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!
3 comments:
Seems as if you've had a great first week. I'm very jealous!!
Can't believe how long you were in a cab for! Glad the weather picked up for you both.
Mum & dad anniversary was a success, Ben ordered flowers and I bought the drink so all in all, a team effort.
Have a great time and don't get to burnt. Mel xxx
Lovely to hear from you both, it all sounds wonderful. Torrential rain and high winds here - Formby fields were covered in water today. I am glad I am not the only one who lost everything from their Blog! I now do it in Word then cut and paste it in just in case!
Lots of love, beautiful flowers and whisky - thanks very much.xx
Hiya!
What are holidays about if you cant spend most of your time, sleeping, eating, drinking, playing tennis & 'shooting'! (how bazaar, but very cool..) Also very impressed with the spelling of all the sights & buildings... though we wouldn't know any different.
Marks' at a black tie dinner tonight where Martin Johnson will be making motivational speech. (not sure what it's got to do with lean manufacturing, but he could do with the motivation!!) So.. I am home alone playing with my new guitar amp...and of course, checking up on you too.
Speak again soon, LOL Em xx
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