I am nearly finished here as it was a whistle stop visit to friends who have been fantastic and a big thank you to Gary, Sarah, Lauren and Max xxx
I ve managed a 3 hour guided tour of Dubai by mini bus, however I was booked on the Indian tour and myself and 13 Indians set off complete with Bangra music and full Urdu commentary!!
They were great fun and I even managed to get two of them to learn how to 'do the Ayatollah', .... for non Cardiffians, the tapping of the head salute immortalised by rugby player Gareth Thomas as his try scoring celebration but initially the trade mark of Cardiff City supporters, ... although only one of my new chums would be photographed doing it
Also....a visit to both the Dragon Mall and the Dubai Mall, a trip up the Burj Khalifa, evening dinner in the shadow of the illuminated Burj Khalifa watching the fountain displays, a journey the whole length of the extremely impressive Dubai metro that affords an elevated view of the city, a drive around the Jumeira Palm resort and all of the premier hotels, a boat trip around the Creek, the original port area upon which the original city was founded, a stroll through the old Souks (market stall type trade areas that have existed since Dubai came into being as a trade centre) and a major highlight, a desert safari.
A desert safari is madness! A 20 minute drive in a powerful 4x4 land cruiser up, down and across massive sand dunes, some at nearly 90 degrees angle where you feel that the laws of physics dictate that you must topple over and die!!
This is followed by a, thankfully, brief camel ride before entering into an 'ancient' oasis type camp where you are fed, watered, entertained by dancers and musicians and tempted to hand over the contents of your wallet in exchange for a photograph with a falcon, a henna tatoo, carpets, rugs, hubbly bubbly pipes or best of all cold Heineken .....oh yes
As night falls you realise where you are and.... yes....back over the sand in the dark, but this time something of a more friendly route
A must if you get here, but remeber to take a fleece!
So with regret, goodbye Dubai as I put myself back in the capable hands of Emirates ...........next stop Sri Lanka
A few photos .........
Well Dubai looks and sounds amazing, although to be honest I was always going to be impressed with anywhere that had shopping malls that size. It certainly sounds like you're having a great time so far, but truthfully, did that camel ever actually stand up? :) I must admit though one of my, things to do before I die, is to stay at the Burj al arab its supposed to be fantastic. Well keep having fun and can't wait to hear about Sri Lanka.
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