Renaissance Dubai

... last time I was here. I kept two hundred dollar bills in my pocket in case I got caught. Great dessert bar. You can land you chopper on the roof and walk to your table, You can also look down and see the Palm Island development, big beyond comprehension. Scores of hotels, hundreds of big houses, all built on a manmade island in the Gulf. <br><br>Tomorrow...Return to Africa!

We arrived in Dubai and have been enjoying weather in the mid to high 30's, its fantastic. This place is amazing, it is huge and we havent even seen much of it. We have spent quite a bit of time shopping and had to buy another bag to bring all our stuff home, you cant resist when there is a DFO type outlet with 70% off most stuff and a huge market with "Genuine" goods.<br><br>We went dune bashing yesterday which was great, matt was hanging out to get in the drivers ...

... and caught a cab to yet another mall called Mercato, which is where Charlies was at the cost of 15 dirhams. This was probably the east impressive mall we had been to, but the architecture was pretty cool, it looked quite like the Venetian in Vegas.<br><br>After lunch at the Mercato we changed into our bathing suits and headed for the public beach. We walked a bit, and then took the bus the rest of the way. The public transportation ...

... with most of the little stalls being cheap tat or plastic toys or household stuff etc. The gold souk was what you would expect - so we went for a look at the amazing displays but did not go in as we were not there to buy ( i am more of a silver girl and the exchange rate would have made everything expensive!) We then went to see the heritage house and the old school. It was great since we were the only people looking around. Much of the information in ...

... understand our "mud map". Quite a few drivers used what we nicknamed "phone a friend". (more of this later in our story on Abu Dhabi). After not being able to decipher where we wanted to go they would phone someone who had (slightly) better English skills and hand the phone over. We would try and explain to the person on the phone then hand the phone back to the driver so the friend could explain in his own language! Quite a comical thing but I guess it ...

I had worked in Dubai in 2004 and absolutely loved it and always wanted to go back with Elly. Although she was still sick she was a bit happier as she knew we where heading home. <br><br>Its funny how appearances can be deceiving. When I was there on work I have never been treated so well. The service I received was amazing. Now this time round I looked slightly different after being on the road living out of a bag for 10 ...

... heard of 'dune bashing', but never expected it to be quite as much fun as it was. Haring around in a very swanky 4x4, and nearly rolling it on a number of occasions, was fun unlike I'd had so far. Follow it up with a barbequed meal, what was to be my last sheesha and some belly dancing and it was back to the bright lights for the city for the flight to Singapore. The Arabian adventure had now finished, but the Asian one has just begun.

... use his mobile to call them and get directions he had no credit! To top it off not only did he charge us when he was driving around in circles (he didn't want to stop for directions) he scammed us out of an extra $9 because he said he had no change! We have definitely done something to cab drivers in the past to deserve the bad luck we were having with them! The next day after a good night sleep (once we got our aircon fixed!) we asked for directions to the tourist office and ...

... flat at 3pm, just enough time to shower and put the glad rags on, by the way they don't allow trainers, jeans or t-shirts in Burj. So here is how it should have gone... I was going on the Burj tour, which is on Jumeira beach, at 3.30. We were going to have a look around and then have (when you read 'Afternoon Tea' you have to say it in a posh English accent, don't know why, you just do!) 'Afternoon Tea' in the restaurant on the 27th (top) floor. This restaurant is the 'wing ...