal 2, which is my least favourite terminal. Also, the seats are quite tiny and sometimes it can feel like you’re travelling in a squashed bus from Karachi to Hyderabad, which is not a pleasant experience. BUT it is incredibly cheap and gets you where you want to go, so worth a look.
Air Arabia- used for Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Turkey on numerous occasions
Don’t let the fact that Air Arabia flies from Sharjah put you off, if you book a reasonably timed flight, you can avoid the traffic to Sharjah and get there remarkably quickly. I have used this airline the most out of any other and I really like it. I know a couple people who have had bad experiences on Air Arabia, mainly because of their ticket refund policy. I’m not sure what the other airlines are like on refunds but Air Arabia does come across as harsh on this issue. However, it is a low cost airline and it does need to stay in the game, so if you are planning to travel, stick to your plans. It has a great list of destinations and I believe it won an excellence award this month and that has got mean something.
Fly Dubai- Saudi Arabia about 4 occasions
This is a low-cost airline with class; it offers in-flight entertainment! What more can I say? It’s also got a list of excellent destinations at reasonable prices. The only reason I haven’t used Fly Dubai more often is I can either never get a ticket at short notice or the flight timings don’t suit my travel plans, but it may be different for you.
The Big Boys:
Etihad
I really like Etihad Airways its comfortable, has excellent inflight entertainment and it is at least 1500 dirhams cheaper than Emirates on journeys that I’ve looked at. Also, I would be ungrateful if I didn’t mention that Etihad Airways was the only airline that offered to sponsor a trip for me to go over to Japan and help with the recovery process after the March 11 tsunami last year. Economy class is comfortable but Business is in a league of its own and I think this is down to the in flight staff making it as comfortable a journey as possible. However, you may find it difficult with their check in and telephone staff (In Flight staff are usually amazing.) In the interest of balance, I need to mention check-in staff can be quite rude, which is quite off-putting and telephone staff can’t speak English, which makes life very difficult. On a recent trip I was given a raw vegetarian meal (I had requested a regular vegetarian meal) so had to make do with salad for breakfast. This was simply because the operator presumably could not understand me.
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| Ofunato, Japan |
Emirates
This airline is quite expensive but if you’re travelling to the UAE with Emirates and don’t live here, you have the added benefit of being able to buy a UAE visit or transit visa from Emirates over the counter. On the whole, staff are good, but again the people on the phones are ridiculously difficult to deal with. In flight entertainment is excellent. Economy is quite squashed, depending what kind of economy you’re sitting in but the food is great. Business Class is good, not as comfortable as Etihad’s, possibly because the flight attendants come across as hassled. Also, what annoys me about Emirates is on the flight from Dubai to my hometown of Durban, they use the crappiest plane with the crappiest entertainment. Why even bother with the flight? It’s not much different to 3rd class on the Trans-Siberian Railway.
Air France
Next to British Airways, this is the worst airline I have flown in my life. I had given it three chances only because they were reasonably priced at times, but food, staff, seats, entertainment…all round awful.
British Airways
Business class on BA is excellent, but staff are unbearable. This is the same on economy class. On our first flight with them, my family and I actually thought it was because they were racist, because their rudeness was so blatant, but a few flights later and discussions with friends proves that BA has the worst in-flight staff known to man. Also the food is nothing to write home about and I haven’t flown them in a while (and won’t be for…ever) but the last time I did, in-flight entertainment was okay.
Qatar Airways
This is an airline competing with Emirates and Etihad and its good but for some reason falls just short of being on par with them on the food and entertainment front—the food looks amazing but taste? Not so much. Check in and in-flight staff are very good but the guys on the phone for Qatar are again a bit touch and go. Haven’t flown Business on Qatar so I don’t know but Economy has always been reasonably comfortable. It’s also quite reasonably priced, if you don’t mind stopping off in Doha for a bit, this is not a bad airline to go with.
South African Airways
This is the airline of my home country and sadly, I haven’t been impressed by them. I haven’t flown Business on SAA, but can say Economy is madly squashed and f they’re delayed it can be stressful getting a domestic connecting flight from Johannesburg and the staff don’t really do anything to reassure you which grates on my nerves. The food isn’t amazing, but then only Emirates and Etihad seem to pay any attention to that. I’m not sure what in-flight entertainment is like because there doesn’t seem to be any of worth but maybe I just don’t know how to use the remote control properly.
And Finally…
Since I am mentioning Airlines, I think should mention my recent trip on Saudi Airlines. It’s a rant so click off now if you don’t want to read my moaning. I took a flight from Dubai to Jeddah, crappy flight and food but I wasn’t expecting much on a 3-hour journey. On my way off the plane, I put my mobile on the seat, while I helped my sister (who was travelling with me) get her luggage out of the overhead compartment, at the same time some random Saudi dude was telling me how amazing and liberal his country was. I got off the plane, found a space on the bus and realised I had forgotten my mobile. Got off the bus at the terminal and asked the Saudia staff there if I could be taken back to retrieve it. ‘No, no, don’t worry’ they said ‘go to Lost and Found after immigration and it will be there waiting for you.’ This didn’t seem unreasonable since it is what would happen in the UAE, so off I went.
Once I’d got through immigration, I went straight to Lost and Found and Lo and Behold…my phone was not there. They said I would need to wait two hours. I was okay with that, except I had to do a pilgrimage since that was my reason for entering Saudi. So, I asked if I could pick it up the next day. ‘For Sure, it will be here’ they said. Great, I filled in a form and again, off I went.
I got to Makkah, did my pilgrimage and 3 hours from my first conversation with Lost and Found gave them a ring to check up on the progress. My phone was not there, they had no idea who I was, they didn’t even seem to know what a Blackberry was.
Let’s skip forward to four days later, over 60 phone calls, dozens of emails, facebook messages and twitter jibes and I finally go to the office in Jeddah Airport to find my phone was not there and never found.
During one of the 60 phone calls, I was told by a Saudia staff-member that my phone had probably been stolen and there was nothing they or I could do about it. Also, except for the last dude at the airport, every single staff member made me feel like I was an idiot for leaving my phone on the flight. Which I was, but guys, be nice! Especially when you can barely communicate and can just about spell Blackberry.
I was mostly outraged and shocked at the stealing allegation, there is no way that would EVER happen in the UAE. I have left my mobile on the table at Starbucks while ordering a coffee and know its 100 % safe. People just don’t take things in the UAE.
Anyway suffice to say, I am no longer going to have that rant at UAE customer service, because I have been to Saudi Arabia and the customer service there makes the UAE’s seem like heaven on earth (I also tried to return something to Nayomi in Makkah and OMG the guy just sat behind the counter looking at me like I was some kind of freak. Very unsettling, never going in there again!)
