Landmark Suites Hotel Ajman

Usually, one would go to bed early after having packed his luggage considering that one has planned a 24 hour trip to Africa the next day.

Well, I started my African experience in a slightly different way – I went out until 3 in the morning, just having 3-4 beers and surprisingly woke up the next morning with one of the worst hangovers of my entire life and my luggage still unpacked.

I managed ...

... nearest camel and take off in the direction of the setting sun. I did take advantage of a tour package thing, which I was expecting to be **** and totally not worth it- but so great was my yearning to feel the desert I had seen from the sky that I paid the $40 for a half day's venture. Included was a good half an hour or so of Dune bashing in a terrific 4x4, a rather placid sand boarding experience, picturesque photos of the sunset ...

Oh well after a very emotional goodbye the night before I went with the girls and another tear fest at the airport with the rest of the family i managed to wave goodbye and get on the plane. Now everyone knows im a seasoned traveller, my nickname at work was Judith Chalmers but ive always been a budget no-frills kinda girl. So forgive me for nearly wetting myself with excitement on an emirates flight!! Lots of leg room, my own tv and remote (my dad would wet himself over that alone ...

A month after moving to our new apartment, we are still waiting for the internet/cable to be connected, we have a huge crack in the wall (building is brand new), wiring that keeps blowing our light ...

... wave down a taxi and take the inexpensive trip home. Although i hadn't really planned much, other then getting out and seeing some sights, the one thing i didn't come arcoss was the Burj Al Arab Hotel. You know the one, claimed as the world's only 7 star hotel, made famous by Fedora and Agassi playing tennis on the roof. Oh well, as long as i get a job in the next few days, i will have plenty of time to see it...

... surreal just on their own - grandly imposing, animated circus creatures with comic-book style features - and then they start shooting pyrotechnic fountains and rockets out in an explosion of stilt-dancing and music. The audience response was great - noone had seen a performance like that before, ever. It's a great new show that fills a niche for certain outdoor environments ...

... is basically driving up and down sand dunes. And these dunes were big, and steep! I was quite surprised that the car didn't end up on it's roof. This was really good fun and we did plenty of it. Also had a bash at sandboarding...I'm sure I don't need to explain what's involved there...but it was a little damp so the boards didn't ride well, and running back up the dunes soon got fairly tiring. I also ended up covered in sand; but not ...

... 75 dirham (the UAE Dirham is pegged to the US Dollar at an exchange rate of 3.67 USD, but the prices in Dubai do not reflect such a difference, as it would in say the UK where the USD is actually worth about 50 cents. More on that later.) Another offered to do it for 60 dirhams and I ended up with him. There is one main road the runs through Dubai, called Sheik Zayed road, its the mammoth super highway known for its accidents and the traffic that stems from them. From what ...

... of wealthy Dubai merchants and are traditional courtyard home with beautiful heavy wood front double doors. The wind tower was used to cool the home.









We then walked along the creek which is more like a river which is a brilliant clear blue. There are mosques with their minarets all over the place and we heard ...

... plenty of Arabs in white robes and red checked cloths on their heads and women in black with their faces covered.







We arrived in Dubai at 9.30pm local time (12.30am Thai time). Dubai has a massive beautiful airport but it took us an hour to ...