Day one and I would like to start with a whine. I know we have been making you all very jealous with the details of our trip but we were not prepared for the onslaught that we experienced just before we left. All the beautiful friends and family messaging, calling and seeing us off at the airport made us very homesick well before we even hopped on the plane (special thanks to my parents for dropping us off and staying with us at the airport as well as my good mate Marty who dropped in at the last minute to have a pint, thanks buddy). We are happy to now turn the table on you all and tell you that we have safely arrived in Dubai.
Dubai is hot, clean and absolutely stunning. We haven't been here long so that is all you are getting from us at this stage. The flight over was what you would expect from any long haul flight bar one small incident. At 4am local time we were served breakfast on the plane. When we were asked what drink we would like Chon excitedly asked for a non alcoholic bloody Mary. The attendant didn't here non and said rather loudly that he was sorry but it was 4am in the morning and that he was serving breakfast and not alcohol. chon quickly replied tomato juice will do to keep the rest of the plane from starring at my little piss head.
I was able to show off the Tassie sun today by taking my shirt off at the beach. Many local kids were shocked at the intensity of my skin and some even shielded there eyes.
Got to go now, have booked a desert safari involving belly dancing and camals. May post pictures later if it is appropriate ;).
As promised ... Belly dancing and camels ....plus others
Belly dancer on the safari tour
And a struggling camel
Moroccan friends at the Bedouin style camp on the Safari
Burj Al Arab from Souk Madinat Jumeirah
Souk Madinat Jumeirah boat ride
Fish tank in Dubai Mall at base of worlds tallest building Burj Khalifa
Burj Khalifa
View from the top
Water fountain show at the bottom
Back at Souk Madinat Jumeirah
Near gold souk in old Dubai
As above
Huge water slide at Atlantis on the Palm (the plunge)
View from the plunge
Last night in Dubai, winding down with apple flavoured shisha
Day six and we are about to spend the better part of a day on a plane to London. Our stay in Dubai was brilliant. Four nights here was enough to cover the major attractions in the area but there is still plenty to see and do. We managed to survive the summer heat here (40+ degrees C) and I even managed to turn a shade darker from white to red. There was no relief from the heat in the sea as it was warmer than a bath you would have at home ... I even found a couple of whole cooked tropical fish floating around in the sea.
The safari was a highlight for us both but all of our experiences here have been amazing. Our driver was a little crazy on the safari driving up and down sand dunes that freaked all of us out a little but unlike some of the other vehicles, everyone in ours managed to hold down their lunches. The other big thrill we got was at the Atlantis on the Palm water park where we went on a water slide that is almost vertical and it goes under an aquarium filled with sharks (called the plunge) not that you even notice the sharks as you go so fast that everything is a blur. Everyone is very friendly here and there are people from all over the globe. We couldn't spot a single bogan here. I guess when you can't recognize a bogan then it is probably yourself. Chon's boss once told us not to look up at tall buildings whilst in Melbourne as everyone would know we are from Tassie but over here it is hard not to as there are enourmouse buildings towering out of the desert where ever you go. On that note we shall sign off and write some more at our next destination.
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