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I forgot to write a blog about our antics yesterday! Our very last day in Europe... I will keep it brief as I have a whole day of Dubai to write about!
When we woke up the first thing we had to do was find a currency exchange place. However Munich was pretty frustrating for this, we could barely find any! We managed to find two, but both were closed. I was quite surprise because almost everything was closed since it was a Sunday - even Starbucks! So it was good we managed to see a bit the few days before otherwise we could have been disappointed. In the end we ended up just withdrawing money which was a bit of a pain since we had the cash in our wallets.
Umm I'm trying to remember what we did since everything is a blur right now :) We went for a huuuuge walk to visit the English garden! Which apparently is like twice the size of central park. For those who have visited central park, you will realise that this place is huge! It was a really nice walk though. There are man-made streams which surfers use! It's really strange because there's like a bridge and then suddenly seven surfers and it looks really strange. But it's obviously a popular tourist attraction - and I guess there's nowhere else to surf for absolutely hours! There's also a Chinese tower and beer garden which was nice! It was pretty empty since it's obviously not the tourist season so there was plenty of seating for us to relax.
Afterwards we grabbed a quick lunch from Vapiano, and then went to a café to get some juices and lemon/ginger drinks since we were feeling a bit run down so felt it was necessary to dose up on our vitamin C :) One of the most important parts of travelling for me is making sure you get enough fruit and veggie in to you. I've been a bit slack recently, but especially when we were travelling in America etc. it helps to grab a bag of apples and oranges or something just to help top up your vitamin C levels!
Anyway - now to our flight. Oooooooooohmy. We flew with Emirates from Munich to Dubai and the flight was incredible. It was the most luxurious treatment I've ever had on a plane! So many nice treats - there were fake stars on the ceiling of the plane to help you sleep, you can access the cameras that are outside the plane on your TV so it's like you have a crazy window in front of you, you're allowed to use your phone and internet on the flight, hundreds and hundreds of movies and TV shows, face clothes to wipe your face as you sit down, live radio access, and so on. The meals were also huuuuuuuuuuge! It was a beautiful experience :') What's even better is that the rest of our flights home are with Emirates! Such a jackpot.
As a result, we barely slept at all. I managed to squeeze an hour in, but Matt didn't whatsoever. So when our flight landed we were running on the last of our energy reserves. We decided to catch a taxi to Matt's cousin's place. They advised us to catch a red top taxi but we accidentally ended up getting in a luxury taxi, but it was only about $10 more. The taxi driver was really nice and had lots to say to us so it was worth it :)
Matt's cousins live in a really nice place in Dubai in an area called Silicone Oasis. It's a big apartment block which also has access to a pool, gym, etc. However by the time we arrived we decided to just have a shower and then take a nap to try get our body in sync again.
When we finally woke up at 2 we were happy that the temperature wasn't too high :) I have been worried that it would be really hot here and I would die since I don't really have any appropriate clothing. I have a lot of summer clothes, but these are all little dresses which only just cover my bum! So today I was wearing jeans, with one of these dresses over the top, and then a light cardigan (thanks Nan!). However it was only around 20c and the clouds were out so it was great! We went for a little walk to check out the area. It's already obvious to us that people in Dubai tend to drive rather than walk, because the pathways were pretty much empty.
There's a little supermarket opposite the apartment block, as well as a falafel café kind of thing! So I will definitely be checking that out soon! Matt and I grabbed some ice creams and then continued walking. We followed the directions that were given to us by Matt's cousins and found a costa coffee and a shop called Spinneys. Spinneys is really interesting because it's like a supermarket but it's full of international products. It was so strange seeing a shop entirely of foreign things so casually! We found out that the number of proper locals is crazy, crazy small in comparison to the number of foreigners, so that explains why these kind of stores exist here. It's very cool though. We grabbed a big bag of quavers chips to eat on the way home :D
By the time we got home, Matt's cousins were back from work. We had a little catch up, looked at some maps, and then went for a nice dinner! We went to an area which I think is called Mina a 'Salam - it is where the Burj Al Arab is. It's a really beautiful area with lots of touristy shops, hotels, restaurants, cafes etc. We had a yummy dinner and I got to eat lots of tasty grilled vegetables and finally drink hoegaarden beer which I've been trying to find for ages! It's really nice talking to Matt's cousins since they've done heaps of travel so it's nice exchanging stories about different places and getting new ideas on where to go!
Afterwards we went for a nice walk. Dubai is absolutely stunning and totally extreme - but in a much classier way than what we experienced in Vegas. Everything is crazy and over the top, like we drove past a Global Village which apparently has shops representing every single country, and we also saw the construction of what will be the world's largest indoor theme park, as well as indoor ski resort! It's insane.
We had a nice drink in a bar in a hotel next to the beach and the Burj Al Arab. What was also cool is that there is a government summit going on there as well! So there was a lot of people and a huge light shining on to the Burj al Arab about it. Below the bar was a pool that is a rehabilitation place for turtles :) And some fish!
I also love the architecture here. I don't really know how to explain it, but it just looks very Arab I guess. Like the buildings you see in Aladdin, but nicer :) And the mosques look beautiful!
So yeah, we took it pretty easy today. But I'm already in love with this place - it's so beautiful and different to anything I've experienced before. I was really nervous before because I didn't know what to expect. I think whenever westerns think of the Middle East, the most pleasant view doesn't come to mind because it's something totally foreign to most of us in terms of culture. But Dubai is definitely a very modern place and whilst it's important to be sensitive to the culture, I'd guess they are a lot more lenient than other Arab countries. There are heaps of other westerners everywhere which is really comforting - and I was surprised by how easy it is to access alcohol. There was also a section that you could buy pork from in the supermarket! Also Matt's cousins left a magazine out for us to look at called Time Out Dubai and it has all the information about what's on and so on. It's incredible how much is going on and what is here. Even ladie's nights with free alcohol! This city basically has everything you want to find around the world all in one area. It's amazing. So yeah, it's been a very pleasant surprise and I'm already loving it.
Tomorrow we have booked to go on a desert safari which will be an amazing experience. We will get to ride camels, watch belly dancing, drink Arabic tea and coffee, eat a BBQ dinner, go dune bashing and sand boarding, get henna painting, smoke shisha and so on. It sounds like one of those horrible cheesy experiences I usually try to stay away from but this time I can't resist! And I'm sure it will give me a lot to write about tomorrow! We plan on going up the Burj Khalifa on Wednesday, and checking out the Dubai mall which apparently is HUGE! Thursday we are hoping to watch some races out in the desert with Matt's cousins. No plans have been made for Friday yet :) So the next few days will be jammed packed and I'm sure an absolutely amazing experience and eye-opener.
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