Blogs from United Arab Emirates, Middle East - page 24

Day 19 I had to go on visa run today it was a nightmare, me and my colleges had to drive to Oman and back and get out passport stamped coming back to you have an extra month everything went wrong we first went to wrong way to Oman passing the border so It must have just looked so weird driving back and forth through the borders it took about 5 hours altogether and must have driven through about 6 gates to reach Oman to only have to drive back through them all again. we had to drive through the dessert which was great there was even some mountains on the way so the trip was worth the drive. Day 20 There's a new guy in the job new guy joined to group studied law clever ... read more

November Desert Adventure Saturday, November 22nd: For a change my first flight didn’t depart Las Vegas until 1:40pm, so no dragging my butt out of bed at zero dark thirty which is generally the case for my trips……far more civilized in my opinion. Delta Airlines had been gracious enough to upgrade me to first class, so it was with joy and anticipation I checked in a couple of hours prior to departure. McCarran as usual was a zoo….especially this weekend just before Thanksgiving – apparently everyone wants to gamble and end up flat broke for the holidays. People watching is definitely a national pastime in this airport. We left almost an hour late which, given the short connection time in Atlanta, put my Dubai flight in jeopardy and I wasn’t sure I would make ... read more

Brunch couldn't work in the UK: People would be dead. And yet, it's a vital ingredient of life in the UAE. Basically - you pay an upfront sum (anywhere between 150 and 2,000 dhs - around 30 to 400 pounds) then eat as much food and drink as much alcohol as you can physically consume in 3 hours. It's a decadent race; he who reaches obesity first? Wins! Wales' life expectancy would HALF if brunch was a thing there. I've only attended three of these gluttonous events so far. And here are my griefs and joys: Brunch 1: Melia Brunch. This was our first Brunch; our initial "WE'VE JUST ARRIVED IN DUBAI! LET'S GET REALLY FAT!" outing. For a carnivore? It was difficult. There was pretty much just ONE meat option... and ... read more

Da war ich also nun nach mehr als 4 Monaten reisen, bereits an meiner letzten Destination Dubai angelangt. In Dubai war es unerträglich heiss, so versuchte ich mich möglichst wenig an der Aussenluft aufzuhalten. Umso mehr Zeit verbrachte ich in der gekühlten Metro oder in gekühlten Shopping Malls. Die Malls in Dubai sind nicht nur für Shopping, es gibt auch viel andere Unterhaltung. So gibt es ein Aquarium, ein Unterwasserzoo und sogar eine Indoorskihalle. Die beiden erstgenannten Attraktionen habe ich besucht, auf Skifahren kann ich in der Schweiz wunderbar verzichten und muss dies nicht in Dubai anfangen. Die Vorfreude war gross endlich auf das höchste Gebäude der Welt, den Burj Khalifa zu gelangen und die Sicht auf Dubai zu geniessen. Die Vorfreude wurde dann aber leider etwas getrübt. Die Sicht war leider sehr neblig, man konnte ... read more

07 October 2015 A long and tiring day touring around the contrasting and in many cases extreme Dubai sights in a stiflingly hot 35°. Fortunately all the buildings and vehicles were air conditioned. We decided against the tourist bus but instead bought a very reasonable day ticket on the modern overground metro which quickly whisked around the spread out city. We also had a taxi tour with a friendly Indian driver and did some gentle walking. We started with the hotel shuttle which took us to the Dubai mall, built on 4 levels it is the largest in the world and contains every imaginable upper class shop. Adjacent to it is the tallest building in the world, the 828m high Burj Khalifa. It was then onto the Metro for a ride through sprawling suburbs to the ... read more