Sofitel The Palace - The Old Town Dubai

... way back I managed to get back to the little area near Gold Souk Station but all I was thinking at this stage was that I wished it wasn’t so bloody hot and that my feet weren’t full of blisters so I could walk around for longer. The area was full of shops and restaurants and gave me a real feel of the Middle East - loads of lovely smells were coming from the nargileh shops.

On the bus, on the way back I saw a sign saying it was 9.16pm ...

... not take the advice and walk back. It took me roughly one hour but it was quite cool as I was walking along the airport and see the planes landing from really close - Potential plane spotter alert I know :-). It was also interesting to see that instead of meeting up for a beer to watch the footie like we do and the guys around here still watch the footie but meet up in smoking cafés to smoke the nargileh. They were actually watching Brazil playing their World Cup qualifier.

... the number and when they realised where it was they told me it would be more so I refused. I waited around a bit more but the heat was becoming unbearable for me, probably not far off 40, and I just wanted to get there.

I ended up paying 50Dhs (£8.50) and to be fair it was a long way! I just checked in, went to McDonald’s and went to bed. I woke up in the evening to go and get some food and then just went back to bed!

... THE EMIRATES and of course did some shopping. Things are quite and as it it RAMADAM we couldnt get anything to eat or drink.

After buying some food we went back to the hotel for a sleep.

First day was very tiring. The temp here is 45 degrees. slightly hot

... to hotel around 9pm. 28.04.09 Nice sleep in then hit the Dubai City Centre Mall being our last day here Harry had held off buying anything for himself but made up for it buying some great Puma and Umbro shirts. Had a lovely toasted subway sandwich for lunch opposite a huge indoor kids style archade with a mid size fairy go around and a mid size ferris wheel, a small electric dodge em car track, plus various other fun stuff including computer archade games ...

... I guess she did some other ads that had her face all over the city on cabs, buses, overpasses, etc. I walked around for a bit and then went to the ice place which was originally named 'chill out'. I started to walk in and the front door guy stopped me and said it cost $20 to walk in and look around, and this included a juice drink. Ok, twenty bucks to see a bunch of ice seemed a bit steep so instead I just took pictures of it from the outside ...

... safe on streets .enclosed air-conditioned bus stops (due to extremes of heat) intrigued me .super efficient courteous service everywhere Good bye to the trip of a lifetime! That's what it really was for me and will remain so. This trip has satisfied a lifelong curiosity and I'm now happy to live with these memories. As we toured around we ran out of suitable words because how do you improve on amazing, unbelievable, astounding, beyond amazing etc etc ...

... they only have a few Full HD tvs. Some stuff is cheap, but other stuff not (eg sunglasses). I reckon it wouldve been way better doing this with a friend. Its not that Im lonely or anything, it would just be way more fun. Tomorrow Ill get out and do stuff, go down along the touristy bit where the Jumeirah Mosque, Burj-al-arab and Mall of the Emirates are. Also gonna book in a Desert Safari for the night time. Im talking to ...

... was along to be part of the girl herd. (Yes, we women travel in mass. In general, when I hang out with strange men, I always bring along one, if not two of my girlfriends. This sort of hearkens back to the days when it was inappropriate for a woman to be alone with a man without a chaperone and I wonder if this ancient custom is still hardwired in us somehow). I was fairly content to sit back, enjoy my wine, and observe. Unfortunately, X, decided to ...

... described, from how they found water to how they partied when the sun went down. It was really fabulous. After the museum we decided to hit the Wafi City wall. Rachel had needed something, but I can't remember what it was now. The place was empty. Store clerks were reading books at their tills. Only one store was different than I had ever seen before, it was called Things Remembered. From the outside it looked like the set of Phantom of the Opera, and ...