Cheers to a perfect day!

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I awoke at 9am to a knock on my door and I thought to myself "housekeeping this early in the morning....really!?!" Unimpressed, i rolled out of bed and opened the door, thinking to myself that the only thing that could possibly make this situation okay is if a member of staff was on the other side of the door holding a Baileys and coffee. Well, this was so SO much better than that.....GABRIELE!!!! And here I though I was going to have to venture into the depths of Dubai by myself. Hero!

After a large pot of "american" coffee, Gabri and I left the hotel and took a taxi to the souks (markets). Whoh, Woodstock flea market doesn't seem quite as impressive now (haha, jk obviously). But honestly, I definitely recommend spending a morning having a wonder around the the souks if you are ever here because they are amazing! I ended up buying 2 long dresses (25 dirhams each ~5 pounds). The best part of the souks is bartering with the shopkeeps...."150Dhs? You have got to be joking?! I will give you 25dhs. Max!!" Then the shopkeeper shows you his next offer by displaying the price on a calculator "this is a very good price for this fabric! You wont find a better deal," they say. "100dhs? Nah, the guy in the row over was going to give me a dress for 25dhs, so I will just go back to him." This usually seemed to do the trick! I could have spent all day at the souks but by the time we walked around for about an hour and a half it was almost mid-day and it was HOT! This is quite gross, but the sweat was literally dripping off me! I thought yesterday was hot. Ha! Yesterday was a joke compared to today, although that may be because the only thing I did yesterday was lounge in the pool. The heat here is unbearable...not quite sure how people survive in this city during the summer! It just never EVER stops! It feels as though you are in a sauna + and walking with hairdryers pointed at you from every direction. We jumped in an air conditioned (thank god) taxi and headed to the hotel, but not before first stopping at the gold souk. If you want to see a lot of gold all in one place go to the Dubai Gold souk! Shop after shop filled to the brim with gold bracelets, necklaces, watches, rings, etc. Amazing!! These guys were pretty set on price and were all quite official looking, and, therefore, harder to barter with. The gold souks are more similar to actual shops and the shop keeps are well-dress and have name badges, etc. But there were some shops off the main strip that were more flexible, although it is debatable whether their items are truly gold. "Lifetime guarantee, colour never fades," I was told, hmmm I wonder....

We returned to the hotel and went for a swim/tan on the rooftop (Gabriele had some catching up to do after my day in the sun yesterday). Later in the afternoon we decided to venture out again and explore a bit more of the city. We grabbed the metro and went to the Burj Khalifa, which is the tallest tower in the world and it was massive! CN tower, watch out because there is a new kid in town!! I took a bunch of photos (which I will put up when I can) but I dont think that I got the whole tower in any of them! We then went to the Dubai mall. There are no words to describe this mall, but I will have a go. Versace, Gucci, D&G, Jimmi Choo, Manolo Blahnik (yes, I got a photo of this one for you mum), etc, etc. On top of that there was live entertainment, an indoor wtaerfall, an ice skating rink, a massive MASSIVE aquarium. When we got to the live entertainment bit, which we watched from the level above, I finally saw them---2 camels just sat in the Duabi mall! One was sat down and the other was stood up drinking from a water basin! This is the first time I had ever seen a camel, so I was quite excited and of course vocalised this excitement (probably too loudly, "wow! Ive never seen real live camels before" (direct quote). I got a few funny looks, and then upon closer inspection realised that these camels in fact were not real but merely mechanical ones. Brilliant, now I look like a massive idiot. Hhah! Ah well, a bit disappointed that I didnt get to see a real LIVE camel on the trip and kind of wish I didn't realise that they were fake ones.

After the mall we headed outside to the Dubai fountains which I heard were spectacular. Apparently, these fountains are timed to 'dance' to music and during the night the area is filled with entertainment and music. Unfortunately, I was there during the day and there was nothing of the sort. In fact, the fountains weren't even turned on to produce even a simple sprinkle. Got some nice pictures by what should have been the Dubai fountains though!! Maybe I can photoshop some fountain sprays in the background when I get home.

Back at the hotel Gabriele and I got ready to go on a Dhow Dubai Creek restaurant cruise. By this time the sun had gone down and all the buildings along the creek were lit up and it looked absolutely stunning! We traveled along the creel, ate authentic Dubai food, and saw all the spectacular architecture. It was amazing and by far the highlight of the entire trip so far!

All in all, I would ave to say that this was one of the best days of my life. I enjoyed ever single second of my time in Dubai. T.A.T Gabriele!!

Ciao Dubai! Next stop KENYA!

Love always, Courtney

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