Blue Skies

I had an early start this morning. Steven dropped me off at the airport on the way to work. I couldn't believe it when I saw the blue skies along Sheikh Zayed Road as we went to the airport --- it was hazy the whole week I was there! Typical!

I did some shopping at Dubai duty free and got a great deal on a camera lens, despite a minor panic when I realised they'd given me a Nikon lens instead of a Canon one just before I boarded the plane. The flight back went quickly and soon I was back in Heathrow and picking up a car to drive back to Swansea.

Heading to Ireland on Thursday night so I don't feel too bad about being back but I'll soon be planning my next trip away.

Shopping

I didn't have any specific plan for today and didn't really do much. I haven't slept that well for the past few nights so I'm pretty tired. Karen and I headed to Ibn Battuta Mall for a bit of shopping. I bought a road trip and a few postcards.

That evening we went back to Lan Kwai-Fong for crispy duck -- again it was delicious. Then it was pack to the flat to pack up and get ready for the trip back tomorrow.

Hatta

It's the weekend! We had planned a day trip to Hatta so we headed off in the 4 x 4 reasonably early this morning. The journey there was fairly uneventful apart from realising about half an hour out the road that we might need our passports as some of Hatta is in Oman, so we headed back to pick up Karen and Steven's. Turned out to be a waste of time as we didn't need our passports all day - I was disappointed not to get more stamps!

The plan was to get to Hatta and head to Hatta pools before coming back to Hatta Fort Hotel. We spent ages in Hatta trying to get directions to the Hatta pools before eventually finding the right road. Most of the journey from Hatta to Hatta pools was off road and the scenery was pretty spectacular. However, there were no sign-posts whatsoever and I'm not sure we actually found Hatta pools. We thought we found them, but from the descriptions we got later on, I'm don't think we did. Ah well. It was a good trip anyway. On the way back we turned off onto a side road and found a really nice wadi which was much nicer than what we thought was Hatta pools, so we hung out there for while.

We then drove back to Hatta, and to the Hatta fort hotel, which is a tourist attraction in itself. We had a snack there and relaxed for a while. It looked like a really nice place to stay, with little cabins and lovely pools. Then it was back to Dubai.

That night we went to Dubai Irish Village for dinner and a few drinks. We met up with ex-pat friends of Karen and Stevens and it was a lovely relaxing evening.

Tomorrow is my last day and I don't really have any plans....will just play it by ear.

Walking, walking and more walking

First thing this morning it was time for my facial which I was looking forward to -- how wrong was I? It was far from relaxing -- the therapist spent about 10 minutes using some sort of metal implement to remove my blackheads, during which time I had tears running down my face. It was so painful! I'd have a bikini wax any day!
After some recovery time I got in a taxi to Dubai Creekside Park. The very helpful taxi driver dropped me off at a gate which was closed but eventually I found my way around to a gate that was open. I really enjoyed walking around the park in the sun -- it's a lovely quiet place in the middle of the city. The are date palm groves and botanic gardens as well as cable car which runs the whole length of the park. I had planned on riding the cable car but I took the fact that nobody was using it as a bad sign and decided to walk instead.

I spent a couple of hours in the park I decided to try to get a taxi up to Deira and the gold and spice souks. Unfortunately that was easier said than done and I ended up walking the whole day, sometimes along dual carraigeways with no footpaths. By the time I actually arrived in Deira I was completely exhausted and had a headache - probably from the fumes of the cars and the noise -- Dubai drivers constantly beep their horns. I had a quick wander around the Spice souk, but I'd lost interest. To be honest I find the souks a bit intimidating on my own -- they are full of men and you rarely see any other women. So then I got a taxi to Dubai heritage village, but really I should have just headed back at that stage as I was too tired to enjoy it. After a quick wander around I went to find another taxi back to the flat.

That night we had dinner in the flat, but heading to the Movenpick hotel around the corner for a comedy night in the Jimmy Dix bar. The line-up included Karl Spain, Jeff Innocent and an american called Reginald D Hunter. Maybe I'm biased but Karl Spain was by far the funniest.

Then we headed back for an early-ish night. Tomorrow is Friday so it's the weekend and we're planning a day trip to Hatta.

On the Beach

Today Karen had the day off work so I had some company for the day. The plan was to go to the beach at the Jumeirah Beach hotel, which was supposed to cost 100 dirhams or £15 for entry for the day. Unfortunately when we got there we discovered it was 400 dirhams for the day and decided it was too expensive and to go somewhere else. We ended up in the Le Meridien Mina Seyahi Resort, where we hung out on the beach and by the pool all day. This is a nice place in itself but the fact that it's surrounded by so much construction takes away from it....there are cranes everywhere you look and new high rise buildings going up everywhere. After a nice relaxing day we decided to head back to Souk Madinat Jumeirah so I could take some better photos. We took a detour to Dubai Marina on the way so I could see just how much construction there is and how many high rise buildings there are -- one of the girls here calls it Gotham city and I could see why. There seem to be places where you can barely see the sky.

We spent a couple of hours wandering around the Souk and taking photos. It's a stunning place, and definitely may favourite place in Dubai. It has a lovely atmosphere and if I decided to come back and had loads of money I'd definitely stay in the hotel there.

We then jumped in a taxi, got stuck in traffic and ended up getting back just in time to have a quick dinner at the Lan Kwai-Fong chinese restaurant. Once again the food was really good. Then it was back to Karisma for a girly treat of a massage each. It definitely wasn't the best massage I ever had and there was some confusion about my appointment which resulted in it being much shorter than I expected, but it was enjoyable.

So another day over. Tomorrow I'm having a facial (am I turning into a "Jane"?) and also plan on visiting Creek park.

The Big Bus Tour

Unfortunately I didn’t wake up that early, but finally made it to Wafi centre and onto the Big Bus by midday. The Big bus tour is run by the same company that run the big bus tour and has the same hop on hop off system, where you buy a ticket which is valid for 24 hours and get on and off the bus at any time during those 24 hours. The first part of the tour goes by a lot of the sites I walked around yesterday so I stayed on the bus for these stops. The tour ticket also included a free Dubai Creek Dhow Cruise, and as there was one started at 1.30 I decided to do that. It was a little disappointing though as it was very slow, and didn’t go that far down the Creek or out to the Gulf. Yesterday when I walking by the Creek I was offered lots of abra tours which would go much further for a fraction of the cost of the Big Bus tour ticket. I did get some good views of the buildings on either side of the creek but the weather was still very hazy so the photos aren’t great. It was very hot today and an hour on a boat in the strong sun wasn’t ideal for my white Irish skin --- I have some really red patches on my shoulders and arms after it.


After the cruise, and a wait of about half an hour I got back on the bus and header for the Deira Shopping Centre. This is the stop where I could change lines, and get from the city tour to the beach tour. I planned to do the beach tour and then head back to the flat, but after all the waiting around before and after the cruise it was already almost 4 by the time I got on the beach bus. It was only then I discovered that the beach tour takes almost 3 hours and I had agreed to meet Karen at 6. Whoops! I went to the first stop on the beach tour anyway – Jumeirah Mosque. This mosque allows non-muslims inside on certain days of the week, in the spirit of cultural understanding. It’s pretty spectacular and definitely worth a visit, even if like me you only get to wander around the outside.

In the evening I went out with Karen and her workmates for some Thai food to another restaurant called Lemongrass in Lamcy Plaza. I am so impressed with the food over here – this Thai was gorgeous and really reasonably priced. As usual I had the yellow chicken curry with potato and was completely stuffed after it. After that we headed back to Deira Shopping Centre for a bit of late night shopping.

Not as good a day as yesterday as I don’t think the bus tour is that good. But Karen’s off work tomorrow and we’re going to the beach so I’m looking forward to that.

Old Dubai

Today was the day I started sightseeing in Dubai. Unfortunately since I got here, although it’s been warm, it’s been hazy and the visibility has been very poor….and today was no better….so not many blue skies in my photos. After waking up later than expected I headed to the Burjuman Shopping Centre for brunch. This is a massive exclusive shopping centre with shops like Saks of Fifth Avenue, Christian Dior, and Burberry, just to name a few and is definitely one of the ‘tourist attractions’ in Dubai. I had lunch and a wander round there, but once again didn’t buy anything.

After lunch I jumped in a taxi to Dubai Museum, located in the Al-Fahidi Fort which is thought to be Dubai’s oldest building. I am thinking of doing the Big Bus Tour tomorrow and that gives you free entry to Dubai Museum so I was considering leaving this until tomorrow until I discovered the entry fee is 3 dirhams or about 45 pence. I spent well over an hour in the museum and found it very interesting. There are lots of exhibits on traditional life in the Emirates, with replicas of abras, the traditional boat used to cross the creek, and windtowers, which were used for air conditioning in the past, and barasti or palm-leaf houses. There is a replica of a old 1950s souk and displays on Bedouin lifestyles and pearling. There is also a multi-media presentation on Dubai through the ages, including the 21st century which shows all the development that’s going on in Dubai at the moment, like Dubai internet city, Dubai Sport City, Dubailand etc etc etc – far too many to mention.


After the museum I had a walk around the Bastakia Quarter, a heritage site with restored buildings and windtowers which were originally built by Persian merchants in the late 19th century. From there I walked down the creek to have a look at all the impressive buildings (mainly banks) on the other side of the Creek in Deira. Ended up walking much further than I wanted to, trying to get good photos. I then walked back up towards the museum area and had a walk around Dubai Old Souk and passed a couple of more mosques, including the colourful Iranian mosque before deciding to head back to the flat.

One of the annoying things about Dubai is the lack of public transport which means you have to get a taxi everywhere. Taxis are very cheap but difficult to find in rush hour. I spent a good half an hour trying to get a taxi with a number of drivers refusing to take me ‘cos the traffic would be too bad, until one driver finally took pity on me. He them proceeded to tell me that it could take two hours to get back ‘cos traffic would be so bad – but we got back in 15 mins! Good thing too ‘cos Karen was locked out of the flat.

In the evening we decided to do one of the more unusual activities in Dubai – Skiing. Ski Dubai is a huge indoor ski resort build in Mall of the Emirates. It has real snow and 5 different runs, which are very short, but fun. It’s ages since I’ve been skiing so I got off to a rusty start but I was loving it by the end and already thinking about a ski holiday next winter. It was very strange to be skiing right up until 11 at night.

On the way back we picked up some chicken shawarma, a traditional middle eastern wrap, a bit like a kebab. It was a bit of a late night, but I had a very enjoyable day. Tomorrow I plan to do the big bus tour, so need to wake up early to make the most of it.

“Jumeirah Jane”

Decided to immerse myself in the Dubai culture today, by behaving like one of the rich women in Dubai who are dubbed “Jumeirah Janes” – I think we would call them “ladies who lunch”. This meant a long lie-in, a late lunch of nice pastries from Spinneys, a pedicure and a wander around the shops. A very lazy day. There are spas all over the I went to a place here so I decided have a pedicure ‘cos my feet are a mess since all the walking around in Cambodia. I want to a place called Karisma Ladies Centre just around the corner from where Karen and Steven live. This is an exclusive health club with only women allowed it. I laughed when the therapist asked me if a pedicure in Dubai was the same as a pedicure in Ireland – how the hell would I know? It was very relaxing though – I could get used to that sort of thing. After the pedicure I went for wander around Lamcy Plaza, but didn’t actually buy anything – I did manage to pick up a few tourist brochures so I can work out what to do with the rest of the week – don’t think I can be a Jane all week.

In the evening we went to a restaurant called India Palace in Garhoud. This is a lovely restaurant with a nice atmosphere and genuine Indian music playing – and the food was fantastic!!! Probably the best Indian I have ever had – absolutely delicious!

Tomorrow the plan is to actually see a bit of Dubai and hopefully visit Dubai museum.

Souk Madinat Jumeirah

I think all the travelling caught up on me today as I was wrecked all day. Woke up at about 8.30 and dragged myself out of my tent. After a leisurely breakfast, we put the tents away (why don’t they fold up as small as they were yesterday and fit back into the same bags?), packed up the cars and eventually were ready to head back to Dubai. After a small detour ‘cos we got lost we basically headed straight back to the flat, were I fell asleep on the couch for a couple of hours.

In the evening we went for dinner in an Indian restaurant in Souk Madinat Jumeirah, an Arabian style market selling lots of souvenirs, textiles, and gold. Dinner was lovely even if waiter was a bit pushy.There are fabulous views of the Burj Al Arab, one of the worlds most famous hotels and an icon of Dubai, from here so afterwards we wandered round and I got my mini-tripod out to practice my night photography skills. I got some good photos but some of them were blurred which I put down to not having enough light. Imagine my disappointment when I discovered the lens was accidentally on manual focus, hence explaining the blurring! Ah well, it just means I’ll have to go back to take them again.

Arrival in Dubai and straight to the desert

I arrived in Dubai at 8.30am. Passport control is fairly straight forward, even though the guy is a little surprised when he asks what area of Dubai I’m staying in and I don’t have a clue! Karen and Steven asked me to pick up some booze in duty free (and Steven said he wouldn’t pick me up ‘til I’ve got it!), so even though it’s 4.30 am my time and I’m finding it hard to imagine drinking, I pick up some beer and wine. By the time I’ve done that my bag is through so I’m ready to go.

Karen and Steven picked me up in their 4x4 and we head off to their flat near Lamcy Plaza. After a couple of hours rest and a shower, we got ready, packed up the car (two tents, two airbeds, four chairs, ice boxes, water, beer etc etc etc) and went to meet some of Karen and Steven’s friends to go camping in the desert.

I really enjoyed the journey to the desert. I’ve been to the Australian desert before but never to a proper desert with massive sand dunes, camels and goats (!). While looking for a campsite we managed to get close to some friendly camels, and watching loads of quad bikers flying up and down the dunes. Eventually we all agreed on a campsite and pitched our tents. I’m ashamed to say I had never pitched a tent before (I think it’s to do with being a culchie – we don’t find camping in the country a very exciting thing to do!) but you learn something new every day and with Karen and Steven’s help I worked it out. After that we got the fire started and relaxed as it got dark. Us girls let the boys do the cooking, but it was very tasty indeed. Then it was time to get the guitar out for a bit of a sing song round the campfire until the early hours of the morning, and when I eventually went to bed I slept very well for my first night in a tent – but then I was completely exhausted after travelling all night the night before.

It was an incredibly clear night with a beautiful full moon – it was bright enough to wander away from the campfire without a torch – I’m just gutted I didn’t take my good camera and tripod with me to get some good photos of it!

Off again

It’s Thursday afternoon and that means another journey from Swansea to Heathrow for me. This time I’m travelling on my own, but I’m just about as tired as I was last time, so I stock up on diet coke and head off again. The journey goes well and I arrive at the airport in plenty of time.

Checking in and getting through security was far less stressful this time as Terminal 4 was a lot less busy than Terminal 3 and I’ve used BA’s online check-in service so only have to queue to drop off my bag which doesn’t take long. As usual it does take ages to get through security and a lot of people are complaining about all the new regulations, including two posh English women in front of me who comment on what “these wretched people are putting us through” – and I don’t think they meant the airport security staff. But eventually I’m through, and have plenty of time to pick up some books and get a quick bite to eat before boarding the plane.

I fell asleep almost immediately after the flight takes off and sleep for most of the flight – even though my left knee is aching worse than ever :-(.