Blogs from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Middle East - page 16

Our usual airline of choice (Korean Air) would have had us leaving Brisbane at the civilised time of 8:30am. Alas, not this time. We chose to fly Emirates, which had the unfortunate departure time of 2:30am. We were in for a long Sunday – 33 hours to be exact! Thankfully, check-in at Brisbane Airport was a breeze (not too many queues at that hour) and we were on our way. While I opted for a last minute kip on the comfy lounges, Kohen spotted our pilots and had a chat to them. To his delight, they offered for him to visit the cockpit once we were aboard. We had no sooner boarded, found our seats and dumped our gear before a hostess ushered us up to the pointy end of the plane. Kohen had a blast ... read more

General info: Currency: UAE Dirham Cost of Living: 500ml bottle of water 1Dh, Pack of arabic bread 2Dh, Meal in Dubai Marina 40Dh. Dubai is mix of nationalities, religions and cultures. Local authorities have high ambitions and never stop on expanding. The biggest shopping Mall- Dubai Mall, The tallest building in the world- Burj Khalifa, The most expensive hotel- Burj Al Arab, The biggest fleet of the biggest aircrafts- A380 in the best Airline- Emirates, are just begining of long list :) Architecture here is really immpresive, specially along Sheikh Zayed Road and Dubai Marina. There is also a lot of beautfil beaches, deserts where you can enjoy Safari and old district Deira with restaurants and souks along Creek river, where the boat ride cost you only 1 dirham. Local cuisine is first of all halal. ... read more

Geo: 25.27, 55.33Breakfast in the Colonnade, then waiting in Seabourn square until the ship was ready for folks to disembark. Said good-bye to a few people we had met on board and waited with Marilynn and Mike as the ship was readied to disembark the passengers for the last time. When our group was called, we left the ship with a pair of bright pink landing cards for the United Arab Emirates and instructions for where to find our luggage. The guide was waiting for us with a personalized sign when we emerged from the terminal. He was smiling and energetic and took us right to the car with our driver for the morning. Before leaving home, our travel agent arranged for someone to pick us up, take us on a tour of old Dubai, and ... 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