And so I have arrived in Japan. My suitcase was bang on 30kg, which was absolutely fabulous! The flight to Dubai was good. The airport wasn't great, you have to walk a long way around it and there are very few seats for the amount of people. On the flight from Dubai to Narita there was no one in the two seats beside me so I could lie out which was nice. Going through security at Narita took a long time, partially because a lot of travellers didn't seem to have any of their documents in order. However the Japanese were very efficient (as expected) and moved as fast as they could.
I am in an airport hotel and haven't left since I got here last night. I'm in work training until Saturday when I'll be moving into my apartment. The weather is nice and bright but very hot and humid, luckily there is air-conditioning all over the hotel and on the buses.
Showing posts with label dubai. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dubai. Show all posts
Wednesday, 22 August 2012
Monday, 13 August 2012
#9 Seven Days
I collected my work visa from the Japanese embassy in Ireland today, it took exactly seven days to process, which isn't bad.
I ordered my Yen (and some Emirati Dirham for my few hours in Dubai!) last Wednesday, and it will be ready for collection tomorrow! Roughly, the exchange rate is €1 equal to ¥100. Therefore I was a little disappointed that the day I went in the rate was down to only €0.94. I wish I had gotten it earlier, so I could have gotten a higher rate, but it's not so bad.
I ordered my Yen (and some Emirati Dirham for my few hours in Dubai!) last Wednesday, and it will be ready for collection tomorrow! Roughly, the exchange rate is €1 equal to ¥100. Therefore I was a little disappointed that the day I went in the rate was down to only €0.94. I wish I had gotten it earlier, so I could have gotten a higher rate, but it's not so bad.
Me and whoever this guy is will get to know one another very well indeed
Today I also got a proper suitcase weighing scales, as well as a strap/belt thingy to put around the suitcase to make sure it doesn't burst open. My suitcase is absolutely massive so I reckon everything should fit fine, it's just the weight could be an issue (I'm allowed a max 30kg).
Tuesday, 31 July 2012
#7 Flight Plan
Today did not start well. I was awoken rather rudely at approximately 7.30am by a phone call, which had stopped by the time I fumbled to find my phone and forced my weary eyes open to see an unknown, foreign number. I called it back, and was directed to the company HQ in Japan. After being put on hold for quite some time I was put through to someone who told me that my Certificate of Eligibility, which I bring to the Embassy in Ireland to get my Japanese visa, will be sent out shortly. So things were looking up.
I went back to sleep and around 11am I woke up again and checked my emails, to see that my flights have now been booked. By some miracle, I have been put on the flight I wanted - Emirates Dublin to Dubai, and from there to Tokyo. I am now a very happy camper.
I will depart Dublin in the afternoon of the 20th August, and after a 7 and a half hour flight I will get in to Dubai shortly after midnight on the 21st. I will proceed to wander aimlessly around the airport for about 3 hours until my next flight, nearly 10 hours to Tokyo. All going well I should be in Narita International Airport in Tokyo by 6pm on the 21st of August. Splendid!
Oh, and I will be leaving from terminal 2 in Dublin. A very important but admittedly very petty detail which had been bothering me.
I was on the Emirates website and I was able to look up the planes I'll be on and their facilities, although I am travelling economy and not first class it still looks pretty swish. For the slightly longer journey from Dubai to Tokyo I'll be travelling on the A380, the largest passenger plane in the world (apparently it can fit 555 people). It has two levels - the first being for first and business class, while the lower deck is for the plebs in economy. The economy layout is three seats - aisle - four seats - aisle - three seats. If you follow. More chance of an aisle seat, but less chance of being seated at the window. I'll try survive though!
The next step was to look up luggage requirements, which is thankfully 30kg and not the 23kg I expected. Although the first 30kg is free, I am only allowed an additional 2kg (which will cost €100) so I spent a few hours today doing a trial run on the weight of my suitcase. It looks like I will be needing to cut back a little, but generally you will fit a lot in with the 30kg.
And finally, I will be doing the same trip home on the 21st of December. It will take me a total 16.8 hours flying time to get from Dublin to Tokyo, but strangely enough it will take me 20.2 hours in a plane to get from Tokyo to Dublin.
It seems after months and weeks of waiting things are starting to move very fast, before I know it I will be there and back, and on to Sweden.
For such a simple form it causes mucho stress
I went back to sleep and around 11am I woke up again and checked my emails, to see that my flights have now been booked. By some miracle, I have been put on the flight I wanted - Emirates Dublin to Dubai, and from there to Tokyo. I am now a very happy camper.
I will depart Dublin in the afternoon of the 20th August, and after a 7 and a half hour flight I will get in to Dubai shortly after midnight on the 21st. I will proceed to wander aimlessly around the airport for about 3 hours until my next flight, nearly 10 hours to Tokyo. All going well I should be in Narita International Airport in Tokyo by 6pm on the 21st of August. Splendid!
Oh, and I will be leaving from terminal 2 in Dublin. A very important but admittedly very petty detail which had been bothering me.
Dublin Airport Terminal Two. . .the place of dreams!
I was on the Emirates website and I was able to look up the planes I'll be on and their facilities, although I am travelling economy and not first class it still looks pretty swish. For the slightly longer journey from Dubai to Tokyo I'll be travelling on the A380, the largest passenger plane in the world (apparently it can fit 555 people). It has two levels - the first being for first and business class, while the lower deck is for the plebs in economy. The economy layout is three seats - aisle - four seats - aisle - three seats. If you follow. More chance of an aisle seat, but less chance of being seated at the window. I'll try survive though!
Check out this badboy! [credits: Emirates]
The next step was to look up luggage requirements, which is thankfully 30kg and not the 23kg I expected. Although the first 30kg is free, I am only allowed an additional 2kg (which will cost €100) so I spent a few hours today doing a trial run on the weight of my suitcase. It looks like I will be needing to cut back a little, but generally you will fit a lot in with the 30kg.
And finally, I will be doing the same trip home on the 21st of December. It will take me a total 16.8 hours flying time to get from Dublin to Tokyo, but strangely enough it will take me 20.2 hours in a plane to get from Tokyo to Dublin.
It seems after months and weeks of waiting things are starting to move very fast, before I know it I will be there and back, and on to Sweden.
Soon. . .
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)