We missed the lads terribly today. The poor devils are well and truly back into the work at this stage and I can see via facebook they long for the Gulf! I was up and at em early, a little shook from the previous nights pints but nothing a quick dip in the sea wouldn't sort out.
It was all about the beach today and getting as much sun on the back as possible. Bull went off for a gallop but myself, Dec and Becky favoured our sun chairs. When he came back he was eager to get a boat trip out around The Palm and over to The World. Himself and Becky were quoted some ridiculous amount for such an excursion the previous day and it was too rich for my blood. So I headed off down to the hotel's marina and enquired about the possibilities. Normally I was told, its 800 funny money for one hour "but for you sir, i give for 500 funny money and 1.5hrs. Special price" I lapped up the feeling of importance, shook hands on the deal and went off to round up the troops. On my way I passed by the price list which quoted 500 funny money for one hour and suddenly I felt a bit done.
Our transport was a powerful enough little speed boat and our captain, a knowledgable Sri Lankan man. However, he was going to get more than he bargained for from Becky who wasn't letting him off the hook with any fibs! The guy was brilliant in fairness, always stopping the boat for good photo opportunities and giving us all the info we needed. I was sitting by the bow and loving it as we burst through the choppy water. I grew up by the sea but never really got out on the water enough. When I go anywhere now though, its a must do activity, stimulated no doubt by land-locked city living.
We went out around The Palm and you got a much better feel for its shape from the water than you did from the car. Onwards into the Dubai Marina which sits in the shadow of many a tall building. After that we were whisked over to The World. There is practically nothing to see there as construction has only just really starter. Great trip though, you can't beat the freedom you feel out at sea.
When we came back Bull had sussed out the story with the Burj and found out we could get in at 17h30. We hopped into a golf kart outside the hotel and headed speedily in the direction of the famous building. To be honest, I wasn't overly impressed. Structurally its unreal but there is only so much you can do with the lobby of a hotel. We did go up to the viewing area which was cool even if the evening haze had set in.
Back to Mall of Emirates then for a bit of shopping. Dec had moved on to The Dubai Marina Hotel (long story) and Becky and Conor were taking a snowboarding lesson in the Mall. I had my eye on a few shirts and the lady was so nice I came away with a pair of cuff links and a silk pink tie as well as three shirts. More importantly, I broke my blue shirt monopoly. They won't recognise me at work next week.
On then for the shoes. I'd be pretty conservative in this department but fought hard to break free of the shackles. I had two lads helping and they were on the ball saying all the right things. They loved the Irish, those shoes looks great business or casually and of course they had special price for Mr. Dave. Only 349 funny money. Again, even though the price was on the bottom and both pairs came to 349. Good lads though. The Mall is open from 08h to midnight every day and is jammers all the time. Madness. No obvious recession here.
I'm sitting in the hotel room now waiting to hit the road. I'll depart around 12h30 for my 03h00 flight. I should be back on Rue Frans Binje by midday tomorrow all going well. I'll spend the flight trying to edit down the mountain of video I have, down into a watchable 30 minute DVD. I have some time alloted for another Blog entry during the Istanbul stop-over. But for now its good bye Dubai, who knows, our paths may cross again.
No comments:
Post a Comment