Last week I posted that it’s been 20 years since I started blogging and that got me thinking about all the great things I was able to do because of the blog. My memory isn’t great so I most likely left some out, but here are some of my favorite things I got to experience because of my blog:
Visiting the USS Truman Aircraft Carrier
I was invited to tour the aircraft carrier stationed in the Arabian Gulf. They flew me out to the carrier on a military plane and then we landed on the flight deck. I watched fighter jets take off and land while standing just a few meters away from them, I was then given a tour of the hangar deck, the bridge, the watchtower, and all the other cool areas of the aircraft carrier before finally flying back to Kuwait. As a kid that grew up wanting to be a fighter pilot, this was a dream come true.
Breitling WingWalking Experience
I got to sit on top of a biplane while it flew me around. I mean, that’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience right there.
Formula 1 – Abu Dhabi
I was invited by the Abu Dhabi tourism board to attend the F1 race and all the events attached to it. I was given a tour of the city by the city, I got front row tickets to every concert including Depeche Mode and Jay-Z, and I even got to attend a yacht party with Maradonna and David Hasselhoff. An insane experience for a huge F1 fan like myself.
Jebel al Jais in a Ferrari
Ferrari sent me to Dubai and gave me keys to one of their cars for a day. Obviously, the first thing I did was drive to Jebel al Jais. It’s a mountain road that many consider being one of the greatest driving roads in the world and so I got to tick that experience off my bucket list.
Visiting Audemars Piguet in Switzerland
Not many people might find this experience interesting, but I’m fascinated with how things are made. I got to visit one of my favorite watch manufacturers, see how the watches were made, and meet some incredibly talented craftsmen. The whole experience was very educational.
Baselworld
Trafalgar sent me to the largest watch show on earth to cover it for my blog. The show which ran from 1917, ended back in 2019 and so I feel very lucky to have experienced it during its prime (before the Apple Watch).
CES – Las Vegas
Huawei sent me to the largest consumer electronics show in the world, CES. For someone who loves tech and grew up reading about CES in magazines, this was another dream come true moment.
I’m really thankful to all the brands (plus the US Embassy), including the ones not mentioned above, for giving me so many great and fun experiences over the years.
