2014 Holiday - Dubai - U.A.E.

28 November 2014

This holiday was so long in the planning it felt it would never arrive… but it did.
Early on the 1st October we drove to Adelaide ready for the holiday to begin. We caught an afternoon flight to Brisbane and met up with our dear mates and travel companions – Donna and Ron. 
We were so excited to finally be on the way.
Our flight from Brisbane to Dubai on Emirates wasn’t until 2am – so it was a long wait in the Brisbane airport that night.

My journal entry dated 2nd October
“This day was exhausting. We flew the 15 hour flight from Brisbane to Dubai. The flight was fine.. the food was good…watched movies….shifted bum cheek to bum cheek. Off the plane for an hour in Singapore while they cleaned ..finally arrived in Dubai. Its HOT and smack in the middle of the desert. Its sandy and desert like..barely a tree. Our Motel is nice. Taxi to Dubai Mall..opulent…wealthy. Home in bed by 7pm and in bed asleep – exhausted.”

I still vividly recall the first glimpse through the plane window....I felt like I had flown to the moon..it was landscape I had never seen before.... flat...desert...colourless and stretching for eternity.
I was so EXCITED.... and couldn't wait to land and explore.

Where did we stay?
Our Motel were all organised by Peter and Sunstate Travel and we couldnt have been happier.
Our request was for Motels that were reasonably priced in good locations... and preferably with free wi-fi so we could stay in touch with everyone at home.
Clean...safe....connected and reasonably priced!


In Dubai we stayed at the
It was perfect.... and there was the option of a buffet breakfast in the restaurant
so it made it easy
Motel buffet breakfast (40 dirham = $15.00)


What did we do in Dubai?
In my opinion....just driving around in Dubai is an attraction...
the buildings are extreme...  they are high... extravagant... and stretch for miles...

1. The Dubai Mall...with this crazy aquarium inside... apparently there are over 300 sharks and rays alone... apparently it houses 1000s of aquatic animals.

2. The Burj Kahlifa
"The Tallest Building in the World" at 828m and 160 stories.


I thought this was interesting as a comparison


It had the most amazing views of the city...coast and desert.

...and here we are having the corny tourist shot at the top.... haha


3. Dubai Museum - this was our first glimpse at what old Dubai would have been like, the museum is located in the Al Fahidi Fort built in 1787 and apparently is the oldest existing building in Dubai. Inside was the usual historical relics and exhibits...but the one thing I loved the most was the section where they had recreated a life sized souk with models of the bygone era... loading ships at the dock..selling goods...farming...a real glimpse of what life was like.


4. Just wandering Dubai....particularly the older parts.... its just so unlike home...and I loved that.




4. We took an Abra (Wooden Boat) trip on the Dubai Creek....it was crazy to see all the old cargo boats in contrast to the high rise buildings in the back ground. We cruised up one side of the creek and back down the other. It was HOT... ridiculously hot.

The view was pretty cool though...so it was worth the sweat and tears,

5. The Emirates Mall.. equally as spectacular as the Dubai Mall.... and instead of having an aquarium...it houses a ski resort! It has an 85m mountain and 5 slopes. Its 45+ degrees outside and they are skiing inside.


6. We took the "Big Bus" Night tour - which if we hadn't been SO tired would have been more appreciated. It was 2.5hrs... it was a warm and balmy night...we sat on the top deck with a beautiful breeze and the commentary was in English.. the lights at night were spectacular. The downside was it was so relaxing I actually nodded off to sleep a couple of times....haha

So that's pretty much our experience of Dubai....   the food was great... the sights were amazing...it was hot... and it was interesting.

Next stop was back to the Airport ready for our flight to Barcelona in Spain.


Good-bye Dubai.

4 comments

  1. It looks amazing. Thanks for the tour. Enjoy the rest of your trip.

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    1. It certainly was amazing... I would love to go back one day thats for sure.
      Mardi x

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  2. Wow Mardi, sounds amazing. Looking forward to your next instalment.

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    1. Gosh Sue...we did so much on our trip...these instalments may take me some time...haha
      Mardi x

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