Hilton Corniche Residence Abu Dhabi

... Sand dunes were conquered and we made camp at a lovely spot and had the Champagnes poured in time to enjoy the sunset. Jo led the photography expedition and Steve did the boy Barbie thing. The evening star was sighted, then great conversation and sumptuous food was enjojed by all. After a fantastic evening we packed up and headed home just before the coach turned into a pumpkin. Thanks Jo and Steve for a great experience!- better luck conjuring up the camels tomorrow.

... of men in beautiful spotlessly white dishdashas in deep conversation sipping their coffees at Starbucks. Time to brave the taxi's again and our wish to see the White Palace Fort the capital's oldest building, was not understood so it was on to "Phone a Friend". Avan took the phone, and with the Lonely planet map in the other hand worked out it was near a Mosque and Mr "Phone a friend" said OK and then explained to the driver. We took off totally in the ...

... on the water in Bermuda, so a big thanks to Dolly and Rudy who were both really nice and of course Bels and Stu for organizing it all. After a bit of a siesta it was time to hit the town for the evening, the first port of call being a Polynesian restaurant called Trader Vic's famous for it's mind blowing cocktails. Of course as soon as we sat down 6 of their Tiki Puka Puka's were ordered by Bellie and delivered in what looked like ice cream bowls, absolutely huge and a ...

... of which I am ashamed). Back in the hood my boys tried to guess the makes of the cars we passed (oh yeah - I forget to mention PARKING - the night we arrived it took us over an hour to find a space·ridiculous). They got fed up with quite how many Toyotas were in town, but we all let out a big Wooaa when we spotted a brand new fuk-off Rolls Royce looking like a slate coloured slab the size of a house, just parked casually on the pavement (would you Adam ...

... as or better than any 5 star resort anywhere in the world. Fridays I spend by the pool while Eddy sweats away in the gym. We are more than happy to stay here, but I think that we will get the 'hurry up' shortly to find permanent accommodation. Accommodation is very expensive and not a lot of good quality apartments. When you rent property in Abu Dhabi all you get is a shell, no whitegoods, curtains, furniture or ...

... than usual. Firstly, when I checked in, the guy looked at my British passport and asked if I had a visa for Manchester. I just blinked at him mutely. I mean, seriously? These are immigration staff, they need to be a bit smarter or more aware, surely?<br><br>Then, when I had to get my bag ziplocked (which is a method I am really a fan of; not only does it keep my raincover attached to my bag, but it also means when I get the bag off the carousel at the end I know it's not ...

No, we didn't die. But our laptop did. Blue screen of death. Worried our photos are irretrievable. Will try to fix when we get back. Quick update with no photos. Not sure where I left off, but . . . Koh Samui, Thailand for about a week - gorgeous villa with private pool and outdoor kitchen - cooked every day and it was great Koh Phangnan, Thailand for a couple of days - cheap bungalow on the beach, lazy days, good Thai food Hong Kong for 3 days or so ...

... table. We will have to check that out tonight!!! We then went back to the room to finish the blogs, and yes I'm a little behind so it took a while but I finally caught up and hopefully we'll update the blog sometime today. We noticed today that we left our USB memory stick at the "Singing Indian Internet Shop," it wasn't really called that but it should have. So we'll have to pick one of those up hopefully today. I was bound to forget something on this trip given my memory!!! If it ...

... emirates mall which leaves the Snow planet for dead!! Took a cruise on the Dubai Creek in a traditional wooden water taxi which was eye opening and also visited the gold souk (shop) full of every type of gold jewellery you can imagine. Dubai is of course tax free so goods are generally cheaper than in most places. Have not been shopping yet but hope to do so on the way home when we spend 3 days there. Bye for now.