Moevenpick Bur Dubai

... still 32˚C. I went on the internet and ended up chatting to a guy called Ibrahim Dermes. He was part of a group of young football players here on trials for several clubs. He is 22 and plays Ouagadougou FC and is desperate to find a good club to make a living. He has played for Burkina Faso under 21s. When I asked him if it was not difficult to play under this heat, he laughed and said "What heat, here there’s freshness". Freshness? What the hell???

... to the Marina. Once again this was nothing special at all and there a lot of buildings being built still. I went to the Dubai Marina Mall for some food and then headed back to the park for a bit of freshness!

I wanted to go to the city centre to get some food but could not find anything interesting so I went to the metro station to get advice. However, there was a misunderstanding - she told me to get on the metro and stop at the next station but the problem ...

... are everywhere you turn in Dubai so surly I could enjoy a hot/cold ‘shower’ slip into a mall max out the credit card and live the 'Dubai dream?' Days spent watching movies, driving around in classy cars, lounging by the pool, working out in the gym, browsing through malls and sipping frothy cappuccinos in Costa I came to remember the western world. Maybe it’s ...

... A number of people rushed to her to assist she got to her feet ok but was shaken. The airport staff eventually came to her aid but she was less than impressed by their efforts & let them know it. She may have been milking it for all she could, she was sitting near us on the plane a let those around her know her calamity & put on a show for sympathy. The flight to Roma was 6.5 hours............... Oh joy!

... so I could stay in Dubai... Got that exasperated that I rang off and left my travelling pen in the phone box!! Not happy... Spent the next few hours walking around town, feasting on the cars/costumes and people. Absolutely fascinating. So fascinating in fact, that we didn't eat until elevenish.. Sunday 22nd February Napier - Art Deco Weekend Had a leisurely morning before strolling up the road to catch the soap box derby. Kids and parents take turns to race down an ever-so ...

... bikes, jeeps and horrendously powered dune buggies were hurling themselves at this sixty degree slope and spinning round at the top (or as far as they could get) before they toppled over below the rocky topped ridge. At an easier pace we rejoined a road that ran through the desert, with its low, limited patchy scrub and not far along the road passed a herd of ten camels, all on their own and making their independent way back home in the gathering dusk. We had seen the cows do ...

... task. It might have been cute to go through my stuff with him. We could have bonded over anecdotes about the various articles in my bag. "What are these?" "Ah....it's called poi. You, ah, light these on fire and spin them in circles with the chains." It's probably best that we avoided the cute scenario. Checking into an actual hotel was a startling experience. A team of friendly, kiss-ass staff acted like they actually wanted me to stay. I signed my credit card receipt and ...

... with your Dad on the Corniche or shopping with your Step mom. Truly a wonderful visit! I breezed through security and waited at my gate for a couple of hours. I'm not sure if I spoke to about 80% of the people waiting for the plane that they'd understand me. It was quite apparent that almost every nation was represented on my plane. No kidding. We had a slight delay on getting boarded and departing, but we ...

... an interesting place, people from here who I have spoken to always point out that nearly every country in the world is represented in some way here, and its true. The clear majority goes to the Indians and Pakistanis, but Filipinos, Iranians, Brits, and other various Arab and African countries are all prevalent in the society. One odd fact, you would think that at a Dunkin Donut in Dubai, that the Pakistanis or Indians would have cornered that market, like they have in the US ...

... seen, I just had to take a picture, just for you TJ! I came back to flat and we had lunch, I am making the most of home cooked food it's one of the thing I'm missing. After lunch we went out to the Gold Souq (market) I wanted to see what all the fuss was about, Its just like any other place in Dubai, full of shops! Except they all sell gold, the prices are not that cheep either. I went with Nisha and Aksh, after a while Aksh got ...