Corinne goes to UAE, Oman and Bahrain 2003. Page 1

2003 was a tumultuous year for me: it was the year of my second divorce and two facial feminisation operations. It was also my last year before transitioning. I also had the difficult task of persuading my employer that he should allow me to keep my job. All in all, pretty stressful really. However, throughout it all, I was enthused with great optimism for the future and managed to retain my strong sense of humour. The girl within me was asserting herself more and more and my confidence and sense of ease with myself was growing in leaps and bounds.

An unintentional stop in Paris

I drove to Geneva airport where there was a delay for the Paris flight. I was travelling on Air France purely because I wanted to make a stop in Paris on the way back to see my surgeon. I always avoid Air France otherwise because they always seem to be on strike. I wandered around the duty-free shop and got chatted up by the salesgirl. I finally flew to Paris but the delay meant I missed the connection for Dubai so ended up in the Ibis Hotel in Roissy ville.

Well it makes a change from the Ramada Hotel in Dubai doesn't it ? Quack. I changed my clothes into something a little warmer and took the shuttle back to the airport to see if I could find an optician since I'd forgotten my contact lenses at home but had no success. Roissy Charles de Gaulle is a ghastly airport with nothing to do... plenty of impersonal bare concrete and few shops. I was asked by 2 taxi drivers if I needed a taxi. I said no and one said with a cheeky smile "Au revoir Corinne !" He had read my name on my necklace !

I had dinner in the hotel and went to bed, wishing I were sleeping next to my wife. Lots of people called me madame quite naturally today. The hormones are making my tits grow. They are pointing, itching and the nipples are hardening. But, alas, I don't think I'm going to be able to compete with Pamela Anderson or Lolo Ferrari... I'm on 4 mg estradiol and 100 mg androcure per day.

Paris - Dubai

I slept like a baby from 21.00 until 07.45 ! I dressed again in my blue and white top and long skirt and boots and went to breakfast. The mirror and lighting in the hotel bathroom was very kind so I couldn't resist looking at myself for quite some time ! I do love my image as Corinne. I wonder what I'll look like once the plastic surgeon has operated on me.

I took the bus to the airport at 10.15 because there was nothing else to do. I created a bit of a stir in the airport... went into the ladies loo and got followed by an airport employee who pretended the taps needed checking ! He told me, in between his tap twiddling, that I was very beautiful and asked if he could have a snog... all this in front of the women who were checking their make up (some with very disapproving expressions !)

I wandered around the very scant shops and managed to perfume myself with a sample without getting spotted by the sales assistant. The tap man kept hanging around, looking at me from the other side of the glass barrier and I started to laugh. He must have been really infatuated !

On the Dubai flight I got the steward to take a photo of me. When the meal was served I had to call the stewardess to pull out my table which was stuck. She couldn't do it so called the steward. He managed, with a hefty pull and I grinned at them both and said "Ahhh... we really needed a man for that eh ?" I chatted to the air hostess quite a lot during the flight.

The plane arrived at Dubai on time at 22.45 and I stood in the immigration queue for 30 minutes. There was no untoward reaction at all from anyone although the female immigration officer double checked my passport in her ultra-violet machine to be sure it wasn't falsified. I received some grins from the women immigration officers who were clearly having a bit of a private joke, no doubt at my expense. I retrieved my suitcase and the customs man asked for my passport just to see the picture. He asked if I was a man or a woman so I replied with a sweet smile that I was "in-between"... which is now quite true (that thought gives me a lovely warm feeling).

The Ramada Hotel pick-up car was there and the driver kindly accompanied me to the Dnata office where I wanted to buy my tickets for Muscat and Bahrein but they were too expensive so I decided to go to Gulf Air tomorrow and try to find something cheaper. Lots of European women were looking at me in total surprise. As I climbed into the car a white-robed Arab told the driver to wait while he wrote out his phone number for me !

At the hotel the receptionist looked somewhat suspicious (they always do, don't they ?). I checked in and then the baggage man accompanied me to my splendid room and didn't want to leave... He kept telling me I was beautiful and that my figure was wonderful (so much for the dreaded 3 kgs which the hormones have dumped on me). Once I'd shooed him out I phoned my wife in France and asked her if she was managing to sleep ok without me ! I was awarded with a slight chuckle and I told her I liked sleeping with her but had to make do with Moo (my teddybear) for the moment. My daughter was already in bed so I couldn't speak to her unfortunately.

And, after a tiring flight... straight into the discotheque !!!

Well, it was time to go to the hotel night club ! Off with the ankle-length skirt and on with the fluffy white cotton miniskirt and suede knee boots for a more subdued, classical look ! They weren't very sure about letting me in and asked for some id. I handed over my passport and the man asked if I had a visa. I said that I didn't think that was any of his business and he handed it back and said ok. Only then did I tell them I was a hotel guest (might as well stir them up a bit !).

I drank a coke, got stared at by everyone but felt totally sure of myself. An Ethiopian girl (no doubt a prostitute) told me I was beautiful. The music wasn't too good so I stood for a while and a man came and proposed a drink. He wanted sex, told me he really fancied me, stroked my bare tummy and I told him I was married. Hmmm, I won't be able to use that excuse much longer... Went to bed at 02.00. What a day.

Time to do some work !

Well, this being a business trip, I went out all day and worked (as a guy). My boss, after bumping into my female self at Geneva airport one day, had banned me from travelling as Corinne on business trips. Much as I would have liked to obey, my passport had my female picture in it so it was out of the question to travel as a guy. I mean, how far would I have got before being locked up ? However, out of respect for my boss, my job and the customers I put on a suit and tie and was the perfect image of a proper British businessman !

However I went out at 18.30 dressed in white woollen sleeveless top, white fluffy miniskirt, purple leather belt, tan tights and cream suede flat knee boots. First I went to read my e-mails at the internet café then went to Spinneys Supermarket to buy some nice English chocolate. I finished off the evening with a sushi meal at the Ramada while the Filipino chef chatted to me. I'm so sociable as Corinne. Went to bed completely stuffed.

... and some MORE work...

Next day I cross-dressed as a businessman once again and went out to do my stuff. After work I dressed in my blue and white top, skirt and white anklestrap high heels. Took a taxi to the Renaissance Hotel where they have the most fantastic buffet, and bumped into 3 girls in miniskirts and stiletto boots... who were let in much to my surprise (on my last trip I'd been admonished by the head waiter because I had been inappropriately dressed) . A waitress said to me with a big smile "Long time no see !" Ate a really delicious meal and started walking back. A BMW kerb crawled and offered me a lift. He offered me money for a bj in my hotel but I declined (what a good girl !). He nonetheless insisted on giving me 20 dirhams for a taxi ! Went to bed, stuffed, at midnight.... tomorrow Muscat ! I hope...

Departure for Oman

I got up at 06.30 and went to breakfast in my lion-print top and skirt and black stiletto studded anklestrap sandals. But I felt far too fat so ate nothing but fruit, then exchanged the skirt for my jeans and put on my more comfortable beige rope wedges. I was doing a photo in front of the hotel when an Irishman leapt out of a taxi saying "Wait ! We can't allow a beautiful lady to be alone !" and so I had my photo taken with him.

I took the shuttle to the airport and the driver told me he thought I was stunningly tall and had a great figure. Dubai airport was quiet, this being a friday (Arab weekend), and it was as if I were a film star. Several people asked if I was a model (maybe I'm not quite as fat as I thought ?).

When I lifted my 27 kg. suitcase onto the check-in scales, the man said "Oh, you're a strong girl !" Then I passed through passport control, receiving lots of smiles from policemen and security guards. Next I had to be body searched ! I was asked for my passport and there was a lot of concerned discussion in arabic between the male and female security guards... presumably over my sex. Eventually I was ushered into the cubicle and it was decided that a woman should search me ! She closed the door and felt my tits then asked if I was a woman so I told her I was a transsexual and she smiled and said ok. Then she felt my tummy and between my legs ! I started to laugh, and she did too, while squeezing me between the legs once more for good measure ! I'm convinced I was the first transsexual she'd ever seen and she was going to make the most of it. When we emerged all her colleagues were absolutely beside themselves and we all burst into laughter. It was a hilarious occasion I shall never forget.

Dubai Duty Free Shop

I went into the beautiful departure hall and was persuaded to buy a 3-d laser engraved image of myself in a cristal. The Filipino lady said everyone was looking at me - which was quite true. I went to the ladies loo and got a big smile from the cleaning girl. Eventually I boarded the plane for Muscat. The crew looked delighted when they spotted me. The steward was standing in the aisle saying "Salaam alaycum" to each person as they went past so I said "Salaam alaycum" to him with a cheeky smile. He replied "Good morning ma'am - wow you are so tall !" The flight took an hour, across a very pretty desert.