NRT: Cluck Murdered!!

NARITA, JAPAN AP - A terrible tragedy occurred in Narita Japan on Sunday, June 13th. World famous actor and rubber chicken inpersonator 'Cluck' was brutally murdered at The Cage in Narita Japan. Cluck was initially reported missing, but a first sweep of the ultra classy karaoke bar revealed nothing. However, sadly his body was recovered moments later, savagely hacked into pieces. His head was never recovered, perhaps now a trophy for his murderer.

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A preliminary investigation attempting to find the perpetrator did not turn up any leads. However, in what was sadly to be Cluck's last photo, an unknown person posed with cluck and a bubbly Brit chick. This person, due to the look of disdain and jealousy in his face, is now considered a suspect. He is wanted for questioning but authorities have not been able to identify him.

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An attempt by fans to repair the famed latex icon failed, and he was promptly thereafter hoisted in tribute on a bottle of his favorite beer, Yebisu.

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A valiant worker at the cage offered her medical services in a last ditch effort to piece together Cluck, but that too was unsuccessful. It was decided that traveling as a 'FrankenCluck' would stain Cluck's revered worldwide image. He was laid to rest the next day. A cremation was planned, but after the first Narita Hilton Hotel fire alarm evacuation due toxic burning rubber fumes, that ceremony was promptly cancelled.

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Here are the rest of the shots from that fateful night.
As usual, the evening started off at the Jet Lag Club. The popcorn was exceptionally good today!


We had dinner at Ramen Bayashi. The soup again was awesome! Sal had the Ginger pork. Beth had fried rice. Excellent tastes all around!


And then it was off to The Cage for a wild night of Karoake. Little did we realize the somber tragedy that was to befall later that evening.
Opening Toasts

Doing it 'My Way'

A Lufthansa liebschen

Cluck's best James Dean

Cluck whispering the lyrics






Hey!

CDG: Cluck sighted in Paris!!

All ye who are Paris bound, be on the lookout!
Cluck was sighted near the Eiffel Tower!

DXB: Dubai

As a reserve pilot, I was very luck to snag a trip to Dubai this past weekend. It was a very cool trip and I'd like to share it with you.

First off, the trip lands around dusk. If you are lucky to have some sunlight and some dry air, you'll get some good views as you fly in from the NW. DXB is 8 hours ahead of Dulles, so its really around noon ET. You should'nt have any problems heading off to have a pint or two.

The Hotel is the Marriot, Festival City. It is the nicest hotel that I have stayed at personally during my UAL career. It's 5 star all the way with rooms that are impeccably made up. The most unique aspect of these rooms is the shower window that separates the bed area from the bathroom. There is a shade that you can lower for privacy if you bring a friend. The shower tub is top notch: you can select the water to come out of the bath faucet, an overhead rainshowerhead, or a hose sprayer.


The pool area is superbly maintained with golf course-like green areas (with big fluffy lounge pillows) and plenty of lounge chairs. The pool area is shared with the Intercontinental Hotel next door, so together there are 4 pools and 2 hot tubs to choose from.

The Dubai currency is the dirham (or Bull Durham, as tour guide Mohammed calls it), and the exchange rate is fixed to the dollar at around 3.65 dirhams to the dollar. Dividing dirhams by 3 will roughly get you close.

The gym has very good equipment with all the basic machines and free weights to get a good workout in.

Wired room internet access is free for crews. The bill will be adjusted by checkout.

Crews also enjoy a 20% discount on food at the hotel restaurants. This doesn't include alchohol (ouch!) or room service.

So, most of the crew ended up moseying down to the Belgian Beer Cafe. It was a very good time, but it was not cheep. I had 2 pints of Hoegaarten and the price was about $9/beer. They do a very good job with the Euro menu. I had the mussel large mussel plate with garlic and drawn butter. The fries came with mayo in these neat holders (tres euro!). We initially sat upstairs since that was the non-smoking section, but a headscratcher. All the smoke rose up to the upstairs anyway! We then moved to outdoor seating, and that was a bit better. It was a bit warm, but the ambiance and lack of confined smoke make it worth it.





After dinner, a few of us decided to check out the Eclipse Bar on the 26th floor of the Intercontinental next door. It was a neat bar with plenty of ambiance, but it was very pricy. I actually chose not to have anything there due to my sticker shock at the Belgian place. A smallish martini ran about $15 and a little 1/3 liter beer was $10. But, if you go up for the view and some elegant surroundings, you won't be disappointed. One word of caution, there are in-shell pistaccios mixed in with the regular nuts. Chomp at your own risk!

I recommend that you take a tour from Mohammed. He is a great tour guide of the city of Dubai. He's got quite a few one-liners, and neat little tidbits about the city and its government. His english is very good, as he spent 15 years in Minnesota and even got a Masters degree in the states. Give him a call or an email before you go to set up the tour. The three of us each payed him around $40. It was well worth it.

We started the tour at 10am and it lasted about 4 1/2 hours. The photos below are just a few of the shots I took on the tour. Have fun and ask lots of questions. Listen to Mohamed closely as the jokes might fly right past you!

LHR: Mandalay Restaurant

If you'd like to try a great little restaurant just up the road from the Hilton Metropole, then give Mandalay a try. It's an authentic Burmese restaurant that will treat pilots right! If you know nothing about Burma (Union of Myanmar), then this Wiki article will at least get you started. The cuisine is similar in taste to Indian

It just about a 8 minute walk from the Hilton. Go Northwest on Edgeware (under the flyover) and Mandalay will be on the right hand side, directly across from where Cuthbert Street T-bones Edgeware.

Here is a Google map:

View Larger Map

The service was excellent. They were very friendly and accomodating for the large crowd we brought (a gaggle of 7).

So, stop by and give Mandalay a try. You won't be disappointed.

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Comfortable Seating for a nice crowd


They joined a couple of tables together to seat the 7 of us.


I forget his name, but our waiter was the classic good natured Burmese, complete with the great accent.


I forget what these are called, but they are a Burmese specialty. They are batter-fried veggies.


Sorry, I took this pic after I dug into the plate a bit. But it was absolutely awesome!




I told 'em, you can take my picture, just don't chop off the top of my head.


Me and the jovial waiter.


With full bellies, its now off the the Green Man for Karaoke!