The trip to London was so short and snappy that it almost felt like a dream. Thankfully on the day of the flight from Heathrow we were gifted with a clear blue sky, and slight easterly winds, which allowed an excellent opportunity to take beautiful photos of London and beyond as the plane took off from runway 09R (heading towards Clacton-on-Sea, and then onwards towards Germany). I flew with Qatar Airways, so both the first flight (LHR-DOH, QR008), and the second flight (DOH-PVG, QR888) provided great opportunities to take some superb photos of the skyline of not just London but also Doha, Northern Thailand, Guiyang, Wuhan, Wuxi, Kunshan, and Suzhou (my home!!). And not to mention the magical sunrise that we were treated to somewhere over the Pakistan/India border.
Emirates Boeing 777-300ER: Copyright Navjot Singh
Dubai International Airport: Copyright Navjot Singh
I normally travel non-stop between the UK and Asia, which has prompted me to get to a stage in my life where I (sadly) am fully aware of all the major air routes between Europe and the Greater China region. For example, the normal air route from London to mainland China and Hong Kong takes planes from the London Airspace over to Brussels or Paris, then over Germany, Russia, and entering Mongolian airspace through Siberia, down towards Xian, and finally making its way towards the destination Chinese cities (Shanghai, Hong Kong or Guangzhou).
On my recent flight from London to China I decided to fly with Emirates, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates. This effectively allowed me to blend in my press trip to Dubai and do an airline review for Emirates (my initial sponsors). For me, without a doubt, the most interesting part of the trip was taking the flight from Dubai to Shanghai- and what’s more, it happened to be a morning flight so the views provided along the way were just magical.
The Dubai to Shanghi route took us over the Dubai creek (flying towards the Arabian Gulf), and turning back towards Sharjah (which we went over), then making our way just below Afghanistan, then entering southern Pakistan (just around 100 miles west of Karachi), and heading north-east towards the Indo-Pakistan border somewhere in the Rajisthan Desert. Once the plane entered Indian air space, it made its way across the north of the country, passing Jaipur, Kanpur and then towards Varanasi before entering Bangladesh. As the plane went over Kanpur at around 39,000feet (FL390), we were welcomed by clear views of the Ganges river, and in the distance, a spectacular view of Mount Everest’s peak sticking out of the clouds. I could not resist taking the photo. It was just truly magical.
Equally stunning was the sunset in the horizon (eastern horizon) as the plane went over Kunming in Yunnan Province at around 38,000 feet and making its final hour approach into Shanghai. It was one of the most scenic flights I have taken ever, and truly memorable.
Mount Everest from 39,000 feet, and a distance of around 300 miles away over Kanpur (India): Copyright Navjot Singh
Splendid Mount Everest from 39,000 feet and a distance of around 300 miles away over Kanpur (India): Copyright Navjot Singh
Emirates wing logo with the Himalayas in the background: Copyright Navjot Singh
Flight over Kunming, China at around 38,000 feet as we make our way towards Shanghai (Pudong): Copyright Navjot Singh
Flight over Yunnan Province as we make our way towards Shanghai (Pudong): Copyright Navjot Singh
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