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Day 20 - We so fancy - Dubai
After our action packed evening the previous day, we had a lovely relaxing morning by the pool. Then we decided to head into Jeremiah to the marina and to the beach there. As we were leaving our hotel we tried to take the beach towels with us. The attendant said we couldn't do that so we said ok and went to give the towels back. He then seemed to feel bad and asked us if we would bring them back and we said yes so he let us take them. We seemed to take a fancy taxi to the beach area which cost a lot more than a normal taxi (when we just wanted a normal cab). When we got to the beach we had some of the best pizza we have ever eaten at one of the restaurants there for lunch. We then decided to have a sun bake and swim on the beach. The water from a distance looked very nice but when you swam in it you realised it was all murky and full of rubbish. Everyone on the beach was a tourist and it wasn't particularly nice. It was also a very expensive beach trip for me - I went into the water and managed to lose my sunglasses. The water was so murky that even though I had just dropped them I couldn't find them again. We then had to go and lodge a lost property and the procedure was actually nice and easy. Hoping I can claim them on travel insurance... Next we decided we could walk from the beach to the Palms where the Atlantis hotel is and the waterslide. You think we would have learnt from the day before that our map was incorrect and that everything in Dubai is massively spaced out and nothing is really in walking distance. That still didn't stop us - so in the boiling heat we went on a 3 hour walk to try and get to the palms. Also it wasn't a very nice walk we had to walk on footpaths near highways and through construction sites. We came across one section we couldn't cross and one of the hotel attendants told us we couldn't walk any further so we asked him where to go. He then must have felt bad and opened a locked gate to let us through into a construction area which was a short cut. It is very odd that everyone's first reaction is no - then we say ok and then they let us do it anyway like they feel bad for saying no in the first place! Our cut off time to get to the Palms was 6pm and we didn't seem to make it anywhere near the Palms - Ooti was having a massive melt down and she agrees that it was 60% her fault amd that she should have restrained me. We also nearly had a miami situation on our hands, so we caught a cab back to our hotel and got ready for our 7 star experience at the Burj al Arab! I had booked the cheapest option I could find which was spending around $100 each on drinks and food at the sky view bar. We caught a cab there and Ooti felt embarrassed because everyone was rocking up in very nice cars eg. Lamborghinis and Bentleys. We were only allowed in the foyer of the hotel and up a lift that took us straight up to the 27th floor which is where the sky view bar is. Ooti wants me to tell you that I apparently put on a posh accent when talking to the staff in the hotel. When we arrived in the sky bar Ooti's first comment was that it looked like we were at the local RSL club and she was expecting to see pokies around the corner. Also Ooti told me to look around at what people were wearing - we saw some dude wearing a rugby jersey and jeans! That irritated me, as I had about 50 emails from the hotel telling me what the dress code was and jeans definitely was not an acceptable item of clothing. Also Ooti and I looked like we were the most dressed up - which is a bit of a worry as we didn't have any fancy clothes with us. We ordered some yummy mocktails and the guy with some starter plates of nuts came over and asked if we wanted some - Ooti just looked at him trying to see if we had to pay for them or not. I just said no and then the dude said - they are complimentary - I still went with a no and Ooti decided then that she really wanted the nuts but couldn't ask for them back. We then ordered a burger for dinner - it was really just supposed to be snack food in there and I think we were the only people eating. Two slider burgers and some chips came out on each plate - it was yummy and just enough food for us. We had a couple more drinks and we had spent over our mandatory 320 AED each. I was impressed with myself as I managed to get Ooti and I a window table, which isn't always guaranteed, but we couldn't actually see out of the window so that was annoying. After dinner though the guy let us move to another part of the bar where we could gaze out over Dubai and see all the night lights. After a few selfies in the bar and back down in the foyer we left in one of our non fancy cabs. Glad we gave it a go and checked it out - we are so fancy!
Later
Amanda
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