I’m back from my first multi sector trip with Emirates and I am exhausted. Apart from flying long hours back to back, you also have 24 hours at each destination to pack in as much as you possibly can whilst also getting enough sleep to recharge your batteries for your next trip.
My trip began in the early hours of Saturday morning with a seven hour flight to Singapore (SIN). I was so excited to finally visit a new destination and couldn’t wait to land to go out and explore. The crew were fabulous to work with and the flight went rather quickly for seven hours, however many of them didn’t want to go out and do much as they wanted to shop for Christmas presents, sleep or had already visited many times before. However, I didn’t let this stop me and I had a quick 30 minute power nap got showered and changed and got the MRT (Singapore’s version of the tube/metro/subway) towards the Marina Bay Sands hotel.
The MRT was incredibly clean and so much more spacious than the cramped tube in London. I wonder what on earth tourists must think when they visit London. Trying to work out the MRT on my own was quite tricky however I ended up at a shopping centre that was adjacent to the Marina Bay Sands. The Marina Bay Sands was so impressive and I really wanted to go up the observation deck and look out over Singapore.
The weather wasn’t on my side and was trying incredibly hard to drizzle and was quite cloudy so I didn’t waste my money as I knew I would be back in a couple of days time for the last leg of the trip. I wandered through the hotel (which is such a strange shape inside) and towards the Gardens By The Bay.
The Gardens are incredibly impressive and a big tourist attraction in Singapore. It was a winter wonderland theme for Christmas and I really wanted to have a wander round except it was getting dark and I realised I hadn’t eaten for most of the day. I stopped to take some pictures of the Marina Bay Sands and the gardens and headed back through the shopping centre to get the MRT back to the hotel.
After grabbing a quick bite to eat I wanted to head over to the Raffles Hotel where they created the famous cocktail the Singapore Sling 100 years ago!
The cocktail itself was so delicious and I could have sat and drank one or two more, however the price of the cocktail itself was enough just for one…
After visiting Raffles I had a wander around the area before heading off to bed tired from all the walking and the early morning flight from Dubai.
The next morning I woke up grabbed some breakfast and got ready for the flight to Brisbane (BNE) which again was seven hours. The nice thing about this multi sector trip is that all the flights are broken up into seven hour slots which is enough time for two services on the flight. Again I was filled with excitement as this would be my first time in Australia! Two new destination in two days, can you believe that this is my job? The flight went quickly and all services done smoothly then it was soon touch down in Brisbane around 00:30 in the morning. Upon arrival to the hotel I tried to sleep however the time difference was not on my side so I was awake till around 5am skyping my family and calling my Grandma trying to feel sleepy. I can use my UK phone for free in Australia so I took full advantage of that whilst being there.
After a mere four hours sleep my alarm went off and I was ready to go and visit the Koala sanctuary just outside of central Brisbane! I got on what I thought was the correct bus and was driving for thirty minutes before I realised I was going in the completely wrong direction. After a change or two I was finally on the right bus and was on my way to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary.
I arrived at the sanctuary and was so ready to see some native Australian animals and finally cuddle a koala!!
Meet Vinnie the koala who was actually much heavier than you would imagine! He also smelt SO bad, but this didn’t stop me from smiling for a mandatory “I’m In Australia” tourist picture.
After this I headed over to the Kangaroo pen to feed the kangaroos from my palm with the special feed I had purchased. They were so friendly and so calm around people but the adult male kangaroos looked so muscular and tall and I was scared they would kick it any minute. So I stayed well away and kept to the little baby roo’s!
When I had finished wandering around the sanctuary which had all sorts of animals from emu’s to crocodiles to wallaby’s I made my way back towards Brisbane CBD to explore the area and see what Brisbane was really like.
I loved Brisbane and it was such a cool city. It reminded me a lot of home in regards to the people, the buildings and the culture. The Southbank was so pretty and a had a huge sign/sculpture of Brisbane with the city in the background.
Next to this was The Wheel Of Singapore with the university behind. In the main area it was decorated festively although it didn’t feel festive in the slightest with it being 32 degrees!
Heading back towards the hotel I decided to do a bit of shopping and get some Christmas presents finally, nothing like leaving it late ey? I ordered from room service for tea as we got 50% discount being cabin crew and went to sleep ready for my 11pm wake up call.
I was up in the middle of the night ready for a 02:30 departure from Brisbane International Airport back to Singapore for another 24 hours. The flight was full however most passengers slept the whole way which was a nice break for us crew. Landing into Singapore at 9am, I checked into the hotel and was going to meet another crew member. After having a shower and deciding to just have a “little sit down” on the bed, I woke up 2 and a half hours later incredibly disorientated and wondering where on earth I was. After realising I quickly changed and headed out for some shopping and a bite to eat. I was still incredibly exhausted so only managed two hours and a trip to Nandos after I stumbled upon it!
Singapore was actually really cheap for clothes and I managed to get some really good bargains. However after two hours I was craving my bed and ended up sleeping for another 12 hours before my wake up call at 06:30.
A lighter load back on the seven hour flight and we landed safe and sound into Dubai International Airport all incredibly tired after our five day trip together. I had so much fun on my first multi sector trip, however I feel like I need about a week of sleep to catch up on what I have missed on. The time zone changes, the jet lag, the unusual hours and the trying to do everything in such a short space of time really does take it out of you but I loved every minute. I hadn’t realised how much I missed the greenery after being in Dubai almost three months so it was really refreshing to see such a green landscape both in Singapore and Brisbane. Only a couple more days until my next multi sector trip to Melbourne and Auckland!
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Jessica's Journey With Emirates 
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