Waking Up In Dubai

Autumn is always fun, but once the sunshine disappears and a blanket of cloud covers London, everyone is already missing summer. My birthday had just passed on the last day of September, and the next bank holiday isn't until Christmas, so a little bit of October sunshine away was exactly what was needed before winter sets in.

This time, I decided to venture out of Europe and head to Dubai for my escape, catch up with friends, see the sights, and pick up a bit of a tan in-between!

A few in-flight movies and drinks later, I woke up as we touched down at Dubai International in the early hours, and I made my way downtown to Stacey's apartment.

If you have never been before, then be prepared for the heat! Outside is like a sauna, even in the middle of the night when it was 35 degrees, and you are thankful for that little invention called Air-Con!

By the time we had woken up the temperature had hit 40 degrees and the humidity levels meant that everything I have from my camera, to mobile, to sunglasses, had steamed up.

Fortunately, Stacey has lived here for a couple of years so adapted into tour guide quite easily, planning where we were going to go and making sure we get to see as much of Dubai as we could in the 4 days we were there.

To start, a bit of sunbathing on the rooftop pool for the afternoon, taking in the skyline and pointing out the landmarks that makes Dubai what it is.

The views were absolutely amazing from the roof. With a 360 view of Dubai, you could see right across to the Palm...

 ...all the way down to the world-famous Dubai Golf Course.

That evening, we headed to the Emirates Mall for drinks, dinner, and a quick round of shopping.

One thing to remember if you visit Dubai, is that not all of the restaurants serve alcohol. Whilst every restaurant has to have a licence like in the UK, not all of them chose to due to the strict laws, so if you fancy a glass of wine with dinner then chose carefully!

We ended up eating at a restaurant called Apres, which is situated next to the indoor ski centre.
Yes, there is a ski centre, in a shopping mall, in the middle of the dessert. Surreal, I know. We grabbed a table next to the slope, kicked back, ate and enjoyed the wine.

Feeling slightly tipsy, a little bigger round the waist, and ready to get some shut eyes, we ventured back out into the heat and headed home.

If you happen to be in Dubai and fancy skiing, then Ski Dubai details can be found here.