Dubai

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Originally, we were wanted to go on a Tanzanian safari during the Christmas break. But, since the flights from North America were so expensive, we figured we'll get to Dubai and catch a cheaper flight from Dubai to Tanzania. Then we figured, why not make Dubai a destination in itself? So, that's what brought us to Dubai.

We spent the first week around Dubai and Sharjah, 3 days in Doha, Qatar, and the remainder of the time on the beach in Fujairah, by the Indian Ocean. In Dubai, it rained for two days. The rain came down hard and then the sun came out. So, it was pleasant. Not like the London or Vancouver style grey skies and slow drissle all day long.

What's there to do in Dubai? Plenty. But, most of it is centred around shopping malls. There's a mall with an indoor ski hill, another with a giant aquarium with what must be the largest sheet of glass in the world, another with an ice rink ... yes, the list of mall features goes up. And all the malls were decked out for Christmas, even more gaudily than at home.

Sharjah has a wonderful natural history exhibition and an attached animal sanctuary. This sanctuary is way better than the Dubai zoo that has the "traditional" claustrophobia inducing caged setup.

Well, the bottom line is we liked it so much, we decided we wanted to move to this part of the world. That's why we went to Doha - to check out potential places of employment.

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