Tag Archives: UAE

Alantis – Day 42

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Today was going to be a fun day. Today we were going to the water park and aquarium at Alantis. It is a huge hotel at the top of the original Palm Island. The alarms were set for 7:30 but because Rhian had us up until 2am watching a movie she didn’t get out of bed until almost 9am. We quickly got organised and went down stairs and had breakfast. After breakfast we went across the road to the mall to take care of a couple of things. Rhian needed some shorts for the water park and I needed to top up the data on the tablet. Rhians phone ate a big chunk out of it last night.

After waiting for more than 20 minutes at the phone store I purchased the extra data to last the rest of our stay and then went looking for Rhian. She had not bought anything yet just looked. She ended up buying a new bikini and some shorts. Turned out later this wasn’t really needed but oh well. We thought you had to be more covered up over here but you will read this was wrong.

We came back to the hotel and finished getting organised to go to Alantis. We caught a taxi outside our hotel to Alantis. Only took 20 minutes to get there. After getting our wristbands and hiring a locker, we entered the park. The lockers were inside the change rooms. Because we thought Rhian would want stuff more often Rhian put the bags in the girls change rooms and we had to take turns getting changed. Fair to say I spent time waiting for Rhian, her excuse was that the lockers, you had to get them through a touch screen and a barcode scan with a timer on it. As everyone uses them constantly so it was not easy to do.

Finally when ready we went searching for a chair to leave our towels on. We only found one but this was fine didn’t plan spending time laying on a chair anyways. Up until lunch time Rhian and I spent the day riding the rides in tandam. There were single tubes or doubles and so we had the doubles. Rhian got scared at a lot of the rides but didn’t yell she hates me like the roller coaster at Ferrari World. Maybe because the slides were dark and you couldn’t see where you were going. The park has a network of canals that you can float around the whole park to get to different places. It also has conveyor belt type ramps which take you up and over to different levels. These also take you up the towers in some cases so you don’t have to get out of the water and walk. It is verry cool. They have different rides that are rappids. A wave pool type section, a torrent that washes you down very fast, it was pretty cool.

One of the first rides we went down was a tube ride that takes you through the middle of the shark pool. You can see the fish and baby sharks as you float through. Soon enough it was about 1430 and Rhian was getting peckish. We got out of the pools and walked over to the over side of the park and had lunch at a restraunt. The food wasn’t too bad and was not too expensive either. After lunch Rhian went back to the chair to relax and I stayed over the far side to go on the rides at the second tower.

There were four lanes and I didn’t really know what any were. The first I went on was a big donut that about eight people sit in. It slides down and you plundge a steep drop and drift up a two story wall on the other side. This ride was fun. I got put in with five big boobed girls. The second was a speed slide through a tube. You raced the person in the other tube down for the fastest time. I got 27.43 seconds the other person got 27 seconds. I then went on the next channel that took you to the very top of the tower. Your at about 6 stories high. When I got there I realised what I was in for. You get in the slide and stand upright on a clear floor. The guy presses the button and you drop four stories straight down before the slide bends and throws you around. I had to take my t-shirt off and hold it across my chest and cross my left. This is the fastest and scariest ride. You feel like you are falling for ever. The fourth channel is like the first. It is a big donut that you sit in with others and slide down. However this one was all men in it and you just rock side to side up the different sides of the slide. After doing them all I went back to find Rhian. I told her about each of the rides and pretty much talked her out of coming over the other side.

Rhian and I got back in the canals and went down the rappids again. We then went back to the start and took a different path that took us to a wave pool type canal. You float down the canal but waves come along and push you around. Rhian liked this one because it was so boring. Next Rhian and I went back to the slide that takes you through the shark pool. We did this indvidually but then did it again as a couple. Rhian liked this ride too. Even though it throws you around in the dark before you get to the shark pool.

I only had one ride I had not done and that was the Leap of Faith. You are at the top of the tower and you drop very fast down and wizz through the shark pool. At the top you can not see the slide just a cliff. Rhian was at the bottom to watch me fall to my death. My turn came up and I didn’t think it would be as scary as the dropping through the floor. I layed on the top then let go. You fall but this time you know your falling. It was fast and I wizzed through the shark pool not even knowing it. I got spat out the other side into the pool flying across the water. The ride is over in a matter of seconds. I still think the other one was scarier but I did clentch all the way down.

By this time it was late afternoon and we decided to call it a day. Was a great day of perving. The rules over here do not seem to apply to the water park. It was a festival of tits and ass. It should be called Titlantis. However saying that there is a mix of the good the bad and the outright ugly. I had the worlds faster shower in the change rooms as I had no where to put my bag apart from outside the door of the shower. All up I wasn’t more than a few minutes in the change room before handing the bag over to Rhian. By the time she came out it was almost dark.

We bought the fridge magnets but they are not that good. Got a milkshake at the burger joint then went into the aquarium. There are a number of small tanks that had Lobsters, Seahorses, Jelly fish. Rhian saw a Nemo, Blowfish. It had a couple of huge massive fish. They were enormus and in a pretty small cage. Eventually you reach the main aquarium which must be minimum 15 meters deep, if not more. It was a huge tank and has coushions so you can sit and watch the tank. I spent a while doing this. We got to the end of the aquarium and Rhian wanted to go again. I told her I would meet her back at the main tank. I called mum and dad on skype and showed them what I was looking at for twenty minutes. They even got to watch the divers feed the sting rays.

After the aquarium we left the hotel and got put into an unmarked taxi. We were told not to use these ones but it seemed like a hotel staffer that ushered us into it. Cost us $10 AED than the ride there. We dropped our bags and had dinner downstairs at the pub. After dinner we came back to the room and watched a movie until midnight.
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Dubai Free Day – Day 41

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Today we had nothing really planned. Not that we had to get up for. Went across the road to the Mall and had waffles for breakfast. After having breakfast we came back to the hotel to research and try and buy tickets for Alantis. It is the hotel out on the original Palm Island and also has an aqurium and a water park. We also tried to book online tickets to the Dubai Ski. However we were not able to do so. Would not let us book for the same day. We decided to just go across the road and try directly.

When we got to Dubai Ski we were able to buy tickets to the snow park and to meet the penguins. We had booked the 4:30pm tickets to meet the pengiuns but the guy had given us the 4pm tickets. This had caused some confusion because when we tried to enter they sent us across the the pengiun encounter meeting point. The lady there knew we were doing the 4:30pm session so we went back and explained it to the other lady at the gate. Even after entering the park the guide wanted us to join the 4pm group. Since the group was large already we didn’t want to and said we would meet at 4:30pm. By now some time had gone by and we only had 15 minutes to go explore the snow park. Rhian and I went on the tabogan down the bobsled strack. Went for a quick walk around the rest of the park before heading back to the pengiun encounter meeting point.

We seemed to wait around the meeting point within the cold side of the gate for a long time. Just as we were going back out to see if we were meant to meet at the warm side the leader was bringing through the rest of the people. We first watched a short video of the rules of meeting the pengiuns. After this we had to clean our hands before being lead into the penguine meeting point. There was a trainer and one Gentoo penguine called Lollypop. Lollypop was only two years old and so was easily excited. In pairs we were told to go site across on a chair. The penguin would then run across the floor and waddle up a ramp and come stand in the middle of the pair. You then posed for photos for the photographer. After the photos the penguin would run back to the trainer for its fish.

After Lollypop we were lead into a second enclosure where there were two king penguins. King penguins are the second largest breed of penguins. In this enclosure again in pairs we were told to kneel behind the pengiuns. We were then told to touch its back. Stroke its fins. Then we were shown how to hug the penguine. lastly you leant forward and kiss the penguine on its neck. All the time the photographer was taking photos. You only got a short time with the penguins and our time was up.

We left the cold side of the ski park and went back inside to view the photos. Rhian and I ended up buying all our photos on a USB drive to bring home. After buying the photos we went back into the ski park to play. We caught the chair lift half way up the hill to the cafe. At the cafe we had nachos and a mocha. Instead of taking the chairlift down we put helments on and rode tubes down a longer bobsled track. Rhian enjoyed this so we caught the chairlift back up the hill and went down again. After this Rhain went to play on the kiddy rides and I lined up to go on the Zorb ball. It is a big ball inside a ball. You jump into it then roll down the hill. This was fun but the hill was only about 15 meters. After the Zorb ball I went and found Rhain again. By now it was getting late and we were frozen enough so we exited the Ski Park.

After taking the boots, pants and jackets off we left Ski Dubai. We went to dinner at the mall at one of the restraunts then came back to the hotel. Again we researched Alantis and tried to book online. Didn’t work still and after not hearing back from the travel company Rhian stuffed around on the tablet. I was watching TV. After Rhian finished playing I tried one more time to book our tickets for Alantis and this time it worked. Rhians phone had used up all our data at dinner so we made plans to get to breakfast early. Go to the mall to top up the data, Get Rhian some more bathers then head to Alantis. I spent the rest of the night writing blogs.

Rhian started watching a movie which didn’t finish until 2am. I told her she would have to turn all the alarms off in the morning. Rhian hates the mornings and hates waking up.
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Dubai – Day 39

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Today is our first day in Dubai. As with most days since the tour we slept in. Well Rhian does and because I can do nothing else I end up sleeping in too. We managed to get downstairs just before 10am when the breakfast is cut off. The food was nothing fancy and we are both sick of the english breakfast you get everywhere.

After breakfast we crossed the road to the Mall of the Emirates. This is a massive shopping center. It is the one that has the Ski Slope inside. Rhian quickly found the H&M store. She has been able to sniff this place out no matter where we go. Anyway after more than an hour and trying on the entire stores clothes she walked out with only three white tops and two pairs of shorts. We then walked upstairs and had a walk through a few eletrical stores. Again everything here is what you can get at home and the prices are about the same or more. Before leaving we got a quick snack of a buger and a milkshake. Milkshake was ok.

We were booked on a City of Merchants tour at 1430. We walked back across the road to the hotel and dropped Rhians shopping in the room. After double checking the paper work turns out we were not getting picked up until 1445. We waited downstairs in the lobby for the driver to come collect us. Once the driver arrived we took a short ride to a car park in the middle of no where. A number of other cars and busses rocked up. Once everyone arrived we were moved onto a coach which would drive us around the city.

The first half of the tour was a drive around the city telling us about some of the buildings we were passing by. Our first photo stop was at Jumeirah Mosque. I am not sure of the importance of this one but when we arrived a session was about to start so lots of men were filing in through the doors. After the photo stop we got back on the bus and drove for a bit longer passing places like the next leader of the Emrites house. His only 29 years old and has a palace the size of Pepermint Grove. All the signs tell you not to enter or turn around and go back. The second bus stop was at the oldest part of Dubai. It was the first settlement or town of Dubai. We can’t remember the name but the buildings were only 40 years old. After 20 minutes we got back on the bus and drove to our third stop which was the Dubai Museum. This was not a huge musuem but it was interesting.

After the museum we took a short bus ride to the river where we caught a small boat across the river. The boat was like one of the put put boats you get in Hong Kong or Thialand. After the crossing we were at the Spice Markets and Gold Markets. We had around 15 minutes at each market. I got harassed by every Indian for a suit, bags, glasses, watches. Only so many times you can tell someone No Thank You before you just want to punch them in the face. As with all Indians they never wear their own product. It was like being in Bali but people wearing better clothes and speaking good english.

After the markets the group was split into different cars and busses to take us back to our hotel. We were taken in a Holden Statesman rebadged as a Chev. This car had done 117,000 kms but had been kept as though it had just come out of the showroom. For a place which is in the dessert it is amazing how clean 95% of the cars are. Might have something to do with the car cleaners at the shopping mall car park.

After arriving back at the hotel we went for Pizza across the road from the hotel. It is strange over here you can not get a beer anywhere but the hotel bar. Sucks!. With all the foriegn residents (being 70% of them) I don’t understand why it is not more available. After stuffing a whole pizza into my pie hole we came back to the hotel and went to bed.

Day one down.

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