Blogs from United Arab Emirates, Middle East - page 182

after coming back from sri lanka in january i had accomadation in Abu Dhabi paid for within my air ticket, i had no idea about the country untill i arrived at the airport on the 5th january 2005. got a free taxi to my 4* hotel where i checked in and went to my room, later had a huge western breakfast and then explored the city. the buildings in the city where amzing, the architecture of modern design. clean streets and cheap places to eat! later that morning i had explored a sopping cenre known for gifts and lots more, it was really nice, cause it was surround the sea, apart from a road which linked to the city. from the shopping centre it had grt views of the city and its large harbour, the crystal ... read more

So my work needed an architectural model bought over to Abu Dhabi, and the cheapest way I found was for someone to fly over there! I joked with my boss and said that I would go and he said yes straight away, so that was that!!! So the flight, hotel and expenses were sorted!!! So I get to Heathrow Airport really early and I go to check in and of course they are asking about the model and who packed it and I'm so worried because it had been packed already and to unpack it and pack it again would be a nightmare. Luckily for me, they let me take it on the plane, but then when I got on the plane, I had problems finding space to put the model because it was quite big! ... read more

Glasgow -----  Dubai First of all I must thank my Dad and arguably 'helpful' little brother for getting me to the airport on time, where I successfully checked in for my Emirates flight to Dubai.  Unfortunately there were no window seats left but hey @ least that means I don't have to ask permission before I can go for a wander or visit the toilet - a priviledge I am sure children in my class would enjoy!! When boarding I showed a rather gorgeous air steward my boarding card. (yes, I really do seem to have a thing for the gay ones)  He made sure I turned right and pointed out that I had an aisle seat on the right hand side of the plane.  As I side stepped other passengers and bashed them with my rucksack & duty-free bags I ... read more

Landed in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. 2002 when the time that Dubai was beginning to boom i would say. Sheikh zayed road (The main high way in Dubai) was with just a Stand alone building that was the world trade center and a couple of others with just sand on both sides of the road. While the days passed by traveling every single day on that road for a good 7 years, could see the developments coming up. well it was not obvious when you pass by the same road twice a day and you don't realize that many projects coming up, but when you pass by these amazing buildings you start thinking was this there before?!? this includes the Burj Khalifa (The worlds tallest) or they call it ''At The TOP''... read more

My last two days in Dubai were spent on friendly conversation, good meals, and walks on the local streets. On Monday, to my surprise, we went to watch John play hockey. Dubai had an indoor winter arena with rinks and a facility with a short ski hill! Perhaps this could be considered the the hot-climate equivalent of heated swimming pools in cold climates. On Tuesday we visited the Bastakiya , the old town where historically merchants lived. The fine towers and houses were being carefully restored as an outdoor museum, encouraging visitors to use their imaginations. Not far away, we went to the Dubai Museum , which I had visited earlier by mistake. The walls and turrets from the original fort spoke to the security historically necessary to ... read more