Dazzling Diamonds-A Dalliance in Dubai

Dubai was a beacon of hope and possibility after our experiences in Egypt so we were really looking forward to staying with our friends for a few days. Tony met Paul and Zoë through playing hockey when he moved to Bristol many years ago and has been friends with them ever since-they even made the trek out to Australia to come to our wedding. They have two fantastic little girls and settled in Dubai over four years ago; embracing the possibilities (and warmth!) that the UAE offers.
Arriving nearly five hours late, dear Paul was waiting for us at the airport at 11:30pm. Swooping us away in his car, we whizzed past the city catching up on his news and knowledge of Dubai before a quick cup of tea and a deliciously comfy bed. Waking up shattered from travel, we were so happy to have a slow morning-drinking coffee and catching up on our respective lives. Paul had kindly taken a few days off work to be with us so we were able to take the day as it came, chatting away until the school pick up time drew closer. As Dubai is crazy hot, school begins early and finishes at 1pm so we drove over to meet young Yvie. At four years of age, she displays such confidence and curiosity- immediately warming to us and chatting away as we headed to the mall for lunch.
Finding ourselves in an oasis of air conditioned bliss, Tony and I took a few moments to get our bearing. We had driven on a perfectly paved road, everyone had stayed within their painted lanes, there was no rubbish on the street and life seemed ordered, civilised and full of possibilities. We didn't know where to look first and soon became quite culture shocked. There was my first sushi bar in eight months and it even had brown rice and was vegan!!!!!! Oh civilisation, I have missed you!
Grabbing a fresh power juice and Tony sliding in with his KFC, I knew we had well and truly left Egypt yet, we were still in the Middle East and my brain was grappling with this. There was even a Starbucks serving baby chinos for Yvie. We continued on to collect Ollie from preschool before jumping on a beautiful new train to the marina. Racing Yvie and Ollie up and down the pristine electric people movers and perfectly clean platforms, we took our place in the 'Goldclass' carriage which was at the beginning of the driverless train. With an uninterrupted view of the train line and the city, Paul had thought of everything to enhance our experience in Dubai. The beautiful high rises (yes, they really are spectacular here) shone in the fierce sunlight, reflecting rainbow rays off their glass clad exteriors giving the city a wonderful sparkling feel. Zoë and Paul had booked us on a beautiful old wooden boat for the afternoon and as it turned out, ended up being a private trip. Snuggling down in the beanbags and sipping our very welcome cool drinks, we sailed out of the

marina and into the gulf listening to top 40 tracks, feeling the wind in our hair and seeing the city shine. The gulf was full of jet skis, speed boats, yachts and pleasure cruisers soaking up the sun and sea and sneaky alcohol that was available just offshore. We sailed out towards 'The Palm' and back through into the marina admiring the lifestyles of restaurants, sunsets and luxury.
Catching another train back to the car, we headed back home where we were able to hang out with the girls a bit more before we went out for dinner.
I was in a bit of a quandary...my idea of dressing up this year consisted of swapping my Birkenstocks for my black ballet flat crocs and hoping my black trousers weren't too creased. I'd pop a hair clip in and some mascara and whalah, ready to go out! I wasn't quite sure which shoe option would be the least offensive and Zoë kindly told me to wear whatever was comfortable. Birkis back on and trousers pulled down low to disguise them I was ready. I would've added some hair clips and earrings had the bugger who stole my undies not taken these as well which I sadly realised just before we left. I felt really sad actually-living out of a wheely bag for a year means most things I carry are multipurpose and functional. The few pretty and frivolous things I did bring-silk tops, nice underwear and some earrings were now gone. Not feeling quite up to the beautiful Dubai standard, we headed out and I worked hard not to harbour hostile feelings towards the grotty little thief.
Our address we were headed to was 'Downtown Dubai' which turns out to be a stunning five star hotel full of beautiful restaurants, bars and views. Trousers tugged down just a little bit lower again to cover my birkis, I straightened my shoulders and walked in like I owned the place trying not to stare at all of the beautiful things and people. We were right under the Burj Khalifi with it's pretty twinkling lights and soon the water fountain began its light and sound spectacular, shooting up jet streams of water high into the air choreographed with classics music. My one beer came ($20AUD, Dad, don't fall of your chair!) and I tried to sip it but actually just greedily gulped it, grateful for the alcohol license in the hotel as the weather was perfect for a drink with friends al fresco. Heading off again to dinner, we walked by the beautiful water fountain and into the 'souk'. Now, I've seen a few souks in my travels and this was not the traditional souk. No clutter, no hawkers, no crazy maze like streets, just clean and ordered shops. I noticed one called 'Boozer' but it was juice and ice cream sadly.
Dinner was in 'The Palace' and it was indeed palatial. Wow, it was an incredibly impressive five star hotel full of stunning artworks, shimmering lights and beautiful stained glass lanterns. We were having an 'Arabic Buffet' which I imagined (from experience) to be some bread, a few dips, maybe salad and loads of meat on sticks. What we actually got was a stunning dining room, a man playing a sitar like instrument in the background, a seafood and carvery buffet complete with its own dessert bar

and chocolate fountain. I wish I hadn't eaten any lunch as this place was mouth wateringly good. Oysters, prawns, smoked salmon and fish curry started me off and I went back for another half dozen of oysters and prawns respectively and finished with a full plate of desserts. Red velvet cake, rich chocolate brownie, creme caramel plus cheesecake, marshmallows from the chocolate fountain, fresh berries and strawberry sauce. Oh, and a few walnuts and a token apricot. Delicious! Whizzing past the boulevards lined with palm trees lit with fairy lights I felt like I was in a fairytale as I watched all of the dazzling lights in the night sky.
The next morning we were excited to be heading to the Burj Khalifa-the tallest building in the world. We'd seen it on the skyline via our boat and again in the evening so it was great to be able to see Dubai from its towering heights. Paul and Zoë had kindly bought us tickets and Paul drove us into the city as well.
Burj Khalifa is an incredible engineering feat standing at over 829 metres into the air and 163 stories high. It is the world's tallest building and we went to 'At the top' which is an elevator to floor 124 and then a set of stairs up to level 125. The view is fantastic-even with some haze; looking down over multi lane freeways, the water fountain and huge malls as well as the gulf and across to the desert. There is something special about Dubai-yes, it's a playground for the rich and famous with excessive wealth, but they have done it in style. It is very impressive and beautiful and you have to admire

the dedication and focus of the country to keep forging ahead to make it the best in the world.
Afterwards, we wandered through Dubai mall which is (of no surprise) the world's largest shopping mall with over 1200 shops. It also houses the Dubai aquarium which is a 10 million litre suspended tank-again, one of the largest in the world. I don't think my mouth remained closed at all as we walked around-Baby Dior mixed in amongst Lamborghini and Ferrari shops as well as full sized sharks and sting rays swimming gracefully past my head. There really aren't words to describe the affluence and opulence but I guess if you have so much money you don't know what to do with it then junior Armani clothes are very important...
Returning home to hang out with the girls, Paul and Zoë kindly helped indulged our need for good wifi so we copied over all of our Jordan and Egypt photos and even got a few uploaded for our travel diary to give us more space for Sri Lanka. We had a lovely dinner at home together, before repacking and heading to bed ready for our 4am wake up and flight to Sri Lanka.
Dubai was a fairytale destination for us-a snapshot of what the western lifestyle will be like when we return home (albeit somewhat more exclusive!) and an opportunity to be with great friends and their family. This year was about seeing new countries and exploring new cultures and Dubai has been no exception. Whilst the majority of our destinations have been second or third world, Dubai is certainly leading the world in many of its developments and achievements and it's fascinating to see how people live and work here and find our own path amongst all that we've seen. It has given us a reality slap of what our life might be like back in Australia and a few more weeks of reflection to work out what our priorities are for our own way of life and what values we hold dear. Thank you Dubai, I'll never forget you.
(P.S There is a strange scale of fairy lights in this world-a few look lovely, a lot look tacky but millions upon millions look simply stunning!)