Days 13 & 14 - Abu Dhabi to Singapore

Day 13 - Abu Dhabi
Up around 9:00am and spent most of the morning packing and checking we'd not forgotten anything!
Out to the local bakers for a Zataar (flat bread with spices) as it was the only thing left on the 'to do' list for Abu Dhabi (except the Heritage Village which as you say mum, we never did get to!)
Home to have the Zataar with left over curry, write our latest blog and leave Sam and Jase's flat for the final time :o(
Taxi to the bus station and then on to the coach to take us to Dubai. Only 15 Dirhams each (around 2GBP). Coach full of people finishing work and heading home.

Coach dropped us at the Trade Centre roundabout where we fought with all the people leaving the convention centre (looking like Doozers running down the road in front of the traffic in their overalls and hard hats) to get a taxi.
Finally arrived at the airport with loads of time and headed for the Irish Village to have a delicious burger and chips!! Very Islamic!

Flight was on time with no problems although fuller than the one to Dubai. We had to stay in our own seats. Terrible!
I managed to sleep for the majority of the flight (no surprise there) but Dave was constantly interrupted by a strange Congan man sitting next to him who had no idea about personal space. Or the kiond of conversation you're supposed to have with people you've never met. Very odd! Although if we ever need to do business in The Republic Of Congo, Dave knows your man!!

M xx

Day 14 - Singapore
We arrived in Singapore very early - even the sun was still asleep!
I was immediately impressed with Singapore. The toilets were lovely, clean and very nicely tiled.
We went to fill in our immigration forms and my admiration for Singapore only increased. There were little pieces of tape on the floor to make sure the tables and chairs were always put back in the same place. I think I'm going to like it here!

Very humid and sticky, we got a taxi to take us to our hotel as we really couldn't face trying to sort out the trains.
Arriving at our 'New Seventh Storey Hotel' we discovered that...
a) it's not new
b) it's got 9 storeys
c) it leans as much as the tower of Pisa
d) we arrived at 7:00am and check-in was 2:00pm

So, we left our luggage and went off to explore.

Managing to only make it about 500 yards before needing air conditioning, we stopped in at a cafe for a delicious breakfast.
Heading in the general direction of Raffles Hotel we were soon approached by a man who later turned out to be called Steven. He seemed very helpful and showed us how to get around the city, where we should go and then took us to a local tailor for Dave to get a new suit made!??
As we left the taxi, Dave was given a warning by the driver... "don't trust him too much". I didn't hear this so carried on thinking "what a lovely helpful old man"!
Needless to say we didn't buy a suit (200GBP) and Steven seemed less interested in us after this, leaving us at a jewellery factory presumably to go and 'befriend' some more tourists!
No harm done but did make us both think that we mustn't be taken in by friendly folk.

We then walked. For miles.
Finally deciding we were brave enough to try the trains, we jumped on the MRT and headed for Harbour Front.
Following a spot of lunch, we purchased our cable car tickets and headed for Sentosa Island. Great views of the city and I was very brave!

We got off at the island and wandered round for a while - Dave losing the will to live as the effects of zero sleep was kicking in!

Not wanting to climb the hill back up to the cable car, we got a Skyride back (basically a ski lift) and then on to the cable car for the return journey. We decided we'd come back again tomorrow to use the beach...
Headed home for a shower and for Dave to finally get a few hours sleep.

Out again around 7:00pm for Chinatown. All very beautiful at the moment as there are loads of decorations for Lunar New Year which is on the 7th Feb.
Wandered around the markets and stopped off at a very busy street cafe for some great dim sum. Delicious!

Back on to the MRT to head to the North of the island and the Night Safari.
We are both really pleased we did this. It was awesome. We followed the walking trails and saw two fishing cats fighting - you'd have loved them mum. Even saw hog badgers!
We weren't allowed to take flash photography and the animals were'nt really in the mood for standing still long enough for night shots so no pictures, sorry!
On to the night show where we were entertained by a very pathetic wolf, a very clever recycling banded mongoose, a grape finding civet and a very irritating Singaporian lady! Very good though.
Finally made it to the tram to head round the safari again. This time seeing a lion, rhino, elephants and lots of deer very close to the tram.

Night bus back to the city then a brief walk back to the hotel to have our muffins that we'd saved from the flight, some water and then on to bed.

Another great day and a busy first day in Singapore!

M
xx

Days 11 & 12 - Abu Dhabi

Day 11 - Abu Dhabi
Lazy start to the day. Being a holy day (Friday) Sam and Jase were off work so we got up and headed off to the Heritage Village near to Marina Mall.
Unfortunately it was closed so after a brief stroll along the beachfront and a chat with a camel we got a taxi to The Club to enjoy a delicious lunch buffet.

Dave and Jase played a decider at snooker whilst Sam and I froze by the pool - much cooler today (only about 20 degrees!) Jason managed to beat Dave on the black - why they don't just play with the white and black balls I don't know as all games have been decided by the black!

Back to the flat for a very lazy evening. The Da Vinci Code on DVD followed by a delicious curry - too many chillies for Dave. Dave and Jason challenged each other on the wii as I re-formatted the Blog (hope you've noticed!) and Sam read her book.
'All The Kings Men' on DVD left us all a little confused and disappointed. We had to have the subtitles on as we couldn't understand the thick southern American accents!

Thoroughly beaten, we headed to bed for a great nights sleep.

M
xx

Day 12 - Abu Dhabi
Up and out for a 4 mile walk along the Corniche in the glorious sunshine. The corniche is like a preomenade running along the entire length of Abu Dhabi along the sea front. It's set up for walkers, cyclists, roller bladers etc. and is a lovely walk.

Again the plan was to head to the Heritage Village but hunger and weariness got the better of us so we headed to the bank of grass overlooking the water for a picnic.

We all headed into the Mall for a bit of shopping with Sam and I hitting the sales whilst Dave and Jason went their own way. Girls beat the boys 6-3 on items bought but all very pleased with purchases. Dave's trousers were a 'bit pale' but look very smart on. Well done! :o)

Taxi to the Shangri La hotel which is very posh and overlooks a massive mosque which is currently under construction.

A drink by the outdoor infinity pool and dreams of staying at the hotel. We got a taxi back to the flat to ready ourselves for our last night.
Drinks at the camel bar then off to the Emirates Palace hotel for dinner.

We dined at Sayad which is a seafood restaurant. All very posh and delicious. Very few people in so we got very personal service.
Posed for some long exposure photos of the palace at night then another taxi to Oceans Bar at Le Meridien Hotel. (the scene of the free champagne night!)

One final night cap and a few memory games before we all agreed it was time to call it a night and head home for bed. Sam and Jase had work on Sunday so we said our farewells.

We really have had the most amazing start to our travels and thank you to Sam and Jason for being superb hosts. You've made our time here amazing and taken so much time to make sure that we've done everything that Abu Dhabi and Dubai have to offer. So many memories and lots of 'firsts' to add to the list. We're going to miss you. x

Now Singapore beckons...

M xx

Days 9 & 10 - Abu Dhabi & Dubai

Day 9 - Abu Dhabi
Woke up reasonably early with good intentions of heading out to visit the Abu Dhabi Heritage Village to learn about the local culture and history. Ended up lazing around the flat instead with M doing blog and sorting out travel/hotel arrangements for Thailand whilst D watched the film 'Munich.' (nice light-hearted film for a wednesday morning....? (sarcasm intended))

Finally headed off at around midday to Marina Mall. Couple of hours spent shopping and having lunch. Managed to get a couple of photos developed & framed for Sam & Jase as a thank you for being top-notch tour guides and hosts. M also got a top.... a nice blue one!

Back to the flat to meet Sam after work. There'd been talk by some of Jase's students that there was a local UAE football match in the evening - all football matches in the UAE, including internationals, are free to attend. If only Liverpool would adopt the same policy. We later learned that the football had been yesterday so we went to The Club instead.

M & D had a quick game of tennis whilst Sam sat in the bar. D won 6-2 (I think) but we were kicked off, mid-point, with a woman walking onto the court shouting...

"vee have zee court booked for official league matches...!" (Guess which nationality!)

Never-the-less, pretty rude. M not amused! :-)
So with international relations restored it was on to the bar to meet Sam & Jase. Evening spent eating, drinking and chatting and entering the 'Pub Quiz.' It was great fun with lots of banter with other teams.


There were some pretty obscure quiz rounds with topics ranging from 'Russia' to 'Cooking.' But, we held our own and walked away with 36 cans of Fosters and 2 polo shirts for our efforts - not a bad nights work. Well done the 'Vaggis 4.' (Our team name.... don't ask!)

D xx

Day 10 - Abu Dhabi - Dubai
Woke up with no hangover, somewhat suprisingly, and again intentions to leave early didn't materialise for one reason or another as we headed off for The Club just after 10. Managed to book a court straight away but neither of us were firing on all cylinders today so perhaps tennis elbow is kicking in?
We followed the game with an hour or 2 lounging around the pool sun-bathing and having lunch. We really are struggling here!

Then it was back to the flat for 3'ish to meet Sam and wait for Jase because tonight we were going skiing.... yes skiing!

Dubai has the largest/longest indoor ski slope so we got a shared taxi to Dubai which took just under 2 hours thanks to the infamous Dubai traffic.
Time for a quick drink and snack before we got kitted out with skis, boots, poles, socks, jacket, trousers and a 2 hour lift pass. Sam & Jase were having a lesson so Mandy and I headed off on our own.

Very very bizarre sensation going from the warmth to -4 degrees inside. We'd worked out that M hadn't skiied for 3 years and D for 5 so this could be interesting.


Thankfully, muscle memory kicked in and after a couple of cautious runs, we were both 'shooping' down all the runs that Dubai had to offer.

Bumped into Sam & Jase (not literally) a few times who seemed to be progressing fast with their lesson too.


With our 2 hours almost up we called it a day - cold fingers and toes beginning to get the better of us. It was great fun and with only a couple of wipe-outs between us we were pretty pleased with ourselves. (D fell over, not so spectacularly, whilst standing still taking a photo.... nice!)

Another day, another bar... on to meet up with Sam, Jase and their friend Nadine for drinks and dinner in a bar called 'Apres' which overlooks the ski slope. Good food although we did have to wait almost 90 minutes for a table. Couple more drinks and then we got a late night taxi back to Abu Dhabi arrived at around 1:15. (All but Sam slept pretty much the whole way)

Another tough day comes to an end.

D xx

Days 7 & 8 - Abu Dhabi

Day 7 - Abu Dhabi...
Up early to re-write the Blog then taxi to The Club for more tennis. Seemed to both be on better form today; 6-2, 6-2. I was aching afterwards!
Lunch by the pool (burger M, Salmon wrap D) then lazing by the pool and a dip in a much warmer pool than only a few days ago. The warm weather has certainly helped!!

Shuttle bus back to Hamdan Street then to the Co-Op to get ingredients for dinner. Home to meet Sam then a taxi to Marina Mall for manicure (M) and pedicure (S) whilst Dave went to Carrefour supermarket to get the remaining ingredients for dinner.

A spot of shopping for Sam and I before we headed back to enjoy a delicious 3 course meal lovingly prepared by the boys! Mozarella and tomatoes for starter, home made ravioli and baked aubergine for main and eton mess for dessert, all washed down with a few glasses of champagne!
Off to Le Meridien Hotel for 'Ladies Night' where champagne was free all night for ladies. Too much for me led to an interesting walk home for Dave! Put me to bed around 1 am....

M xx

Day 8 - Recovery!..
Oh! My! God! I was met with a nasty hangover when I awoke. A day mostly revolving around sleeping and being poorly. Never again!
Had to rouse myself for 2:30pm as we had an appointment with a 4x4 and some sand. Off to the Hilton Hotel for pick-up then an hour journey out of Abu Dhabi. I slept most of the way and awoke finally feeling human again! A bottle of diet coke and some chocolate and we were set to meet with the other 4 vehicles to head off for our desert safari.

First stop was to meet some camels whilst the drivers let some air out of the tyres to help when driving across the sand.

The safari was great. Up and down the dunes it was sometimes quite scary. We were sat right at the back of the 4x4 so we got most of the bumps and jolts. I was feeling a little nauseous as we stopped off to see sunset - no sun so we didn't see much!!

The 4x4 was a Toyota Land Cruiser and you'll be pleased to know Em that it performed very well!

We did later learn that one of the vehicles had been on its roof last week but our driver had never been involved in an incident!! No-one was hurt we were pleased to hear.

Once we stopped for the evening at our camp, we were able to ride a camel (I did this but Dave was beaten by a group of Korean ladies who obviously aren't as well versed in the skills of queuing as us Brits!) We also had a go at dune boarding - basically snow boarding but on sand. We were both pretty rubbish! I had a henna tattoo and then we sat down to a delicious dinner. We tried on the traditional Arabic clothing and were treated to a display of belly dancing!

A really great evening!

Mxx

Days 1 - 6 - Dubai & Abu Dhabi

Day 1 – The Journey Begins!..
Tuesday we spent most of the day at Dave’s dad’s finishing off final jobs and saying our farewells.
5:00pm we left for the airport allowing ourselves plenty of time for our 9:00pm flight.
Check in was a breeze (thank you Mr. Branson) and we were soon sat at O’Neill’s having a pint of Guinness and some dinner.
90 spare seats on the plane meant we were able to move around but with so much choice, we were too slow off the mark and only managed to get 2 seats each. Not enough room to stretch out, even for someone as short as me!!! (Em, you might have been OK :o) )
The flight was good with nice food and we managed to catch a few hours sleep. There were lots of people all wearing the same chinos and pale blue shirts who we determined were visiting Dubai for the start of an Asian Series of GP2 racing. Exciting!

M xx

Day 2 – We Arrive In Dubai…
Sam had warned me that the UAE was experiencing torrential rain so we weren’t surprised to be flying through murky rain clouds to emerge on a very soggy runway at Dubai International Airport.
Passport control and baggage pick up complete; we walked to the taxi rank to head for our luxury hotel.
Luxury turned out to be a smoke filled, old fashioned lobby with a Bollywood themed pub and Philipino Night Club!! Fortunately the room was much nicer, clean and spacious with Arabic Satellite TV. Brilliant!!
We were both soon sleeping soundly to try and catch up on some of the sleep we had missed during the night.
Up and out to explore our surroundings, the rain had stopped and we soon found ourselves in the Dubai Creek area. Stopped off for a Shawarma which is a traditional local meat plate with small pittas and assorted salad / pickles. Basically a fancy kebab!!


The Creek area was bustling with the Dhow ships unloading their goods for the local Souks. We appeared to have been transported to an earlier time as the boats which come from India, Sudan, Pakistan etc. all seemed to be hand made from left over staircases and railway sleepers! Their cargo consisted of car tyres, kettles, aluminium radiators, rugs and anything else you can think of!


The Creek was also full of small Abra boats which were being used as taxis to take people from one side of the creek to the other. Dave was keen to try one but I wasn’t so sure that they looked safe and tiredness was getting the better of us both.
A stop off at the local Haagen Dazs café on our way back to the hotel and we were both fast asleep by 8:00pm. A great first day in Dubai!

M xx

Day 3 – Dubai To Abu Dhabi…
Both had a restless nights sleep after yesterdays early night, but were up around 8’ish for hotel breakfast (worst cup of tea ever) and then off for more exploring.
Got a taxi to the Mall Of The Emirates, where we spent a couple of hours shopping, drinking tea/hot chocolate and buying picnic lunch at the local supermarket. (Bargain at around £2)


Got our first glimpse of the fabled Burj Al Arab – very impressive. It dwarfs everything else around it, including the Jumeirah Hotel which in itself is massive.
Got a taxi for the beachfront, (so the taxi driver decided to take us to the Souk – clearly lost in translation) so we ended up walking along the main road past all the fancy hotels to the public beach where we had our lunch whilst admiring the Burj – pretty cool!

Another taxi back towards Bur Dubai which is the old part of Dubai next to the creek. My wish came true as we got an Abra across the creek (1 dirham only – about 15p) and then wandered back to the hotel to get our taxi to Abu Dhabi.
Both snoozed on the 1.5hr ride to Abu Dhabi. Arrived at Sam & Jase’s flat at around 6 pm and the Camel Bar was soon open for drinks.


First impressions of Abu Dhabi are good – seems a lot more compact and organised than Dubai + the weather has definitely improved.
Straight out for a drink at the nearby revolving restaurant in Le Royal Meridien (great views of the city) and then to Pappagallo’s for dinner.


Being a muslim country alcohol is a no-no. There aren’t pubs as such so alcohol is only served within hotels or sports venues.
All in all, another tough day in the life of Dave & Mandy...

D xx

Day 4 – Abu Dhabi To Dubai…
Today we went shooting!

Jase had arranged a trip with some of his work colleagues to go Clay Pigeon Shooting near Dubai and then into the city for food and drinks.
9 of us left Abu Dhabi in a mini-bus at about 11 am, with me drawing the short straw. (middle seat in the front next to the driver with no seat belt….. his driving was not good!)
Arrived at Jebel Ali Shooting Club and were issued our weapons. (Rifles, jackets and 25 cartridges each)
All were slow starters except Mandy who killed a pigeon with her first shot… worrying! We both seemed to get the hang of it pretty quickly with scores of around 9 & 16 out of 25 each.
Few drinks in the bar afterwards and then the 4 of us (Sam, Jase, Mandy & I) went to Madinat Jumeirah for lunch and a wander around the indoor Souk.
Got a photo with the Burj Al Arab in the background (that’ll be the money shot!) and then off to Bur Dubai for another Abra trip across the creek – woo hoo!
Wandered around the gold souk – Mandy dropping hints of possible gifts… not sure what she meant! :o)
Locals trying to sell copy watches, bags and anything else that you can copy.
Taxi to the Irish Village to meet up with the others who were by now a little worse for wear. Had a couple of hours there drinking and chatting away and then got the 90 mile cab ride back to Abu Dhabi. We agreed that this took the prize for the longest cab ride home after a night out (and my bladder knew about it!).
D xx

Day 5 – Abu Dhabi – The British Club
Up and off to The Club for a buffet breakfast/brunch (very yummy) where Sam & Jase have treated us to membership for our time here (Xmas pressies). Swim in the pool and a very brief dip in the sea – I don’t think I breathed properly the whole time we were in there as it was so, so cold!
Beers on the beach as we dried off and warmed up! Dave & Jase went off for a game of snooker whilst Sam and I whiled away the hours (they only played 2 games!) catching up with another beer.

Taxi to the Emirates Palace which was very impressive – gold everywhere and seemed very plush and expensive. It is the local Sheikh’s answer to Dubai’s Burj Al Arab, plus you don’t have to pay to get in!
Back at the flat we had a Lebanese Arabic takeaway with beers at the camel bar. An absolute meat feast which was delicious. Lots of left overs for tomorrow’s lunch.

Watched Eragon on DVD then the workers were off to bed whilst Dave and I made our first attempt at the Blog. An hour later it was complete when all the text suddenly disappeared just as the Autosave kicked in. Arrrggghhh!
We called it a night.

M xx

Day 6 – Abu Dhabi
Sam and Jase were both at work today. Dave and I were up around 8:30 and off to buy swim shorts for Dave – I ended up buying a cap for tennis and Dave left empty handed!!
Tennis at The Club was great fun. Neither of us were great but Dave certainly had the upper hand winning 6-1, 6-1, 6-1. I wasn’t as bad as the score line suggests!!! Our first bit of sunburn too!!
A lovely smoothie by the pool where we spent a couple of hours relaxing before heading back to the flat to meet with Sam.
Left over takeaway for lunch then a taxi to see Jason at work. He teaches English at a local school which focuses on technology and engineering. It all seemed very clinical with very little evidence of children’s work on display – except for Jason’s classroom which was impressively decorated. Even with a lovely pretty table cloth on his desk courtesy of one of his pupils!
The library had about 20 books in with lots of empty shelves – apparently resources take a long time to get!

Beer at the Oryx Hotel rooftop bar where we had a great view of the city and the construction work going on nearby.
Home for a quick change and drink at the Camel Bar then off to Wasabi for a delicious Japanese meal. Can’t wait to go to Osaka!
Back at the flat we were all feeling sleepy and very full so off to bed!

M xx

First Posting - Sorry It's Late!!

Just a very quick message to let you know that we arrived safely and are having a great time so far.
We're going to have a bit of free time later on so will update on what we've been up to then. We did do an extensive 5 day Blog last night but Blogger seems to have some issues with the auto-save and deleted it!
Flickr is a banned site here so we won't be able to upload all our photos but we'll try and put some on here...
Just had some breakfast and we're now off to play tennis. Could be interesting!!
Thank you for all your comments / emails. It's great to know that people are checking the Blog and that we're not just talking to an empty space.
Speak to you later!
M & D
xxx