a girl going places

Name: Janie Dalton
Job title: Flight Attendant – long-haul
Length of time with Jetstar Airways: 12 months
Routes you fly: Sydney to Honolulu, Ho Chi Minh City, Osaka, Bali, Kuala Lumpur and Phuket.

Janie meets the local monkey in Bali

What was your last job?
An office administrator in Newcastle.

Why did you decide to become a flight attendant?
I’ve always had a fascination with the aviation industry, mostly because of my dad’s love for it. He used to take us to air shows, airports and has a light aircraft licence.

Tell us about making the TV series Going Places. What can viewers expect to see on the show?
It was so much fun to make. It felt like I was on Getaway but with my friends – even better! The show guides viewers on the highlights of each of each destination: what to see, where to go and what to eat, with a mixture of cabin crew and locals showing you around.

With friends during a Bali sunset

Which is your favourite Jetstar destination?
My hands-down favourite would be Honolulu. If you love surf, sun, sand and good sight seeing you will not be disappointed.

The best place to go for dinner?
ShoreBirds on Waikiki Beach – part of Outrigger Reef On the Beach hotel. Great atmosphere, right on the beach, huge salad bar and they cook the meat of your choice on the barbecue.

What is one attraction not to miss?
If there’s one thing that you have to see it’s a man who has a little store inside an arcade, just of Waikiki’s main street. He has been on Ripley’s Believe It Or Not for being able to write the most amount of words on a single grain of rice. Yes, rice! It’s really amazing.

It’s wasn’t all fun and games in Bali

What’s the best night out you ever in Honolulu?
It started at sunset when a group of us went down to Waikiki Beach and set sail on a catamaran.

What should a visitor eat?
They have these ABC stores everywhere which are like our 7-Elevens but huge. I take advantage of these for breakfast and lunch. You get fruits, yoghurts, cereals, sandwiches – it’s a great way to save money. Lastly, the portions over there are enormous so you really don’t need a starter, just go straight for the main course.

What are your travel tips?
Pre-paying is definitely the best option if you want to guarantee a main/light meal, video-on-demand or comfort pack. Always carry an extra jumper – it gets cold up in the air. Drink lots of water, bring plenty of hand moisturiser and don’t forget your lip gloss girls!

Going Places is shown on Sundays at 5pm on the Nine Network

Doing Us Proud

We always knew Jetstar’s flying and ground crew were a multi-talented bunch – now we have proof. Five Jetstar staff members passed auditions recently to land a coveted spot on Foxtel network’s hot new talent-search reality program – The Singing Office.

The five chosen to represent Jetstar came from a field of 16 and include Belinda Crowe (flight attendant, Melbourne), Laura Bennett (customer service officer, Melbourne), Jeremy Price (customer service officer, Hobart), Paula Kelly (crew trainer, Melbourne) and Vince Sciacca (commercial systems, Melbourne). All six contestants received singing and dancing classes over two days in order to do their company proud.

Hosted by Nick Giannopoulos, The Singing Office pits two teams of office workers from well-known Melbourne companies against each other every week. Each week the entrants must endure singing and dancing boot camp, not to mention the judges’ final decision, with two companies sailing through to the grand finals in December in the hope of becoming The Next Big Thing.

The Singing Office is shown on Sundays at 6.30pm on Foxtel.

My Favourite Jetstar Destination – Bangkok
Dejsomboon (Leo) Leelathanate, Cabin Crew – Sydney base

Great place for dinner: Sirocco – dine outside on the 67th floor of the State Tower Building under the gold dome. Have a cocktail while watching the sunset, followed by an amazing meal with live jazz band playing.

Best night out: Bed Supper Club – a great restaurant/bar in Sukhumvit. The walls are lined with beds where you laze about while eating and drinking – just like in Sex and the City! Great music, local and foreign crowd – a place to be seen!

Must buy (money no object!): Siam Paragon Shopping Centre – level after level of designer brand names in clothes, home wares and jewellery. Shop until your credit card wears thin.

Survival tip for tourists: Take the Skytrain – it’s fast, clean, and cheap. It zooms you across the traffic in air-conditioned comfort and beats a taxi every time.

Favourite local festival: Songkran Water Festival around April – beat the heat of summer by getting drenched with water. Meet the locals as water fights and flour-throwing breaks out on every street.

For history: Grand Palace – wander among palaces and temples, see an amazing array of Thai artifacts and shrines. Check out the Jade Buddha, dressed in different golden robes representing the seasons.

I love Bangkok because: It’s my hometown! It’s a vibrant, exciting, fast-paced and always changing city. The food is exotic, the people friendly and whether you are shopping for luxury products or a bargain from the markets, it’s a real adventure.