Singapore: Up in Smoke

Flying to Singapore

After five nights in the scorching humidity of Dubai, we awoke at around 3am (more easily done given our continuing jet lag) to get ready for our flight to Singapore. We'd packed up (all eight pieces of luggage) the night before, using each other's weight to sit on the cases to make sure they zipped up tight. Fortunately, two Volvo station wagons from Emirates (the version used for business class passengers - first class folks get Mercedes) were awaiting us in the hotel's drive.

Check in was a breeze. Emirates has a dedicated terminal area solely for business and first class departures. Immigration and security was a breeze (the security agent wasn't even looking at the monitor as our bags went through the screening machine). We boarded an elevator, and like Dorothy leaving Kansas, we stepped out on the departure level to a whole new world filled with throngs of passengers in transit, all scurrying to get to whichever gate they were headed. It seemed like we were salmon spawning upstream - a river of people marching against us as we headed towards the business class lounge.

As in Seattle, there was a hiccup in our record in that the agents were confused as to whether or not we were entitled to lounge access. She even asked if I was an employee traveler, but I corrected her, telling her we used Alaska Airlines miles to book these award tickets. After getting an override from her supervisor, we were given passage.

The lounge stretches 150 yards down the terminal. Comprised of the entire second floor over this length, both sides of the lounge look down on the main terminal floor through the long space that runs down the middle. There are several dining areas, lots of sitting areas, chaise lounges (that were filled) for sleeping passengers, shower facilities, a business center, kids facilities and even a smoking lounge.

After a quick breakfast (all Halal - there is no pork bacon, they offered a veal alternative), we made our way to gate B25, a five minute walk from the lounge. After presenting our boarding passes, we waiting near the boarding doors, knowing we'd be among the first to board since we were in business class (no first class this leg - there are three flights that offer it to Singapore, but none had space).

When boarding was called, even though it was only for business class, the entire waiting lounge surged towards the doorway. It reminded me of that helicopter atop of the US embassy in Saigon, getting the last Americans and others out of Vietnam. The doorway was swarmed, but like a good marine, the agent blocked the economy passengers as we pushed our way through the crowd and onto the jetway. Leslie was so annoyed. She was hot and tired, and now all these people cutting in front of her without even an 'excuse me.' She was definitely close to snapping. Luckily, we got settled in quickly, with Lily and I in one row, and Leslie and Liam just ahead of us (the cabin had a 2-3-2 configuration).

The flights were uneventful. Four hours to Colombo, Sri Lanka, and hour on the ground (were we stayed on board during the layover), then another four hour flight to Singapore. We left Dubai at 7am and arrived in Singapore at 8pm - a full day's travel (including a four hour time change).

As our 777-300ER dipped below the clouds, I noticed we were descending through a thick fog. Upon disembarking, the jetway was smoky and filled with a smell that immediately reminded me of Mumbai - the smell of burning jungle. I thought we'd escape once we hit the air conditioned terminal, but the smell was persistent. We had two Emirates provided cars waiting for us, and on the drive in, we finally learned the source of the smoke. A few hundred miles to the west, on the island of Sumatra, thousands of acres of slash and burn fires were dumping smoke onto the winds that pushed into Singapore. Visibility was only a few hundred yards, and we didn't see our Marina Bay Sands hotel (a massive structure) until we were arriving.

Singapore Slung

I had so many high expectations for our visit to Singapore. A nice 10-15 degree decrease in temperature would make being outside more bearable than in Dubai. Our jet lag was mostly over, giving us more energy to sojourn outside to different parts of the city. However, the haze (a.k.a. smoke) was overwhelming. While we were there, the Pollution Standards Index (PSI) ranged from 167 (stay indoors) to over 400 (life threatening to the elderly and the ill). The haze filled the hotel's massive lobby, and the smell permeated even into the hotel hallways and our rooms themselves. We had a beautiful view of the downtown business district - well, we would have had a nice view if we could have seen anything.



The massive lobby of the Marina Bay Sands

What did we end up doing? Not a whole lot. One afternoon, the wind picked up and the haze cleared enough to where we felt it was safe to spend some time at the iconic rooftop infinity pool. Stretching across 100+ yards, the pool curves towards the city ever so subtly, with palm trees lining the deck.

The Marina Bay Sands pool in less hazy times

Liam about to cannonball

Lily and Liam showing off their moves

Lily and Liam

Lily

Liam and Daddy

Yours Truly

Leslie by the pool

Liam

The view from the pool in clearer times

How did we spend the rest of our time? Liam and I visited the Arts & Science museum, which was showcasing a cool mummy exhibit. It was fascinating to learn just how mummies were embalmed, and all the care was taken to ensure the souls of the dead's passage into the after world. While we were at the museum, Leslie and Lily were enjoying a pedicure at the hotel's Banyan Tree spa.

Given that the hotel's breakfast buffet for four cost $135 in US dollars, we ate most of our meals at the food court in the adjacent mall. Not just your run of the mill gathering of different fast food brands, but dozens of different ethnic foods - from Vietnamese to Thai to Malaysian to Pilipino - were represented. It was so delicious, and compared to a sit down meal, very inexpensive (about $10US a plate).

Lily and Leslie in the Hotel Lobby

Liam in the lobby

See the haze throughout the lobby?

Three nights in Singapore, and we didn't end up doing a whole lot. If we had known it was going to be so smoky, we would have skipped this stop entirely. With the smoke at such high levels, we even skipped going to a barbecue dinner being hosted by my friend who lives in Singapore. As we packed for our departure, we were hoping that this smoke wasn't going to impact the part of Thailand to which were heading. We hoped.

 

Dubai: Observations and Activities

After spending yesterday flying from Dubai to Singapore (with a stopover in Colombo, Sri Lanka), we've arrived to an all but invisible Singapore. Smoky haze fills the sky, the result of slash and burn fires to the west on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The air quality is so bad, and so unhealthy, we've decided to avoid going outside as much as possible.

Before closing the book on Dubai (which I'm more happy to do), I'd like to share some observations on the experience, and share some of the fun activities we enjoyed.

Arabian Dress

Stealing a meme from the movie Tropic Thunder, I've observed three family types of family units: basic Arabian Muslim, half-Muslim and full Muslim. The basic Arabian Muslim family is very secular in appearance and dress like any other western, or even American family. Dads wear baseball caps, the mothers wear mom jeans (how they do it in this heat, I don't understand).

Arabian Half-Muslim families feature wives with head scarf called a hijab - sometimes black, sometimes other colors. However, most of the time, the husbands dress like their 'basic' Muslim counterparts.

Now, Arabian full-Muslim is a sight to see. Again, the men may or may not dress the part, but the women are covered head to toe - an abaya (long black robe) hijab and niqab, which covers the mouth and nose, revealing only the eyes. Now, these women take care of themselves. The eye makeup is beautiful, and I've seen red soles on more than one of these women at the mall. In fact, the Middle East (with UAE leading the way) consumes 30-35% of worldwide fashion couture, so these women are styling under their abayas, and probably showing off their fashion to each other when not in public.

The full Abaya, Hijab, Naqib combo

The Arabian Muslim power couple? A family where mom is in fully abaya, and dad is wearing his Dishdasha (long white robe) and Keffiyeh (head scarf). This is the very traditional dress seen among the most influent members of the UAE (think the Royal family) and other traditionalists.

Dishdasha

Guest Workers

Demographically, Dubai would seem ripe for revolution. Only 20% of the population are Emirati citizenry, among which are the most wealthy individuals and families in the UAE. The other 80% is comprised of 'guest workers' - a population pouring in from countries such as Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Iran (which is the home country to the majority of guest workers).

Living in Dubai, for many, has become a solution for many to escape from their home country’s suffocating labor market. At the higher end, European and North American expatriates move to Dubai under the same immigration laws, but hold high end service jobs (financial, real estate, etc.).

This policy is clearly visible throughout the city. Construction workers more than often have the dark skin of the Indian subcontinent, while hotel service personnel are mostly Asian, with a few westerners and Emirati (as evidenced by a man's Dishdasha) taking executive roles.

Guest Worker

Boom & Bust

With humble beginnings as a fishing outpost where pearl harvesting was a common trade, Dubai linked the Persian Gulf to the Bedouin peoples of the desert, who roamed seasonally, chasing the limited water and other natural resources.

With oil having been discovered in the 1950s, and full independence from Great Britain in 1966, the government was set up so that the UAE became a federation of absolute hereditary monarchies. There are seven emirates that comprise the UAE, with Dubai and Abu Dhabi (about 90 minutes south of Dubai) being the most wealthy. Today, the UAE has the 7th largest oil reserves in the world, making it still a very wealthy country.

Gas is cheap and plentiful, at around the equivalent of $1.77/gallon (in boarding Saudi Arabia, it's even cheaper at $0.61/gallon!). Gas stations here are full service. Though a self service model was tried, the public simply didn't want to get out of their cars to pump their own fuel; moreover, against all that we've been taught in the US, drivers keep their cars (and AC) running while fueling up.

Until the global economic meltdown of 2008 (it's already been five years!), Dubai was a booming town of non-stop construction (accounting for almost 30% of the worlds largest construction cranes), reach-for-the-sky projects, and massive government spending on infrastructure.

Driving out of the city, heading for a desert excursion, I saw many abandoned construction projects. The dry bones of a boom past baking under the desert sun; parking lots created for thousands of cars, empty. However, the market has recovered in Dubai, and there are a plethora of high rises being built in the city proper.

Atlantis Dolphin Experience

 

Dolphins are such magical creatures. They are graceful, vivacious and intelligent. Atlantis offers interactive experiences with the dolphins it trains.  I signed up Leslie and the kids for the basic shallow water experience. This allowed them to pet and touch the dolphins, and observe close up what they look like and the amazing talent they are able to develop.

 

The family hugging Manny the (female) dolphin

Lily kissing Manny

Liam rubbing noses with Manny

The Dolphin Bay Facilities

Leslie and the Kids

Dancing Dolphin

A fun time



 

Leslie and the kids had a great time. Having swam with dolphins in Mexico before, Leslie thought this experience was far superior in that it was a much more intimate experience.

 

Desert Safari

 

The most exciting and memorable experience of the trip came with an hour's drive outside of Dubai into the drier, yet hotter desert. It didn't start all that great. The afternoon jet lag was kicking in to high gear when we met our driver, who wasn't all that loquacious, and whose Hummer (ideal for this trip, as I'll explain) stank of the smoking he obviously did with no passengers aboard. The kids were complaining of the long ride, though I found the shift from an urban to an exurban environment interesting. Skyscrapers changed to lower profile structures, and more evidence of the economic downturn was visible as we passed many projects abandoned at some point.

 

Our driver stopped at a small set of storefronts - gift shop, convenience store - which served a dual purpose. Give the tourists a chance to use the bathrooms (and buy something, if so inclined), while allowing our driver (and dozens of others, all on the same itinerary) to drastically reduce the air pressure in their tires. Why, you may ask?

 

Five minutes after proceeding, we pulled off the road, and joined 2-3 dozen vehicles from a handful of various tour companies in the shadow of an unending stretch of undulating, red sand dunes. The first part of this desert safari? Flying up and down the dunes, roller coaster style. Right around this point, my daughter started to completely freak out (with my wife not far behind). Watching the line of vehicles take the steep dunes ahead of us, my wife and daughter started to regret this excursion. For the next 20 minutes, we experiences a roller coaster ride across the sea of dunes. Up and down, down and up. It was exhilarating, and pulled me immediately out of my jet lag stupor. The poor driver was trying to calm us down, informing us that he's been doing this for 15 years, and that he needed a special license (renewed annually) to make the trip.

 

Riding the dunes

 

The caravan of 4x4s



 Lily started crying, threatening to puke everywhere, but when pushed, she admitted she wasn't at that point - just nauseous.  At the end of the ride, we stopped for a photo op, and discovered the extent of the desert heat when we stepped out. The thermometer in the car showed 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees). With the reflection of the heat shimmering off the hot sand, and with the humidity, it felt like in excess of 120 degrees.

 

Taking a break

Liam

Leslie and Liam

 

 



 

 

Once we survived the thrilling ride through the dunes, we headed to the desert camp located about 15 minutes away. Moreover, I had come to appreciate our driver immensely; he deftly handled those dunes, fishtailing several times and otherwise compensating with aggressive steering and throttle control in order to avoid tipping over.

 

Our driver, Ahmed

 

 

We arrived at the camp about an hour ahead of sunset. There was no shortage of attractions. A short ATV course, camel rides, a henna tattoo station, a place for tourists to try on dishdashas and abayas, a man with a falcon for photo ops, free water and soft drinks, and a cash bar. Moreover, a sumptuous buffet was offered (I took no part of it - the heat killed my appetite).

 

The girls started with henna tattoos, and I went to try on the largest dishdasha I could find. I yelled at Leslie, across the walled camp, and she didn't even recognize me as I motioned her over to take a photo of me wearing the traditional garb.

 

How do I look?

 

 

Desert Falcon

We were all so hot from the desert heat, that I had a real concern that one or more of us would get heatstroke. I drank a ton of water, but even when the sun went down, I couldn't stop sweating. Liam went to play with a friend he made, and came back extremely flushed in the face - and more worrisome - had stopped sweating; not a good sign. Water, water and more water.

So very hot!

Leslie's Henna Tattoo

 

As the sun was setting, Leslie wanted a camel ride. Heading over there, we had to jostle and hold firm our position in the line as time and time again, people tried to cut in line or otherwise get ahead of us. Mounting the camel (named Champagne) while she (er, the camel) was in the kneeling position, Leslie took a leisurely, but short, ride on her.

 

 

 

Meanwhile, Liam made a friend, a boy named Vincent whose family was from Mississippi, and whose dad was almost 7 feet tall. He was probably a pro basketball player, but I had no idea since I don't follow hoops. They were whooping it up playing in the sand and getting dirty.

 

Liam and Vincent

 

Dirty Liam

 

With a waxing moon high overhead, food was served and the entertainment began. Beautiful and, I assume, indigenous, the dance spun round and round while manipulating various objects. Fantastic.

 

Dancer

 

 

However, soon after, when it became clear that none of us were cooling down, and continuing to sweat without end, I signaled our driver Ahmed to return us to the hotel. In total darkness, at 8:30pm, the temperature was still 101 degrees.

 

A very tired and hot Lily

Lily and Leslie

 

 

On the drive home, we passed several palaces that, as Ahmed explained, were owned by various members of the royal families of Dubai. Located out in the desert, he explained that they liked to stay close to their Bedouin desert roots.

 

Feeling an air-conditioned powered surge in energy, I spent the trip carrying on an interesting conversation with Ahmed on a variety of subjects: his ethnicity (Pakistani), local politics, the partition of India and Pakistan in 1947 and its impact on regional geo-politics, his living situation, the Saudi playground of Bahrain among other things. A fascinating character, I enjoyed his stories and his perspective on living as a guest worker in Dubai.

 

 

 





Three Lessons Learned from our Dubai Visit

Lesson One: Do not visit Dubai in the Summer

Vegas is hot; Phoenix is hot. Both are in the desert; both experience hot summers. Hot, dry summers. Having lived in the Pacific Northwest my entire life, where humidity hovers in the low 30s, I have little experience with high temperature, high humidity environments. While in Dubai, I have never experienced such uncomfortable heat in my life. For example, as I write this at 2pm, the temperature outside is a reasonable 95 degrees, but with the humidity, Weather.com shows a 'real feel' of 113 degrees (and we've still not hit the forecasted high temperature of 104 today).

Just stepping outside produces an instant sheen of sweat, drains mental energy, and starts an inexorable physical deterioration even with constant water intake. It's simply miserable. However, while crossing the city on a taxi journey in the middle of the day, I see construction workers - all dark skinned, foreign guest workers - laboring under the sun in dark jumpsuits. Obviously, humans have the ability to adapt to most environments; some more than others.

Hazy, Hot and Humid Dubai

Besides the heat, there is a constant haze, greatly diminishing the views of the city and casting a yellow tinted veil over the adjacent Persian Gulf.  The combination of the heat and the haze greatly diminishes the attraction of the city - there's nothing pretty to look at, sun worshippers are brutally punished, and any foray into the authentic, cultural pockets of Dubai requires surviving the oppressive heat.


Lesson Two: The Cultural Melting Pot is Hard to Endure while Jet Lagged

With the eleven hour time difference from Seattle, we've not had the chance to fully synchronize with Dubai's time zone. We awake tired, struggle against the fatigue, and have found our patience threshold severely tested. I've observed that the kids are just as negatively impacted by the jet lag, but in different ways. Where Leslie and I can recognize just how tired we are, Liam and Lily tend to get cranky and have acted out on numerous occasions. There have been instances of intense civil war as the four of us have gotten on each others' nerves. This low tolerance for irritation applies to dealing with the foreign cultures we've encountered.



One of the 'Haves'

For example, Arabian kids. Bratty, undisciplined with their parents taking seemingly no interest in keeping them in line. We hear them running through the hall outside our room late at night (these are small kids!), we tire of them cutting in line or trying to push their way into elevators without any regard to our presence.

Another example is the lack of apparent friendliness in Arabian culture. There is such a lack of smiles and playful energy as we're accustomed to experiencing it. There is a sense of entitlement, and definitely a stratification of class between the haves and have-nots.

One of the 'Have-Nots'

I recognize that cultural differences are a reality, and that every person - wherever he/she lives - experiences the same range of emotions and feelings as I do. I observed the tenderness a father showed his Down's Syndrome son, and the caresses of a mother for her dwarf son. This is where my lack of fully functioning facilities fails to allow me to chill and simply experience and enjoy the differences. I chalk this up to my jet lag.

Lesson Three: Planning Ahead for Activities was a Mistake

Several weeks before we departed on this long trip, I researched the various activities in Dubai, looking for fun things for our family to do. However, I didn't account for a few things: the oppressive heat, the disabling jet lag, and the extreme lack of demand of activities due to this being the low season. The result? In some cases, it was hard to enjoy the activities (ones I'd already paid for) due to the fatigue, and in others, we simply chose to forfeit what we paid because we simply didn't have the energy to do them. Though jet lag and heat won't be such extreme factors for the remainder of the trip, I won't pre-book anything more, leaving us more flexible.

One of our activities

 

Jet Lag - A Shroud of Darkness

There isn't much more of a time change that we could have encountered and not have it been to our advantage. Eleven hours. Day is night, and night is day. The jet lag creeps up, ensconced in an excitement of arriving at an exotic location. Bright lights, steamy night.  Despite having slept for nine hours on the flight over from Seattle, I fell asleep quickly the first night. But the respite was short lived, giving way to a cycle of not knowing when I was awake or asleep.

Jet lag wracks not only the body's rhythm, but takes a psychological toll creating swings in energy and fatigue. It's a monster that lurks both in the darkest night and the brightest day. It's as if my Super Ego has fully sprung into my consciousness, sweeping nonstop insecurity and doubt  across my thoughts as I float in and out of sleep during the night, and stumble through the day by an inertia at odds with my foggy state of mind.

I'm grumpy, I know I'm grumpy; I choose to be self-reflective at the worst possible time. At the time when I need to focus on the moment, and enjoy my surroundings and my family, I find myself internalized, allowing negative imagery and thoughts to flash into my mind and take over my focus.  Sacrificed, of course, is being fully engaged with my family.

Now in my third full day in Dubai, I slept a full seven hours last night, and awoke refreshed, positive, and looking forward to embracing this experience fully.

Edited later that day: I was wrong. Jetlag still kicking my ass.

 

Flying the Arabian Skies: Seattle to Dubai on Emirates

I finally found myself with a moment of clarity, where my brain doesn't feel as fogged up as the inside windows of my car on a rainy day. My family is in the same boat; our bodies beaten up by the dramatic shift in our circadian rhythm. Some of us slept our first night, some didn't; we all napped much of today away, unable to fight the inexorable pull of fatigue. So different from when we left Seattle. I need some time to absorb and observe the incredible cultural, geographical and meteorological differences before commenting further on Dubai.

Leaving Seattle in Style: Emirates First and Business Class

Knowing that frequent flyer miles are a quickly depreciating asset (inevitably, airlines increase the number of miles needed to book award tickets), and having been spoiled by traveling first class on our previous trips to South Africa and Bali (those trips with just Leslie and I, on Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines), I booked two first class seats and two business class seats (for the kids, naturally).

For the geeky flying types out there (that means you FT'ers), booking Emirates (EK) using Alaska Airlines (AS) miles has a few restrictions. First off, itineraries are only allowed to be 90 days in length from departure to return (other airlines allow a full year); not really a problem for most travelers from a practical standpoint - most journeys are well short of 90 days. However, from a logistics standpoint, it presents a problem. Before beginning a journey, the full outbound and return needs to be booked. On EK (and most airlines), finding premium cabin space (first and business) is best done a long ways out (we're talking 8 months to a year) or very close in (up to a month before the flight). Given the last minute nature of our trip, we had to go the latter route, waiting for space to open up closer to our departure date. About a month out, we were able to book SEA>DXB with 2 pax in First (award class Z) and two in Business (award class D) for a total of 700,000 AS miles (200K for first, 150K for biz), but the only onward flight to Singapore available at the time (a very important distinction) was business class seats on a direct flight (with a stop in Colombo, Sri Lanka) to Singapore.

Another idiosyncrasy of booking EK awards using AS miles is the 'married segments' requirements. On most other airlines, one can book segments separately. For example, when we went to Bali on Cathay Pacific, we booked our SFO>HKG segment months before finally booking the HKG>DPS segment. Both bookings were independent of the other. If space was available in our award booking class, we got the seats. However, with EK, if two segments are being flown (and even though we are spending five days in Dubai, the ongoing Singapore flight is considered a connecting flight), both flights must have the desired award booking class available in order to book. In this case, there were four business class seats on both flights (which allowed us to book business class on the ongoing Singapore flight). Unfortunately, this rule means that even if a flight to Singapore with first class seats open up (and there are three daily flights of this kind to Singapore), there would have to be two first class seats available on our SEA>DXB flight in order to book those seats. This creates a catch-22. We took the last two first class seats on the SEA>DXB flight, and there are no more available, so even though we have those seats, we wouldn't be able to book first class to Singapore (unless we changed the entire outbound itinerary to a date that had first class available on both flights - this wasn't going to happen based on our schedule).

The final challenge in booking the itinerary is based on the 90 day max rule. As I mentioned earlier, space is easier to find far out in time, or close to departure date. Ninety days out has almost no award space on EK. I had to search and search, and finally found a return itinerary from Singapore connecting through Dubai to Houston, and finally flying to Seattle from there on AS. This is for September 3. We need to go home sometime between July 24 and 27. I therefore have to play a waiting game, watching award availability closely as we approach those dates in order to find a way home. We may flight straight to Seattle (hopefully), or we may be forced into other North American gateway cities (SFO, LAX, IAH, DFW) that AS serves. More on this in later posts.

After hurried last minute errands and packing, we were ready to head to the airport at 2:30pm. A great benefit of flying Emirates in First or Business is chauffeured transportation to and from the airport - for all stops along the journey. Given how much luggage we have (two suitcases each), I opted to book dual town cars for the ride to SeaTac. Liam and I rode in one, while Lily and Leslie departed in the other. The original intent was to convoy to the airport, but as we turned the corner from our street, I panicked and asked the driver to pullover so I could confirm I had our passports in my computer bag. That done, we ended up taking separate routes that resulted with Liam and I arriving about 10 minutes ahead of the others.

Once we checked in - a very pleasant process with a dedicated line for first class (and one for business class as well), we whisked through security, using the priority line. It took us around 10 minutes to complete the security process, while the standard line snaked off in the distance for a good 200ft (who knows how long it took those folks).

The flight left from the south concourse, so we made our way via the tram, and headed to the International Lounge, a contract lounged used by several airlines including Emirates. It was a small lounge, with few amenities, and a poor food selection (just some bagged snacks, cans of soda, some beer, and a bar tended when you ring a bell). Compared to the British Airways Galleries lounge just upstairs, it's pretty poor.

Leslie not happy with the lounge (actually, not happy I'm snapping her pic)

An hour before departure, we headed for the gate. The plane was moored at S16, the seating area of which was surrounded by construction - it took a while to find the area. Unfortunately, in this isolated set of gates (including S15), two international flights (the other on Condor to Frankfurt) were set to depart at the same time. The two different sets of passengers couldn't be more different. Waiting for the Condor flight were a combination of European and American passengers, while the vast majority of those attending on the Emirates flight were likely from the Arabian Peninsula and the Indian subcontinent. It was noisy (lots of small children), crowded (never enough seats for everyone) and stuffy.

Our ride to Dubai

Finally, First and Business class boarding was called, and we walked along the long air bridge, past a cart holding a variety of newspapers - both international and local,  and across the threshold of the 777-200LR (a long range version of the 777, with a max range of 10,800 statute miles).  Door 2L was being used for boarding so all four of us crossed to the starboard aisle and took a left where the forward cabin of business class (nice and quiet - only two rows) and first class were located. I made sure the kids were squared away, giving them the basics on how to adjust the seat and use the onboard entertainment, then took some time to get to know my first class suite.

Lily and Liam settling into their seats

A 23 inch monitor, a minibar with various soft drinks, lots of room for carry-on luggage, and three windows across the length of the suite, That's my favorite part - being able to see so much and get so much natural light. After a pre-departure glass of Moet, we pushed back and took off to the north (a rarity in Seattle). Unlike the various American domestic airlines, which keep the fasten seatbelt sign on for a good 20 minutes before allowing passengers to stretch, on our flight, the light was off before even reaching the 'double-ding' altitude, the 10k foot threshold  above which electronics can be used.

Large monitor with pre-departure glass of Moet

Though the most direct route to Dubai (following the great circle) would have taken us just under 100 miles south of the North Pole, due to the wind patterns, a route was chosen that took over the north of Greenland, down through Norway, Finland, Russia, the Caucuses and Iran en route.




Our routing to Dubai...the dotted line indicated the planned routing (taking advantage of winds across Europe)

All first class guests are provided with pajamas, but the purser informed me that she only had a large, not an extra large. I went to the lavatory (which was, surprisingly, of a standard size). The pajama pants bottoms fit, but were high waters; however, the top was way too small (fat guy with a little coat small). So I stuck with my tee shirt.

As with all international first class products, you dine whenever you feel like it. This is an especially great option for the 1am departures from the West Coast to Hong Kong on Cathay Pacific. Who wants a full meal at 2am? Better to get some sleep and eat later. However, on our flight, our departure made an immediate meal service make sense. Dining was a la carte - there were many options from which to choose (even anytime breakfast options like pancakes). I started with a couple of flutes of Dom Perignon, 2003 vintage accompanied first with a warmed nut mix, then with caviar. Also, at this time, I opted to dine while watching the latest Die Hard thriller, set in Russia this time with John McCain having to save his CIA operative son from trouble (no, he doesn't say yippee cayea in this movie, I don't think).

Next, I had another appetizer, a seafood plate, and another wine - a lovely Grgrich Hills Chardonnay (well, two glasses of it). Moving on to the entrée, I enjoyed a mixed meat plate with beef, lamb and chicken (along with a couple of glasses of a red, vineyard and varietal forgotten).

I finished with yet more wine, a cheese board followed by a chocolate dessert, at which point I was both full and fairly drunk.  Almost four hours had flown by, and though the night had fallen in Seattle, we were well enough north not to draw the shadows of the south. I was able to laugh and cry through an episode of Nurse Jackie that I'd not seen yet (No! why did Charlie have to die!), then decided I need to get some sleep.

I asked the flight attendant if she could make the bed next to my wife who was sitting in the center (first was a 1-2-1 configuration). She changed the seat to a bed, added a mattress, duvet and pillow. I stumbled over, put on my eye mask, took an ambien for good measure, and promptly fell asleep to the view of stars sprinkled across the ceiling bulkhead of the cabin - a starry night.

Tap, tap....tap, tap. I stir awake to my wife nudging me awake. She's enjoying breakfast and informs that there was just over an hour left in the flight. Doing a little math, I figured I was out for almost nine hours! Did I feel refreshed? No - just very hung over and dehydrated...why did I drink so much wine! (reminds me of a flight Leslie and I took on Cathay from Hong Kong to Johannesburg in business class. I was drinking lots of wine, but that time, I started flirting big time with the flight attendant - until that ended in disaster. I spilled my wine on the floor and broke the glass. The purser got mad and threatened to cut me off. However, I cut myself off and promptly passed out).

My take on our experience? The service was excellent. The flight attendants (three of them serving a first class load of five passengers) were all sincerely friendly, and quick to please. A great crew. Though the Emirates wine list was superior, I preferred the Cathay Pacific menu selections and food quality over Emirates. Moreover, the Cathay Pacific first class seat is huge; very wide and great for sleeping and lounging. The Emirates seat had no ottoman, making lounging (watching movies, etc.) not as comfortable. Also, the bed wasn't as comfortable. The entertainment system (ICE) is unmatched for content, and in our case screen size. I've flown business class on Emirates three other times for work, and found it superior to other airline products; I just think Emirates fell short in its first class product (yes, I know, first world problems to be sure).

Landing at dusk, all of us still tired in spite of the various amounts of sleep each of us got, we started the long walk, including a short train ride, to the main terminal three (which is completely occupied by Emirates) immigration and baggage claim. Fairly empty at this hour, we had our passports stamped, found our luggage already waiting for us off the belt, loaded up four luggage carts, and headed landside. We finally found our way to the Emirates transport lounge, and loaded up two Mercedes station wagons (business class transfers use Volvos), and headed into the night towards the Atlantis.