For the last few months I have been planning a five week trip that will take me through China, Thailand, Sri Lanka, India, Israel, Jordan, and Dubai. I look forward to sharing the details but for now I am just photographically celebrating the purchase of my last ticket!
It’s been a year since I’ve flown with Emirates and I’m happy that they are bringing me home from Amman Jordan November the 26th. In putting this post together I relived many memorable moments from the last five years. Only a portion of my travels have included Emirates Airlines but the fifteen trips that did are represented in this post.
So, after sifting through 35,658 photographs from thirty nine countries in sixty months I came up with these forty two photographs to tell the story. These photo’s give a glimpse of each country Emirates transported me to, along with a few memorable moments from each.
Enjoy!
2015 Emirates flight to India – My first flight on Emirates took me from Dallas to Chennai India in January of 2015. It was, and always will be, the most memorable trip of my life. Meeting Satish, the young man that my daughter Christina sponsored for nine years through Compassion International changed my life forever. ❤️ Story – https://capturinggrace.org/capturinggrace/2015/02/10/5168/
An Arabian Desert adventure en route to IndiaMeeting Satish in Chennai India in 20152015 Emirates flight home from Kochi India – Flight back to the US after my first trip to India2015 Emirates flight to Dubai (en route to Ethiopia)- Landing in Dubai en route from Dallas to Ethiopia for the Adera Foundation in 2015.Our mother/daughter Adera team preparing for departure to Ethiopia. https://capturinggrace.org/capturinggrace/2015/06/23/wednesday-june-3rd-2015-departure-from-dfw-for-addis-ababa-ethiopia-via-dubai/From my time at Wenche Island in Ethiopia A Story about this photo at – https://capturinggrace.org/?s=kentuckyHorseback ride from Wenche Island to the rim of a volcanoPrecious little girl in the countryside of Ethiopia2015 Emirates flight home from Ethiopia – Post card from Emirates after a memorable moment with Emirates finest, returning from Ethiopia to Dallas in 2015. Story at https://capturinggrace.org/capturinggrace/2015/06/30/sharing-trust-faith-and-change-at-37996-feet-in-the-air-somewhere-over-the-atlantic-ocean/2015 Emirates flight home from Ethiopia – One of my favorite Emirates photographs took place after a 15 hour flight from Dubai that brought a memorable time in Ethiopia to a close.2015 Emirates flight to Zambia – Departing on Emirates for Zambia, following Carissa and Carol up the stairs in 2015.From my time in Zambia in 2015 with Every Orphans Hope, Lubasi, one of my favorite stories. https://capturinggrace.org/capturinggrace/2015/08/17/lubasi-a-modern-day-joseph-with-every-orphans-hope-in-lusaka-zambia/My good friend Gary Schneider, founder of Every Orphans Hope in Zambia. Strories from my time in Zambia with Gary https://capturinggrace.org/capturinggrace/tag/every-orphans-hope/2015 Emirates flight home from the Philippines – That time in 2015 when Carissa and I was returning from the Philippines and got bumped to first class ❤️❤️❤️ Stories from my time with Badjao Bridge in the Philippines https://capturinggrace.org/capturinggrace/tag/badjao-bridge/Time with my sponsor child Therese, while in the Philippines. https://capturinggrace.org/capturinggrace/2015/09/22/the-ripple-effect-of-love-in-the-philippines-with-therese/2016 Emirates flight to Bangkok – Flying with Emirates to Bangkok Thailand in 2016Riding elephants just outside of Chiang Mai ThailandWith my socks drying in the wind from a mishap in Thailand that involved water, I am running a little late to catch my flight to CambodiaMemorable moment with this sweet grandmother and her granddaughter in Cambodia2016 Emirates flight home from Bangkok – Memorable departure from Bangkok after time in Cambodia and Thailand2016 Emirates flight to San Francisco from Bangkok Flying home (to San Francisco) on a Emirates A380 after my time in Thailand ands Cambodia. I will never forget being awakened by the Emirates flight attendant for breakfast; experiencing the view of the Golden Gate bridge though the fog as the massive A380 banked for landing. ❤️2016 Emirates flight #EK723 from Lisbon Portugal to Dubai At the end of a trip though Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Iceland and France I boarded Emirates flight #EK724 from Lisbon Portugal to Dubai with a little leftover blue cheese from Annecy France for a snack. It was May 2016 and I was headed to Dubai to meet up with Julie Miller to photograph for the Adera Foundation.Our journey to Ethiopia required a overnight layover in Dubai where I joined the group and toured this most unusual city of wealth. Our tour included Dubai’s famed Blue Mosque where the ladies were asked to wear the traditional dress of abaya’s (long black overdress) and the shela which is used to cover the hair. Over the next several days I accompanied this group of students from TCU as they engaged in a internship with the Adera Foundation in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. This group consisted primarily of business majors, students who have the necessary skills for succeeding in business but also have a heart for those in need. It was an honor to be a part of this group of difference makers, documenting their Ethiopian experience; learning the Ethiopian culture as they develop business strategies to assist the Adera Foundations work of family preservation.Photographing for the Adera Foundation in Addis AbabaBeautiful smile in the Ethiopian countryside, her captivating presence became the face of Orphan Sunday for 20172016 Emirates flight to Nepal- Just when I thought I had experienced the best that Emirates had to offer, these guys on flight #EK222 came along… their stories from Serbia, Lebanon, Thailand and Ireland were beautiful and our time of sharing was memorable. We did have some moments of hilarity in the galley, flights do not get any better than this. Our fifteen hour flight ended much to quickly.2016 Emirates flight to Nepal – Things got a little out of hand in the galley on Emirates flight EK222 on my way to Kathmandu, the hat and tie was at there insistence :-O. I love the poloroids they took and gave to me, keeping some for themselves.Photographing in the Himalayan mountains of Nepal between Mugu and Jumla. This image of a little Nepalese girl and her chicken became the face of Orphan Sunday for 2019 as well as a being included in a portrait gallery in Prague in Prague this year.One of my favorite faces … the strength, grace and beauty that radiated from those brown eyes. From my time in the Himalaya’s between Mugu and JumlaHanging onto the back of my driver as I photographed my way through India in September of 2016 More stories from India at https://capturinggrace.org/capturinggrace/tag/india/2016 Emirates flight home from India – Full story about the elephants on the side of this Emirates A380 – https://www.emirates.com/media-centre/emirates-super-jumbo-message-against-the-illegal-wildlife-trade/2017 Emirates flight to Ethiopia – Flying Emirates from Dallas to Ethiopia with two of my favorite people, Adera foundation founder Joe Robertson and Pastor Rick Owen. Rick was reading his bible and couldn’t look up at the moment … a familiar and much admired habit of Rick’s. ☺️Life in the countryside of Ethiopia2018 Emirates flight to KenyaAn unforgettable greeting on arrival to the Madeleine School in Bungoma, Kenya, photographing for Orphan Outreach. (or put video in) Stories at – https://capturinggrace.org/capturinggrace/2018/02/09/photographing-for-orphan-outreach-in-bungoma-kenya/Precious girl at the Madeleine School in Bungoma, KenyaPhotographing for for Count Me in infamous Mathare slums that sprawl in the shadows of Nairobi Kenya. Over 500,000 people inhabit Mathare’s streets, dark corridors and shanty’s. Link to story – https://capturinggrace.org/capturinggrace/2018/04/24/every-life-is-precious-every-life-has-purpose-every-life-is-worth-saving/2018 Emirates flight EK720 Kenya to Dubai – I will always remember my flight from Kenya to Dubai, en route to home after 7 exhausting days in Kenya. I had flown in a single engine plane over the great rift valley of Africa to photograph the Madeline school in Bungoma, then back to Nairobi to photograph and do interviews for Joy Divine. During my time in Nairobi I used my drone to photograph land for expansion, our summiting of 10,000’ Mount Longonot and photographed in the second largest slum in the world, Mathare. A quick shower allowed me to board my flight home, removing the stench of Mathare, but not the memories. As I eased back into seat 20F of Emirates flight EK720 I let the experiences from Mathare flow into words, for four luxurious hours, alone, just my little red moleskin notebook and my laptop. During that time alone I wrote this story “EVERY LIFE IS PRECIOUS, EVERY LIFE HAS PURPOSE, EVERY LIFE IS WORTH SAVING ” https://capturinggrace.org/capturinggrace/2018/04/24/every-life-is-precious-every-life-has-purpose-every-life-is-worth-saving/ The only interruption during my flight was from this kind Emirates flight attendant from Sweden who was fascinated about my time in Kenya, and fortunately, a good listener.2018 Emirates flight home from Kenya – Landing in Dubai for a layover en route to Dallas2018 Emirates flight from Delhi India to Washington DC – Returning from Delhi to Washington DC from a four week, fifteen flight adventure with Carissa all over India in 2018.
Billy Ray Caldwell
Posted at 15:42h, 02 OctoberGreat opportunities. Keep up the good work while your still young (at heart).