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Published: October 19th 2008
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It is with great sadness that I write my final blog entry for this trip. I am certain that it ended on a very good note, in Dubai. After eight hours in transit I finally arrived at the Abu Dahbi airport at 9 30 pm. Upon arrival I faced lines through customs that I have never seen before and lots of trouble finding my baggage. Needless to say I could not wait to have a long bath at the Sheraton hotel where I would be staying. But what I soon discovered was that someone had other plans for me during my stay.
It was 10pm when I received a call form Rod, who is a friend of Mark and Leahs. I had contacted him months ago to let him know I would be in Dubai and must admit was really feeling by the time I got there that I needed lots of sleep and rest. But Rod changed all that! By 1am that evening I was in a nightclub, drinking and having loads of fun. In my first 5 hours in Dubai I met many people and before I knew it, it was 7.30am and I was just arriving back
Private beach at the Sheraton
Burj Al Arraj in the background at the Hotel. This would lead to my only regret; not waking up in time to enjoy the buffet breakfast!
After a few hours of sleep I decided that I could not waste the entire day and headed to the private beach attached to the Hotel. What a life! Drinks and food as I pleased. The water was beautiful! A perfect temperature and easy to jump straight into. My original plan was to visit the souks and some museums but as I laid there soaking up the sun I made the choice to stay exactly where I was!
That afternoon I went to the Burj Al Arage which is the famous 7 star hotel. On recommendation I had booked high tea at the sunrise bar on level 24. The over the top luxury was almost distasteful but in an over the top kinda way it was beautiful with detailed oppulance and no expense spared. High Tea began with Moet champagne and endless amounts of sandwiches, scones, chocolates, cakes and slices. Let me tell you that after months without these things I thought that I had won the lottery! I sat there for almost 3 hours admiring the view.
The new palm island is incredible and there is construction work happening everywhere. After my appointment with luxury the journey continued when I met Rod for drinks at Bar 360. Which is kind of a bar placed in the centre of the ocean. We sat on large lounges and enjoyed the perfect weather. After that we headed to his mate Matt's birthday at an all you can eat buffet which was quite fitting considering Dubai seems to encompass all nationalities of the world. Then we headed back to Bar 360. It felt very surreal to sit smoking sheesha while admiring the magnificant site of the Burj at night. An interesting fact about the Burj was that the locals don't really like the structure because when you view it from the ocean it's structures form the shape of a cross. This is pretty ironic considering it was built in a muslim country.
This really was a fitting way to end my trip and it was not long until I was at the airport trying to catch a plane back to oz. When I checked in they kindly informed me that my flight had been over booked and there where no
more seats for me. I honestly could not believe what I was hearing but knew that they would have to do something. After about 1 and 1/2 hours they finally got me onto another flight that went from singapore to Brisbane then to sydney. But the best thing was that it was business class all the way. Oh boy! what a mistake! Once you have been in business class there is no going back! It was soooooo good. Again food and wine as I pleased, movies galore and a seat that stretched out to a bed. HEAVEN!
I WILL BE FOREVER THANKFUL TO ROD FOR MAKING MY FINAL JOURNEY SO MEMORABLE! He sure is living the life and I encourage everyone to get over there. I know that I will be back!
I could not help but feel very depressed as I landed back home. I wanted to be back on that beach in Dubai, watching the lion eat the wilder beast carcus in the Masai Mara, playing with the children in the townships of South Africa and Namibia, laughing, sharing stories and meeting new people. This has been an adventure of a lifetime. When I booked the
trip I thought that I would cover so much of the continent that I would never have to return. But now I am hooked and can't wait to return to some of the places and see even more new things. I felt and experienced many things on this journey, above all Africa has made me happy! no longer caught in my past and ready to take on life as I choose it to come.
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I only just discovered this entry and by the sounds of it you seemingly had a "spiritual" journey--one of discovery. I'd like to learn more about your trip (why, where, how long, etc.) and talk to you about sharing your story on our radio show, www.traveln-on.com. I believe my email is attached (but not published), however, you can obtain our contact information from the About Us page on our website.