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Last Day in Dubai – Day 45

Today was our last day in Dubai and tonight we were to fly out headed for home. We woke up about 0930 and just got organised in time to make it downstairs for breakfast. After breakfast we went back to our room and finished packing the suitcases and sealed them up for the flight home. We checked out of the hotel and lunchtime. We left our baggage in the locker room and had six hours to kill.

We left the hotel and walked across the road to The Mall Of The Emirates for the last time. We spent a couple hours walking around. We didn’t really have a plan or anything to do today just to kill time. We thought about going to a movie but nothing was on we really wanted to go see.

We came across a bowling ally on the top floor that we had not known about before. We ended up playing six games. I won two but I think Rhian let me. The first three she was kicking my ass. After bowling we went to find some food. I was not really hungry so I just picked at what Rhian got. We walked around the mall for a bit more until deciding there was just nothing left to do. We left the mall and walked across the road and back to the hotel.

We decided to kill what time we had left at the Huddle Sports Bar. This was the second bar at the hotel and this was open. We had not been here because every time we walked in it smelled of smoke. Anyway we went in and I had a couple of beers. Our driver arrived and we needed to get out bags out of the locker room. However the hotel had moved the bags and could not find them. Eventually they did and we caught our transfer to the airport.

Arriving at the airport I was busting and went straight for the toilet. After my pitstop Rhian and I checked inn and were happy to find our bags were under weight. We then went through immigration and security. For the first time I went through and my bag did not get pulled aside and searched. We walked around the terminal to kill some time. I bought an adapter for the plane so I could use my own headphone and also bought a Google Chromecast. You plug it into the HDMI on your TV and then it becomes a smart TV. Wanted it for the bedroom TV.

I got changed into my jeans for the flight home. We boarded the flight at 9pm but because of air traffic we did not depart until 10:15pm. Neither of us slept on the flight. We landed back in Perth at 12:30pm. It took a long time to get through immergration because they are doing renovations and no smart gates were open. Land in Perth and you go back 50 years in time. Mum and Dad picked us up and drove us back to their place to get my car. The car was still having battery troubles but it did start.

We left for home. Excited to get home and see the bunnies. I parked the car outside the garage so I could unload. Linda was not home. We found the bunnies out of the cage running around. My first glimps was. OMG. They have grown. They are at least half the size more than they were. Little fatty boom ba’s now. Rhian chased the bunnies while I unloaded the car. When I tried to bring the car into the garage it didn’t want to start. It did with some encouragement. After getting it into the garage I called the RAC to come and replace it. The rest of the night was spent cleaning up and sorting out the bunnies. Unpacking can wait until tomorrow.

That is it we are home and the holiday is over. Not looking forward to going back to work on Tuesday. I want to stay on holidays for ever.

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Dubai The Burge and Sundowner Safari – Day 44

Today the plan was to get up at 7am. I set two alarms because I figured I would sleep in. The first alarm I turned off and got up at the second alarm which was 0730. Rhian didn’t rise until 0830. I went downstairs and had breakfast and Rhian joined me later. Today we had two adventures booked. One was a trip up the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world. In the afternoon we had a sunset safari out in the desert.

Our Burj Khalifa At The Top tour was booked for 10am. We caught a taxi from our hotel back to The Dubai Mall around 0915. The taxi ride was around twenty minutes. When we arrived at the mall all the shops were closed. They do not open here until at least 10am. We followed the signs through the mall until we found the desk for the At The Top. They wanted our voucher document but we only had the reference number.

After handing my passport over so they could copy it we were given tickets and so we made our way through security and lined up for the lift to the top. During the ride to the top which covers 140 floors in less than a minutes a video plays telling you how great the building is. The walls of the lift are all screens and it gives you the feeling that the lift is transparent as it simulates all the floors your passing as you ascend.

Once reaching the top and exiting the lift you are lead outside to a viewing deck. You could not see very far due to the dusty / smoggy air. I don’t think you could see more than a couple of kilometres. Rhian and I spent maybe half an hour up the top taking what photos you could. Overall I was not impressed. We have been up other towers and viewing platforms on the trip that were much more impressive than this. We bought a fridge magnet then caught the lift back down.

We had a few hours to kill before our sundowner safari tour so we walked back to the Huge aquarium we came to see yesterday. Rhian went off and spent an hour in the H&M store while I watched the sharks. After an hour I was bored and went to hurry Rhain up. After getting Rhian to buy some more clothes and getting her out of H&M we left the mall and caught a taxi back to our hotel.

We made a short pitstop at our room to drop off what Rhian had bought then left the hotel and walked across the road back to The Mall of the Emirates. We had Indian take away from the same place I got dinner from the other night. It was good. Now we were both full we did some shopping for an hour and a half to kill time. It was finally time to go back to our hotel and get organised for our last tour of the trip. We arrived back at our room and dropped the bags and were watching The Simpsons waiting for our driver to pick us up. Wasn’t a long wait as our phone rang and it was reception telling us our driver had arrived. He was 15 minutes early.

Our car for this tour was a Nissan 4WD. Very clean and comfortable. They only seem to drive luxury cars over here. We shared the ride with two mother and daughters. One pair of them was German on holiday. The others lived in Dubai. It took about 45 minutes to drive out the meeting point at the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve. At least thirty other 4WD’s also arrived at the gate to the reserve. All drivers had to get out and let the tyres down to go into the dunes. One by one all the drives filed through the gate and took us on a five minute drive through the dunes until we reached the site for the Falcon show. The show only lasted five minutes. It was just a short history of the Falcon and then shown how it flys around then catches its food.

After the show we got back into the 4WD and were taken on a drive through the desert dunes. This is where the drivers get to have some fun throwing the 4WD’s around. However they do do it safely. The girls all got scared as the driver launched the car up a dune and then it jumps over the crest. This was great fun drifting around the turns and crab walking down the side of sand dunes. I should have bought a suction cup and mounted the goPro to the car. I did take a video on the camera. Will see how it comes out. Just before sunset the drivers stopped  so we could get out and take photos as the sun set. I think Rhian and I got some good shots. Will have to see when I get home and go through them. Another reason why we stopped was that one 4WD had a flat tyre and another was stuck on top of a dune. As we took photos some of the drivers went back to change the wheel and rescue the car stuck on top of the dune.

Just as it fell dark we all got back into the car and were taken to the camp site. Arriving at the camp site Rhian got a photo with owl. Other people were having rides on the camels. Rhian and I went to the bar for a drink. They had beer here but it was Fosters. Dinner was a two course meal. I am not sure what the entree was but it was a selection of hot Indian foods. Was ok. Half an hour later mains were served. Everyone was lining up then we were told we didn’t need too. Was enough space between the booths for everyone. I took too much and couldn’t eat it all. I was full. Rhian and I bought three photos that were taken earlier on. One was Rhian with the Owl and the others were of the sunset.

After dinner there was an half hour belly dancer show. I don’t think the audience was really into it. They didn’t interact as she tried to encourage. After the belly dancer they had a five minute star gazing session. Rhian and I moved out into the middle of the camp site. With all the lights off you could see the stars but I didn’t see any shooting stars. The lights came back on and that was the end of the night. Rhian and I walked straight back to our car and the others were there also. We were some of the first to leave. The drive back to the gate was flat and on a dedicate dirt road. No night time sand dunes.

Once back at the hotel Rhian started packing the suitcases for the flight home and I did our online check inn. This hotel had no problems printing the tickets for me. I spent the rest of the night writing blogs before going to bed.
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Dubai – Day 43

Today I slept in. Rhian got up at 10am and went to breakfast without me. Turned out they had pancakes this morning and Rhian didn’t even come back to tell me. I eventually got up and figured I had missed breakfast so I didn’t even go downstairs. I waited in the room for Rhian and made a start on writing more blog posts. I spent until 1pm writing and finally publishing four days worth.

The only thing I wanted to do today is go to The Dubai Mall and see the huge aquarium. Over here a shopping center is called a mall. Every mall is named after something. We thought the Mall of the Emirates across from our hotel was large. This one is probably double if not more the size. It is located next to the Burj Khalifa building. It has a massive aquarium just after the main entrance. It is three stories tall and over 50m long. It has a 36m glass window spanning all three stories. Apparently it is the guinnes world record for the largest glass viewing window. Google it to find the specifics.

The aquarium has a tunnel running through the middle of it. A glass bottom boat that you can ride on the top and also an underwater zoo upstairs. Rhian and I bought tickets to see the whole thing. Was only about $35 AUD. We walked through the tunnel. At the start of the tunnel are where all the sharks hang out. The tank has over fifty sharks in it. I touched the glass as to rub the sharks belly. It didn’t try and break through to rip off my hand. After walking through the tunnel we went up to the top floor to go on the glass bottom boat ride. The ride on the glass bottom boat was kind of pointless. You don’t see all that much and I think the view from the public viewing areas is much better.

After the five minute boat ride we walked through the underwater zoo. They have a zoo on the top floor with all sorts of fish, penguins, crocodiles, sea otters. We got to watch a trainer feed the otters and make them do some tricks. One even painted a picture. Was a pretty crap picture. After spending over an hour in the underwater zoo and Rhian taking a few million photos on her phone we left the zoo for some lunch.

We had a good lunch at a chinese restraunt called Soy So Chinese. They had great Chicken and Sweet Corn Soup. After lunch we walked around the mall for a while but didn’t buy anything. By now it was around 5:30 and we went outside to the lake where the The Dubai Fountain is. We waited around the area until 6pm when the water show started. A five minute show runs every half hour until 11pm where music, lights and hundreds of jets of water put on a show. Some of the jets fire water up to 150m into the air.

After the show we caught a taxi back to the hotel again. We got changed and went for a swim in the hotel pool for an hour. After our swim we went down the the bar downstairs for a snack and some drinks. Again Rhian got stuck into the cocktails. After an hour and a half we came back to the room watched a Top Gear special then went to sleep.

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