Blogs from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Middle East - page 7

Lotty's version To account for Moroccan timekeeping we left our hotel with plenty of time to spare, incidentally in Morocco you should expect to be surprised and we ended up at the airport 6 hours before our flight left. After overpriced panini's that contained some reformed ham type substance, some people watching and an “oh my god please don't make me stay here any longer” moment when they decided there was a problem with our tickets, we made it through and onto our Qatar flight. On each seat was blankets, pillows, headphones, toothbrush etc. in the back of the chair in front was a personal tv with thousands of films and tv programmes. My plans to sleep the whole flight needless to say went straight out the window! The best thing about it was though that ... read more

The feeling of luxury oozes from every inch of Dubai. Starting right from the airport- where the “duty free shopping area” stocks all luxury brands to lure you into extravaganza to the plush Metro line, almost everything in Dubai is new and luxurious. Our 4 day short trip to Dubai made me realize that there aren’t enough expensive things to buy for people who own more money than they know- and honestly, such people are too many in numbers in Dubai. We went to Dubai during Ramadan. We were staying at Bur Dubai in hotel Admiral Plaza. The hotel was nice and new- had pool and spa and all other necessities like Business centre and travel desk. Rooms were not large (at least the regular double bed rooms) but provided all sorts of comforts like mini ... read more

I was so excited to try my first brunch that I skipped out on the trip with Jamie and co. to Al Ain. My coworkers had been planning this for weeks and I looked forward to trying it and getting to know them better. If I hadn't gone, it would have been at least another month to experience it... Decisions, decisions. Either way, I'm sure I'd have a great time. Anyway, my "american coworker" and I (let's call him Melvin), went out to McG's again the night before. I got to see his apartment beforehand which is much better than my own amazing place.... Oh well - I still live in my dream apartment for the moment. He lent me a couple of books so I can pursue my NPR Tope 100 Sci Fi / Fantasy ... read more

It was kind of a typical week, though busy as Jamie had returned. I finished my two big reports so the next week or so at work should be relatively easy. yay! I was doing very well with going to the gym every day for at least a half hour - burning some calories, climbing some stairs, and reading my book. The women's gym is pretty lame but it is better than nothing and it's free. Wednesday was the busiest. I FINALLY had gotten my national id, so I was looking forward to getting my license. Yay! So, I decided to go Wednesday after lunch and meet Jamie for a massage afterwards. Little did I know that the licensing place keeps ramadan like hours as they close at 2. Such a pain. I got there at ... read more

Right, where to start? The plane ride to Dubai was interesting in itself. We had our own entertainment system for the flight over which came with all sorts of games, films and TV to watch on demand. You could also track the progress of the flight, which was a little unnerving when we flew over Bahgdad and Basra! The in-flight entertainment also came with two live cameras, one looking beneath the plane so you could match the features on the map to those on the camera. The other camera looked forward so you could see what the pilot could see. Made for an interesting landing! The food on the flight was also very nice for a change so all this made the time fly by. As we came in to land, the plane flew past the ... read more

A nice easy weekend ended with a busy day. My maids arrived right on time this morning and while they were here, I headed to the gym. Man, I think reading Chelsea Handler while on the stationary bike is a good plan - I sped through 55 minutes and 374 calories. Wootwoot. I am a little disappointed with the women's gym here - no weights and no privacy. I was there by myself and some maintenance guy probably walked outside the windows about 7 times while I was doing some yoga. Still, I guess a treadmill, bike, and stairmaster is better than nothing. Maybe I'll go to the men's gym when it is empty (Candi - still thinking of you and the "men's section"!!!) I came home and my friend wanted to know if I wanted ... read more

I arrived in Dubai at a smidgen before midnight, having left the (dis)comfort of sweaty Bologna and headed to Milan. Two buses, two trains, a coach and a shuttle later and I was at the airport ready to depart. I was the only person in the departure lounge not wearing a burkha. Alarm bells were ringing... I had thought that flying Emirates would be the most luxurious way to travel possible. I was quite wrong. Okay, the inflight entertainment system was a nice way to wile away the hours, and yes the staff were all very courteous, but the fundamentals were not there. The arm on my seat was broken so I had nowhere to rest my limbs for 8+ hours. The entertainment screen only worked in darkness (what should have been a screening of The ... read more