Dubai

Before I write about my time in Dubai, and in my rule of being honest….except for my time with Kui in Kenya, since Zanzibar I have been struggling with being home sick. I think it was a combination of being away for Christmas and having my confidence knocked. It felt that because I was leaving ‘Africa’ my time away should be coming to an end, not that I was going to be moving on to a new experience. I think the fact that other than booking a flight to Sri Lanka, from Dubai, I had nothing else planned, all very telling. I emailed my friend, Emily for some advice, as I knew she would be the voice of reason. “Moving on to Asia will be an effort, you’re right, but take it slowly. It will be so worth it. You are the driver. You can take it at your own pace. But don’t give up. This is your one chance to do this. Asia is completely different from Africa and I think you’ll love it even more. Keep going. You can do this. Push through.” I am now currently in Sri Lanka and still struggling. I’m trying really hard to ‘push through’ but I think because recently I have been with people I know and love (more on that shortly), now I am back on my own, I’m feeling really lonely (which doesn’t usually bother me ??‍♀️) I’m just basically all over the place. Watch this space!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anyway…Dubai……. I lived in Dubai 40 years ago with my family, and although I can’t remember much about it, I’m pretty sure that it has changed beyond all recognition.

I arrived in Dubai quite late, so booked a hotel near the airport. Once settled in my very large suite!!! I treated myself to room service, which was wheeled in on a trolley with white table cloth etc, I felt like a princess ?

The following day, I caught an Uber to the airbnb, I would be staying at for the next 5 nights. An amazing apartment near the marina with 2 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. It was a private residence but within a hotel complex, so I was able to use the hotel facilities. The apartment had a washing machine, which I quickly put to good use (it’s the small things when you’re travelling!!). This is the 1st airbnb I had stayed in since Cape Town, and forgot how much better they are than hotels etc. I really must make more effort to do more. I settled in, caught another Uber to the supermarket and stocked up on goodies, because Mell was turning up later that day. I also very quickly decided that although the driving was quite aggressive in Dubai, life would be much easier if I hired a car, which I went ahead and arranged.

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That night I jumped into another Uber, went back to the airport to pick up the hire car and then Mell. It was fantastic to see her. There may have even been a tear or two!! For me it hadn’t felt like its been 4 months since I last saw her, but Mell said it did to her. I guess when you are travelling, the time passes much quicker?? A quick dinner (McDonald’s…..my 1st in 3 months ?) and back to the airbnb as it was quite late.

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After a long lie in, we hit Dubai for some sightseeing, which for anyone who knows Mell, means touring all the local eateries!! We started off going to the Palm Jumeirah. A little underwhelming, but good to see it.

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After driving around for a while, we ended up at a very large shopping centre called Dubai Mall. It was so huge it even had a full size Aquarium inside (think sealife centre…on steroids). We did lots of walking around, a bit of shopping and The Cheesecake Factory.

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We then tried to see the ‘fountain show’ and ‘light show’ on the Burj Khalifa Tower. The rain however started coming down in waves….apparently it only rains for 5 days in Dubai, a year. These 5 days were when we where there. Poor Mell didn’t get her winter sun, but at least it was warm most of the time!! We watched the fountain show, got soaked through and gave up on the light show.

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We nipped back to our airbnb to dry off then went to a ‘pumping’ bar to meet up with Francesca. (Francesca is a nurse, that I worked with in England, who came to Dubai 2 years ago to make her fortune.) It was so amazing to see Frankie after 2 years, and like with Kui, the years just melted away. Francesca’s job sounds like a nightmare….they do a whole week on-call and have to do 2 weeks out of every 6. I think the on-calls aren’t as busy as ours in England, but she still ended up working all weekend and most evenings until 8pm, while I was there ?

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The following day we tried to do more sight-seeing. We headed north to see the gold and spice souks. A lot of the roads, however were closed due to flooding from the very heavy rain overnight, and the journey was quite challenging. When we reached the souks, we just drove round and round trying to find somewhere to park with no luck, so eventually gave up and headed to Hard Rock Cafe, because it was lunch time and we hadn’t eaten. After eating we found a nice bar which had the football on so we could watch Palace v Arsenal…be rude not too.

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We then headed back to the Mall, as I needed to buy a new backpack!! My zip kept breaking and I didn’t want to risk it going completely and seeing all my underwear going around the conveyer belt at the airport. We tried to see the light show again…. no luck, so instead we met up with Frankie. This time in a little cafe where we could get traditional Arabic food. The food was great and we put the world to rights.

Determined to have a more successful day sight-seeing, I booked tickets to go up the Burj Khalifa. This tower is currently the tallest in the world and you can go up to the 124th floor. I was very excited to go up the tower, Mell not so, as she’s scared of heights, but she was very brave and even looked out the window. Wonderful view from floor 124 and we could see more storm clouds heading our way.

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After the Burj Khalifa, we dodged the rain and went to The Miracle Garden. This, as the name suggests, is a place with loads of plants and flowers in usual displays. A nice visit, and I was especially impressed with the full size aeroplane.

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We then headed for the Burj Al Arab Jumeirah. We had already looked at it’s website, and afternoon tea would have cost £145 each, so it was just a drive-by. Once again, a little underwhelming. The beaches in this area also looked like a construction site, so couldn’t see what the appeal was.

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That night we met up with Francesca for Italian food…had to be done ?

The following morning, Mell was flying home. We had to be at the airport for 4:30am so it was a very early start. She checked in and then headed to departures…it was at this point, I completely lost it….I literally couldn’t stop crying. As wonderful as it had been to see Mell, in retrospect, I think having a piece of ‘home’ and then losing it, really hit me hard. I suddenly felt, so alone and not sure I could carry on with my trip. I tried to put it down to being tired, but the tears carried on for most of the day. I tried to be proactive and went back to the mall to try for a 4th time to see the fountain and light show….achieved.

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By the time I met up with Francesca that evening, I wasn’t really feeling any better, and she had to deal with a very emotional me. After lots of tears and hugs, we managed to eat and then a friend of hers join us, who was lovely, although I looked a state with a red, puffy face. We said goodbye….and once again I was back on my own.

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So, that was my time in Dubai. Full of highs and lows. Dubai itself is a strange place. It was great as a transit place for me, I managed to stock up on bits and pieces that I will need for the next leg of my journey (Marks and Spencer’s, Waitroses etc). The whole place feels a bit soulless. I can’t believe they still need so many more apartments/offices/malls, but the building work continues. It was obviously amazing to see Mell and Francesca, but this has made me terribly homesick. The next day, I did manage to catch my flight to Sri Lanka, and I am still trying to push through this low. ❤️❤️