The Purple Journal

Inside the First Class Bathroom of Emirates A380

November 14, 2009 · 2 Comments

nadia masood

The Emirates A380

My younger sister, the girl who gets a lot of awesome work-related perks, has recently returned from an official trip in Bangkok aboard the Emirates A380.  She took a lot of pictures, much to my delight.  So all the pictures posted here belong to her.  I have nothing to do with them whatsoever.

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The food, obviously. But she didn't mention what it was.

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Stairs leading up to the bar (one thing that shouldn't be in an aircraft that belongs to a Muslim country, but well ...) and social area of the first class passengers.

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A personal mini-bar and touch-screen, wireless remote to manage to seat with massage facility.

But this post is not about the A380 as a whole.  This post is about the bathroom of the A380.


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The attention to detail is unreal. They even have heated floors.

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A window to enjoy the, well, clouds.

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Sensor-activated taps

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On these flights, an extra staff (non cabin crew) is carried to assist passengers wanting to use the bathroom, and to take care of these showers/spa.

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There's also a hair dryer.

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Bvlgari perfumes and timeless spa lotions, separate for men and women.

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Who could refuse clean, good-smelling, fluffy towels?

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Timeless Spa products developed for Emirates by the German brand Babor.

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Although the shower time is limited to 5 minutes, one can stay in the bathroom for 20-30 minutes (sampling all the products available).

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The showers are regulated through a software program that gives people a five-minute shower, with a traffic light system that lets people know how long they had left. So if you're on amber and your hair's full of shampoo, you want to get moving.

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Keep your eye on the illuminated timer, which counts down the allotted five minutes, but you can stop the shower any time by pushing a button.

But I find this picture really funny …


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An Emirates cabin crew in an abra!

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So We’re Back …

November 12, 2009 · 11 Comments

… from our gorgeous haveli in Mumbai …

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… to the sand and glass of Dubai.

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Not that I’m complaining.  I think I’ve seen enough green and rain to last me, well, at least 6 months *hint to the husband*

I’m so happy to be the U.A.E.  Why?  Because this is the time of the year to be here!  Clouds are starting to float in the sky.  I can see stars twinkling in the night.  The birds have begun to migrate from neighboring countries.  I can keep my windows open to cooler breeze.  I can finally plan BBQ with family and friends.  Masood and I can steal some time (an hour, for example) from work and go out for a walk.

I am geographically closer to my family.

And I can hear beautiful adhaan five times a day.

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Complete Body Service?

November 11, 2009 · 10 Comments

Our lunch time is spent reading classified ads in the local paper …

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PS:  Both of these ads were classified under “Education”.

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On Our Way Home

November 8, 2009 · 13 Comments

nadia masood

Breathing in some fresh air.

I absolutely loved the journey back to Hyderabad!  During our stay in Mumbai, something unfortunate happened.  It had been one of those moments in life when you feel totally helpless and lost.   So this train journey – a total of 18 hours – gave us time to think and be grateful for a lot of other things in our lives.  Sometimes you just need some quiet, peaceful time to recompose yourself, away from people who blurt out “everything will be okay” even before you finish your sentence.

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A major stop connecting Mumbai and Pune

I began learning how to read and write Hindi a year ago – on my own, since Masood thought there wasn’t any need to – but got busy with a 1001 other things.  I began to recognize the alphabets and slowly, very slowly, I even began to combine letters and read simple words.  Like on the board above that reads ‘Lonavla’, I could only read the lona and la part in Hindi.

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Yummy Chikkis!

Lonavla is famous for its chikkis,  sweets made from groundnuts and jaggery.  But you get other flavors as well:  sesame seeds, coconut, pistachios, and almonds.  We bought a couple of boxes, which weren’t as full as they appear to be.  *sigh* Well at least, they taste good.

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A random pick up truck.

Somewhere during this journey, though I’m not sure where exactly, we were instructed by some policemen (yes, there are policemen for each trip) to close our windows.  It was around 9:30 pm, and I was enjoying the cool breeze while reading a book.  I think Masood was updating his Facebook status then.  We complied.  They even came back to check.

A few hours later, when the lights were dimmed and everyone went to sleep, I heard a loud sound.  It was as if something fell, or hit something.  I went back to sleep, only to be awaken by the same sound few minutes later.  I went back to sleep;  I can’t be bothered by anything when I’m exhausted and sleepy.

When we woke up around dawn,  Masood explained to me what actually happened the previous night.

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A lonely buffalo.

Along the way – between Mumbai and Hyderabad – there’s this place notorious for robbers.  The reason why the policemen ordered for the windows to be closed was because these robbers usually threw stones at trains.  And that was the sound that woke me up from my sleep:  stones were being thrown at us!

“But what good will throwing stones like that do for them?”  I asked Masood.  He explained that they mean to create fear or panic.  Because apparently some ignorant passenger, like myself, is likely to think that something has happened and pull the emergency stop.  This will stop the train, giving these robbers the opportunity to implement their evil plan.

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The hills are alive ...

One evening in Mumbai, Masood went to a nearby bakery in search for some pineapple pie to satisfy by cravings.  They didn’t have one, so Masood asked for apple pie (which he knew was my next favorite).  The bakery waala told him that they used to bake apple pies but that they didn’t sell well, so they stopped making them.  “By the way,” he asked Masood, “where did you hear about apple pies?”  And while Masood was still trying to process the question in his mind, the bakery waala added, “Did you read about it in some paper or magazine?”

“No, we buy it regularly in Dubai.  In fact, my wife bakes them as well.”

“So why are you looking for the same stuff you eat in Dubai?  Try these local stuff.  Have some pav bhaji or bhel puri!

He has a point, but I was still craving for my pineapple pie.

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Farms

This freshly cultivated field in the picture above reminded me of Facebook’s FarmVille, to which I had been obsessed for a whole month.  But more than that, I tried to visualize what must have happened in Kurnool, Masood’s birth place, where thousands of people and animals were displaced by a devastating flood during the first week of October.  Most of the people there are into farming, so I cannot even begin to imagine their loss.

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Discipline

Each city of India is a different experience for me.  It’s easier to see what’s bad or wrong in each one of them, but I choose to see the beauty instead.   I could have posted pictures of the slums or the garbage dumped at the road side, but what good will that do?  Why not go out there and enjoy the better things instead?

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Sunset

Sometimes, it saddens me to think that I’ve seen more of India than Pakistan.  I want to visit Lahore, Peshawar, Multan, Islamabad, Quetta, Rawalpindi, Muree, Kashmir, Sargodha, Gujrat, Larkana, and Faisalabad.  I want to see them all.  If only our immigration officers didn’t give Masood such a hard time.   If only they didn’t openly ask him for a bribe each time he visited.

InshaAllah, someday.

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A Train Ride Through Khandala

November 4, 2009 · 16 Comments

On our way back to Hyderabad from Mumbai,  Masood booked a non air-conditioned, sleeper class in the train that left in the morning.   That way, I was able to enjoy the gorgeous scenery in broad daylight, plus I was able to take beautiful pictures!  Nothing came in between nature and my camera’s lens.  I could never have taken clear pictures with the blurry (it has a slightly bluish tint) glass windows in the air-conditioned section of the train.

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The picture above was taken while we were approaching the Khandala station.  I forgot how far it is from Mumbai, but I think it took us 2 or 3 hours to get there.  I was advised to visit this place, but we didn’t get the time to travel outside Mumbai’s city limits.

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Back in Dubai, I’d been dreaming – what seemed forever – to visit a place with mountains and trees and farms and caves.  It was so refreshing to breathe in the cool, crisp air that smelled of grass.  And I’d been so mesmerized by the beauty of nature that Masood had to remind me to take pictures!

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Notice that bridge in the middle of the picture above?  It amazes me how people build such huge structures in such dangerous places.

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There are so many tunnels throughout Khandala!  I had to stick my hand out – with the point & shoot, of course – and take pictures.  Once inside those tunnels, I can’t help but imagine: what if an earthquake happens right at that moment and the mountain comes crumbling down on us?

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Some resort on the hill.

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Khandala is actually the most preferred weekend destination of people from Mumbai and Pune, where they go for hiking, trekking, rock-climbing, or simply to get away from the city and enjoy the scenery.

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