More time in Dubai

Last time you read this, I was recounting my January holiday in Dubai, where after a weekend spent in a luxurious hotel I moved over to sister's flat in Al Satwa for a few days.

Prepping to bash some dunes

Dunes ahead!

My first day there we had booked a desert safari for a whole group of us, starting in the afternoon. So I spent the morning chillaxing by the pool and meeting sister's flatmates...always a fun experience huh? Springah and her friend Pele showed up around 2 and we were picked up shortly after by our thoroughly mental tour guide. It was quite hilarious actually - the tour guide and my sister took instant dislikes to each other, which resulted in sister continuously barking out commands and the tour guide consistently ignoring them - ultimately sister had to go through us to ask anything!

It was a couple of hours drive out to the desert, with a stop-off en route to pick up some of my sister's friends who were also in the group. The tour really began when we headed off-road and started dune-bashing - tres fun. Don't do this if you have a nervous disposition and/or hate roller-coasters but otherwise it's totes worth it. We spent about an hour rocking back and forth across the dunes - it's such an adrenaline rush when the car is hanging almost horizontally, with nothing but momentum keeping you attached to the ground. There were a few screams coming from inside the car but everyone manned up for the majority of the bashing.

So up for it!

After this we headed to a sort of compound that hosts the rest of the desert safari. This is where you experience dinner and a show, and also there were some camels lounging around for riding! Not everyone was super keen on this but sister and I used to ride camels all the time as kids in Egypt and were so up for it!

Make way for royalty riding camels

Looks just like a spinning top!

For dinner, we sat Moroccan style with crossed knees at these low tables, and they brought us a range of food (nothing spectacular), including hummus, flat breads, some sort of veggie curry and roasted meats. It kept us going! As we were sat around a central stage, they also provided some entertainment, beginning with this weird guy who basically span round and round without stopping for something like fifteen minutes, shedding and putting on articles of clothing that gradually lit up until he looked like a giant, lit, spinning top. It was kinda weird. That was followed by a belly dancer who basically shook her *thang* at all of us in turn until we were suitable uncomfortable, before moving onto the next table. Well, it's all part of the experience huh? And then, exhausted and full, we headed home and sister and I enjoyed a few well-deserved G&Ts in her living room. The perfect end to a really interesting day!

The following day sister had a flight and I had plans to meet Springah and Pele at Dubai Mall in the afternoon. So I headed off on my own to a beach in Jumeirah, right next to the Burj Al-Arab (Tower of the Arabs) - the world's only 7-star hotel. The beach was incredible - perfectly immaculate, massive, with white sand and a calm, calm sea. I had amazing views of the Burj and that was all I needed really - sea, sun, sand and my book. I spent an amazing six hours there simply relaxing, then hopped back into a taxi to go get ready for the rest of the day.

Beach with the Burj Al Arab 

Dubai Mall is absolutely humungous (biggest in the world apparently), and I was pretty concerned I wouldn't be able to find my friends there. Luckily, Dubai being all innovative and what-not, there was free wifi everywhere and we found each other pretty easily. Then followed a relaxing couple of hours browsing the shops - there were sales on so managed to make a few small purchases - and then we headed towards the fountains. Unfortunately we didn't have time to take in the Aquarium or the Zoo, but the fountains were the main attraction we wanted to see anyway.

Burj Khalifa

When my mum told me the Dubai Fountain was something I absolutely had to see, I was rather sceptical. I've seen fountains before - big deal. What I didn't realise is that Dubai Fountain is the largest choreographed fountain system in the world, topping no pond but instead the 30-acre manmade Burj Khalifa Lake. The Burj Khalifa, sitting behind the fountains, is the tallest skyscraper in the world and a pretty beautiful one at that. So you can imagine it's quite an impressive sight when they play the fountain show.

After watching the first show, we headed over to the restaurant where we had planned to meet sister and her friend's for dinner. The Mango Tree, which is a Thai restaurant overlooking the fountains and situated in the Souk Al-Bahar (smaller, exclusive shopping centre across from Dubai Mall), is my biggest recommendation as a place to go dine and watch the fountains. Request a balcony table (important to book!) and you can watch those fountains go all night, which of course we did. It's no more expensive than anywhere else in Dubai so you probably won't break the bank eating there, the wine was very good, and although they struggled to spice my food adequately for my palate, I couldn't possibly complain about the quality and quantity of Thai food served. Perfecto!

We finished dinner around 10pm, and my sister and her friends had to head home and sleep before their flights the next day. However, it was Ladies Night, so Springah, Pele and I headed off to the Yacht Club to enjoy the fruits of being female. Thank god for the ease of taxis, I'm telling you! It was actually completely packed when we got to the club, and we had to stand in line for a while to get in, but it was totes worth it when we did. Imagine standing on a balcony amidst rows of fancy yachts, free drink in hand and music blasting. It was so much fun! We got talking to a group of guys who looked like they had bought up the whole bar and were happy to share and of course, since I am the geekiest person on the planet, I ended up debating microchips with one of these guys for at least an hour. Don't ask me the details - I can't remember for the life of me!

Posing at the Yacht Club with fresh tans

Well, it was an excellent end to an excellent day, but I was pretty happy to crawl into my bed in the wee hours when I finally got home. The next few days were going to get even busier with more people arriving to celebrate Springah's birthday, but that's a story for next time. If you can't wait another week until the next post, feel free to head over to my food blog and check out the posts there - they'll definitely keep you entertained!