st. petersburg pt.II

After a session of cam-whoring at the winter palace, we ran into the nearest restaurant for food. the meal was pathetic really. but what do you expect from a joint along the main street meant to attract tourists. however, we did try the russian beer; Baltika, and that was good.

as i waited for the restaurant’s bathroom, i did met the proprietor of the restaurant and his friend a street photographer. from first impression i was intimidated, because the owner looked like part of the russian mafia. instead they were friendly, and started speaking to me in russian. A lot of them don’t know english, so we were having a little trouble communicating to one another. when all fails we use sign language and gestures. i’m pretty sure we looked like dancing monkeys.

 

the photographer showed me his camera and collection of photos which were pretty rad. as i said bye he offered me one of his signed prints in exchange for a photo for him. of course i gladly obliged. how random. hahah.

 
baltika russian beer; the photo now sits on the corner of my dressing table right ;D

so now imagine 5 happy drunk crew making a ruckus in the middle of a foreign country. on a wednesday night. so we skipped hopped and sang in the middle of saint petersburg. then we came across an underground go-go bar! and of course we paid a visit to watch sexy (but not the most good looking) ladies dance on table tops!

so that was my first night and i got back to the hotel drunk and passed out on the bed without taking off my makeup. the next morning however i did manage to wake up really early (think 7am). i reckon i was probably just too excited being in Russia and wanted to explore. spoke to the concierge and found out nothing opens till 10am. what am i to do till 10am…

i found myself in Tepemok (Теремок), a fast food chain to try their blini. Blini is in plural. there's no such thing as blinis; and they are little Russian pancakes made of buckwheat flour.

the menu looks exactly like McDonalds and everything was horrendously in Russian. however when the waitress noticed me staring at the menu for a good 5 minutes, she whipped up an English menu beneath the counter for me. i went for the basic set meal; costing 280Rubles/USD9 which came with a cup of tea, borscht soup and a simple mushroom cream bliny. my it was yummy! Borscht is a traditional Russian soup filled with cabbage, minced meat and beetroot; hence the reddish color. The bliny isn't much different to a French crepe except it has a spongier texture having used a leavening agent. also the fact that the presentation is more of a dumbed-down meal compared to the French crepes. really, anything that has to do with french just has to be more sophisticated than the world.

i then took a stroll to the church of the saviour on spilled blood (Церковь Спаса на Крови). isnt that such a sadistic name. just saying the name gives me the chills. it’s built on the site where Tsar Alexander II was assassinated and the church it meant to be dedicated to his memory. while walking along the main street, it’s hard to miss the church as you’re crossing a certain bridge as its towering domes peek out between the promenade of buildings along the river. unless you’re staring into the ground while walking of course.

I’ve seen the beautifully marbled renaissance churches in rome, the tall intimidating gothic spires of the french and the rough masculine ones in england (not forgetting barcelona’s gaudiness); so this was a nice introduction to the elaborate mosaic tiled russian church. walking towards it, it was so picturesque it felt almost magical; like a page out of a fairy tale book.

of course i couldnt help but pay 300Rubles/USD10 for a ticket inside, and guess what. more mosaics. they really beautiful though. its not a very big church; it is however really overwhelming due to its tall spaces and detailed mosaics. church is open everyday except wednesdays; 1000-1900 during summer and 1100-1900 during winters.

okay hoo-haa; the visit to the church is done. time for more food and some souvenir shopping.

st. petersburg – the first layover pt.I

my new job opened up on a high note. its like my employer is poking fun at me; saying “aren’t you glad you quit your boring old job as an architect and came with us?” i do miss it, but HELL YEAH.

they sent me to st petersburg in russia for my first layover. imagine this; its a 5 hour flight from dubai to russia and they let me stay and explore for 24hours. with meal allowances. can i just melt from sheer gratitude now?

“Zdravstvujtye” (pronounced; zdrah-stvooy-tee) is the russian way of saying hello formally; and HELLO RUSSIA! personally i find their alphabetical characters really interesting; similar to japanese ones. then again, anything foreign to me is always interesting.

we landed at 6pm; and got an hour bus ride to the hotel which was so conveniently located along Nevsky Prospect, considered the main avenue of the town cutting through the historical centre of the cit . as st petersburg was a first for many of the crew members, we decided to do some sight seeing right after albeit some of us being really tired. we’re in a new destination, of course we’d take the chance to explore no matter what!

the beautiful autumn season during august also meant that the sun sets only at about 9pm and the temperature was at a nice 20degrees. after being in dubai’s sweltering heat for a good 2 months; it was good to enjoy some cool weather. my prior research mentioned how saint petersburg was the most ‘western’ part of russia. and i could see why. walking through town; it felt a little like belgium, luxemburg and paris art nouveau all rolled up into one. There were large pedestrian walkways, squares dotted between tall stone buildings with intricate ornamentation.

 

Kazan Cathedral (Каза́нский кафедра́льный собо́р); a russian orthodox church dedicated to Our Lady of Kazan. We didn’t manage to get the time to go in but my first impression was what a beautiful university it was. turns out to be a cathedral instead. HAH.

Opposite the cathedral was the Art Nouveau Singer House (Дом компании) also known as the House of Books (Дом книги); part of a historical-cultural heritage of the street. Used to be the headquarters for the Singer Sewing Machine Company; it now houses the city’s largest book store (hence the name) after Russia’s October Revolution in 1919.

 

fooling around with the chocolate santa claus; because chocolate is the way into my heart. one thing to note, all the buildings were of similar height; about 7 storeys, to comply to the city’s building code of structures not being allowed to be higher than the Winter Palace (Tzar’s residence) at 23.5m.

this is similar to Florence in Italy towards the cathedral and Athens in Greece towards the Parthenon. Interesting how many cities have this to maintain a kind of hierarchy in their streetscape structure. *how geeky am i. you can just slap me now*

anyways, so we took a nice stroll towards the Winter Palace (Зи́мний дворе́ц); which was from 1732 to 1917 the official residence of the Russian monarchs. It now houses the Hermitage Museum; but was closed by the time we got there. It costs an adult foreigner 400Rubles; citizens of Russian and Belarus 150Rubles. Hmm. However its free on every first Thursday of the month and to all children and students. So if you’re trip doesn’t coincide with the first Thursday, remember to bring your student card. or fake one. who really knows? oh, you didnt read it here by the way.

 

The Ramadan dinner

The Ramadan month ended last week. If you don’t know what ramadan is; its the holy ninth month in the Islamic calendar where Muslims fast during the daylight hours from dawn to sunset. It is apparently the month when the holy book of Quran is believed to have been revealed.

I am a non-muslim, thus do not follow the ramadan rules. However as UAE is a muslim country, everyone has to respect and abide to these rules. Thus there is no food displayed in malls, shops etc from about 5am till 7pm. Supermarkets are still open as normal. Restaurants and cafes close up with shutters and/or blinds; some of them still serve food but only for take-away. Bars and clubs are still open, however there is no music and only non-alcoholic drinks are served.

 

The reason why muslims abstain from any food, drinks and any sexual activities is highly spiritual. Through fasting, they experience hunger and thirst; to sympthathize with the unfortunate, and also to practice self-control. However, OHMYGAWD it was bloody torture for me to go through the month. As my batchmates and i finally ended our training; we could not celebrate as there was no bars/clubs that were open with alcohol. If i happened to be out during lunch time and got hungry, i could not have anything to eat out in the public. One would need to bring it back home before you could eat, or worse case scenario, eat it in the public bathroom. Imagine delicious donuts were screaming out to me as i walked past. The rules are so strict here that if you were actually caught even drinking water inside your car; you’d get thrown into jail.

The good thing however; was the iftar meals at dawn. Iftar is the evening meal when muslims would come together and break their fast together. Alot of restaurants have iftar buffets where you can eat whatever and however much you wanted for a set price. the average was about AED70/USD20 for a lower quality restaurant to about AED500/USD135 for one in a fine dining restaurant.

 if you didn’t know already, i’ve got gorgeous friends. inside and out. don’t be envious now.

I had the privilege to be able to attend 2 iftar buffets. the first was sort of a celebratory dinner at Al Merkaaz in dubai marina. The food was alright; but the hospitality was just amazing as the manager took us through all the different traditional Lebanese dishes and desserts.

The night was still young and would not be complete without a session of seesha, thus we headed to look for a nice chill-out spot. As we walked onto the dubai marina, i was blown away by the sight beyond. Yachts parked in a man-made marina with scores of skyscrapers and blinding lights. Sheikh Zayed Road was alright, but i definitely found the glitzy side of Dubai.

 

Okay, fast forward a week later, and i found myself and my batchmates being invited for another iftar dinner organized by the cabin crew committee; held in the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding.

  

The centre is housed in the historic traditional Emirati neighbourhood of Bastakiya. It is a lovely lovely place and would definitely recommend a walk through the maze of narrow sikkas and tall wind towers. We got lost (obviously) looking for the exact place, but when we were escorted through a series of corridors, an indoor covered courtyard laid with carpets, pillows and lots of food greeted us graciously.

We began with a little introduction to the month of ramadan, the customs and culture of muslims, what to do and what not to do, and the food of course. They had traditional names for the dishes but being in arabic i obviously do not remember any of it. except just that they were lamb, goat, rice, wheat, and donuts dipped in syrup! Breaking fast always start with a round of plain water, dates and arabic coffee. It is customary to only eat after the evening prayers end; but me being me, i popped a date in as soon as i was handed one; to the dismay of the person serving me.

iveta from lithuania and rene from south africa

No they didnt put me into jail for that but i felt bad for being such a lackwit. Oh well, after the prayers were done and dusted; time for the feast to begin! The food was alright due to the sheer amount of mass producing they needed to do to feed everyone. What made it really special was the ambience and cultural understanding i experienced, and that made the meal so much more than just a meal.

all the bright lights

Have you ever had an occasion where you can’t think of anywhere else that you want to be but where ever you are at that exact moment; time and place? i had that moment of gratitude as i was sitting in the flight cockpit, as we swirled around dubai with the glittering pinnacle of burj dubai, bright lights dotted surrounding it at 3am in the morning.

i just got back from my first 2 SUPY flights. the first was to karachi, pakistan and it was nothing short of eventful. The flight was delayed 45 minutes, which gave us crew some time to grab some coffee. Then 3 cabin crew was pulled out at the last minute. The seniors were reassuring me that it rarely happens and not be too alarmed by it. It was a flight for me to just sit and observe. However as it was a full flight and they were working on a minimum number of crew, i helped out with the cabin service anyway.

It was a flight during Iftar time. Iftar is the time when muslims fasting for religious reasons would break their fast after about 14hours of not eating nor drinking. So you can imagine how hungry these people were. Not to mention cranky and demanding. A short flight + undermanned meant that a lot of passengers didn’t receive what they wanted. which meant unhappy customers. not to mention unhappy crew. 1 man vomited all over the aisle. 1 baby vomited on the mother. doesn’t it all sound so dramatic? there’s a sick bag in the seat pockets. use it.

 
anyways being the newbie i had the privilege to sit in the cockpit during takeoff and landing. it was meant to show every crew how the flight deck worked and how important it would be not to disturb them during these crucial times. so my lips were zipped the whole time i was in there, unless they spoke to me of course. i found the whole process of take-off and landing incredibly manual and tedious. in this age of technology and automation you would think it was just pressing the pedal and pushing the control stick to fly the machine; however there were a million buttons to press before and after, checklists to go through and so many visual indicators to monitor. it was like playing a retro video game; but just a hundred times more complicated.

the monitors were all 16 bit, i swear, and the text like high scores you’d see on retro video games.

so while the flight deck were busy concentrating on flying and landing the plane safely, me the SUPY enjoyed the view; and what a view it was. whatever HDR photos you see on the internet cannot capture the beauty and experience of it. landscapes, buildings, infrastructures shrinking as you fly higher and higher, which soon becomes a large web all connected to one another and soon you realise how small you truly are from above. it was an amazing experience; i now truly understand the charm of flying such a large aircraft and i’m so so glad i took the crazy leap to be there at that moment.

prepare for lift off

i’ve finally finally ended my training. its been a long 6 weeks. even though i’m a little sad that i wont be seeing all my batchmates that i’ve grown so close from learning and spending time together every single day for the past weeks, i’m actually more relieved that its finally over.

also, our rosters are released on the 26th of each month. meaning that i’ve actually been allocated the destinations that i’m flying to.

photography by umer whom i reckon captures the most beautiful pictures of his home country.

tomorrow i will be doing my very first turnaround supy (supernumery) flight to karachi, pakistan. i won’t be actually working but will be there just to observe and learn from the start to finish. then comes my first operational flights to 3 destinations in india, bangladesh, jeddah, and iraq. my first layover (which i am very excited for) was allocated at the end of the month, which i believe deserves it’s own post. haha.

the dreamfly project

so you can see now, my first month of operational flights will be to many of the countries which are still living in hardcore poverty. many of my more experienced friends have shared with me their encounters; how many of the passengers on these flights probably have never had any formal education and how it is probably their first flight to/from home after many years abroad trying to make ends meet. my parents are freaking out at the destinations i need to serve (it’s their typical protective maternal instinct) but truthfully i wished i had time to go about the cities and towns instead of just turnarounds.

it will be an interesting month. i just hope the crew i fly with will be nice ones. i’m new. please go easy on me. =)

i’m trained for this

we had one whole week of GMT (general medical training). after a week i've learnt that i cannot cannot stomach any blood, pain, screaming or any serious medical conditions. i've also learnt how important these life skills are in times of a medical emergency. the trainers have made us prepared in any life-threatening event you can think of; from simple burns to internal bleeding, cardiac arrest, and even childbirth.

so now i know how to administer CPR. i’m glad to say that i will know what to do in an event of a cardiac arrest. a cardiac arrest is when one’s heart suddenly stop working (usually after a heart attack). however i reckon i’ll only act as the last resort in the case that there isn’t anyone else to help. lol.

the step-by-step images do show the right way to administer CPR; albeit the hilarious captions.
1) call for help or an ambulance
2) tilt the head back while checking for signs of breathing
5) place palm along the nipple line in the middle of the chest (this is serious..)
6) 30 chest compressions as hard as possible with 2 hands within 15seconds
3) blow hard! only twice into lungs
repeat till victim starts breathing/paramedics arrive/after 30 minutes. wtf capri-sun liquid?? no.. we’re just meant to check for the pulse or breathing.

one thing i learnt is that while doing the CPR, the ribs will more often than not break under the chest compressions. the rule of thumb is that if there isn’t any cracking sounds, it means that the compressions aren’t effective. freaky.

  liking the awareness poster by nina reck

it gets worse as the week progresses. we learnt how to stab someone with the EPIPEN (adrenaline solution) if they were suffering from a severe case of allergic reaction. then came childbirth with a really real plastic model. the baby comes out all slimy and with the cord attached.

if you can stomach more, there was also the session on how to handle dead bodies on board if such an event were to happen. the cabin is actually prepared with a corpse bag and all the accessories needed to respectfully 'bag' the poor soul.

this was a slightly traumatising week for me, to actually be trained for events that might happen. pray that it never does happen on my flights. cause i know i’ll be freaking out like shite if it did.

prepare for take off

training for the new job has been going on for the past 3 weeks, and hell; is it intense! The first week was purely induction, to get us newbies settled into dubai and our new employer. The first days were interesting as it gave us a chance to meet with people from all over the world, so there were lots of cultural exchanges going around

2 days into induction and i was getting bored and tired. it was fun to make new friends and batchmates, but the week has been just CONSTANT BRAINWASHING. understand that this is a major major airline in the middle east and employee productivity is of upmost importance. (which airline am i talking about? qatar air? emirates? etihad? gulf air? its not that hard to guess. i’m employed in a major airline based in dubai) so the week has been about how lucky we are to be here, how we are the creme-de-la-creme of tens of thousands of applicants, we are the greatest we are the best noone can compare to our awesomeness. sorry for the bashing but there’s just so much motivation sessions i can take. we are a family yes but that doesn’t mean i am not an individual and need to sacrifice my everything for your profits.



anyways training takes about 5 weeks here. i’ve finished 3 weeks and can’t wait for the last 2 to go quickly as i am just to tired of being indoors pouring through the manual. i’ve gone through 6 years of tertiary studies, 5 weeks feel like forever to me. compare this to a batchmate of mine who went through 9 years; having a degree in european studies and masters in clinical physiologist. everyday we greet each other with the ‘good lord-another day-kill me now’ face.

that aside, i have been learning ALOT. the first 2 weeks consists of intense SEP (safety and emergency procedures) training which was pretty fun. the company had invested in a million dollar simulator which was so awesome; comparable or even better than the ones in disneyland. you could actually feel the air pressure alike a real aircraft during take off or landing.



first off was how to operate the aircraft doors which seemed intimidating at first as there were so many safety procedures to go through before a door could actually be opened or closed. however once we had the hang of it with practice sessions, it was easy as pie. evacuating came next, how to evacuate passengers in case of a catastrophe. it was.. exhilarating.. that would be the best way to describe it. the simulator could simulate actual turbulence, smoke, crashes etc that it feels so real and everyone inside would die if we the cabin crew did not do something.

decompression came next. you know the ones in movies where an aircraft door suddenly blasts open and oxygen masks drop down from above? yea, if ever anything happens on board; you’d want us there. HAHA. but on a serious note, it is virtually impossible for such a thing to happen. we were taught fire fighting procedures as well, in case there was a fire onboard which would be very very fatal. the simulator couldn’t simulate fire, so instead we had blinking red lights to represent fire and had lasers shooting out of the fire extinguisher. haha wtf. ditching was one of the last things; where everyone had to put on life vests, slide down the slide raft and jump into the freezing cold water.


 found this online and it is hilarious! maybe not so much to you but when you were taught the ideal scenario in an emergency situation, it is easy to relate on what will actually happen as illustrated. who reads these cards anyways?! anyways the next time you fly; read them, that’ll make my job so much easier.

Dear people; if ever there was an emergency situation: KEEP CALM and LISTEN TO US. WE ARE Freakin TRAINED FOR THIS. ‘nuff said.

so that was the 2 weeks of SEP. nearly every other day we had theoretical exams that requires more than an 80% mark to pass and home based assignment to be completed after 8 hours of class; it is not easy. there was so so much to learn in a short period of time. my brain felt so sponged up on the last day but at least now i’m well prepared for any situation ;D


GMT (general medical training) week came next; but i’ll leave that for the next post.

dubai the aerotropolis

the views in this blog are purely my own from my experience and in no way is meant as an offence to anyone. some statements might not be facts but just well-known rumours; so take it easy people.

the fountains of dubai mall

IMHO dubai is an interesting city. this place used to be unheard of, just some desert in the middle east, yet the past few years have seen a major change and now there’s a guide book on it, and even a music video based on the city itself. dubai has popped out of the middle of nowhere, history-less and incomprehensible. it is like an empty canvas, and here comes people playing god, creating and shaping to their liking. if you can imagine how much money is needed to kick start a building development, imagine how much capital would be needed to actually kick-start an actual city. dubai had little oil, little resources and a tiny population. but by sheer determinacy, it built itself as a flight hub  the world. the timing has never been any better, as air travel was booming, bringing the world a little closer and the next time we know, everyone is flying into dubai for connecting flights. so then the ‘fake city’ is created. there’s manmade islands, manmade rivers, and manmade green parks. downtown dubai is filled with fancy skyscrapers that defies the natural climate and the favourite hangout place is the soulless malls for excessive capitalism.


burj dubai/burj khalifah and the mall’s aquarium

everything here has to be bigger and better than the rest of the world. there’s the world largest shopping mall; dubai mall. in it theres a olympic sized ice rink and an aquarium with the worlds largest single acrylic panel. next to it is burj khalifah, currently the tallest skyscraper in the world, where it also becomes the backdrop for the dubai fountain, modelled after the one in Las Vegas only 4 times bigger.


one of the souks in bur dubai; trying out the abra to get across the creek

Dubai in a certain way overwhelming to me with its ambition and excessive ‘plastic surgery’, but when you lose yourself in its little ghettos you will find loads of traditional charm with its souks, abras and local food. The social strata here is very evident; in one area you would have the expats and local emirati population, and the other the huge labour force brought in to facilitate the city’s construction projects. The working rights here is a major social issue, where there are reports that some are forced to be in living conditions “less than humane” yet not able to return to their home country for having their passport taken away.

 towards the dubai creek and the restaurant converted dhow.

Dubai has always been portrayed as the glitzy cosmo destination. the 7-star level lifestyle, shiny malls, elegant skyscrapers and glamorous hotels. However I’ve been enjoying myself more exploring the different scene in the areas of Karama, Diera, Naif and Al Quoz. There are people pulling carts, mini stores selling abayas and pashima scarfs, restaurants that don’t look like they pass the health test yet filled with patrons. Theres an abundance of cheap authentic cuisine from Pakistan, India, Lebanon and more for less than 10AED/3AUD a meal. Compare this to one in burj al-arab where dinner starts from 350AED/90AUD, with even smaller portions. Local character and cheap food in dubai is aplenty, now i’m just hunting for them.