Dubai and Beyond


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Middle East » United Arab Emirates » Dubai
May 30th 2015
Published: May 30th 2015
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So we rocked in this morning at 5.50am UAE time (1.50am NZ time) after flying for 18 hours. Thankfully Dubai is a stopover so their hotels pretty much all run on a 24hr basis, which meant we could check right in without having to wait. We decided to have breakfast first and then napped for a couple of hours before we headed out to the Gold Souk. The heat was so freaken intense and it hit us like a ton of bricks. We had to cross the 'creek' on a run down old boat for $50c NZ each. The river was surprisingly clean. We quickly found out that if a local tells you that your destination is 'just around the corner', or '50m down the road' they lie through their teeth! Karen and I lost 2kg in sweat getting to do the first of our shopping. The gold market was amazing. It was so glittery and sparkly, we were all blown away. I didn't appreciate the store people trying to get us to come into their shops, although it was a relief to go into an air conditioned shop! We then caught the train to the Dubai Mall, when all of
Consturction at Dubai MallConsturction at Dubai MallConsturction at Dubai Mall

Top part of the high rise construction

Dubai Architecture
a sudden Dave yelled that we were in the wrong carriage and leapt off the train just as the doors closed! Goodbye Dave... Thankfully, we waited at the next stop and he turned up. Apparently there are carriages for women and children only! Who knew. Dave had read it and decided to not run the risk of coping a fine on our first day.

The Dubai Mall is an experience in itself! It was sooo huge that apparently it takes 3 days to cover all the areas. the inside aquarium was awesome and we were constantly pointing and grabbing at each other so as not to miss out on anything. Because we had only eaten 8 times in the last 24 hours we were pretty hungry and tired, so we stopped at the food mall to 'collect ourselves'.

We are now holed up in Karen and Ginna's hotel room downing 'Star of Bombay' Sapphire gin, tonic with a twist that we bought at duty free. If you have never had this particular gin, then it is a must. At the moment you an only get it from Sydney International Duty Free and a couple of other places
Construction at Dubai MallConstruction at Dubai MallConstruction at Dubai Mall

Bottom part of the construction highrise.
Internationally.
First glimpse of Dubai
We made sure to secure our purchases for pick up on the way home!

An early night will be in order with dinner probably being eaten at another gold and diamond market just down the road from our hotel. We have many things planned for tomorrow and, who knows, we may even let Dave and Ginna have a hand in what we do...



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Creek CrossingCreek Crossing
Creek Crossing

Crossing the creek to get to the Gold Souk


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