Dubai or not Dubai

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After our teary goodbyes in England we arrived in Dubai in the early hours of the morning so it wasn't until around 3am that we got to our apartments. We stayed at the Golden sands 3 apartments for 219 pounds for 5 nights. We could not find a fault with the room. We were very hungry when we arrived so decided to splash out and get room service- we had 2 big steak sandwiches and chips for less than 8 quid. Not bad and it went down our belly's a treat as well.

Our first full day in Dubai was pretty much wasted because we slept in till the afternoon. When we did get up we did boring stuff such as going to the supermarket and getting food in for our stay as we are backpacking for over 4 months we weren't prepared to blow our budget in Dubai. We did have a walk around and got the feel for the city but couldn't walk around too long as we had ventured out the hottest part of the day.

On our next day we were determined not to waste anymore time. We got up early (now we no longer work- we find getting up early quite a mission these days) and took advantage of the free shuttle ride from our hotel to the beach. We spent all of the morning lazing on the beach- mostly swimming in the sea because it was way too hot to sun bathe. However having said that we still managed to burn our backs. Ooops!! Never mind hopefully we'll be more careful in the future.
In the afternoon we caught a taxi from the beach to the burj Al Arab hotel. From there we walked to a nearby shopping center, which felt like paradise. I have quickly grown to love air conditioning, I never used to be fan as I do get cold easily, however when you're out in 40 degree Celsius heat- it's a different matter!!

The following day again we fell into the same unemployed trap of sleeping in. Well we did have an excuse- we were out watching Liverpool win their place in the finals of the Champions league. Go you reds!!! Oh what a night that was- we want harp on though! Anyway we had booked to go on a jeep safari tour, which didn't start until 3pm. We would definitely recommend this tour- it was a great evening. It did help of course that we're sharing a jeep with a nice Australian couple called Debra and Paul. We basically went sand dune bashing and then tried out sand boarding. We both had a go and only one of us fell over- oh I wonder which one it was? Kathryn of course- never had great co-ordination. Oh well at least I had a go. We later went to a desert camp and had a big feast and watched a belly dancer- oh la la (quote by Sonny). We were back to the hotel about 10pm.

On our last day in Dubai we caught a taxi over to Deira. You may think we're splashing out getting a cab everywhere but it really is quite cheap to get a taxi and they are lovely and air-conditioned as well. We walked around Deira and had a look around the gold souk- lovely bit of bling but way out of our budget. Later we went for a boat ride along the creek and had great views of both sides of the city.

Dubai or not Dubai? Definitely Dubai for us. Don't get me wrong there is still a lot of construction work going on and in a few years time it will be absolutely amazing. However we enjoyed our stay but wished we had more time there as there was so much more we would have liked to do. The only reason we gave Dubai 5 nights/ 4 days was because we thought it would be too expensive but we were wrong. We found Dubai actually quite cheap- a lot cheaper than England anyway.

Well that’s goodbye to bling from us and hello to the curries of India.
Chicken Tikka Masala here we come…..

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Photos

Sonny with a Falcon
How good is this? You get to hold a Falcon for under 2 pounds. Kathryn was either too scared or too tight with her money to have a go.

Prince of Dubai on a building
This is when you know you've made it!

Bling, Bling
The front of one of the shops in the gold souk.

Cap to prove we've been to Dubai
Cruising along the creek

I'm lost!!!!
On our desert dune bashing trip.

Comments

[Simone, Steve, Hil and Gra]

Hi guys, So glad to see your having such a good time. I know your off to Goa soon. If you get a chance to go to the place where you can wash the elephants and also ride them too. You do need to get there early but its definatly worth it and it will be slightly cooler. You may find some of the shacks on the beach are starting to close with the season coming to an end but I highly recommend a beer or two on the beach at sunset(beer o'clock as I've named it). As everything is so cheap and if you do have a love of sea food I would say try the lobster coz its so fresh and tasty and not even close to the price back home. Cant wait to see your next instalment. Love to you both, The Perry's, oh and Steve xx