'Twas a gorgeous flight, almost empty so we had 3 seats each to lie across to sleep. We arrived at some unearthly hour in Dubai and went through the passport desks staffed by Arabs in various traditional headdresses. Angie has developed a fascination in the said attire, thinking that they say something about their owner but she can't think what! After whiling away some time in Costa Coffee as it was still only 6.30am, we emerged from the airport and were directed to a 'ladies' taxi' driven by the loveliest woman who told us all about the new developments in Dubai as she took us to our hotel, The Country Club.
Our room - unsurprisingly - was not ready so we accepted an offer of the hotel minibus to take us to Jumeirah Beach Park. I then suggested that we should walk to the Burj Al Arab but the road was much longer than I thought it was.... (Cath may sympathise with Ange here!!!) so we gave up and hailed a taxi back to Mercato Mall. It was time for Cinnabons, coffee and a splash of retail therapy in the Pandora and Skecher shops...
We were shattered so the afternoon was spent chilling in and around our hotel swimming pool (proudly displaying the red marks still evident on our legs from our Chinese jam-jar treatment!!) The sun was hot but it was a little breezy on the roof! We had lunch in 'Player's Bar' which was closing early - from this evening to tomorrow evening, the Dubai government has announced it is a 'dry day' to celebrate the 'birthday of the Prophet'. Lucky that a) we are shattered and won't be wanting to hit the tiles tonight and b) that we smuggled in a bottle of voddie anyway!!
After a doze, we headed back out, this tine to downtown Dubai. The city has changed noticeably in only two years, since Susie last visited. There are funky new metro stations dotted all around the downtown area and the world's tallest building has appeared next to the biggest mall in the world, Dubai Mall.
Burj Khalifa is enormous and very beautiful; we wanted to get tickets to get to the top! The walk from the taxi drop off point to the ticket office is far superior to anything that you can see in Vegas! The rows of palm trees are wrapped in tiny white lights, gently swaying in breeze; behind is the enormous landmark building which is seven times the height of Big Ben. An enormous trojan horse guards the entrance to an area dominated by the Dubai fountain, a remarkable feat of water technology. Every 20 minutes a huge array of fountain heads deliver a cheeky, sassy, funky water dance that leaves you breathless and laughing at the cheek of the designers and engineers that accomplished this.
We bought the next available tickets for the 'at the top' experience - Wednesday night - and had a snack in the food court of the glitzy, label-laden Dubai Mall. Dubai Mall, yet another wonder of the modern world.... metal divers jumping out of waterfalls; a massive candelabra-shaped mobile made from paper butterflies; huge lighted domes juxtaposed against enormous ribbons; children dancing on video floors; and every posh shop and food outlet that you can imagine! Far too much for our jet-lagged and tired heads to take in!
Unfortunately the day ended with a Lost Purse Drama. Somehow, I (Susie) managed to leave our 'kitty purse' in the taxi with all our dirhams in it. Grrrrr. Our hotel staff bent over backwards to try to help, bless them, including reviewing CCTV footage to get the number of the cab and making phone calls to help us report it missing. Don't think there is much chance of seeing it again but we live in hope!