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Suprise,
Sorry we are late for our first entry, we were playing in traffic.
Well our journey started last tuesday May 1st, with enough tears to fill drought ravaged (haha ravaged) dams. We flew out at 7:20pm and on our way through customs Matt was kindly asked to step aside to check his rather sexy body for explosives, those of you who placed bets on this should collect now. Luckily the all clear was given and our trip was allowed to proceed.
A stop in Singapore airport for about 20 mins after our 7 hour flight was enough to find the best beer garden (so far) in the world with a humidty of around nine million and passing cops with heavily armed machine guns. (Matt was again slightly nervous)
Once we got back onto our flight a following 7 and a half hours saw us smashed again as the friendly and attractive Emirates staff kept feeding us Jack Daniels without having to ask for it. We arrived at Dubai at around 5:10am on virtually no sleep, something that will no doubt be a common problem over the next 8 months.
Stepping off the airport into around 37 degrees and hairless
feral cats wandering past, we really didnt know what to expect from our next 3 days there.
After getting picked up and taken to the Presidents hotel about a 10 - 15 minute drive from the airport we were greeted by numerous staff ready to take our bags.
It was slightly overwhelming at first to have people basically serve us and do everything for us, but as the days went by we got used to it very quickly.
We werent allowed to day anything, they would take our plates and carry our bags (mind you there they were bigger than 3/4 of the population). Everything was yes sir, and now being in England with everybody not so polite we almost wish we were back there.
So after a buffet breakfast, we went and had a cat nap for a couple hours and awoke to a temperature of around 44deg. We decided to go for a trip to the local shopping centre to see how it compared to good old Eastland. On the trip there you cant help but notice how green everything is given we were in the desert and how rapidly everything is being built, and how huge
and unique all the buildings are. In the next 10 years this place will be massive. And the other thing we noticed was how terrible they were at driving. They basically do whatever they want regardless of the traffic around them and if that doesnt work, the horn gets a workout.
So after our little trip to the shops, and realising it wasnt all that different we went home to get ready for our 4wd safari through the desert. This was unreal. We had about 15 4wd's all tearing through the the dunes, dodging camels and trying not to knock ourselves out everytime our heads hit the roof. We stopped for a buffet dinner, camel rides, henna tattoos and to dress up in their traditional clothing. oh yeah, did i mention we had a belly dancer?! best! On the drive home, a Persian woman who was also on the safari gave us an insight into Dubain society and put Daniel to sleep. We learnt that friday is considered their weekend (they work on sat and sun), how there is virtually no crime due to the very severe penalties attached to them (stealing sees you banished from the country, road offences
incur 2 nights in jail), how society is structured in such a way that there is a business bay, sports city, health care city etc. and if you work in a certain field you are likely to try and live in the city that specailises in that field. But the one thing we leanrt that we wished would be introduced back home: when you first get married the government gives you a house (mind you these houses were villas on the beach, jealous!).
We were wrecked by this stage and decided we'd go to bed. Mind you the karaoke bar had a different idea, with arabic versions of songs by system of a down, the cranberries, justin timberlake and beyonce ringing though our room. Words cannot describe how bad they were.
We woke up the next morning after trying to sleep the night before, and we had a tour of the city planed for us. As we got onto the bus this lady yelled out to us "you guys are Australina arn't you". was it that obvious. we found out they where from Australia as well, they left home 3 years ago and still havent returned home. One of
the 2 we meet lived in Rowvile. the tour took us all over the city. we visited the 7 star hotel, the presidents abode (which had 73 million peacock roaming around), an islamic (mufti) art gallery, a mosque, the dubai museum, the biggest flag in the world (it actualy realy was were not just saying that) a beach with a water temp of 30deg, the worlds tallest building which is already 160 stories high and not finished and some 5 star hotel called jamiroquai or al jazeera (we cant remember).
we got back home and decided it would be a grand idea if we were to finish a 1lt bottle of canadian, then hit up the slums of Dubai. so we did and Matt being Matt when he is pissed was a little (i mean a lot) to loud. and almost got us into a few fights by not using his inside voice, and thinking that 900,000 to 3 was fair odds. We took the footy out and had a kick in a park that we found. bad idea. we got kicked out by the police. It seems its ok to play soccer there, but no footy. then Matt decided
he was going to join some kids playing cricket in the streets. They hated that idea. we managed to find our way back to our hotel, only just in time to go on a river cruise. it was the perfect way to finish our time in Dubai, it was interesting to see the city by night with so many lights, but it was also so relaxing. we got another buffet dinner and a pirate who did magic (what more could you ask for). after that we headed back to the hotel and we all had grand visions of making it out, but we all flaked it as soon as our heads hit the pillow.
the last day was only a half day, we packed, we went to lunch and then to the airport. where we borded the plane for London, and we once again experienced the responsible serving of Jack Daniels.
This episode has been brought to you by the letters W and the number 16, until next time, peace out xo
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Jen
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:)
Well..... that all sounds awsum!!! im so glad u enjoyed urselves in Dubai.. the place looks absolutely amazing!!! im so jealous... hehe.. so happy to see sum photos of u lot 2! makes me upset @ the same time.. coz i miss u all so bloody much!!! cant wait for the nxt installment... love u all a million trillion times xxxxx